S3C's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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!

[Blow Out (Quarl)]

good fcucking job man, good fcucking job

hey i believe i owe you a review...or two...or something

great ideas here man, innovative percussion elements in here for sure. This piece has a very sweet minimalist build, but under the assumption that this is still a WIP, you may or may not build upon this track more in the future yes? I think this song is deserving of your REESE BASS MADNESS after the filtered out ending. and include more IDM manipulation, didnt here a whole lot of glitch FX as I was personally hoping for later on.

+Creepy shit here man. Again, the minimalism and emptiness works to this songs favor in letting the sounds sift into the ominous reverbery background.

+Interesting selection of samples. Especially love the 1:16 sound. What planet did you record that fella from. Shakers were a cool instrument to throw in here, wasnt expecting that at all in light of the other experimental samples.

+Very good piano melodies, also love the sound. Is this a reason piano?

+Great work with the rhythms, Quarl. It's always nice to hear how you deviate from the traditional dnb patterns and create experimental, oddly refreshingly beats

+Kick and snare sound really crisp and punchy, good layering 'n shit. Also like how they contrast well with the reverbed ambient sounds that you start with.

-the white noise/feedback sound that plays consistently throughout the became distracting. I'd personally use it less or mess with automating its properties to vary up the sound a little more you know?

later dude!

Quarl responds:

The noise from 1:16 was actually a really common cell phone ring tone under heavy reverb/pitch bend. The shakers were actually a bottle of advil. The piano is in fact from reason and so are the drums. Just one thing I'm curious about, please send a pm letting me know, but what's the white noise? Is that the cell phone ring tone?

[A Father's Tears]

hehe ;)

I like the review where the guy says "if this was my father's tears I would put it in a bottle and drink" them up. ahaha, sorry for repeating old reviews, but once again, my markings are still 10/10.

Absolutely excellent job with the piano, both "hands" if it was to be played. The left hand melody reminds me of the intro from Tool's "H" if you ever heard that song. Works great as an ambigous sad hopeful melody to work through the whole song. The right hand melodies are superb, very diverse and flowing, great work carrying out the ideas. I wouldnt say this needed any thicker chords, the softness compliments the melody well, and the strings do their job as a good filler. I will say however the right hand could use a tad more variation, even if its just a quick change in the simple rhythm scheme just to break the repetiveness.

Oh man, great work with the strings once again, complex (yet not to erratic for the mood of the piece) and varied, yet they flow excellently :) Some great tones, you really have a talent for making lush harmonies. The mixup of articulations is a swell idea to, the long sustained tones and fast vibrato gives the strings a good flavor. something hard if not impossible to do with free soundfonts, so I must pass out a compliment on utilizing the EW libraries well :)

As for the bass, I'll rescind my comment on possibly changing the note every 6-8 bars (damn that seems way to quick! lol), but maybe 2-2:30 into the piece simply move up the note from Eb to F (and change the lower piano if necessary), just to give it a minor/major feel, just that one note can have a big enough impact to open a new path of development of this piece, of course if you were ever to look over this :)

As for the FL Keys, i dont know what you did here sound tweaking wise but it doesnt sound so much like noobish FL keys as it does like a good rich timbre. All in all, fits together, IMO FL keys is more for dance/trance type of music but its suitable enough here for me, even with regards to the classical vibes of this track.

While on the aspect of clarity, I must say great work in that department. Love the transparent echoes/delays, really adds a nice depth to compliment the thick reverb of the piece- which sits great in the mix, and doesnt feel muddy. Great spacing as well, really creates a good atmosphere.

10/10 :D

Twistedtechnology responds:

im really glad i hit so many nails on the head with this piece! as far as the tweaking goes, looking at the settings i cant really tell you what exactly i did, but every time i use them i always tweak them, and i think i actually saved my own setting for them. I can't stand their presets. as far as re-doing the song, i think im just gonna leave this as is and use it as an example of what all I can do differently! And you are right, free soundfonts would never have pulled those strings off so im very glad i have EW at my disposal! They are coming in very handy with everything thats been going on lately!

really glad you liked the piece!!!

Thanks for the review and the score!

