Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Thunder Strike]

So I wrote up a massive review detailing mix and fidelity techniques only for it to get lost/deleted when my tablet's cookies were refreshed for leaving the pop up review momentarily. LET'S TRY AGAIN, LIFE IS ALL ABOUT MISTAKES, WOOOOOOO D':

Great sound for only three hours work. Loved the cinematic vibe. That aux snare rhythm was tight, so was the hi-hat work. I felt like that trap snare was a little weak, it has good presence but you can fatten up that tone by layering another snare on top of it. I'd start by looking at a crisp 909 snare. Layering takes practice but it's such a potent force, all my tracks have 3-4 snares working together to make new snare tones. I like to merge each individual snare signal into one so that I can then send the merged signal into fidelity units to polish them all at the same time. I use Reason's Redrum, so before the merging the snares I have a little control in the drum machine over each individual sample's pitch, tone, and envelope. The "real" layering happens in the MIDI so if I want to I can use each snare sample simultaneously or individually for different parts of the song, combining them all only during the hook, drop, or chorus. Say in the intro if I need a weaker sound I can just use one or two snare layers. You can also do the same for kick drums and other instruments, layering is a powerful tool. I like to layer pianos behind synth patches sometimes...

The snare you're using might also sound alright with a little reverb on it. I like to use automation lanes to sparingly introduce reverb from time to time so it doesn't muddy up the mix unnecessarily or get too repetitive but your mix here is probably simple enough that you could get away with some constant snare reverb like some kind of 1980's pop act. Artist's choice, snares can ultimately sound however you want them to :p

Taking a second from fidelity technique just to say how much I loved those horns and strings. Orchestral elements in this track are tight. That guitar patch towards the end wasn't terrible but it's the instrument I think is the most out of place. Does your DAW have a choir? I'd try replacing that guitar patch with a breathy choir, transpose the melody over and maybe simplify it a little bit?

For such great orchestration I'm wondering where the orchestral drums are? Song is called thunder strike and you don't have a single drum swell or timpani? TIME TO GO BACK TO MUSIC SCHOOL TRASH-just kidding don't do that, music school is expensive. Instead, see if your DAW has some nice orch drums. Hook them up to a compressor/EQ, let them become the thunder. A lot of people over look how much atmosphere aux drums can create but something as simple as chimes or a vibraslap can go a long way. I love a good güiro, woodblocks are nice, or orchestral cymbals...

I think the sub bass could be pushed a little harder. I find a good distortion unit often does more to push tones than just using the fidelity tools, especially if it includes a lot of options and features (Reason's Scream distortion unit is my baby). Granted, if I'm slapping a distortion unit onto my bass I'm also using an EQ and a compressor to avoid clipping or tone issues. The compressor also give you the ability to control the bass patches' levels with a sidechain signal (watch a sidechain tutorial if you haven't, it's really easy when you get the hang of it.) Sidechaining just let's you control an instruments levels with another instrument's signal, the most common use applying the kick drum to momentarily duck the sub bass from the mix to get cleaner drum sounds. Sidechaining has other uses and applications but the most common use is for cleaner drums.

Impressive work from a three hour binge and I hope this review doesn't bother you at all. I want my music peers to sound as good as possible and that sometimes requires a little misunderstanding. I hope to see you around more TrashDragon, peace love unity respect <3

TrashDragon89 responds:

Thank you so much for the review! I am very new to music production so your advice is very helpful.

For the snare layering, I will definitely keep that in mind for my next track. I tried to layer some on this track, but couldn't find one that sounded right.

As for the electric guitar, I also agree it's out of place. It's just from a free pack on FLEX and was a last-minute addition. I might remake this song and take it in a different direction, and use some orchestral drums like you were talking about.

I also haven't even bothered to get in to sidechaining or better mixing yet, but will definitely look into it soon!

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this! I will definitely use it for my future projects :D

[Kanban]

I really wanted this job. Can you do me a favor and check my resume again? I might have given you the modified work application that includes my criminal priors, my bad. Also, if I'm not getting the job I really want that dime bag I stapled to the resume back. That was supposed to be a bribe.

