SkyeWint's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[When a Good Man Goes to War ~P]

Hi.

The Good:
-The guitar sound is very nice.
-Very clear main melody - after having listened to a lot of the other pieces, I can really appreciate this.
-Nice piano in most of this, it feels fairly natural.
-Great ritardando at 1:55, that felt VERY natural.

The Not-So-Good:
-Bit of a blip in your bagpipe sound, it's very artificial, and has some issues.
-At 2:09-4:50, things 'flatten out'. The sound of each individual instrument is very repetitive and approximately the same sound throughout.
-Even though I know (or think I know) the quality of the sample banks you're using, the samples sound much lower quality than they could be. This is partially due to the mixing (they're a bit squished against each other), but mainly due to how they're used.

Overall: Score of 7.5/10. This is on a completely different level from your round 1 piece. If I had been judging that, it would have recieved a 4/10 at most. This has far more compositional technique, a less 'generic' sound, and obvious effort. That said, you really need to work on using your samples to their full potential. This is the current largest issue.

Phyrnna responds:

Thanks for the review!

The piano parts were actually natural. I decided that for the piano parts that it'd be best for me to just play them and use that instead of piano rolling the notes in. Worked out a lot better.

I think the sound issue, which others have brought up, is due to the difficulty I had in mixing the song in the short time and also because I tried to mix in some synth orchestra sounds too. I think the synth orchestral sounds detracted a lot from the more natural sounding ones.

Thanks a bunch for the review! Lots to keep in mind for my next pieces! :D

::Edit:: I was trying to figure out what you meant by the blip in my bagpipes. You mean that little bit at the beginning of each attack? That's intentional, and possibly odd since these aren't bagpipes. They're Uillean Pipes.

[FD - Moontears]

Hi.

The Good:
-Dat intro. Dat voice. So sexy. So mystical. Me gusta.
-All the background effects sound really nice.
-The strings at 1:27 are nice and strong, depicting the mood very clearly.
-Your overall atmosphere is spectacular, I can really feel myself in a place.
-Good mixing. Only a little bit of mud around 3 minutes in, no detectable clipping.

The Not-So-Good:
-The pad below at 0:17 seems like it's out-of-key a bit.
-Transition at 0:50 doesn't seem like it's done very well, there was very little leading up to it and it didn't change into something very connected with the first part.
-By 2 minutes in I'm wondering if you'll have any decently clear melody. While you do deliver shortly afterwards, there *needs* to have been something before now.
-The different sections don't seem very connected, and there's no clear main melody or chord progression. This is very soundtrack-y music, which aside from the atmosphere is very forgettable.
-Sudden outro. Try making a marker in FL and putting it a measure or two past the end to let the sound trail off a bit more.

Overall: Score of 7/10. The atmosphere is stunning, definitely one of the best of this round (and I haven't even heard most of them yet)! There's not much composition in this though, it's mainly atmosphere/pads/effects rather than composition. You can do better!

ForgottenDawn responds:

Hello Skye, thank you for passing by in this round. :)
I was looking forward to hearing your opinion about this, so let me tell you this: I liked the way you attempted to describe the various parts of the piece, but it seems to me you focused almost exclusively on the composition aspect rather than trying to decode the very essence of this track. Which is quite a pity, considering your usual focus on the ensemble as part of a bigger vision instead of trying very hard to nitpick and amplify fairly human mishaps, or even your own personal tastes regarding music in general. For instance, while I agree that I could have surely done better especially in the orchestral part, I don't think that the fact this piece sounds "soundtrack-y" and full of atmosphere should imply a sudden drop of your potential final score when music in general is a soundtrack to life, and failing to understand that is quite sad to me. I also openly disagree with what you said about the sections not being very connected as they do tell a story on their own and even Step below was able to decode the fine message behind the various sounds I used, so I might wonder what you did listen to or rather didn't listen to. Nonetheless, I feel rather amused by your critique and I look forward to hearing more from you in the next round. :)

[GM - Dragon Of The South]

Hi.

The Good:
-I may not be a person interested in heavy metal as much, but I can appreciate the rhythmic chucking and the background in this.
-The amount of variation in this is nice, the different melodies you have are good to hear. Composition is a wonderful thing, isn't it?
-Your glitchy panning effects are sweet, it'd be awesome if you used more panning throughout.

The Not-So-Good:
-There are some mixing issues. The synths are drowned out at about 0:29-0:50, and this muddies up the mix as well. This applies later in the piece as well - it sounds as if you're not used to mixing many instruments at once. This is understandable - it IS more difficult - but it's still a problem.
-The burst at about 0:53 sounds really like, what. What did you do there? Same goes for the burst at 2:40.
-The variation is awesome, but there are only two sections which are really related, beyond that it's a bunch of various styles and melodies that aren't necessarily related. Would be awesome if you could reuse some of the other melodies, such as the one from the beginning.

Overall: Score of 7.6/10. The mixing is the biggest issue, the only other major issue was the lack of consistency - you can reuse a melody from another section, not necessarily even as another melody!

