Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[(NUB)Super Amen Brothers]

kittens!

Now that the results are out for the comp I feel like I'm obligated to leave you a review... cause like... I really liked your song and seeing as how I was a judge, I didn't want my opinions giving you a false sense of hope :P

Turning down the surrounding aesthetics in the track to just a simple 4-bit video game melody was a really intelligent decision in terms of adding emphasis on the rhythm. Also, those awkward genre decisions were masterfully crafted and thrown together. Old school video game? Drum and bass/ IDM? Beat boxing? Who would have thought? Also, those drum rhythms/ melodies were really pleasing and well composed. Oh yeah, all that and the fact that the sound quality was fucking ace landed you as my #1 vote. Honestly, I've never checked out your music before but it sounds like I have a little bit of homework to do :P

Great work nubz!

nubbinownz responds:

Thank you so much man. I had a great time working on it and I've always gotten a kick out of that old school video game sound. Im really glad you enjoyed it man, and thank you a million for the vote. Feel free to check out my music there's a bunch to wade through ahaha not all of it is any good haha

[Sand Glass]

ar...

guh, been a while since I checked out your page. Changed to reason huh? I remember the shift... except I was moving from garage band. Took me forever to figure out how to run the kit through a filter. I'm curious why your not uploading to newgrounds anymore though. Sometimes you can get some really nice feedback that when taken seriously can propel your sound development. Those kinds of reviews are rare, but worth it. With that in mind, let me try being helpful....

Try throwing some delay on the hats. This technique when employed correctly can create instant dynamics. You waste less time playing with note velocities this way. If you're looking to get a rest in there without deleting the notes leading up to the rest, try automating the delay to bypass or try automating a duck in the volume. You can automate practically everything by just right clicking and selecting "edit automation." That will automatically create an automation lane in the sequencer for whatever you choose. Try it on the bpm and you'll see what I mean.

It doesn't sound like your panning at all. Panning helps create space/emulate live acoustics and it gives off the illusion that things are actually louder than they really are so you can turn everything down. Just keep in mind that the bass is usually kept towards the center. Try panning up the mid and hi frequencies to create a little bit of space in there.

The bass lines have a really old school jungle sound to them. Not sure if you've ever tried the more contemporary approach since this is the first track of yours I've heard in years, but you can get some of those really solid darkstep reese sounds by taking a synth, setting up two oscillators with sawtooths waves, then slapping on a scream distortion and playing around with it. You can generally effect the synths lows and highs with the mixer's channel EQs but the scream gives you more control over those anyways. Play with it.

Im not sure how much layering you do, but it doesn't sound like you're doing much... or anything at all. You an get much fuller drum sounds by layering the kits pieces. It takes a while to get the technique down but you can get a much fuller sound through layering. It might make the most sense with the drums. Lets say for the snare, a good way to get a full sound is to get three to four different snare sounds. You'll want a lo, mid, and hi sound so it attacks the entire sound spectrum. Any additional snares are there to give character to the sound. You can layer synths this way too to get some really complex sounds.

It doesn't sound like you clip in here but if you're ever having trouble keeping things under control, slap an m-class mastering suite onto the built in output. The output should be the first thing you see at the very top of the synth stack when you start up a new track. I like to try mixing my track properly though first before playing with that.

I feel like those pads can take up a little more space. Like I said earlier, panning could help, but I think some reverb on that synth that comes in at 00:12 could help too. Not sure. On the subject of reverb, as the remainder of the track gets more complex through layering, you won't want the long decay on the snare. It would probably muddy up the mix unless employed sparingly. Not sure what your using to get that sound, but you can always automate it in/out ;)

If you need clarification on anything or want anymore feedback, just send over a pm or ask. I love being helpful but I've almost ran out of space to type things. Keep in mind, this review isn't meant to be harsh or critical. It's just trying to be helpful :)

Mitrox responds:

Well actually I use FL8 most of the time. I wanted to try out Reason 4, and it's a powerful software. I still haven't learned the full aspects of it though. Eventually I will. Yes, that is true. Some artists on NG do give indepth reviews, such as this one. The reason I will not upload on newgrounds anymore, is because I do not stand out on here, nor do I get a lot of publicity. Which I am not looking for at the moment. Even though the reviews are helpful, i'll find my way and try to keep my ears grounded down to earth as possible, so that I know what sounds good and what doesn't, and clearly none of my work does.

