Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Existential Emptiness (Full Album)]

I came for the title but stayed for the fun frequencies. Celestial hits nice. The titular track Existential Emptiness had some really slick breaks. I love the sonic explorations <3

I'm not gonna give up a long review because this is a full album but with a little more polish on fidelity you'll have a pro sound. Things like melody, percussion, arrangement, pads... all these things are inspired. Fidelity is the last push and it's a tough one because every explorative track needs a slightly different balance or mixdown. Was talking to another producer the other day about having a wide range of mix quality from track to track, inconsistent mastering. It's just part of the game. A formula will work for a minute but the moment you start experimenting or trying new stuff you have to adjust your techniques.

Drums are kind of my favorite thing to work on, I think your drums can be a little more prominent in the mix. Not sure if you got much sidechaining going on but I like to send the kick drum and sometimes the snare signals to various compressors attached to other instruments. That kick signal can then control levels of the chained instruments. A chained kick drum signal will momentarily mute the bass or a pad... when listening to Existential Emptiness in particular I felt like those drums could have punched through the mix a little more and side chaining the drum signals is key.

There are a lot of drum techniques, not sure if you use MIDI or drum loop samples but I prefer the freedom of MIDI. Dropping other people's breaks into my tracks never jived with me but if you use them you can actually sidechain stuff using a secondary muted drum kit. Just quickly MIDI up the core rhythm the sample follows, then send the signal to compressors attached to other instruments, then mute the sidechain drum machine before it gets to the master. I use Reason's spider merger/splitter to multiply drum signals for sidechaining but I'm sure most programs let you split a signal with their own tools. Regardless of whether you use full break samples or broken up MIDI samples this type of stuff can be fun to play with and folds back into what I was saying about needing different techniques for different situations :3

Regardless of which drum techniques you use you can still layer new drum sounds on top of those. I love the sound of the drum samples on Celestial but they're a little lonely. I'd add some aux percussion like tambs, shakers, toms, cowbells, vibraslaps... there is a world of percussive instruments that can help add life to that groove! Then there's the classic layering, most my snare drums can be two or three samples deep. I got a work flow where I take the snare samples from the drum machine, send their signals into a merger, then I send the combined drum signal into an EQ unit, compressor, limiter, stereo imager... sometimes I bypass the fidelity units but this signal flow lets me get snare samples all on the same page. From the drum machine I can change the pitch or tone of individual snare samples, the end goal is to make them all work together, as one! It's a little convoluted at first but I've been doing it for decades now and this is just the way it is now :3

Automation lanes can provide some rhythmic life with a little dynamics, I quickly draw peaks and valleys for hi-hat and shaker rhythms when I don't want to play with their individual note velocities. I'd also add snare reverb every few measures. End a measure with some reverb on a snare just to see what I'm talking about. You don't want to go too crazy with snare reverb, this isn't the 80s but a little snare reverb automated in once or twice a track... beautiful mix trick.

I said something about keeping this review short. I was lying D:

MixxyHD responds:

It really was a huge criticism xD but I'm still in shock about the frontpaged...

I made this album for a whole year and it evolved as it went along. Existential Emptiness was made in 2023, probably halfway through the year and I was in that phase of very rapid evolution, I could have improved a lot and done a lot more, but at the time I just didn't think that way... Even so, I managed to finish my album and this project is finally going to get some recognition.
A thousand apologies for not knowing how to react to your incredible criticism of my songs, but you've given me a lot of ideas for my future songs and projects! I hope you had a great time listening to my album. That's very special to me <3

Anyway, thank you so much for the criticism and the comment!!!

[Free Bass Loops Bb pack demo]

...and I will stuff these into the decades old Soro folder. You make great resources :p

sorohanro responds:

More to come in the future ;)
You always make awesome stuff out of them.