CaperCube responds:

It's nothing personal, I've got 114 other applicants to get through today and frankly, I didn't even look at your resume.
Listen, you seem like a good kid, so I'm gonna give you a head start to call an Uber before I get security to throw you out.

[Not Yet Awake]

Beautifully peaceful. Snug fit for a jrpg, I can imagine this in almost any game where the protagonist carries a sword larger than a sword is supposed to be. I could also hear it in any story driven piece of media. Love it Soro <3

sorohanro responds:

Now that I think of it, it sort of have that "sword larger than a sword is supposed to be" vibe.
Thanks for the review.

[Votum]

Perf track, pro mix, unique ideas. Love it Auphinity <3

[Jamuary Song 25]

Jean-Claude Van Damme is doing splits to this in my head.

[Stronger]

Sharpening the break beats during Jamuary? Another slick one Jinz. Drum velocity is a little static, if I'm crunched for time I put automation lanes on things like hihats to quickly draw up some faux dynamics for a couple bars then copy/paste. Takes like a second to fake for the hi hats. There sounds like a lot of diversity in those rhythms so it might not work out for your kicks and snares but maybe it would? Static drum velocity still gives off nice glitchy hard style vibes so it's just preference or something. Don't listen to me :p

lol, love the concept of telling a story with the album. Sick work <3

[Delighted Chatter]

Gold, absolute gold. Arps are lovely, sparse piano notes haunting, reverb and record pops sensual. Drums have a creative bop to them, great fidelity! Short track but short kings are kings too <3

Casper responds:

Thanks, quarl. This was a wip I had laying around not gonna lie, did that strat for like half of jamuary. Unfortunately I failed the challenge, fortunately i sleep a lot better now

[AnarchyJam]

Sounds like a really healthy shot at a genre you're not necessarily into and it's honestly better than some of the stuff I hear from people pursuing the genre passionately. Getting a perfect dnb mix down is hard, I've been at it for so long but I still have trouble with the genre. I actually get mad when I hear someone else's perfect nuero mix, it just shouldn't happen >:c

You're doing the Jamuary rush so I know you put what time you could into this but I'd love to hear you come back later to polish. Intro was noticeably bare-bones, you didn't waste anytime getting to the beat. Since the drums are the most important aspect of a DNB mix I'll point out a few things I noticed. I'd have panned the drum highs more. Not sure if you layer your kicks and snares at all or if you just use one sample each but fans of bass genres love hearing crisp unique sounds from the drums and more layers will help with that. Takes practice making your own drums but I usually use at least three snare samples together to make the main snare sound. From there you can pitch bend the samples, play with levels, route them into fidelity units, and send them back to the mix as one homogenous sound. I merge all my snare signals into one before sending them to the fidelity units. I hear a lot of producers now a days pitching up their snare drums. You used an old school snare sound but literally pitch it all the way up and you got that nu school tone all the kids like doing drugs to.

I get pretty weird with my synth modulations so this next section is opinion but I'd have loved to hear that reesy lead get pitch bent to higher highs every so often. It's a powerful lead but it could be a bit crisper occasionally, I often find using a good distortion unit to be more helpful than fidelity tools. I think the lead also has too much envelope release. I only automate the release up when I want to muddy up the mix or transition the song around. Usually my leads have absolutely no reverb, delay, or envelope release because they take up so much space. If I want a momentary burst of these things I can automate them in every so often, like adding a pinch of salt to a recipe.

I loved hearing this, got off to it even... but I'm not sure I want to spend all night writing up a crit. You should be proud of this track. It's always awesome to hear people branch out trying new things. I wasn't kidding when I said this sounds better than some of the neuro I hear from the upcoming and aspiring dnb people. Do another one <3

Arponax responds:

Dayum thanks for the feedback, ill see, i would like to get back to more tracks i made this month so maybe ill add this one too.