S3C's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Nav - Drifting Higher [NG Cut]]

Damnit Nav >:(

I was so prepared to come into this track and say "man HHC just isnt my style" like I told you on MSN but this track has lots of energy and I found it really enjoyable! Stop making genres that I previously dislike into appealing ones > : (

For some reason, I get a feeling like this came out a sonic game, the high energy with the nice melodic, upbeat arps really reminds me of going through loops on a special stage of some sort. This track has some sweet melodies, which I thought some of your previous tracks lacked (but not necessarily were needed)

Synths are freaking great. I freaking love the piano with the slight delay effect to give the arpeggio a lot of color and that other sound/synth that you layer it When you restart it again after the drum buildup section, the harmonies rocked as well. The pad is great, nice floaty texture that sifts in well in the background. Saws and arpsynths were quality work as well, they have a nice round sound without being to sharp or screechy like a lot of saw synths are. My favorite selection was the guitar sounding strings bit, I like that incorporation very much.

Drums were pretty damn awesome, I like the choice of breaks, kick and snare and other miscellaneous percs sounded great. I especially like the pitchbend of the kicks between transitions. One crit in this area- the 808 (?) claps and snares sounded like pretty basic samples, you know the gist better than I do, but how about some layering and compression experimentation to get a more original drum sound?

as far as the mixing aspect, I like the soft feel- nothing drowned in reverb (Although I feel the snare and claps could use just a small spruce of reverb), and you hear all the individual parts nice and clearly.

Overall, the melodic ideas make this a real enjoyable track.

5/5 and a fav. from me > : (

:)

5:00 - end. I think it would have been better if you included one of the other melodies instead of the generic bassline melody found a lot in these styles/

Nav responds:

Hey, thanks for the nice words! Now let me address the criticisms.

First of all, I agree that the samples were quite generic. I was attempting to imitate what it would be like to have a song on hardware, IE with an actual 909 (not an 808) :P Not sure if it worked, but it was worth a try! Next track will be more original. I was just trying to get down the basics :P

About the ending... it's that way to allow for mixing. Since most DJs will use the bass-cutoff to mix from one song to the next, the bass wont interfere harmonically with the other tracks. This makes it a useful tool for keeping up interest without interfering with the DJ's plans :P

Although now that I think of it, I could've done with a different instrument, since there was a lot of room for mixing near the end. Thanks for that comment! I'll take it into consideration next time :D

Thanks for the awesome review!

[FL^6]

that was tasty.

cook me up another dish emeril.

[Retribution (Mac8)]

haha

hehe this one's really interesting. Lots of wobble in the reeses and wacky pitch bend shit (that one at 2:50 was crazeeee), not something i'd typically desire for when listening to a DnB song...but it fits perfectly for a crazy madness style!

and its funny because I read all the reviews. This is like Chesyre's style. Except it has more coherency, organized complexity, and oh yeah, you make your synths instead of using overused sytrus presets haha. This track is like a strangely molded clay sculpture, while some of his works are just complete blobs of clay...IMO

Intro was real nice, great opening with the sad piano melodies accompanied by the strings. Your reese texture is SICK and rigid, i feel it could use a bit more compression to really crank out that punishing sound, but still the overall sound is excellent. The beeps and clicks were some nice ornamentation, really like your spacing on the drums, bassline is nothing special but fills the gaps. Spacing on the drums is great, love the panned + phased bits and the ride cymbal rhythms were excellent.

also, keep up the great work with the drums. your patterns rock, and i especially like your acoustic oriented style, its not often you hear that in DnB. I was personally making a madness submission where I went "quarl drum style" and tried to use acoustic drums moreso than eletronic samples. so definetly an inspiration there :D

it wasnt too repetitive, but could certainly use more variation IMO. For the first half of the song, I think you could automate a little more FX on the reese, keep the same pattern playing throughout, but maybe slice it up a bit, rearrange patterns and whatnot. I think when the drums enter the scene is where it creates some of these problems. I only hear two main patterns, and the way you developed your snare rhythm sounds one the 1st pattern makes it sound like it would be the transitional pattern maybe every 16 bars or so, in turn
making the drums lacking the groove like nav said below.