[Tales of A Forgotten Time]

A Nostalagic Review ;)

wow i can't believe i reviewed this piece not far removed from TWO years ago. Time sure rolls about super fast. This is one of (if not THEE) the first classical pieces on NG that I really loved- I checked out my earlier review, still agree with all my 10/10 notions. Great points include the seamless yet very complex and explosive movement of the strings, great modal changes to produce a palette of different ideas and emotions, lots of dynamic movement to bring the piece to life, and your arrangement of harps/strings/flutes is still magnificent as I once thought it was. I really like how the piece develops and contrasts between the heavier more layered sections and the part where the instruments play short solos. Beautiful work is still beautiful work :) The strings are really blendy, especially in the beginning, you need me to show how you work that stuff some time ;)

Twistedtechnology responds:

want me to show you how to blend the strings? if thats what you meant to say then hit me up any time my friend and i will do my best to demonstrate how i do it! if you meant to learn me a think or two, again hit me up! always willing to learn a new trick XD glad you stopped by again and reviewed!! always appreciate a good review from a great artist!

[Sonic Unleashed - Egg Dragoon]

not much

I had to youtube this because I'm not familiar with the original track (nor very fond of this one here, sorry :'( )- and MidiRip or not, its sounds ALOT like the original track, from the melodic themes to breakesque percussion and instrument arrangement so points off for that.

I'm not much for remixing video game tracks right back into video game tracks unless theres a clear difference which sets it apart from the original, and contains interesting and freshly new elements. For example, you could have varied the percussion rhythms more, or even went for an entirely different style. You could have aimed for a different setup of instruments as well.

Some more tips:
-I feel the percussion could be a bit stronger, if you happen to be using FL, a quick fix is to throw it through a Soundgoodizer effect, adjust till it has a good boom without overpowering the mix. Also it wouldnt hurt to give it a more dynamic contrast, although I can definetly hear them in the transition segments.
-Instruments could be more spacious, experiment with different panning positions and varying amounts of reverb for a start
-The weird brass/flute hybrid that plays throughout feels a bit awkward, it needs a faster attack rate IMO. Google ASDR envelope, and then apply it to the volume control. On the other hand, the synthetic harp/string sound would be great with a slightly longer release, or just a tail with a nice reverb.

Keep it up, just strive to personalize your remixes more ok?

6/10
5/5

Aviation responds:

Suddenly, I have the urge to remake this...but that'll come in due time. In the meantime, thanks loads for the tips. I can at least count on the fact that I'm getting better at this.

P.S. Don't take this statement the wrong way, but I'll be damned if I use MidiRip!

[Dom Slutliga Förlorarnas Elit]

not my bag

Honestly, this is too heavy for my tastes, but this is as objectively as I can put it- OUTSTANDING work!

+I never like these types of vocals, but something in here resonanted nicely with me, lots of chestfulness and power in the vocals, I almost got blown away. Great control between the growls and deep bellows!
+Fucking kickass guitar riffs, nice heavy evilness. The tremelo chugs were really nice, especially like the section around 3:00
+Drum rhythms were decent, they work. great chemistry between the double bass rolls and snare hits
+WOW, superb job with the mix, fine job with the finely EQed instruments, each instrument has great defintion and clarity. Great application of compression for this genre. The guitars are fat, wide, and heavy as fuck! Really like the distortion in here man, vocals sound full, drums have lots of punch! All in all, sounds quite professional to me. Apologies for probably being the 100th guy to ask you, but can you briefly explain your recording process?
+Swedish (right?) people always have the coolest names ;D

=====

-The drums were nice once again, but I would like to hear more ride cymbal rhythms thrown in with everything
-Aww, no dissonant, metaly guitar solo? :( If not, I would atleast like to hear a good 30 seconds atleast of an instrumental section that expresses cool riffs.
-I suppose the guitar riffs could use a bit more articulate intricacy, I was waiting for a point to hear a guitarist hit a pinch harmonic squeal, but that didnt happen either :O
-this suggestion might be a bit out of reach- to augment the standard arrangement of guitars/bass/drums/vocals, throw in a sustained padding of sorts, either something synthetic or maybe even a high-mid register choir or organ patch!

Oustanding work! Great riffs, EXCELLENT work with the mixing, overall, awesome job with this man (guys!). Nothing more to say really,

9/10
5/5

:)

Dimoria responds:

Hey dude. Thankks for an awesome review. But the truth is that this hasn't even been "mixed" or "mastered" yet. This is what you call A rough mix :) There is one solo on the record and it isn't even a solo. It was my drummer who shouted out loud every single time we wanted one :P But we made more technical riffs instead. And tried to bring out the aggressiveness. Me and Martin recorded the trash guitars first at my place so the drummer had something to listen to. Then Friday the week before last week the drummer started recording the drums. Martin other guitarst started recording some guitars Sunday. I started recording Monday , it was my girlfriends birthday on saturday so I had no possibillity. Johnny started recording Wednesday. And Micke started Thursday. So the whole album of 8 songs where recorded in a week.
Check the myspace out on my page to hear some more songs.

