S3C's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[is it skinny]

yoo

thats shits hot n***a

[-Jazzy Song-]

hardly jazz i'd say

there's nothing "wrong" about your instruments (other than they sound fairly GM standard...but I applaud the conga percussion usage!) , melodic ideas, or tempo haha :P. it's mainly your overall approach to the composition. for one, there isnt much of a swing feel (if you use FL, set your quantization you never change keys, ideas are a little bit too repetitive and underdeveloped for jazz. For example, to give this a more jazzy feel, I'd write a chord progression for a organ or piano, one that incorporates chords of 2 or more keys. and then with the sax melody modulate to the new key make sure to hit the newly introduced tones, and use the bass to emphasize the new tonal centers. Also, I'd use less of just minor and major melodies (and the pentatonic patterns where a good touch in here), but use modes instead, Dorian, Mixolydian, and Lydian scalic approaches would be a great start. Superimposing blues tones and passing tones gives your melodies more color too.

That was pretentious of me, apologies -_-. If you have no clue what I am talking about google Musical modes for a start. maybe for modern jazz it could classify as jazz however. but genre aside, I still give the song a 6, for an aforementioned reason low quality sounds (try using multiple soundfonts, google specific instruments. theres more realistic sounding sondfount equivalents over the ones you used in this track for FREE), un-connecting, sporadic drums (conga rhythms are nice, but the drumkit parts dont flow well, you seem to stop and start the ride rhythms awkwardly, and the constant quarter note kick pattern in the start doesnt sound too well in context of the piece :P) and lack of chords...'cause you didnt have a single chord in here :P

Keep it up for sure though! I try to be completely honest in my reviews, so I apologize for being harsh. and I probably used to many parentheses too. 5/10 and 5/5.

Step responds:

Ahh, a review from the best audio reviewer on NG, thanks XD. Don't worry about being harsh, I'd much prefer a 5/10 review as long as yours than a 10/10 one-liner. It's my first attempt at jazz, and after it exit the front page without a review, I was sad that it didn't have any reviews and didn't know what to work on in Jazz and if I was doing it right, but thanks to yours, now I can start. I'm usually pretty good when it comes to percussion (although I'm bad at everything else...), so I'm glad you liked the congas. I see what you mean by swing feel, maybe it's the alternate melody I used here which had more of a swing to it, but the main melody consisted only of quavers and crotchets. When I learn a bit more music theory, I could try and do the chord progression of changing to different keys as you explained. So, I'll try and look for better quality instruments, add chords, give a shot at the musical modes you mentioned and work on those kicks and rides (which I completely agree that they aren't in context, but since I never heard professional Jazz before, I thought they would fit). Thanks for the great review, when I get better in music theory, I'll surely make another Jazz song using your awesome suggestions. Keep up the harsh work :P.

[Kw- The Rise (DEMO)]

euphoric

instantly caught my attention. i have been coming to your page time to time but dont think Ive ever left a review.

that short melody theme that you start with is a keeper, but really what grabbed my ears was how will the saw synths combine great with the sharp acid synths, which Ive become a fan of (and is included in my full track for the EP, which you graciously reviewed :) ). the acid works great both rhythmically and melodically, while the saw synth outlines the melody. bass moves well, and its nice to hear that it too, carries out a more complex rhythm than the typical, straight offbeat eights pattern.

mixing and sound design is crisp too, like the clean reverb on the acid, and the subtle echoes on the saw pad. I normally detest supersaw like synths, but in here it sounds quite nice, not too abrasive and well filtered. Drums fit in well the clap and kick fit in like a glove.

i would prefer a more rhythmically complex (maybe slice a loop or two, high-pass and layer it on top), dynamic, less compressed hi-hat line. i might be too harsh in this aspect as I said something along these lines in multiple reviews in the past haha.

the only complaint with this track is not necessarily within the track itself, just with how you auditioned your track, i would have personally would have condensed the drop section for the time of the demo, and give a good eight-ten seconds more of how the track sounds when it has a steady groove with the kick pumping and all ;) the five note melody that you only had in during the intro, IMO would be something worth showing off and developing more for the demo.

so good work, you indeed should be proud of this trk :) (and hot damn- 36 hours is a LONG time! i'd imagine what you have lined up so far is superb!)

nightsurfermusic responds:

It's most certainly a work in progress still... I'm fixing up a few things here and there.

Thanks for one hell of a review man!