One last criticism- it indeed does feel lacking in depth. after the piano and strings interlude, i didnt hear a nice background layer like I was hoping for, therefore making the second half of the song sound not proportionally climatic/epic to the first half. i'd personally keep the strings flowing into that section, make them a bit wider through a stereo enhancer, a chorus effect, a build some chords to really fill out a deep lower end.

keep kicking ass and good luck to you too bro :D

Quarl responds:

You wrote this almost three years ago and I'm just now responding to it. Thanks for the crazy awesome review man <3

[Carf - Disturbed Madness]

nice one carf

Yo this one's got a great industrial evil sound.

Those sound FX in the intro were enough to grab my attention, but I kind of lost my attention once those unrhythmical sytrus bells came in...its okay theyre only ornamentation. all around, decent intro to fit with a madness theme.

Those saws and industrial sounding square synth are sickkkk. The riff kicks ass too I must say its perfect for a chaotic deal. Mmm, the drums tho :( I dont like the fact that your hats are pure FL dance samples ;_; The beat was pretty nice tho, but the bassline is lacking. This song lacks a solid groove, something which could be achieved by maybe throwing in an offbeat bass or a bass with the "galloping" rhythm.

The interlude was nice too, I really like your usage off automation and those long swells incorporated into the synths. It just feels a bit empty here, I'd recommend putting in a pad or some backround ambience to really feel that void.

The final phrase was well executed, good usage of bending on the synths and the layering to make it more dramatic than the first portion of the song.

As a whole, the mix feels to soft to really fit into a madness theme, raise the volume levels some, mess with compression, I don't really know your techniques, but IMO it needs to be louder to really crank out that madness intensity!

some awesome ideas and well crafted snippets, but IMO could use some refinements to make this a killer track.

Carf responds:

Wow! A nice defined review! Already a thank you for taking the time to write something decent, doesnt happen that often.

Well what can I say in return. I think you are right in your opinions. Its not fair to kick somebody that only tells his/her point of view.
The track itself is just a spontanious thing I came up with just when I asked a friend of my (Nemesistheory) why she does not participate in the MAC contest. At that same time I told myself *fuck it, i give it a try myself* BUT industrial is NOT a style I have tried before. I have tried to use all my experience which I have from my making *hardcore* past (dutch hardest variation of house music). And this was the final result.

That there is no decent bass is indead more then true, overall in hardcore there is no bass at all, altrough there is a subsound, but its not overall low as in D&B.
A pad would indeed bring the track to a higher *melodie* level but I tried to let my bassdrums do the talking, which has been my desicion to leave out a typical main line. Maybe this devines my ideas a bit better.

I want to ask you to check out my track *void* cause that devines my way of *playing with melodies* on a very, very abstract way ;). Think you will like it.

Thanks again for taking your time and your kind words. Keep up the creativity.

Carf!

[-=IG=- Sneak Peek -=IG=-]

real fresh

This beat has got some really interesting elements! Got my attention right from the start.

Love the eerie melodies on the whistling synth in the background, and the bells with the delay effect were pretty nice, and the countermelody that comes in on the other bell sounding instrument. I like the way the strinngs moves, but the sound is a bit too fuzzy for my liking (maybe once the groove kicks in, replace them with a more organic, smoother or lusher sound)

Percussive elements were really nice, I like the thin crispy snare sample and the use of the shaker for the high register percussion, as well as the pitched sample was real damn sick, and the subtle castanents (?) that come in every now and then were a pretty nice touch.

the buildup felt awkward, once the first pitched percussion pattern came in, I was expecting a nice powerful drop at 00:5ish with a consistent kick rhythm and snare on the 3rd beat, but it was absent. otherwise, the beat was nice to listen to, I like your usage of the four to the floor style, and how you carefully cut out the kick at places. Pretty interesting right there.

as for the bassline, its okay, nothing that really stands out. As for the sound, it might just be my end but it could use a bit more power. I'd layer it with just a pure sine sub- might destroy the sound tho. You're kick has phatness yet still is distinguishable from the bass, which can be hard to do.

Great beat man, real nice for rapping over.

InGenius responds:

Thanks for the constructive criticism. Alot of the topics you touched on I agonized over, actually. I need to go back and work on this one again now that I am mixing and mastering music differently. I have a pure sin sub in the 35-75 hz range or so that I could EQ up to the 75 flat range and boost that bass a bit, but I was afraid it would muddy the sound up. This one has not been mastered yet, just mixed and EQ'd, so it might sound a bit cleaner and better after a master for the album.

Thanks for the review.