InYourDreams responds:

Oh Skye, you're an awfull person!! so mean :(... naah just kidding :D

Yeah I know what u r talking about. I eq'ed the strings wrong :(... I think my ears were tired at that point. The bursts are just to add some "explosiveness" to the parts :P... is it to subtle? xD... well I think that is just a matter of taste, I guess.... and about the intro: I don't know why the f%$ I did that, since I actually didn't need it. I guess I'm just weird xD... but I'm not gonna change it now, since I actually like it... but thanks for the feedback anyways. I still respect ur opinion a lot, since u r a great musician.

looking forward to more of your judging next round :D

[Evolution]

Hi.

The Good:
-Oh man, the kick and snare REALLY stand out, I'm loving that powerful hit.
-The atmosphere at the beginning is pretty nice, all the reversed effects are sweet.
-The chord progression is very nice.
-Overall mixing is clean, everything is easily heard and the aspects that need to pop out do. Good job here!
-Harmonic lines are well-done, I like them quite a bit.

The Not-So-Good:
-The immediate beginning sounds as if part of the start of the sound file was cut off.
-Transitions need to be worked on. The one at 0:40 sounds out-of-time, after 6 beats rather than the 4/4 time from before. Random measures of 6/4 are cool, but it feels awkward there. Similar for just about all the other transitions.
-After about a minute and a half, I'm getting bored of the piece being the same chords. There needs to be some kind of melody at this point rather than the chords, cool as they are. Changes in the chord progression aren't a melody.
-The ending with the strings feels EXTREMELY out-of-place, where in the world did that come from?

Overall: Score of 7.4/10. The only issues were the lack of a melody and the painful transitions (including the intro and outro), but these are VERY significant issues.

Metallica1136 responds:

Glad you like the drums! Yeah, I did some reversing, delay, volume swells etc to give it a very atmospheric feel. Glad the mixing is good as well. Yeah, the transitions aren't really the best at times. Too sudden, not enough build up, and yeah, I kind of wish I didn't make this song extremely repetitive at times. I honestly wish I had made another song. I'm capable of much better. Btw, the sound cutting off at the beginning happened because I have a habit of playing as soon as the metronome counts down. Usually I won't get the very beginning of what I record. It's a bad habit lol

What's wrong with the string outro? I don't think it's out of place at all. Unexpected sure, but it doesn't stray away from the atmosphere.

Anyways, thanks for your review, man.

[Ling Kano's Fighting Show]

Okay, let's post this on the RIGHT song this time.

The Good:
-That's a sweet intro, me gusta. I like the clicking and overall atmosphere.
-The lead guitar-like lead is pretty sweet, I like it as well.
-Overall clean and decently clear mixing.
-The change at 1:20 is REALLY cool, I like the feeling of it, particularly the little taps with the chimes.
-I like what you've done in the second half of this, it feels more full and there are a lot of little details, the section at about 2:20 is very nice as well.

The Not-So-Good:
-The transition at about 0:17 is a tad sloppy.
-Your bass is very unclear and could be improved by quite a bit. There are some times when it's very clear and other times when it's very muddy and weak. It sounds like the kick is overpowering it as well.
-The section at 1:35 definitely isn't copied from anywhere or anything. Also, the transition isn't very good. Fortunately, the transition out of it is better.
-I don't think the ending is particularly good. You do seem to like having a couple repeats of the same phrase as a 'conclusion', but it's somewhat sudden and messes up the flow of the music. Also, there's a strange sound in my left ear right at the end of the track.
-I don't know what it is, but I always feel like your instruments are sub-par quality, they have a rough and slightly bitcrushed feel to them. This is extremely minor though, more of a personal pet-peeve.

Overall: Score of 7/10. The mixing is fairly clear and there are no particular parts that stick out as 'bleh' aside from the transitions I mentioned.

SourJovis responds:

Thanks for your review. I agree with the positive parts, and I will leave those things as they are. Some things about the negative parts confuse me though.
-Why do you think the transition at 0:17 is sloppy? Would it help to have a base guitar there? Should I increase the low frequencies of those drums? This would make the fill stronger, and the part after less sudden. Or do you not like the type of fill? Or should there be no fill at all but something different?
-With bass you mean the base guitar? I think the base guitar is clear when it's at its most interesting and when it falls back when it has a more supportive function. You can call it muddy, but it doesn't play any too interesting notes there. You can hear enough to know what note it plays and I think you can hear the rhythm very well. I thought the grimy sound is characteristic. Perhaps a matter of taste or I don't fully get your comment.
- What do you mean with "The section at 1:35 definitely isn't copied from anywhere or anything." You state the section isn't copied from anything, but you make it sound as if that's negative. Was it a question? Do you mean the opposite? Fact is; it's similar to the intro, but with different choir chords, different velocity levels and an additional dulcimer melody. So no, not copied, but a revisit of the intro. Do you mean it's too similar? I like it overall, because repetition isn't a bad thing in music, as long as there's still a sense of progression and I think in this case there is. I could perhaps leave out the kick in the intro, to make the 1:35 part different. You mean the transition to where the kick starts is too sudden? I rather agree, but I don't know how to make it better. After a while I just got used to it. At first I wanted to leave a gap between parts, but that didn't sound too well. Then I just let the melody of the part before end a quarter note early, so you still get a pause but without breaking the flow. Is there a way I can make the transition better? Do you have suggestions?
-This ending is what I had in mind so there must be something good about it, at least for me. Perhaps it only sounds good when you expect it? You're the first to notice the part at the end. It's a line "Ling Kano liep door het bos" and a tin whistle that drowns out the word "bos". It's a hidden message. If you figure out its meaning and what it refers to, you'll win a copy of the complete series Ling Kano's Fighting Show.
-I do my best not to have my instruments sound too clean. I was afraid they would be too generic in this song, but I guess not. I take it as a compliment. I don't know what you mean by bitcrushed though. Many of my other songs have digital distortion over the entire track, and/or over individual instruments. This one doesn't though. Only the synth kick is bitcrushed. The drum kit has distortion and compression and such. Most instruments are clean though, with no clipping, just a bit of EQing, and are of at least cd quality, before I rendered the song as cd quality wav, and converted it to 320 Kbps mp3. There isn't much compression and the limiter only flickers slightly. So I'm not sure what you mean. Many instruments are from cheap old fashioned instruments to get a low budget 90s feel, but the recordings are top notch.

