S3C's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[(WF1) Mythic 1.5]

Eggroll City

Good world loop WF1!

=The Good=
-Great ethnic presence as always, its got those good asian vibes that you always implement in your song
-Good string progression, they flow really well
-loops flawlessly
-Good choice of instruments, is that a koto/shamisen that you're using?
-Loops flawlessly (the guy below might be complaining about the extra second added on in mp3 files)

=The Bad=
-Sound quality good be better. Try a louder volume on the lead plucked instrument, as well as a deeper reverb and possibly a slight chorusing effect to make it thicker
-Could use some lower end strings
-Some ethnic percussion would fit great
-Make it longer :D

Ideas: 8.5/10 Diversity: 7/10 Clarity: 7/10 Overall: 8/10

All in all good loop WF1, look forward to seeing what you can do with the final version :D

wyldfyre1 responds:

well, i'll see what i can do to adding more to this and hopefully in doing that i can improve upon the song some more =) thanks for the review.

[.:Z:.Midnight Desert]

very nice

Great remix, I like the flow of the compositon and choice of instruments. The acoustic guitar sounds real nice, it reminds me of a journey into Mexico. Especially the brass harmonization is real nice.

I would add some drums in here eventually, like those galloping sixteenths or a triplet rhythm as if you were riding a horse through the night.

well mixed too.

what soundfont/plugin do you use for the acoustic guitar? I would love to know.

Keep up the good work!

Zajed responds:

ye i spent alot time on the instruments i tested like 100 strings

hmm drums i tried it with drums, and it flows pretty good but i wasnt sure because i wanted the listener to get his full attention on the guitar, damn english lol

thanks for the review, il really appreciate it

it was a real guitar mixed with a reason guitar

[Driveby Music]

yo!

this is actually really good for a first beat.

That beat was real nice, nice usage of the vintage samples.

The piano was constructed well, nice melodies, and the good usage of chords, great to lay a rap over. It does indeed go with a driveby theme, and I like how the tempo was slow, I can see a black lowrider with tinted windows slowly pulling up and winding down windows.

It could use one or two more instruments in here-for sure a bassline, and maybe some sustained string notes to highlight the chords.

Also I would put a bit of reverb on the piano to add some depth.

You might also want to pan your drums more, keep your snare and kick centered but pan the woodblock and hi-hats/shakers to the left and right more.

But great work for a first beat, keep producing.

ripeaze2 responds:

thanks for the tips man i didnt even think about that..yeah i was tryna come up with a bassline but couldnt come up with anything good...but thanks again

[(NUB)Enjoy The Silence]

to the guy below me

The sampled band is Depeche Mode.

anyways, I dont like that band one but, but this is a kickass remix. In fact good enough for me to favorite.

=The Good=
-Excellent job of keeping the original themes of the song and then respectively giving it your own twist
-Very swell choice of synths-I like the first transition as the vocal chopping was well executed, and I like the bassline and that warbly synth thats on it
-Guitar sounds fucking excellent, love the pitch bends, very well constructed
-Beat is great, love the triplet rhythms on the hi hats
-You included your own orgasmic glitchy drum style in here too! Very nice!
-Love the atmospheric ending, very beautiful piano playing

=The bad=
-Can't find anything wrong with the track. For it to moreso fit into DnB tho, you might want to give it a subass line (maybe I'm not picking it up with my headphones) to go along with the other lower end synth that sounds a bit like a reese
-Some automated filter swells on that reese (for lack of a better word) would be sick too

Ideas: 9.5/10 Diversity: 9/10 Clarity: 9.5/10 Overall: 9/10 (remix)

Awesome stuff once again Nub. You never fail to impress me! This is better than the original!

nubbinownz responds:

hehe there is an EVIL sub bass line. If you hear it it on a set with good bass response it's obnoxious! thanks for the amazing review man. I love reviews like this . They really make me happy :D I had to put that break in their haha, it's been a while since i've done a break. But I'll be working on a new song coming out here pretty soon that's going to be more breaks. :D

[Royal Conundrums V2]

very well done!

This is a great composition!

+The Good=
-Very intense, I can see a group of people in black capes storming through a cathedral and destroying scripture and shattering stained glass. Very dark
-Excellent choice of instruments, I love the strings, church bells, solo cello, pipe organ, percussion, lightly used piano...and mind I say, the FL Slayer actually sounds good!?
-The sequencing is done very well. Good placing off the drums to bring out the intensity and the gongs at certain points
-Awesome melodies I love the harmonization with the bells and organ at the beginning

=The Bad=
-Can't really think of anything. You might be able to use less reverb and some EQ on some instruments to get them to stick out more and have their own place in the mix. I can hear everything fine pretty much- except it is a slight problem with the choirs at the end tho
-Some dynamics on the snare would be nice

Ideas: 9.5/10 Diversity: 9/10 Clarity: 9/10 Overall: 9/10

What soundfonts are you using btw? mainly the church organ and church bells I'm curious about. Thanks! Great track, keep me posted!