[Psybot - Digital Spirit]

I'd have to respectfully disagree

with the below poster, i havent heard all the synths in the world (but I'd like to say I've picked up a half-decent ear for detecting sytrus presets over the years), but they sounded fairly fresh to me, and the track is mixed quite well. I like how the beginning synth has a nice wet delay effect to create an atmosphere. the bass is quite smooth and low, and in general i like most of your synth ideas, they all compliment each other well- the automated filtered saw pads was kinda unoriginal during the break section, but what can you do. The old schoolish sounding synths sound nice, and I really like the lead you include halfway through with the smooth LFO filter. Drums also sit nicely in the mix. Catchy melodies indeed that flow nicely, and good work with the sequencing so the track doesnt enter an overly repetitive state.

-Mmm, a swing feel in a 4 to the floor song just has never matched my palette personally :/

-i think the track would be better if you threw in a (or a more distinct) snare/clap other than in the transitioning parts.

-the overall composition was kind of generic. Once again, good melodies and flowing structure, but you really didnt do anything interesting with the rhythm- i would work more on thickening out the hi hat line, i know you got the rides flowing in the chorus sections, but I would prefer more variety in the rhythm.

So all in all, solid track, well mixed! keep it up Psybot!

Psybot responds:

Thanks for your review =D

I like it alot ^^

[\Psybot/]

[Luvsounds]

lol

wow man i love this song. this is my favorite track off your ALERT soundtrack. i've had this downloaded on to my PC and have been listening to it for as long as I can remember. cool that you posted this.

jim-ether responds:

Thank you.

[Monodisc - Bar 303]

Very good!

probably not the premiere choice of most NGers, but it's definitely my bag of tea. good to see an experimental tune reach the top 5, congrats.

I like how the subgenres that you listed in the description really mesh together nicely. nice jazzy drums, and the IDM snippets that linger in the background with the overall ambient atmosphere throughout the track. great job. this track actually reminds me a bit of Gillenium's stuff. not sure if you heard him, but he's another prominent ambient artist on NG.

The drums are top notch, the quality sounds very authentic, dynamic and well mixed. are they loops put together or did you just manage to grab some great samples? the mixing overall is very good and clean, great volume levels, like the reverb difference between the drums and the synth and other electronic FX. if i was to perhaps throw in one pointer, i'd say make the panning on the background FX more apparent and widen the strings/pads a touch more.

compositional aspects are superb, the hi hat and cymbal rolls where very enjoyable, the melody rolls along nicely, and the strings harmonize with it quite smoothly. great use of rests and spacing to let the FX and reverb sift into the atmosphere. overall the piece was very relaxing and well structured. I like the build into the ending, the transitioning was great, love how you end on the open chord and after a brief moment of silence resolve the melody, unexpectingly.

only reason why a gave this track a 9 was because I felt a piece of this magnitude could use more development. maybe have a bigger more defined break section, throw in some more of those processed vocal sounds that you utilized in the intro, integrate more glitchy rhythms and possibly sift in synth to carry out a counter melody. if you feel that would disrupt the power of the beautiful ending in this track, then please disregard what I said :)

anyways, great job dude. keep it up!

tijnn responds:

Thank you so much for the kind review.

I can tell you that the drums are written in addictive drums. It's a VST, which means that i did not use loops, and placed every drum sound. I'm glad that you like the overall sound and mixing, i spent quite some time thinking about it.

About the idea of a bigger, more defined break section, or throwing in more sounds or FX, maybe even vocals....

It's meant to be a background song, and i know it won't do well when it's in your face on a newgrounds page. But when you listen to this, while looking at nature, or whatever you like to do, to sink away in your thoughts...

Then this is a track you might enjoy even more.

The emptiness is what gives it it's power, i have actually tried adding more sounds etcetera but it didn't feel right.

It's also great for tripping, heh. (:

But thanks for the review!

[Shiny Things (Ambient)]

its been too long man

its been too long man. i havent been on your page in quite a while, and I came back at the right time. This is a fantastic piece. Good choice of words in the description, uplifting and etheral is spot on with what I would have included in this writeup, had I not seen the description.

I really like the lush, warm pads incoporated in here. Great job with the volume envelopes, and they have a beautiful progression that flows through the piece quite nicely I must say. The melodies are wonderful too, good job with counterpoint- movement is quite complex to compliment the intracies of percussive lines and sound FX that are integral to the IDM genre. Must say the development in this piece was superb, really like your choice of synths and the bitcrushed percussion, and how the piece gradually builds itself up in the beginning with the melodic themes, and then furthermore with the ostinato drum part.

Few personal crits:

-IMO, less bitcrushing in here. I'd favor something more sine wavey and smooth for the lead melodies, or gradually remove the effect. I think a more chorusy sound in the leads at one point would work great with the pads.

