Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[LostBrASS]

Perfect chill dnb breaks, awesome pads, smooth piano, great atmosphere. Drums from 1:01 to 1:23 sound thin, I could use some more textures in them. Layer up a phat subby kick and a clap or 808 snare :)

I kind of get what MisterRedEyeGuy was complaining about, repetition can sink a composition but to hell with dropping zeros on stuff you just don't like. Petulance.

[dududu-du]

Loved it. Mix down could probably be a little more fine tuned but I love the elements all coming together to make some really grimy filth <3 <3

Edit: since you're asking about mix I'll toss out a few ideas. Fair warning, everything is awesome I'm just nit picking things. I'm at max volume listening to this but I like having the option of turning the volume down. Theres more room in the mix to push a few instruments harder. People worry about over compression but you might listen to your track on another set of speakers and realize this sounds different. Bass is great but given the genre you might be able to push it a little more. Snare drum falls a little flat sometimes. Maybe experiment with another snare layer more in the mid range? A clap or 808? I'm really splitting hairs here but I do feel like certain tones are missing. Maybe some more aux percussion? This track would love a vibraslap or a waterphone.

I can't tell how much panning is going on but I think you can really push left and right further. Panning creates the illusion that sounds are louder than they actually are. By getting braver with mid to high range panning you can then turn those sounds down a little and make more room in the field for other sounds. Things to try panning with include pads, aux perc, and various sfx. Favoring a left or right side can also lead to issues but you can always find ways to balance the mix. Just takes some playing with :)

I've been advised to keep bass frequencies mono or in the middle. That includes the kick drum. I like to put a small bias on the ghost snare but the bulk of the snare layers stick to the middle. Then use them to sidechain sub bass frequencies.

Again, you did an awesome job. I only came back around because you asked. I'm always willing to clarify stuff :)

djhoohaa responds:

Thanks :) i thought i did a really good job on the mix lol. what aspect of it should i look into? or just a bit of tweaking over all?

Edit: Thanks, i really appreciate your time and reply
Nice, loads of ideas here. i am pretty lazy with panning but mainly due to when ever i have tried it, i dont get the results i want lol however i do try seperate the hi hats a bit. ive never thought about just panning certain frequencies of a sound before. that sounds fun to experiment with. ,Also just had to google what a waterphone is, i kinda want one now.

[Chained Promises]

Just wanted to say I loved this. Great atmosphere and textures. I'm a little confused by the prolonged silence at the end, clip that a little before the judges come around! Looks like there is more space in the mix for extra tones and textures but even with all that extra space the track really holds down strong. Good stuff Wolfgang :D

WolfgangMiakoda responds:

Genuinely wish I could fix that silence, but I’m out of the country atm. As I mentioned in the description, it’s a rendering error; FL Studio sometimes has this weird tendency to just add 30 seconds of nothing on the tail end of a project, and I have no idea why it does that. Unfortunately I was strapped for time, so I won’t be able to fix it until I get home

[Bored at the Midnight]

This sounds like some nice late 90's jungle. Classy drums and pads, soft reesey saw synths. I just wish it was longer Dieswyx :)

[Hardest technology punk]

THIS ROCKS SO HARD. Buddy Rich wishes he could drum this fast. Had to listen at a really low volume but the visualizer shows a surprisingly phat wave shape for a drum solo. You could probably find a way to fit a bass in this :)

Thomas-Collins responds:

Hello lady AIDS ....
This song is a remix of the song, TBE "created by TBE-punk861 but in a different way and longer than the original, and this song is good I recommend 9/10.
Link of the original:
https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/887

[MRRDRR]

I listened to this for literally two seconds on the front page before I was like "snap, gotta stop by and fully admire those crunchy drums." What's the BPM we playing with here? Love that break down a minute in.

When did you die and become Aphex Twin's twin Aphex?

[2984]

Gah, hella cool atmosphere and pads. Icy bell like synths and relaxed drum samples. Kind of wish the track was longer, those pads could hold up the track for a little while without the drums, chimes could lead into a section with a powerful gong, tambs could color up the spectrum a little...

I'll share some panning advice, I've typed this a lot but I salivate every chance I get to say it again. Panning creates the illusion that sounds are louder then they actually are. You can pan aux percussion like hi-hats and tambs then turn them down a little to make extra room in the field for other sounds. Experiment with where to pan aux percussion :)

Track could legitimately be a little louder with proper compression. There's room in the field for more of everything, amp something or turn off a limiter. Other than some mix stuff this track is really cool and has a nostalgic feeling :)

[Pixel Plains]

Sweet melodies, drum fills, patterns, and lovely harmonies between instruments. Very professional stuff Ketyri <3. I'm only gonna nit pick a minor mix detail, I'd have sidechained everything tonal just a little bit to allow the kick drums to pop some more. I may even include the snare in that sidechain signal. Only a sound nerd like me would nit pick something like that though, very minor detail to point at. Some of those lead synths sound like they hit with more emphasis than the kick drums. I'm really listening to those kicks, wishing they could punch a little harder. While a side chain signal would max the fidelity, another mid freq bass drum layer might also help? I usually have three bass drums layered regardless of genre to create a nice solid kick sound and I'll use one or two of those layers on off beats to create the illusion of velocity change ups in the drum rhythm. Those off beat bass drum kicks are a little less powerful than the kick that falls on the first count but since they're included in the side chain signal they'll still pop a little bit more.

Track would bounce nicely as a video game menu screen or background track. If you ignored my main crit you'd still impress a programmer looking for music or anyone else for that matter. All the classic elements like rhythm and melody are perfect. Again, only a sound engineer is going to nit pick anything and to that extent you're showing off professional skills. Compression is letting you take advantage over the full range of the spectrum. Track is perfect, don't let my nit picking take away any pride you might have for this ditty. 10/10 :')

junipersona responds:

When I made this track way back when I didn't even know what sidechaining was.

[Animation Industry Podcast 122: Michael Surrey Shares His Big Break Into Disney And How He Worked Hi]

This interview melted my face. Amazing sense of rhythm. Sorry, I don't know how to review podcasts :'c

terryibele responds:

This was great. I hope to keep my sense of rhythm in future episodes :D

[I Wanna Know You (lover) {First run}]

I remember seeing your name one hundred years ago. I'm 100% certain I downloaded some of the earliest stuff you uploaded. Glad to hear you're still rocking out. This track has some serious Radiohead vibes, all it's missing is Thom Yorke's silly vocals. Could jam to this all day.

It's hella short, jam tracks like this could be a solid ten minutes long. Not that I'd recommend repeating things for ten minutes but I'd have loved if this was a bit longer. A few new drum rhythms would spice things up good. That's my only constructive criticism. Love it pitbull J <3

pitbulljones responds:

You're an ollllld name wow! Thanks for the kind words. i agree with extension, just need to find the hook.