[*Assassin's Call* [IZK]]

Copy&Paste

yo I'm just gonna copy and paste Nav's review as a template and rewrite because i'm lazy right now XD

I have listened to this type of music on and off for some time, so I'll just say what comes to mind...

1. The break is at a good volume in the mix, I actually like the reverb wheres at right now, gives a good feel of space good rhythms and everything, especially like the ride and other higher register percussion, only thing I might do since the mix is a bit sparce is maybe layer the snare with a non-reverbed, punchy sample

2. Yeah, not a whole lot of movement with the bass, in fact it's very repetitive. It serves more of a texture purpose, and like Nav said, needs more variation (or use it less). I'd definetly dedicate more patterns to that instrument, and have it act as a rhythmic function to go along with the breaks. Mess with modulating the controls more, too. -1 for lack of variations :(

3. Eh, don't listen to Nav XD, keep the pads in throughout, I personally like how they feel, they add some texture goodness, maybe highpass them in the mid section, give some more room for the (sub)bass and kick to breath

4. Fuck sticking with preset, standard song structures. the way you lay out your patterns is not wrong, or even right for that matter. As long as you're not submitting to a DJ do what you feels right to you! I like your arrangement here.

5. I know this is darkstep and your ideas certainly get across- though, I'd really add some more elements in here to make this more evil sounding- fill up some of the high range with simple but creepy melody themes, potentially. Either that, or let the bass SCREEEEEEAAAAM!!!!!!!!!

Positives:

Erm, I think already gave you some above lol.

1. The intro is decent, gives it a good feeling of darkness. Once again, youve done a great job with the ambient FX, I'm liking the murky but muddy reverb, the dark bell that rings, crisp rain samples, and the subtle pads, swells, and the soft string sounding synth that has

2. The synths are all decent and definetly work- I really like the bass sound, good thick distortion, the swells (or swell hehe) was nice for what it is.

3. Mixing is very good, lots of clarity, good compression without it being brickwall'd

Overall, a good tune for someone who's made a few darkstep tracks in the past XD . I dont think its your personal best, but theres some interesting flavors in here.

Just FYI, I believe mastering refers to the FX that you apply on the master channel for your final version, maximizing the stereo and volume goodness. It's the final render that should sound great on any type of sound system. I may not totally be correct.

Hope this helps. Keep it up as usual :D

8/10, 5/5

Jenni-Harry4eva3 responds:

Alright! Time for an in-depth review of your review!

1. Well comparing your answer to Nav's, I don't usually have massive reverb on a break, which I don't think was too massive in the least, and thanks for the advice about the snare! I knew it was missing some punch...

2. I know.. I loved the bass too much ._. First time I've made a grimey bass like this. So I plan on using this a bit less, and probably input a low-fi bass instead or a sub. Interesting suggestion... I'll keep that in mind.

3. Yeah.. bit harsh how Nav said to leave 'em out, when they are an integral part of my style. More room for the sub? Gotcha. Time to mess with some frequencies...

4. LOL. :D Thanks for that. A good piece of advice on Nav's part, but I don't like sticking to a set structure for a dnb song, unless I was presenting it to a DJ, as you said.

5. More creepy elements?? Ooohh.. horror fan much? =] I can do. Just like Dark Tempest, I shall make this... into my masterpiece >:D SCREAM BASS WOO! XD haha. Thanks.

Positives:

1. AH! Decent!... not good enough!! D: I shall try harder on the intro! Lol, I'm just into setting up the mood really. That's my niche there lol.

2. Decent!!! Again! Not good enough!!! D: Hahah. I like da bass too ;3

3. Oh this is interesting! A comment on the mixing! :D Thank you! I was pretty serious about the mixing. Getting my hz and frequencies in order took a while, but I'm getting the hang of it now, as well as all of the compression and volume issues. Usually I half-ass it. I don't know why =/ I just do. But this time around, I decided to just get it all over with and organize all of the sounds and samples I used into the mixer.

Ah true. Well, I don't think this is my best either, because it's still pretty much a WIP lol. It'll be better when I actually get a full thing going. But I say to myself, "Good job on the bass, dammit! Took you long enough!! XD" Oh, and thanks =)

Actually I read up on the mastering process. I didn't know about it till now. But thanks though! That really helped.

~[IZK]

[<PS> Yism'chu]

Now that is a tasty bagel

I can't say i've heard a lot of jewish music, but without the description i'd guess it would come from that culture!

when you said unplayable, well pretty much, considering strings can't pitchbend, lol ;) (I wouldnt have included that)

Otherwise, great, warm string samples! Nice authentic sounding reverb too, was that your doing or a natural part of the samples? (Which library are you using by the way?)

