SkyeWint's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Simplicity of trance]

Simplicity of trance, huh?

It's interesting, no doubt. Since this is so long, I'm going to have to time-section my review.

Intro (0:00-1:11): Seems a bit slow. After a minute, I was pretty bored. I also noticed a LOT of mixing issues. I'm going to guess you use FL Studio, due to the loop of the sounds. I'd get those instruments onto mixer channels fast and put a Parametric EQ on them (I suggest the second one, a bit more visual. If you don't want to go to this effort, just use the EQUO and the analyze option. It doesn't work quite as well, but it generally does the job. If you use this, analyze it when the sound is the loudest and gives the most distortion), as well as a spectroman(spectrometer) in case you can't see big frequencies on the EQ. Squash the obnoxious frequencies and tweak it until there's less distortion. If you don't have headphones, I urge you to get some, even if not mixing ones. Mixing headphones would make this easier, but normal headphones *should* work. By the way, I do like the echoing plucks that pan outwards. Nice touch there! :)

Section 1 (1:11-2:47): Very sudden change. It's definitely a variation, but it seemed a bit too quick, no buildup, and it changed at an odd time. After that, it pretty much worked. I think that it's a tad too loud overall at this point - also, I've isolated the main source of the distortion to the kick, you may want to really give that some attention. Eventually, this gets a bit repetitive as well. Try adding in some more melody rather than just chords. Melodies, even if they're a bit repetitive, add a large layer into the music.

Section 2 (2:47-4:47): I like how the drums dropped out, it eased a ton of the distortion. The background chording is still too loud though... I very much liked the reverb/echo/distro bass. It sounds pretty cool. Again though, you may want a melody. It truly needs one at this point. The drums coming back in keeps it from being ridiculously repetitive, but again - variation. And also, still a change at odd times... it's interesting, but it seems odd the first few times I heard it.

Section 3 (4:47-5:50): OMG IT'S MELODY! Whooo! Ok, I love the synth you used for the melody here. I haven't actually been able to find a synth quite like this. Did you change around the cutoff or something to get that phasing? The change was again at an odd time, unfortunately. It seems sudden again. The distortion is still there, though somehow not as obnoxious as before. Once again, you may want to vary the melody a bit more.

Section 4 (5:50-end): This section has the same problems as other ones - repetitiveness and odd timings. I do like how it gets really down to the simple bits, but it still seems like it needs something more... I loved the panned echoey plucks that came in around 7:10. Again, really cool, similar to the intro. It doesn't seem to really have an ending though. May want to put some work into that.

Overall: While there are some really cool ideas in it, and obviously quite a bit of effort, there seems to be something lacking. The mixing of the song needs some work (mainly the kick, that can mess with frequencies a lot), and there really, really, really need to be some more melodies. Seeing that this is your third submission, it's pretty darn good.

What I'd suggest overall to improve is 1) practice mixing, 2) having changes in-time and with a bit of buildup, 3) varying melodies and ideas a bit more, 4) themes.

You could become a really good music artist if you work at it, good luck to you!

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

cecilyokami responds:

Thanx :) I love the sythn also but I didn't use Fl studio
It's a program called magic but it's not as good as ableton or fl

[[Time]]

The tune is great.

The ideas in this are pretty cool, the mixing is very well-done. As I said, I very, very much like the tune. I can see a lot of potential in this, and there could be a lot done with it.

I'm going to assume that this is a preview and you're not done working on this, mainly because of the ending.

I like how the reverb comes in at the start, but since there's not really a change until about 0:36, it seems really repetitive and is a bit boring to me. If there were a bit of a shadow of the tune in the intro, perhaps some percussion instead of just strings and a horn, that would go a long way to help it.

The repetitiveness is the main thing that bugs me, it doesn't have much variation to it. Some extra melodies that are brought in and out, some chords, and some more rhythms with percussion would make it a TON better.

I can definitely see the influence of electronic tracks (trance/techno/dance/etc) on this, and I'd really urge you to keep them from affecting it much more to make this a more classical song, or even a video game song.