Oh yeah, I know how to do that, but it's a pain in the ass doing that on reason 4, so I admit I do get lazy when it comes to automating. Which i'm going to have to work on. It's definitely a lot easier automating in FL though. However, fixing up this song won't be an option, because I do not have the file no more. So that's cancels that out.

You are right, I didn't pan at all. This was my first dnb song on Reason 4, so i didn't actually take the time to pan anything.

Oh yeah, I know how to do that. I learned that technique a while back. It's just making a reece on Reason is rather weird. It's a lot easier to create in FL.

Nope, I didn't do any layering at all. That's probably one of my difficult areas to master. Yep, the pad is slim and I didn't really put to much effort into this song.

Like I said though, most of my work is just practice, right now I'm far from making anything decent. Eventually I will start producing more sophisticated sounds though.

thank you for the constructive review though. \m/

[Amen Brotha {7x}]

kittens

The classical aesthetics were really strong, but drum and bass tends to put a lot of emphasis on the drum mixing. With that in mind, despite the awesome rhythms, the beat felt like it sat too far in the background. Better mixing would have helped a bit here. Other than that, good work.

EbonHawk7X responds:

thanks for the tips, i'll definatly use them in the future. its nice to get a review that actually has constructive input once in awhile, thanks!

[IDM Thing]

mraow

haha, not a bad go. You followed some classic patterns of the genre but kept a hold of those airy melodies you seem to enjoy. Good tactic. Not sure if you've ever listened to any squarepusher but he's worth checking out. His awkward syncopation choices always leave me pretty pleased.

It sounded like you were gonna stick to that core tech step drum pattern you always use but you only employed the core rhythm once before heading in a different rhythmic direction for a bit. After the first drum measure, it got hard to follow any bass kicks that landed on the + between 3e+a4. The 64th notes were classic. Those are always nice to hear. The pads employed some interesting shifts in attention. It was nice when they would switch up. It might be interesting to try panning those up so the attention shifts it's direction too but I'd imagine that things like that don't really matter when your just experimenting.

All in all, good work stan! It's nice to hear what your playing with C:

[Awake - Suspended in a Cloud]

meow

Sounded great like always. Love your work good sir. This comment isn't related to this song but actually finish stuff for a change. I know it's tough. I just finished two songs I started about a year ago. I just finished a painting yesterday that I started around 6 years ago. If you put something on hold, force yourself to get back around to it or you might not finish it. Constantly moving on guarantees that a new project will come around and make you happy or keep you entertained for a little while but if you really liked the way something sounded there's little point in leaving it in limbo. The song you hate the most could end up being the song the person sitting next to you enjoys the most. I've had quite a few of those moments and because of them, I've learned to like the stuff I don't...

What I'm trying to say is finish colors of the fifth rainbow. I really liked that shiznit.

Rawrthaas responds:

If you didn't write that I probably wouldn't have opened up the file for colors of the fifth rainbow and finish another 30 seconds of it. Ty lulz :D

And you're right about finishing things. I keep procrastinating, putting all those previews that I upload to newgrounds off and eventually I forget about them. But I assure you now that I'll have the CotFR full up here very soon =]

[MH16: One Last Wish]

rawr

It's a great track! I loved it. There are just a few things I'd like to say...

The first is in response to b.a.b.s review. What panning your instruments does is it emulates live acoustics. I didn't realize that for a while and I just panned shit like crazy with full blown automatons. The equivalent to that would have been someone running around the stage with an amp and a synthesizer just kind of rocking out... not necessarily a bad thing. But different speakers work in different ways. I noticed with some speakers that when things get panned baaaack and fooorth they lost their amplitude. The mastering process is a bitch. Panning is always a good thing but be careful with it. One more thang, a lot of people tend to keep the bass towards the middle. It creates a base... get it? Bass/base? It was a pun... I hate the internet.