Mattopia responds:

Yay, just the kind of review I'm always asking for. I'll keep the criticism in mind as well. Thanks! :D

As for soundfonts, the church organ was a Papelmedia one, and it was just "Papelmedia_Churchorgan.sf2". I don't know the author behind the church bells, but it was called "tubular_bells.sf2".

Thanks!

[Faustian Deal]

very well constructed

nice classical tune with a hint of wartime ambience.

=The Good=
-Excellent sequencing and building
-Great ambience sound in the beginning-lots of good nacking textures
-Love the dynamics on the higher end percussion. same as the log drums-excellent rhythms with realistic dynamics to reflect the wilderness of survival.
-Love the whole quietness of the lower tones/strings
-The chord progression is great and really brings out a grim foreecast or so
-The layered part at 1:43ish sounds really nice
-Very visual, good job with working with themes once again

=The Bad=
-Some horns would go great with the battle theme, and maybe eventually some clearer triplet snare rolls, as well as a filtered choir in the background...then again all these instruments might ruin the feel of the song, which is already superb

Ideas: 9.5/10 Diversity: 8.5/10 Clarity: 9/10

Enjoyable tune. Thanks for sharing with us! This is definetly favorite worthy.

also, what libraries/plugins/soundfonts did you use for the percussion themes and ambient "creaking" sounds in the beginning?

popraz responds:

Thank you for the review ! I used the basic FL libraries. Snare drums for the military sound and some Tom drum samples distorted into the tribal-like sound + some Sytrus background effects. For the creaking sounds I also tweaked some percussion samples and mixed them into a more ambiental feel.

[ThIs Is TeCHno]

This is a ReVIew

Good track man. I pretty much agree with what milk said.

=The Good=
-Good repetitions for being a progressive trance, I believe this style needs some type of repetition for being trance, but you didnt overdo it. Lots of good builds.
-Transitions are good
-Really like the percussive themes around 0:33, it gets real nice
-Pads are very well crafted
-I really like the ending with the swelling synths and the cool catchy melody
-Mixed quite well
-Very danceable club tune

=The Bad=
-might want to EQ a bit more mid-bass into your kick (or maybe not, wow I'm in a nitpicky mood)
- open hi hats rhythms could use some dynamics
-I say this a lot, so feel free to ignore me here. Maybe its against the style, but dont be afraid to break the 1-2-3-4 kick pattern. In a transition, you can do something like a 1-2-3-4-& rhythm.
-I would eventually introduce a more powerful, apparent bass

Ideas: 8.5/10 Diversity: 8/10 Clarity: 8.5/10 Overall: 9/10

Good stuff so far, really nice track and let me know when its done.

sonicxtreme responds:

woot ma 1st great review....yeah im still in the middle of the process...ill pm you when its done...thanks alot 4 your time.peace

[acoustic reflection]

Nice

I'm really feeling this one

=The Good=
-Great chord progression, does indeed reflect sadness but has an underlying sense of hope
-I like the solo over the top. Nice and simple to go with the modes, minimal sliding but effectively placed. Overall well constructed solos.
-Crisp guitar tones
-Good rain samples to help with the imagery

=The Bad=
-Your soloing could use more variation- you seem to use the notes F#-G in succession a lot try G-F# or different two note theme. After you slide down, you also seem to always want to slide up again, making your solo a bit cliche. Don't be afraid to slide down a note, and then slide downwards again. (its really not that big of deal)
-Around 2:34-2:43 you were picking your notes really hard which resulted in an undesirable twangy sound which really didnt fit the song
-since you ended on a minor chord, maybe some thunder would be nice to finish the song

waiting2exist responds:

thanks for the feed back, i liked that you added in both the good and bad

[The Secret Forest 2]

checking back

yep, this one's better I think! much thicker, its got a juicier sound, and I really like the addition of the flute. I especially like when all the instruments play during the end. Either I was being to harsh last time, but it seems this time around the fast parts and trills on the instruments flow a lot smoother. I just think the piece cuts of abruptly and it would be more suitable for this piece if you ended on a more tonal , sustaining chord.

Keep up the good work!

kjhf responds:

Thanks for the excellent review last time - you helped me see the flaws, and I patched them up this time :)
The ending was a bit experimental I admit, but I like it.
Thanks again
-kjhf

[Blade - {Calm Within}]

Awesome!

This quite an original DnB!

=The Good=
-That phasey sample is really good
-Fresh beats, nice samples
-Love that dramatic drop at 00:40, bass pumps in real well, I'm really digging the automated phaser on the drums
-Bassline is good

=The Bad=
-I liked the intro pad, but it didnt mesh to well with the phasey sample that sounds a bit like a guitar
-I would say the vocal samples got pretty repetive and where overused, they could use some splicing and chopping, and more FX manipulatio
-It does seem a bit unfinished-I would put an original melody somewhere on top of all the samples you got going...a PwM saw or reese would also be a nice touch

Ideas: 8.5/10 Diversity: 7.5/10 Clarity: 8.5/10 Overall: 8/10

very interesting track you got here. btw, nice screename, bladerunner rocks!