I would love to see a full song of this, fleshed out and in all its glory, because it does have a very good base idea to it, and I can hear that you know how to use FX and equalizers, which always helps.

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

Xyresic responds:

Thanks for the review! I'll definitely experiment around with it, testing some things out.

[==(Solace)==]

This is really a good song.

I have to say, I do like this. It has a very nice feel to it. I had started a song extremely similar to this a little before hearing it, actually. Guess I'll have to change it up a bit, huh? :P

Anyway.

The mixing on this is spot-on. The airy-ness of the reverb and delay works quite well, and doesn't cause problems. Kudos for that!

The tunes, harmonies, guitar, piano, drums, all are very, very well done. I'm quite glad about that, and can most definitely appreciate it.

There are only two problems I have.

The first is the general feel of it. Each section seems to drag on a bit too long. The beginning isn't bad, because it's constantly changing, adding more, giving new melodies (though this does give it a slight feeling of 'I don't know where I'm going'. It's not that much though, so I'm not going to go after it xD), and very obviously preparing for SOMETHING.
The middle part is awesome at first, but it kind of goes on for a very long time without changing. Specifically, from about 1:52 to 6:08 (with one break from about 4:20 to 4:35), the feel is almost exactly the same, and there doesn't feel like there's much variation. I know there is, and I can hear it, but it sounds like the same KIND of music there. I'd suggest having one or two more little breaks, or a larger one in the middle, where it calms down again. That would keep it from being a bit less monotonous, and while the solos/tune are great, they're just too similar to build off of for 4 whole minutes.

My only other 'problem' is more of just a person pet-peeve of mine. I don't really like how just about everything cuts out at the end. It works, it just seems a bit too empty to me. :<

Other than that, this is golden. And even with the bits that could be improved, I'd say this is the best song I've heard on newgrounds to date.

-Swint of the RRC-

[[Pseudohouse]]

Bouncy.

That is one HUGE sidechain. I don't think I've heard one that pronounced before... Unfortunately, it takes away a giant amount of the song. I'll get to that in the bulk of my review.

The good:

-The mixing in this is awesome, except for the sidechaining, which I'll get to later in the review. I can't hear any distortion, everything is clean as a whistle and there's a lot of reverbing depth to the song, which I really enjoy.

-The tunes in this are quite good, even if there aren't many of them. I did enjoy them when they come in, my favorite one was here: 7:03. That tune was very nice, and didn't seem to be affected as much by the sidechain.

The bad:

-The sidechaining is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much. It takes everything out, so essentially all I'm hearing is the end. It seems like you put the sidechain in the master output, which really takes out everything but the kick causing it. My favorite parts were where there was no kick, because of the insane sidechain. The best example of it is here: 2:36. Right there, it shows exactly how insane the sidechain is. I would reduce this by a lot, or just choose one or two instruments to put it to. Either that or put some pads and extra instruments in the background that are unaffected by the sidechain. As it is, it's almost hard to hear anything, and there's a really nice background behind the sidechain that gets cut out. :(

-The whole song is extremely repetitive. There isn't really much variation, though there are some nice tunes. No clear pads in there either, I may have missed them because of the sidechain though. The only tune that made me really pick up my head was at the end. There simply is not enough going on to keep me or most people interested throughout the entire song, unless they like listening to essentially the same thing for 8 minutes. After listening to it all, I tried skipping through between bits of the song and found just about no difference. Try putting in some more melodies, chording, changing the chording, having arpeggios, some more percussive variation... There are a lot of things that could improve this.

Despite the problems, I found myself bobbing my head to it. It's likable on the whole, it just could really be a lot better.

Hopefully this was helpful to you.

-Swint-
-Review Request Club-

Xyresic responds:

Thanks for the review. The majority does seem to think that there is a lot of sidechain, however as far as I can tell that's pretty much the standard with songs like these today (The same can be said about the repetativeness). I completely agree on all your points... unfortunately, it seems like this is pretty much what happens in a lot of clubby music these days :|

[Dickbuns Impression]

Well.

