S3C's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[*Twilight Trigger* [IZK]]

Wooooooooeeeeeeee

Woah, another very nice darkstepping track here bro.

Breaks were nice once again, interesting resampled rhythms, nice and powerful (maybe a bit too much compressing/exciting, atleast it feels so in the intro, but sifts in once you listen to the track a couple times), though I like your samples from the last track a bit more, they just felt a bit crispier. What I do really enjoy is the creative layering in this track, it almost feels like you have two different kick and snare drums at once, and while you have the regular amen breakish like rhythms, you have another drumbeat going on inside creating a cool synergy. They flow especially well and dont get distracting despite how much is going on. Good work in the drums department once again.

Ambient FX are very nice. Like the droplet sounding synths, pads rock, progressions are creepy once again and sit well nice in the background.

Now heres where you get a point deducted...The distorted bass. While the line is nice, it needs more variation IMO, and while you might not being going exactly for the reese type of dealy, I think the sound itself is too basic (i've got problems with this too fo sho!), and could use a series of more interesting effects and modulations. Overall, it feels a bit full, so mess with filtering and maybe some EQ cuts some more. I'd definetly automate the cutoff frequencies and other controls that effect the texture to definetly give it a nice sound that adds a lot of interesting detail to the middle of the piece.

(Thats my only beef)

The transition was killer. Love that swelling effect that goes into the next section, good usage of filters and the mood change was executed nicely. The pad is lush and deep (I hear sytrus default strings + something else? I like the warm reverb). The little square blip synth was a nice addition to carry this section, and the screaming vocal transition back into the drums RULED!

I like the way you structured the song into the end, it does the job, I just think the bass needs more complexity :)

all in all, another kickass song. Keep up the awesome work man!

Jenni-Harry4eva3 responds:

HAWTNESS! Another great review from S3C X3 True true. Cause drums are me specialty. I just go with what fits best in terms of rhythm and tempo XD I always have some new drumline to test out in new songs XD And surprisingly they really do fair well in most of my songs.

You are correct about the two kicks and snares. I had them both playing in alternation: snare, kick, snare, kick, etc. Just like that. Well, the second snare sounds more like a distorted kick, hence the kick lol. Yesh! Glad that the droplet effect worked out great, and the pads are like my second specialty XD Love the pads. I feel that a song is incomplete without em ;P

Ah... the bass. I really need to work on that. =/ True. I layered out 4 separate 3xOscs: two that were reese-like, one that was a crunchy sub, and the final was a regular sub bass. I should probably try out some cut off modding in future projects. I can't seem to get used to that though XD Well either way, I'll keep giving it my all. Filter, EQ Cuts, effects and modding.... okay. Got it. I'll try it out :D

Ooh. I knew you'd love the transition XD I like the second part more than the first. I happened to be feeling mellow at the time, so I just kinda went with it, you know? Inserted a pad there, and just kept going with it. Glad the mood change was great. =] I think I used Nexus for the pads... or sytrus.. no clue. I gotta look at the .flp again XD YESH! The best part has to be the screaming transition into the drums. Hahah XD Thank you, mate. Glad you enjoyed it XD

~[IZK]

[A Moment In Life (FIFA 2010)]

awesome, love the ethnic vibes

the percussion was pretty sick, love how you incoporated the world percussion themes to go along with the whole world cup thingy! The samples and rhythms were very catchy all around, you made the patterns all from scratch without using any VEC loops whatsoever? I like your kick sound and other sounds, clap seems a bit weak IMO, maybe layer it with another clap sample and see how it blends in with the mix. The synths were pretty nice for the genre, not my personal cup of tea, but they do the job. (I would scrap the cowbell once the synth themes come in, they get distracting) Maybe throw in some steel drums or another Latin american melodic instrument to go with the ethnic vibes! Great job.

ZooSafari responds:

I like your ideas! But I think I'll leave this exactly the way it is cause I really like it ^^

BUT I'll definitely use some of your tips on my upcoming songs ; )

About the clap you mentioned, it was intended to be that way, since I got the louder (crowd) claps in there 2...so you know making both claps loud would just overwhelm the whole thing ^^

Anyway thanks for the great review! :D

Peace!

[*Shadow Trigger* [IZK]]

good experimentation!

oooh bass. perhaps a little too much XD (i guess it all depends on the setup)

the first synth, the distorted one, alright melody, but I dont like the sound of it. I personally would tweak the fine tuning knobs more to the center so it sounds less...gay lolz :P

Pads are pretty sweet, they have a nice eery texture.

Breaks were AWESOME...reminds me a bit of nubbinownz style. Great job manipulating and reorganizing the patterns and using the note property controls to their fullest.

Not a real long review this time....you get a 7 because there isnt much substance to this track or a general direction :P, but its all fair game since your just messing around. Keep up the experimentation and keep on pumping out those sick beats!