[Ducktales The Moon Remix!]

Wonderful. Last on the RRC list, but certainly not least!

The Good:
-Beginning sound very nice and sweet, it honestly reminds me a lot of LoZ music.
-The drumset sounds pretty darn nice, I like it.
-Bitcrushing at 1:58, hell yeah. Bitcrushing is niiiiice.
-The guitar solo is pretty nice, at that point the frequencies balance out a bit more.
-It's impressive that you put so many different genres in this. Very nice!

The Not-So-Good:
-Your orchestral instruments are somewhat weak-sounding.
-0:52 has some rather awkward harmony. This happens in other areas of the piece.
-The mixing overall may be causing some of your instruments to suffer. There's a lot of bass, but not much in the mids or highs.

Overall: This is pretty darn good. I don't know much about the original piece so I can't really say much about how good of a remix it is, but I like this. It's very well-made overall!

-RRC-
-SkyeWintrest-

Gepzors responds:

Sorry for the late respons and thanks for the feedback.
Really good ears ;) and thanks for the compliments.
Yeah, it's quite tricky with the orchestral plugin I've used but something I've could have spend more time on i guess.
Also the mix and master where done poorly. Not by choice but by skill since I didn't really know what to do at that time. I'm glad I can hear everything, which basically is cool but yeah, roaming and cutting out freq's would have made a huge difference. Maybe I'll mix and master it again.

Anyhow, thanks so much for the feedback and reply :). Cheers

[CC ~ Forest of Beginnings]

Review incomiiiiiing!

The Good:
-I like the ideas you have in this. They're very well-done.
-This could definitely fit in a game, very easily.
-Mixing is fine, though that shouldn't have been *too* difficult.

The Not-So-Good:
-I'm sure you know this, but the instrument quality isn't all that good.
-Oh, come on. You just repeat the entire thing twice? That's lazy, man. :( Try putting more effort into the composition so that it doesn't just repeat, but is a full song. Failing that, at least use Audacity or something to re-export it as a loop and label it as such.

Overall: Not much I can really say about this without getting nitpicky. It sounds nice, the instrument quality could be better, the mixing is fine, and there could be more compositional effort. Otherwise, good job.

-RRC-
-SkyeWintrest-

CapnCoconuts responds:

I would label more things as loops if I didn't insist on having teeny tiny intros in some of my pieces or if the Newgrounds player allowed setting a specific chunk of the file to loop.

As for the sample quality, there's not a lot I can do about that without spending lots of money on professional software... money which I don't have. I'd like to have a Mac and Logic Pro and all that, but I simply can't afford it--so I'm stuck with MIDI and whatever SoundFonts I can find.

[DP: WtP - Chapter 1]

Ooooh, reading! I just did something like this recently. :D I'm going to focus on the actual reading and not what's being said, if that's alright. I'm not as much a reviewer of stories.

The Good:
-The recording quality is wonderful. I'm somewhat jealous. What kind of noise reduction did you use?

The Not-So-Good:
-At about 0:12, I feel as if there should be a bit more of a break between the introduction and the actual beginning.
-At about 0:42-0:44, it's very indistinct and doesn't quite sound like somebody who's talking under their breath.
-The "booming" voice isn't very booming. While it does make a bit more sense for one person to be narrating it, I would have liked to hear it booming out in a more impressively egotistical voice.
-There's a bit of distortion at 2:48, then the volume decreases. It's a bit inconsistent, and should probably be levelled out.
-Your different voices are all fairly similar, it's pretty obvious that the same person is speaking. I understand that this is difficult to change though, and considering that it's still pretty good.

Overall: Even with the 5:1 ratio of not-so-good to good, this is well-read and has minimal errors. Good job!

-RRC-
-SkyeWintrest-

ecopper12 responds:

Thanks so much! The review was really in-depth and helped LOADS.

I'll definitely fix this up.

Thanks again!