I really don't have much I can say here.

THE GOOD:
-It's a voice, and I can only imagine that it's a good impression, since I don't know the person, er... 'Dickbuns'.

THE BAD:
-There's some distortion in the voice. I can't be sure what causes this, but I'd check your recording software, microphone, and your surroundings to make sure that there's nothing that would cause it. You may also want to keep your mouth from being right next to the microphone (if you are doing that), as this can cause some distortion and level issues.

I apologize, I really don't know what else to say.

-SWINT-
-Review Request Club-

ZJ responds:

I'm a lil' bit intoxicated.

[Game Music 1]

Hey there, man.

I see you've been experimenting. Classical-y glitch? Never heard that one before.

Now, how well did it work out?

Points I liked:

-Very clever ideas.

-Well-done glitch effects that didn't sound out-of-place and generally keep to the timing. Like dblue_Glitch much?

-Mix is excellent, can't hear any distortion, though it doesn't seem to be completely full. It's not a bad thing that it's not completely full, it just means there's a bit of empty space which could be used.

-Percussion. Very, very creative and cool. I haven't heard percussion this unique in a while. Kudos for that.

Points that could be improved...

-Melody. The melody is extremely repetitive, I'm sorry. It doesn't really change at all throughout the song. At 0:23, when I heard the strings again, I thought that there would be more of a melody. But then it just stopped and stayed the same. The glitches keep it from being as repetitive, but they don't fix it completely.

-Instrumentation. There are a bunch more instruments that could be put here to fill up all the space I mentioned in the mix. I would suggest adding in a larger part to the strings, perhaps using some more orchestral percussion and a woodwind. I can't really see brass instruments or keyboards being used here as much... Oh yes, I really, really think a chordal pad with a big swell and reverb on it would go great every other repetition of the melody. This would fill up the mix before and give a more 'layered' feeling.

-Timing. This is more just little pet peeves I have, and definitely isn't major at all. I found that a few timings were off (not many though) that I thought I'd point at here. Quick bit at the beginning of 0:30. End of 0:42. Beginning of 0:57. Again, not large, but just little things that upset the flow a bit.

-Climax. This is a part that I thought I should point out. Right in the middle, where the strings come in at 0:23, I had thought there would be more of a melody, but also a big explosion into something epic before going back to the loop. That was the feeling I got from the strings coming in. Even if there's not a big epic explosion, it would be really nice to have a section with more melodic variation, or just a solo over the top. I feel like this would be a woodwind instrument or the strings.

Overall:

Very nice ideas, VERY nice mixing, unique percussion, could use a bit more on the melodic and 'thickness' side, though I'm not sure whether you're looking for that as much. It's a bit short for my taste, but it's a loop, and a minute is a perfectly fine length for a loop.

I think this as-is is worth a 5/10 and a 3/5, personally. With just a little bit more layering and some melodic variation though, that would almost instantly go up to 8/10 and 4/5.

Good work though, this is better than a lot of the stuff I've heard on here!

[Unwavering Assault]

Well.

Once again, the "epic" piece. :P Come on, you can't say that you don't like making songs like this.

Now, let's see, my likes: The instruments are all well-mixed, the sound quality is good, the instrument quality is good, a lot sound realistic... the background is well-composed, even if the main melodies weren't your own. Unfortunately, I can't quite give full credit for it, since the melodies aren't your own. Not sure whether you did variation on the melodies though, so I won't take off for it. (I'm guessing that they weren't varied too much though if they were... didn't get to listen to the actual songs, not enough time :P)

Ok, nitpicky-stuff time.

-The first two or so minutes are fine, though I wouldn't have made it quite so long with all the same kind of sound.

The B section is good, though a tad boring... 2:02 to 2:20 has a very simple tune that, while nice, isn't all that interesting. It doesn't actually come into its own by putting in the piano (or whatever it is) until 2:41. Until then, it's kind of... flat. Maybe there's the reason you don't make calmer songs as much...