Jenni-Harry4eva3 responds:

Yeesssshh. Baaaaaaaaaassssssss :DDD Hahah. Yeah... it's a crappy synth lol. Sure lol. GAY! LOOOOOOOOOLLL!! XDD Glad you liked the pads and the breaks. I tried hard to work 'em out lol. True, makes sense lol. Thanks, mate! :D

~[IZK]

[*Dark Tempest* [IZK]]

holy crap

"holy crap" were my first words. and I dont really like to say that because I'm Christian haha. But really, holy crap youve improved from your last track. This is certainly better than my shit (which isnt much of an accomplishment IMO), but regardless I love it.

The drums were freakin awesome from the start, lots of intracicies making it a true DnB gem, I'm assuming you did lots of layering, drums are real nice and punchy and right in your face. very brutal and lots of variancy. Especially the drums around at 2:20, I really like how they work in par with the rhythms. Certainly an interesting job with the pads and filters and all the FX that linger between your ears. Love the panning on everything making the track feel very wide and active.

The pads and progressions were quite creepy- the pad specifically reminds me of a lush, muffled pipe organ which works like a charm in the darkstep subgenre, especially when accompanied by the undead vocal screams. I like the synths too indeed, lots of grunginess and eeriness.

Very nice sub drops!

This has just the right amount of repetitiveness, to drag in and out the main ideas. The drums have lots of variations which is one of the most important aspects here.

The only possible criticism I could give is probably mess with doing some EQ cuts to reduce the fullness, just to give the themes on the synths some more breathing room. Not thats its necessary haha, they work fine as the ornamental parts to create a fantastic darkstep sound.

maybe a break section would make this track excellent, where you throw in some slightly detuned pianos and introduce some melodic ideas haha. Maybe a choral pad as well. Totally unnecessary XD

sounds quite a bit like Korrigan's skepsis. And professionally wise a bit like Omni Trio, very good work IZK!

Jenni-Harry4eva3 responds:

Woo!! Quite the long review! Thanks S3C. Glad you liked it. My problem is that... As I was doing exactly what you said, the EQ cuts and everything which brought out every synth possible... somewhere along the way, I messed up on V5... which sounded like crap, sadly. So I had to revert back to V4, which is currently, and mostly likely going to stay as V4. I've tried fixing it... but nothing seems to be working =/ And I hate starting over... it really pisses me off. But, anyway, life it life, and it all continues.

Everyone seems to like the intro the most XD Still wondering why... but it seems to be the most epic part of the song. It took me about 4-5 hours to layer everything out: work on every panning, effect, cut off, filtering, volume control, equalizing, mastering, and every insane effect that I cut to make part of the entire song lol. Truly worth 2 days and 5 hours worth of work lol.

Creepy is what I was goin' for. I really wanted to make a dark song... but I couldn't do it in front my bro, and this is the only comp I can work with music on lol. So, had to do it later, but was able to do it anyway. (Thank you, headphones!) I love the screaming effect the most... the panning rocks XD

As for the synths, that's all with Nexus and 3xOsc. I've been learning quite a lot about 3xOsc. And so far, I've been doing well with it. Quite the effect VST, you know? Great for making some nice synths, basses, reeses, and sub basses. Nexus rocks because of its massive amount of synths, saws, sines, etc. Took me a while to pick out the right synths for this song to work.

Yeah... still couldn't get over the repetitve-ness of it, but I guess that's what makes it all up, eh? lol. Thanks for the criticism! Hmm... a break... probably. Once I get back to fixing it all lol. I know. I got the inspiriation from Koriigahn's SKEPSIS. Thanks!!

~[IZK]

[[TMM43] The 7th Day]

Sure.

Sure, its a nice melody, but I dont think I can give you more than a 5 if you cant say who you are "remixing".

TMM43 responds:

You serious?! I honestly don't remember who was the original artist. But I don't change the name of the original song.
Sorry but that's a crappy reason for giving a 5.

[~{(TT)}~Transformation]

Welcome back!

Welcome back Tim! as I said over MSN, this track has some deep, interesting textures paired with well sequenced drums and transitions, and adventurous and catchy melodies! Listening to it over once again, I do think I can give a few criticims on here, but you definetly do not sound rusty ;)

Definetly digging that soft, ambient pad you start with. The atmosphere to me almost calls for a bit of experimental percussion bits, maybe some glitchy rhythms, or even ethnic percussion, I think that'd really make for an interesting intro. ;) Otherwises, beats were pretty decent in the intro, synths were brought in at the right time, I love when that sick vanguard arp kicks in ;) Favorite synth that sounds awesome comes in around 1:05 (it starts reminding me of Vectorman hehe). Supersaw melodies were very nice, especially like the fast 16 note arppeggios. And it doesnt sound too bad in there too, and I usually hate supersaws.

Bass sounds a bit weak, I'd mess with giving it more resonance perhaps, maybe more distortion or even sidechain it to create a powerful combo with the kick.

I also dont really hear a snare in here, other than in transitions and the intro, and near the end :(, i'd definetly think the epicness of this track could be raisd with a fat dance snare sample, I think after the transitioning at 1:25 would be a great place to throw it in.