Melodies, harmonies are great. I love the chord progressions, great usage of the harmonic minor scale, its my fav :]

Flute flowed perfectly, I have no critiques in this department. Great blend of articulations, beautiful legato, love the staccato phrasing in the quiet section. The trill back into the main phrase was very well executed too. Melody was very well sequenced and developed, although I wasnt fond of the segment that occured at 2:25-2:229ish and later in the song. The third phrase pretty much felt like a copy and paste of the first section :P, so maybe try to flesh out the melody more by focusing on certain tones and cut some of the fast ornamental licks.

And when I hear something worldy, personally, I would look to hear a more exotic instrument. I know Jewish is a European culture and they use similar if not pretty much the same (except the jaw harp :P) instruments that you would hear in the western world. Well, I probably shouldnt have wrote this paragraph 'cuz I dont have any specific suggestions.

Strings were great, they served as a great harmony backdrop, although they were rhytmically awkward. The contrast between the bass and accented, higher string sections on the offbeat gave off a good dancey vibe. Maybe to increase the rhytmic basis include perhaps some plucked violins to go along with the first and third section.

At 0:49-0:55, I like the chord ideas, but the rhythmic placement seems rushed and overly detached.

1:00-1:30ish, I think the strings would sound nicer here if you had a semi-slow vibrato sample and utilized it here.

Other than that, the soft, plucked string section was great. Good dynamic contrast! Ending was great, I lke the pretty sudden ending, goes with the light-weighted, and brisk theme of the piece.

As far as the mixing, although it may go against typical orchestral settings, I'd bring the flute more up to the front so it has more prominence in the more boisterous string sections by increasing the volume, and slightly lowering the amount of reverb, if you can. There was also one high pitched note that was a bit painful and caused the sound to peak a bit, work some sublte compression and/or filtering on that thing and your mix will be golden.

Keep it up and good luck with the contest! Definetly an interesting listen! and sorry of these suggestions were a lot, i tend to go overboard in reviews -_-

PenguinSam responds:

Wow! If had a "Longest review I have ever recived award" it would go to you!

Now, the program that I am using is called Finale 2006, so I can't do much but chose between two libraries that comes with it, so I can't really help there.

And for the chord structure, I didn't chose it. That's just how it goes in the folk song.

And more flute would be desirable, but too much would cause pain to many ears!

Don't know what else to say, thank you!

<PS>

[~BH~ Crystalline Cloudsca]

This shall live at the hands of the five bomber!

since you say it takes so long for you to render with soundfonts, i'm assuming its because you have the high render option on? Does it make a huge difference whether its selected or not?

The Pros:

+Awesome title, the track goes great along with the provided imagery, sounds very lush, I indeed can picture a scene in the sky with this 1
+Original Sounding trance, SYNTHS ROCK, i dig the leads and pads, the sounds are very innovative, great atmosphere, I love how the kick is more complex than just the 4/4 consecutive hits.
+Long release or decay times on the flutes sound great, good usage of effects in this track
+Nice panning on the hats, the line is fairly interesting
+Melodies are great, very enjoyable
+Bassline is another good element in this track, love the sharp sound
+Nice wind FX and other ambient elements in here, again, really helps invoke high levels of imagery

The Cons:
-No clap/snare?
-A bit too compressed for my tastes, regardless it has a nice loudness that would suit well for professional production
-Lowpass the flute synth, the final note on of one of the melodies (1:18ish) is ear piercing D:
-I personally would scroll through the EQs on the synths and make more room for the instruments, maybe some mid cuts on the pads, give more space so you would potentially be able to throw in an audible clap/snare if you wanted to. Maybe rework some of the delay controls, as that makes the mix feel a bit sloppy IMO

So basically, AWESOME job with the synths. They sound lovely, very bright. Compositional and thematic aspects were great as well, except IMO the lack of a snare type element to fill out the beat. Mix is full, and decently well mixed, I just think it could use a tad more tweaking to make this track true ear candy.

5/5
8/10

Btw, I still use your sytrus tutorial a lot. Shame you never got more recognition for it, man :(

ErikMcClure responds:

- I chose a very thin drumloop for this song, since it fit the atmosphere, but I've really never been able to get snares to sound good :(
- I usually try to avoid brickwalling but in this song it just kind of evolved out of the track, even with absolutely no compression. If you look at the actual wave it's rather scary...
- Oops.
- Might give that a shot later, although i've never claimed to have very good mixing skills :P My songs tend to be very blurry, although in this case i used it to my advantage with the flute. I might have a few target pads that i could cut...

Thank your for writing up the third helpful review I've ever gotten.