[Shopping Spree]

I wanted to get something together for the mall collab but failed to do anything because lazy. Love this melody, chords are magic, beat holds down the foundation perfectly. Not sure I agree with a house groove being certified "mall music" but it grooves really nice. All you need is Marc Rebillet in a German grocery store screaming in the background @ 1:30 and it's 100% funked up <3

Casper responds:

I guess "house" itself is more so club music, the song's instrumentation is more mall-y haha, i liked the rhythm and how it fit tho. I wasn't too fussed about making it tradionally mall or whatever, just went for something funky and fun, made the first part during jamuary and the switchup at 1:30 was done like one day before the deadline lmao. Transition is a bit rushed but I actually think it fits in the context

[Qshunt-Schism]

Clean, massive, unique, love it Qshunt. I usually just favorite your stuff but why not give a little extra today? Love your sound <3

Qshunt responds:

Thanks heaps Quarl!
I've been out of action for a bit and a touch demotivated. I've got so many projects on the go, and I've been unable to finish most of them, so this was a bit of a diamond in the rough that I was quite happy with.
Cheers for commenting. I rarely get comments, but I get hundreds of downloads. :S
It's a bit off putting sometimes. :(

[bitching at the wind]

Indy vibes, I can hear that classic goth sound though. Singing reminds me of an Interpol sound I grew up with. Reverb isn't too over powering, the reverb on the snare in particular gives a texture of that 80s sound but I'm hearing indy vibes again. Drum rhythms are creative and sound live where in a lot of those old goth tunes had somewhat cheesy rhythms and often electronic kits.

In regards to indy, I'm one of those angry kids that got pissed when the term indy got picked up and misused to describe a genre instead of it's classic means to denote independent acts that were totally on their own and without the support of a label. I mean, indy labels are a total paradox in that respect. Due to that, I won't neg you to change the genre. Indy isn't supposed to be a genre AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL D:<

It's great to see you still working on your music chops, you're doing your own thing and I love it! Never stop Mr Rick. You're making a fun riot with your music :3

RickSteubens responds:

thank you quarl sweaty, preesh. Funnily enough it started with the shitty drums after listening to tom waits, it evolved from a grungy thing into more of a type o negative feel by the end. Also def agree on the indie thing, call it what it is: navelgaze lmao

[Tainted Airwaves]

I sent you a message saying that Tainted Airwaves was the coolest thing I've heard so far this year. I maintain that opinion today, this song had so many awesome elements. The vocals were creatively affected and utilized, the drums had some sick fidelity and texture.

I'd check all your fidelity units though, there are one or two spots where the tones get a little too powerful (1:00 being a perfect example). I don't like to rely on a limiter but I always do. I soft clip leads and basses to avoid overpowering the mix. I might even be guilty of putting a limiter on the master out I'M SUCH A BRICK SLUT, WHAT EVEN IS 0 DB??? OLOLOLOLOLOL.

The above limiting trick might also help your four-to-the-floor section sound a little cleaner. That part in particular could use some limiting/more side-chaining but I smiled wide when it played because it was a really creative decision, which I respect immensely. If you love a genre or sound enough to randomly put it in the middle of a song... big balls. Juicy balls, massive... how do you even sit down?

larrynachos responds:

Thank you so much Quarl, I really appreciate that! It's a bit messy but I feel like I'm one step closer to making the kind of music I want to make.

I made the switch from limiting to soft clipping a year or two ago, but with this track I was having a lot of trouble balancing the mix. Lowering the volume to reasonable levels like -3/-6 completely deflated the sound, losing all of it's gusto. I had more elements sidechained but I kept turning them off because I couldn't get them to sound right. Cutting out frequencies for elements was constantly backfiring as well, so I decided to just embrace the jank. I do agree that some moments in the track suffer because of it though x.x The drums in the hardstyle section get a bit crunchy because I have like 3 kicks layered but I also had them all routed to a single mixer track cause I'm an actual psychopath.

The chiptune midsection is one of my favorite bits, but 3:23 is what I'm all about <3 I wonder if it would have been better with a wider bass, maybe a reese. I wish I allowed myself to tweak and change my songs after release, but for some reason once I've published a song it feels like that waveform is set in stone, and if I make any changes it never really hits the same in my brain.

Thanks so much for listening! I'm really glad you liked it!

[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.