Even with the piano-thing in the B section after 2:41, it's still kind of dull after the second repetition that just adds the guitar. Then it just ends, with a false ending. After that, even with the climactic ending that I've come to expect, it seems like what happened with the B section, a lack of inspiration, and just in there to make the song a bit longer. The interesting bit barely lasts any time before it's over, and it's just about the exact same melody that you did in the beginning.

Ok. Recommendations to improve.

First of all, in the first section I really don't have anything nitpicky other than the length, so I'll just say that the buildups can be a bit shorter, even 10-15 seconds would be enough.

The second section, I think there could have been a bit more going on in the background, or more of a melody. I mean, it's good, but there's not much variation, and the repetition that only adds the guitar doesn't do much other than make it longer right before it ends, which is kind of the problem with the end.

The end, I would vary the initial melody a lot more so that it's not the same thing, and have the buildup be a bit shorter. As it is, it sits there for another minute. Again. This doesn't really sound that good, when the main thing is just for about 20 seconds. If you were going to have a buildup, I'd have some crazy stuff go down, like, say, a short guitar solo doing a slight faster variation on the melody for an extra 20 seconds instead of just having a little short "ok, I'm out of ideas, so here's what I gave you at the beginning that's only long enough for you to get a taste before I take it away again".

In any case, that's my input. Hopefully it's helpful enough.

...and now, I just wasted 20 minutes of class on this review, I'd better get back to arranging my own orchestral/electronic piece.

Bye! And thanks for the nice diversion of 20 minutes or so! :P

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

Step responds:

Wow dude, brilliant review. Thanks a lot for going so in-depth!

"Come on, you can't say that you don't like making songs like this."

OK I'll admit it, I love making songs like this :3.

"Now, let's see, my likes:"

Glad you like the instrumentation. East/West doesn't fail to deliver, as usual!

"Unfortunately, I can't quite give full credit for it, since the melodies aren't your own."

True that, although yeah I did do some variations here and there, such as the soft higher piano melody that comes in at 0:17 to compliment the original melody, the melodic change at 3:17, and all sorts of trills, subtle changes, harmonies, and so on. The remix is also in an entirely unrelated genre from the original songs, so basically yeah I tried to make this sound more original but still keeping the Metroid elements in it.

As regards to your nitpicky-stuff, you essentially grabbed all of the things in this song that I know need improving and laid them out to me in a neat format, haha :P. I agree totally with almost all of the stuff you mentioned!

"-The first two or so minutes are fine, though I wouldn't have made it quite so long with all the same kind of sound."

Actually I did shorten it already at one point. Originally the melody at 1:01 - 1:18 was repeated twice, first time without a guitar, second time with a guitar (similar to the melody in the B section). Now that the song is finished, it still bugs me that the first melody is repeated a bit too much...

"The B section is good, though a tad boring... 2:02 to 2:20 has a very simple tune that, while nice, isn't all that interesting. It doesn't actually come into its own by putting in the piano (or whatever it is) until 2:41. Until then, it's kind of... flat. Maybe there's the reason you don't make calmer songs as much..."

Yeah I guess I'm not really that good at calm parts. Although to be honest I made the part at 2:02 as a way to transition to 2:19 and eventually build up to 2:41, so I guess that might be why it sounds a bit boring. I had thought it was a good idea to make the piano melody at 2:10 and then repeat it at 2:32, so I basically made 2:02 - 2:19 as an introduction to 2:19 :P. Anyway it's only around 15 seconds long so I'm not really worrying too much about it sounding flat.

"Even with the piano-thing in the B section after 2:41, it's still kind of dull after the second repetition that just adds the guitar."

Haha yeah I agree. I thought it would sound weird with one repetition so I added two and changed the melody of the last four bars slightly, although it is a bit repetitive still.

"First of all, in the first section I really don't have anything nitpicky other than the length, so I'll just say that the buildups can be a bit shorter, even 10-15 seconds would be enough."

I'll keep that in mind!

"The second section, I think there could have been a bit more going on in the background, or more of a melody."

I'll have to work on that in my future songs then, although keep in mind that it's still a remix and I didn't want to add too much of my own melody over the original melodies to make the Metroid theme still recognisable.

