Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Catacombs-Metaljonus]

I just wanted to chime in to compliment those drums as well. Sexy down tempo rolls and fills <3

Metaljonus responds:

Thanks man! I just acquired getgooddrums and I am loving the power these have to offer.

[swept away]

Nice one john, tight. Jazzy vibes, tight drums, and saucy samples. The track had a little crunch to it though that didn't vibe with my monitors. Perhaps some of the drums got a tad over compressed? Despite that little detail I still loved this. Effing nice.

[Thunderdome]

Damn tight Danman. I really liked the pace of the percs. The strings had really strong dynamics too. I loved the way this changed up so much. Super colorful textures. Pro.

Danman87 responds:

Oh hey, Quarl! Glad to still see you around here! Happy you liked the track, thanks so much for leaving a review! :)

[Seline]

This is some heavy, grimy noise. Solid textures. I wish I had some thumping monitors for this, the wave shape tells me you got some bass frequencies I won't be able to hear out of my monitors piddly little cones.

It went on for a while. Some people might find that problematic since the majority of them have no attention span. If anything, it gave me the time I needed to write up some words. I fucking love that ending.

Dope track Alice <3

[Downpour]

I mean, I love it but I'm siding with Varsity. A high pitch sine wave or a punchy piano would make a great lead here. A motif melody can help the track stand out in someones memory. This track would be on another level with some kind of brain piercing lead.

Something else that helps a track stand out in someones memory is some kind of voice sample or audio clip. I mean, it would probably change what you were going for but something as simple as Homer Simpson saying "doh" softly in the background over and over again with slight reverb would have helped the track stand out a bit.

Do it.

ActualElf responds:

Viewing this as a standalone track I totally agree with the both of you, really solid advice and criticism, thank you for that. Whenever I listen back to this track I feel the arrangement feels incredibly lonely with no solidly stated melody, which is exactly what I was going for at the time. Just a feeling of pure loneliness and hearing eerie things shifting around you whilst you're in the dark, so that weird slightly empty feeling the track gives off to me from a production standpoint I guess was in my mind kind of the point of it upon writing.

Thanks to you guys though and one or two other comments I've had more of a shift of focus to viewing my tracks as a whole more often instead of honing in and making the harmony or sound design the focal point, something I do need to pay more attention to.

Thank you as always for reviewing Quarl, you always steer me in the right direction or point out things I don't always notice myself, it means a lot (Homer may now make an appearance in a track someday) <3

[AIM - DRUGS]

I loved those juicy synths. Super fly melodies. This track bounces. It's hard not to envy how cool it is. I think it's fair to say the drum could use a little extra kick but I'm also a snooty drummer.

ActualElf responds:

Thank you Quarl <3

I agree that the drums could use a bit more punch and weight, I started the track quite small and cute to follow with the art inspiration but somewhere along the way it became bigger and fuller and I never thought to adjust the percussion to compensate, thank you again for popping in every now and again, it really means a lot!

[Distorted Artifacts]

A good four and a half minutes. I loved those quirky melodies and squeaky pads. Rhythm section stayed interesting too. Sassy 303 bass at 1:13.

If I may make one critical remark, it felt like the drums could have been way more powerful. Looks like the wave shape of the file has plenty of bass. I don't get the cleanest mix downs but something in this mix is kind of over powering the other instruments. Perhaps more emphasis on a punching drum kit might drive this better. Whats the bpm?

Good Thor I love that piano at the end. BRING THAT FORWARD. It's so soft. I want to hear those sweet jazzy melodies but my ears are old and wrinkled.

Great track, one last question. Was that sudden end meant to loop around? :)

CrystaluxX responds:

Sorry for the late response.

I could have made the Drums louder and punchier but I wanted it like this.
I make nearly all my Tracks with loud and overpowered bass because I like the heavy sound.

The bpm are 170.

The end was meant to be like this because I thought it sounds crazy and interesting.

and thank you for the review!

-Crys

[Lion King]

Chron sent me here.

[Üloths' Cave]

I've been dropping you reviews because I've really been enjoying the stuff your putting out. I figured you'd be ok if I spoke my mind and said "not this time."

Artists can't always pound out killer stuff. Some of my favorite tracks from Noisia's Split The Atom EP were the shit tracks thrown in to fill catalog. Every now and then an artist needs to go out of their comfort zone and just upload something stupid like Rebbeca Black's "Friday" reversed under distortion and a ton of reverb. Rig once uploaded a sound bite of himself brewing coffee. When you've established yourself, you have some leeway to shit post.

This track however is way better than a shit post. You put some thought into it, I can hear it. I really liked the instruments. It's the drums that turned me off. This could be a really chill DNB with the right drum kit and a slightly faster BPM. Hell, with that same kit you can keep the BPM and make this drum step.

I have a lot of respect for artists that push their boundaries and experiment. I might not like this track but I can see what you're doing and I can respect it. Now take this song file, delete all the midi in the sequencer, and make something better out of the synths ;)

[Puppet Master]

wooo, inspiration credits. Loved that goofy melody. I'm not sure how much side chaining you use but I'd have made those kick and snare drums punch through a little more :D

Loved how dirty this was :]

larrynachos responds:

Glad you liked it quarl! I was going to add another punchier snare, but I never got around to it. I sidechained the kick though, as well as one of the hi hats.

I don't really use triplet notes much in my music aside from hi hat patterns, so it was refreshing when I kept leaving it on while making melodies.

thx for the review as always <3