Peace

[Melosira artica]

TRUE AMBIENCE

BAWLZ. these are some awesome "cold" textures giving a good visual of an artic environment. I can almost see myself trapped beaneath ice watching the glaring sun ahead, yet the ice melts away so slowly. Love the main droney, ringy pad, with all the subtle ambience that works it way in throughout. This is some really pleasant noise to listen too, i'd love to see this in a flash.

[hidden garden]

Mmmm

hey, excellent atmospheres man. I really like the lush relaxing ambience in here with the juicy textures and the upfront techno bits. Real nice melodies too.

I do like your selection of synths, but they are quite dated. I highly recommend looking into making synthesis, it doesnt have to be from scratch but if you have a grasp on how to tweak certain synths you all have the ability to proudce your own sounds other than using only Sytrus ones that all the new guys use :P

As for the composition, I though the transitioning could be a bit more flowing, Keep one or two patterns from the previous section playing and then tweak it a bit so it gels with the preceding ideas. At parts, there was a lack of a bass or any backdrop I'd maybe boost the bass frequencies in that area and in general, just keep them in the background more. Drums were sequenced quite well, but could do with a couple more patterns. I really like the delay effects combined with the hand percussion.

good song, keep up the good work!

[Time's Scar (New and Improved)]

Originality is a plus

Okay, the overall sound is decent, but whether this is a midi rip or transcription it sounds EXACTLY like the original. Try to put some originality into your work. I'm actually working on a remix of the song, and from that I know this song pretty damn well. If you're just going to remake the song with lower quality soundfonts...you might as well.

As far as the mix goes, I'd make the part right after the guitars when the string quarter comes in along with the more active percussion, use louder dynamics as that part has more energy. I'd also make the drums just a notch louder with everything esel too.

Props to having a good taste in music- but next time when you upload VG based content to NG - be original!

spongessuck responds:

It's supposed to sound like the original- the challenge is seeing how close to the original I can get using synthesized sounds and my ear. Sure, originality is good too, it's just not what I'm shooting for with this track.

And if by lower quality soundfonts you mean not a full orchestra, then I'm sorry but I don't have access to one.

[Breaking News]

Well done

hey I like this, definetly does contain the frantic elements you would here in a news theme. the intro definetly grabbed my attention- but the tempo changes were just too much and executed without much of a buildup in the first 20 seconds or so, I personally would have let the fast drums in the intro and intensity roll on for a little bit longer. the dark section at 00:07 themes IMO didnt transition as well as they could, maybe make the marcato cellos part have more prominence in the first six sections. also the brass clashes with the rest of the instruments at 00:10, i understand how the idea comes in, but it seems to prominent for a general news theme IMO.

everything else was great. the short phrases on the instruments and packing and overapping of multiple themes really makes this piece sound like a breaking news theme, were the camera flashes to multiple scenes and news reporters in a short and hectic time frame. Really like the short percussion bits, the mallet percussion was also a nice touch, I hear a nice legato woodwind arpeggio in there, was really cool. I kind of wish the timpanis were utilized more in here.

The piano had great contrast i like the dark theme at 00:27-00:33, and how 00:38-00:40 had a similar melodic idea yet was quite light.

Favorite part was 00:42 - to end. The strings section was carried out really well. I think you could insert even more energy into this piece with crescendoing toms, around the halfway mark put in some legato lower strings, and maybe finish off with a slight accelerando. The chord you ended was sweet!

The overall imagery has dark overtones, yet doesnt feel to overpowering to be a news theme. I'd give you an A.

[The Tranquil Cascade]

taken aback

geez man this one's a beauty. The decay effects and descending notes really makes it feel like a cascade of sorts. Love the acoustic guitar choices with the aquatic sounding sine synths, really meshes together for a soothing, water feeling atmosphere. Really enjoyed the drum grooves and the funky bassline. Piano chords and strings add a nice homophonic sound with the sweet background. I think the drums came out to soon, you didn't really build up enough energy for them to cut out just yet IMO. the end was really beautiful. Freaking love the joyful piano melodies mixed with one of the most awesome backgrounds I heard. I wish the parts could just be extended a bit longer, a song as good as this deserves to be 5+, just let the parts flow out. Not only does the great melodic ideas in par with the effects make this a great song, but I really enjoyed the combination of instruments. Definetly a great addition to my NG AP favorites!

ClassicalFreak responds:

Thanks for your awesome, in-depth review. I'll take into consideration your suggestions, and when I decide to revisit the song again, maybe I'll extend the piano section too. Really grateful for this; I'll check out some of your works later. Thanks again.