"The end, I would vary the initial melody a lot more so that it's not the same thing, and have the buildup be a bit shorter."

I see exactly what you mean. I'll have to work on avoiding that repetition then, I hate it when my songs are repetitive xD.

"In any case, that's my input. Hopefully it's helpful enough."

You bet! Thanks!

"...and now, I just wasted 20 minutes of class on this review, I'd better get back to arranging my own orchestral/electronic piece."

Duuuuuude you make music in class? That's AWESOME, I wish Malta had a school like that :c.

"Bye! And thanks for the nice diversion of 20 minutes or so! :P"

Haha no problem and thanks for the massive in-depth review. It helped loads!

[Detuner]

A tad random.

I think experimenting is a good thing, generally, but I'm sorry, there IS a little bit of a line there.

This has a lot of interesting elements to it, and it's definitely not the worst loop in the world. I do enjoy the low chime-like (or guitar, that's what it sounds like at the end) noises in the background.

I suggest improving the connectivity of the piece. There honestly doesn't really seem to be a point... I notice that this is a common thread in most of the songs you've made, scanning through them.

To improve this, I really, REALLY suggest trying to take even one music theory class, or if you can't do that (for whatever reason, I know some people who can't), try looking up the major and minor scales and key signatures on the piano roll, at the very least. Even if you only learn one or two key signatures and stick to them, that would help the connectivity of the song by a lot.

Another thing that would help your music would be studying a bit more rhythmic theory. Essentially just having one main rhythm can get a bit annoying after a bit.

Once you've gotten a decent grip on some of the key signatures, try extending your songs to at least be a minute.

One way to help this is when you have an idea, use it as the main theme and build up background behind it. Then, go into a second section with another similar idea. Then "restate" the main idea in a different key signature or with a different rhythm to conclude the song. (This is one of the simplest compositional forms, ABA format.)

Hopefully this helps, and I wasn't TOO mean. ^_^` I seem to have a problem with that sometimes.

-SWINT-
-Review Request Club-

[-A New World-]

You enjoy making intense songs, don't you.

I have to say, this is impressive, much like the other two songs I've heard. I would love to get some of the instruments you have, and I'm actively trying to. :P

Both of the pictures about this song that were said could work, so I won't bother trying to decide between them. I personally think it's more of an intense area theme.

Now, time for me to be picky, since overall, this song is head-and-shoulders above almost all the other songs I've heard on here.

-The cymbal roll is used a bit too extensively for my taste. While yes, it sounds wonderful, the more you use it, the less effect it has. As it is, for me, it seems a bit more boring. The same applies to the other effects like the wind chimey thing (which I love, btw). Not sure if you were just intending this to be part of the atmosphere instead of a more "intense" kind of roll, but it does get a bit dull after a bit, as I had said.

-The little piano bit at 1:11, and the other one at 1:20-1:22 seems really muddy and indistinct, the notes blend together and are just a mass that *generally* goes in a downward direction.

-From 2:24 to the end seems a bit dull to me, there isn't much change other than adding things until the breakdown before going back into the main theme for about 20 seconds to the end. From about there on out, it seems like you kind of ran out of ideas. This isn't as big an issue as it sounds like though, this is just compared to the rest of the song. Perhaps you should have more of a solo in the middle part or have a quieter instrument playing the main theme in the background?

Overall though, those are really small things for me to pick on in the whole song.

Awesome job!

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

Step responds:

Wow man, thanks a million for the constructive criticism!

"I have to say, this is impressive, much like the other two songs I've heard. I would love to get some of the instruments you have, and I'm actively trying to. :P"

Hey don't forget that a good amount of the instruments here are freeware. The drums are nearly all freeware, and if you want some great orchestral soundfonts then I can link you to some too!

But yeah, good luck getting the instruments lol.

"Both of the pictures about this song that were said could work, so I won't bother trying to decide between them. I personally think it's more of an intense area theme."

Intense? Well, that's a new point of view xD.