Another good point I'd have to note out is how you kind of blend in the melodies with two of the arps synths, to the point where they dont interfere with each other, yet mesh together quite smoothly. You're really good at transitioning your parts once again, with the drum patterns and well placed reversed crash samples, but I might say that there was perhaps a little bit too much transitions in this piece, just let the music flow ;)

That "twinkle" bell (gee, cant remember the proper name) was a very nice addition to, and that glassy synth that starts at 3:11 was sweet too, wish I could hear more of it. Maybe throw it in once again at the end.

So all in all, a solid track! Not really any detriments in here (other than the lack of snare), just some suggestions that I personally think would augment the overall production of this track :) Keep pumping em out!

Twistedtechnology responds:

hmm. i see what you're saying about the transitions and definitely the snare.

I was wanting to make the intro a bit more glitchy than just the snare glitch, but the problem with the stupid plugin that does it makes it to where everything has to be in perfect place and i'd have to run several seperate instances of the damn thing in one pattern to get the effects i wanted, and for not having done this in a while, i didnt have that much patience lol.

Bass ,as you can kind of guess, was never really my strongest area. it is kinda weak now that i listen to it. lol i havent sidechained in ages. And cant even say i really remember how to do it D: although i would agree it would greatly improve the sound of the bass.

definitely thing I will have to look out for in the future!
Thanks so much for the review my friend :)

You gotta lemme know when you yourself are writing a new piece XD

[-Falling Away-]

Hmm...

There is a lot of ups and downs in this track.

+Really like the melody and nature sounding atmosphere in the beginning, sounds very promising
+Overall great ambience in here. I love the accompaniment parts and interesting pads, the backing was very nice. The choral parts progressed quite well.
-The piano line after the intro was pretty formless. The melody is a bit directionless, and has a pretty bland rhythm :S
-The sudden key change - I understand your morbid idea, but it just felt to abrupt and rough. The synths in the background where progressing really nice, and then this weird part comes in like BANG! I personally dont understand it, doesnt feel very fitting in here :S
-If you used a more authentic piano sound than FL keys it would do you wonders :P

itsameyayo responds:

-The change of pace was meant to be rough, I have no comment on that.
-If I wasn't lazy, I'd find a piano sound :P

-Thanks for the review!

-ImperfectDisciple

[Lv1 - Terror In The Air]

Another nice one!

Wow, you're a pretty solid composer. You're Mac submission enticed me to check out your other works.

First off, what libraries/samples do you use? They have just the right amount of genuinity to fit like a glove in a video game.

I love the ostinate melodic line in this one, the timpani rolls that leads right into the low, extended piano note.

The part at 00:41 was real nice too, really good flow, interesting to see how it tricks the listener and goes right back into the slower section. The little sublte ambient bits that your programmed in were an enjoyable listen, too.

The whispering FX was a nice addition to help augment the creepy, horror atmosphere, and I'm glad you took them out around the ending half, or else, using them so much would detract from their value IMO.

I'm sure this is just in its WIP stage? I'd suggest doubling up on the main melody theme that plays throughout, on a higher register instrument, like a flute, maybe if you're going for that cartoony feel, throw in a xylophone melody :D Strings are pretty much filler in this piece, but do their job, i'd love to see you write some parts for the higher register strings in this to "thicken" out the sound. This is a great piece so far!

blacknote responds:

Hey there, thanks for checking me out. I'm currently using Reason 4.0.1 with a large variety of sample packs, but most of the samples heard here in this track are part of Reasons default libraries.

Things with this project were left in limbo, so it's been left this way, but I thought as it's halloween I'd upload it anyway. I'll definetly have a play with it at some point though. Thanks for your review!

[MAC - Rise To Freedom]

short and sweet

Hey, I really, really like this piece man. I don't even think it needs a generic "its good now make it longer" plug, (not to say that a longer version wouldnt be cool :p) I feel that you sequenced the ideas real well and packed in the necessary emotions for the entire 1:16. Very cinematic. You got my attention from the start with the synthetic, floaty pad, the piano and its thick reverb creates a nice atmosphere by itself. The short phrasing was nice too. Paired with the lush, deep strings, the piano and choir voice created some really interesting and moving harmonies. The unresolving, dissonant chord that you ended with was a nice, unexpected touch, like a piano flying into the night, its boundaries and destination unknown...Excellent job blacknote. Quite a score here!

blacknote responds:

Hey there, thanks for reviewing. It's good to see you enjoyed this despite the short length of it. I went for ambience combined with melody. I thought as it's a short piece to leave the ending sounding "open". Thanks again.

[Halloween FX]

CRISPY

I'd put that reese on my toast for breakfast.

Exceptional selection of sound effects. Freakin epic filter swell in the intro.

THe reese is grainy and SICK as hell, love the ambient side FX, excellent job with the panning, and the slow LFO on the sub was uber-powerful. Leads were freakin great too.

I love the drum rhythm too, but the mood of the track for me asks for a beat that is more intense, such as including an 8th or 16th note rhythm to really incoporate a faster groove. just my personal taste anyway :P

Fav'd hope to see you submit more awesome content! you rock man :)

axeFX responds:

Yea.. I made that filter swell from scratch! Epic indeed