-the "click" at 00:55ish IMO should reverberate throughout the track.

-i'd subtlely incorporate more glitchy patterns like tapestopping and retriggering in the drum patterns every 16 bars or so ;)

anyways, really good job with this man. Liked the sounds, and the composition with the melodies was swell as well. Download + Fave.

Also, finally played Ratchet Clank: Gladiator/Deadlocked that we talked about before in the past. I must say, I was disappointed by the game. Not enough gadget usage from what I remember from the first game, levels and missions didn't have enough variety, and the platformer aspects were practically stripped :'( It did have a sweet OST though ;)

midimachine responds:

Whoaaaaaaaa long review but thanks heaps! I'm glad that this track has aged so well :)

I don't think I'll ever be able to touch up this piece again, it's sitting on an old hard drive that refuses to load. I could get the data from it for a hefty fee but from memory a lot of what's on it is turd. Then again, memories are always good... I dunno...

Oh yeah, all those games have bitchin' OSTs. The best game in the series is still R&C 3 though ;)

[/M: Floating on the Lawn]

haha nice

man....this is a nice, very odd piece. 15 minutes of work, shows that time spent in music =/= quality of music. A musician can spend hours trying to force out dry, uninspired melodies, but give an experimental mind that right tools you can come out with an innovative piece in a matter of minutes.

very interesting atmosphere, this piece is truly ambient in nature. The textures are great and pioneering, I'm picturing loads of visuals with this one. The year is 3015, robots have risen and destroyed all humans, and quietly inhabitat what is left of planet Earth. or some other clitch story. The long filtered, hollow tones create a very eerie vibe throughout the track, while the other ambient FX give a sense of machines doing routine jobs. Very scary, and empty (and I mean that in the best way possible). The long note, in light with the retriggered snare sample, is very reminiscent of aiport ambience with the snare being a dysfunctional propellerblade.

some (nitpicky) notes:

around the 2:50-2:55ish the mid register of the main drone tone got a bit too high, and was a bit irritating on my end.

personally why I gave this an 8 was because I would have liked more direction. Out of the abstract drones I would personally like to hear more of a rhytmic development, IDM style to go with the themes. Though if totally disrupts the intentions of this piece, that's quite understandable.

with that in mind, the fadeout was fine, but in regards to the lack of structure in the piece perhaps a more abrupt ending where the drones echo out and perhaps timestretch the percussive sounds would be more suitable.

keep it up, and this is very NG worthy :) I mean not that that means much LOL, but good work here man.

also, is 512 sync necessary, i've heard the differences between that interpolation rate and 64 is negligible.

Mich responds:

Thanks for the ind-depth review. I'm glad you liked it, even thougb it was just some live knob-fiddling.
It's nice that you can picture all those things with it. I kinda had the idea that snare would give something like that.

Thanks for hte other tips, if I ever make a new song in this style, I'll keep all the tips I got in mind.

Thanks for reviewing!

[xKore - Chrono Cross]

scar of time

thats the name of the song lolz

good work c4v(hope you dont mind if i call you this?), excellent job on this one, some very original ideas, loving your synthwork mayne, the filtered drop was very nice, wasnt expecting the swing section. cool shit yo, great variations to make this a REAL remix

things to change IMO:

-the bass was unique, but the gated sound is not suitable for the actual melody, i'd favor something smoother for the majority of the song
-the main melody could use some more prominence in the mix, seems way to distant. Thicker chorus effects and whatnot. Needs to be juicier IMHO.

9.5/10
5/5
Download
I cant believe youre this good already and you've only been working on music for a year and a half now?
ruining ur streak of 10s lolz

[Rig - Zombies in Space!]

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

FUCKING GREAT SONG RIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

awesomingly amazing job here. The melodies and structure of this track fucking rock. Love the reese bass, great subbass line, nice hand perc bits, brilliant FX throughout, the panning arped synth was amazing, as was everything else, really enjoyed the string padding and theres even a zombie-esque melody thrown in around the middle and end. THE TRANSITION at 00:26 MADE ME INVOLUNTARILY EJACULATE ALL OVER MY SCREEN FUCK YOU RIG! BRB NEED PANTS

man not only is the sound quality and production top notch, the composition is freaking amazing. cant stop listening to this.

!!!!!!

!!!!!

crits:

-The main lead lfo's could be modified a bit. At points it was a tad overly resonant for my tastes

-would like a louder snare drum

and why yes it does remind me of FF8 laguna's battle theme like the guy noted above!

YOU ROCK RIG