"Now, time for me to be picky, since overall, this song is head-and-shoulders above almost all the other songs I've heard on here."

Aw thanks!

"-The cymbal roll is used a bit too extensively for my taste. While yes, it sounds wonderful, the more you use it, the less effect it has. As it is, for me, it seems a bit more boring. The same applies to the other effects like the wind chimey thing (which I love, btw). Not sure if you were just intending this to be part of the atmosphere instead of a more "intense" kind of roll, but it does get a bit dull after a bit, as I had said."

Haha, so true. I'm a big sucker for cymbal rolls. I tried to vary the length of the fading in/fading out to make the roll a little less monotonous, but I totally agree that me using it so much reduces its effect.

"-The little piano bit at 1:11, and the other one at 1:20-1:22 seems really muddy and indistinct, the notes blend together and are just a mass that *generally* goes in a downward direction."

1:11 is actually a guitar. What is this, like, the second time you mistook one of the instruments in my songs for a piano? :P. But yeah, if you thought it was a piano then that definitely means it's too indistinct. I'll make those notes a bit easier to hear. However the notes at 1:20 are intentionally drowned out, because I wanted the brass to take dominance over the piano.

"-From 2:24 to the end seems a bit dull to me, there isn't much change other than adding things until the breakdown before going back into the main theme for about 20 seconds to the end. From about there on out, it seems like you kind of ran out of ideas. This isn't as big an issue as it sounds like though, this is just compared to the rest of the song."

Heh, I've got to disagree with you there. 2:24 is personally my favourite part :P. Although I certainly see how it can get dull and you're not the first to mention it. So that's something I should work on in my future songs.

"Perhaps you should have more of a solo in the middle part or have a quieter instrument playing the main theme in the background?"

There's a bass playing the main theme in the background at 3:34, but that's only for four bars so yeah, good suggestion.

"Overall though, those are really small things for me to pick on in the whole song.

Awesome job!"

Thanks for the helpful suggestions man, I owe you one!

[[Nim]Stratospheric]

Your turn.

Now to review a song of yours, since you've reviewed mine.

Good points:
-You have some good instrumentation.
-There is no problem with the mixing as far as I can tell.

Things that need work:
-"Feeling" of the song. There's not much that makes me get "into" the song. It seems fairly bland. Part of this is the samples you've used. They sound like midi, and don't have any real spice to them. They're also a bit quiet and detached from each other, which doesn't quite help.
-Where the instruments are "placed". The piano, pizzicato strings, and snare are only on the left, when the other instruments are mainly on the right. The only instrument that is more centered is the timpani. All of this lends to the feeling of "detachment" that I had said before.
-Slide notes. They don't quite work with the samples you've used, they sound VERY electronic. For orchestral instruments, an electronic slide /generally/ doesn't work too well.
-Overall composition. There isn't really a theme or real melody until the middle, it's mainly arpeggios. The thing that I would possibly consider the tune is extremely quiet compared the other instruments, so it's a bit hard to hear. It also seems more like random notes played than a cohesive tune. The middle tunes aren't really put together to "flow", but more just play as if they're independent of each other, and just happen to be playing to the same background in the same key. There isn't really a theme, or any unifying factors other than that the instrumentation throughout the whole song is the same.
-Transitions/intro/outro. The intro works. I don't have much to say about it other than that the overall opening (0:00-0:58) is rather dull and repetitive, though it does have some interesting bits. The transitions need work. They're sudden, surprising, and don't really lend a "pro" feel to the song. They honestly do sound like you gave up on trying to put in a good transition. :/ The outro is interesting, having the same kind of tune played in four different keys, going up in pitch. This could work quite well, but the way it's executed, with the instruments it has, doesn't work all that well, unfortunately.

The three largest things that would improve this song, I think, are having higher-quality instruments (try looking for some good soundfonts, I can personally vouch for the Fluid soundfont for overall quality), having the song be a bit more cohesive/less random, perhaps adding a theme, and putting in more effort on transitions.

I apologize for the harsh review, but I'm giving the most overall advice that I can.

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-