Greater dynamics... there might have been some because when I listen for them I might be hearing them because I expect them... but who knows. Live musicians change the amplitude of their instruments over time to create tension. Play with those note velocities a bit more to really make things pop... dunno... like I said, maybe you did :P

One more thing. Play with those piano melodies more. One note at a time? That happens sometimes with the bass clef in classical music but unless your trying to drive your piano player crazy, give him a little extra. Make some chords out of those melodies. Use what you already have as the root of the melody and add some higher pitches. Make it as if he was using his second hand to add some counter melodies.

Oh! I just realized it might sound cool if you throw some reverb on those drums! Or lose them completely... dunno... play :P

Ar! You have a great song. The first two things I said were really professional tips, so I don't expect you to chase after them. After that the review gets subjective. One persons opinions will always be different than the next's, so you can throw out whatever I said. Just keep on keeping on ^_^

FairSquare responds:

I'm stunned by the awesomeness of this review. Seriously!
I'm definitly going to try some of those advices you gave in your review.
The only downside of these kind of reviews is that you can't really thank a person enough in a simple response. So expect a review on one of your tracks soon :-)
Again, thanks for this review. It made my day :D

[Piano Study No. 3 "Blocks"]

rawr!

Drummer here. Can't say much for the melody because it really skips over my head but I'll try...

The dynamics are great. I love em! Great changes.

I'm a hypocrite for saying it but play around with those rhythms. It would have been nice to of had a rest from all that action. Maybe try holding things legato for just a little longer? There's plenty of change but perhaps less would be more in certain areas. Dunno...

I'm not sure if this is digital or live but if it was digital add some more instruments in there. If not through out the piece than at least in strategic places. If it's live... why not try throwing in some digital instruments? It might be worth playing around with :P

Regardless of what the kids think, I love it man. Keep in mind that music can be just as subjective as art so when it comes right down to it, any thing I left you with is just an opinion. Meow :3

EmperorCharlemagne responds:

Regardless of what artists may say about doing it for themselves and stuff like that, everyone loves to hear another opinion, and for that, I thank you very much.

I originally wrote the piece on staff paper for piano, and to tell the truth, -this- production never had me pondering the use of different instruments. However, if I ever decided to produce this 'professionally' so to speak, just about any instruments could work. This song would work so beautifully a capella, I think.

"Less is more"... That's an interesting thought, one I have to consider a great deal. I thought the song was pretty bare bones, but I might be wrong.

Again, thanks for the review and opinions!

[{KgZ} Encounter! (Loop)]

Berklee you say?

Berklee huh? Thinking of going there? I have a friend over there that just finished his freshmen year. Great place, great people.

Since getting out of a recent car accident I'm noticing that I listen to music differently. Everything is becoming a little less subjective. That makes leaving an adequate review kind of difficult... dunno.... I feel like the dynamics could have been greater. The "expert" at Berklee might have missed that. I've worked with live violins once so I know how hard it can be to manipulate those strings once they're down but greater dynamics could have been done with a little bit of creative mixing. They could even have thrown in a trill or two. Everything sounds like it comes in at around the same amplification. Maybe some of those drums could have been brought forward. A little... dunno. I'm a hypocrite for pointing out any of this because when it comes down to the final product I get too lazy to do any of this. Besides, it wasn't really your call to make. Aw well :P

It's good, I just feel like it could be a bit better. Regardless, I can't necessarily hold any of that against you. It seems like most of my criticisms weren't your fault... you get a ten for composing in 5/4 ^_^

KgZ responds:

Thank you very much for the feedback, I really wish I could have done more with it. I actually only had 30 minutes to use live recording and 30 minutes to mix it, so I was really limited.

To be honest, I didn't plan on this being 5/4. I kept getting frustrated when I was singing the melody why it didn't fit in 4/4. I felt so stupid afterward, haha.