Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AD - Lightmass (DUB)]

mayhaps

cool little ditty you got here. I'd recommend turing the end of this into a drop then make a slamming hot dnb to top it off. just a suggestion good sir. peace :)

AeraDynamic responds:

I already have some ideas for the intro and the drop, I will structure it properly

[Awake - Serenade]

rub step

haha, fuck yeah. Great track man. This is a great dub step track and I'm loving it. The only thing that would make this competitive with a commercial dub step song would be a drop followed by a really hard chorus. Just dropping those pads for a minute would do it. You always have really pro sounds but the only thing keeping you from the mainstream is a song structure that would fit perfectly into any DJ set. That's really my only feedback for this man. Great work! Peace man :)

Rawrthaas responds:

thanks brah

[Drum and Bassizzle]

not drum and bass butttt...

It's still a fun song. It really reminded me of some old genesis games... specifically sonic 3d/ pinball.

A good technique to try out is something called layering. The drums sound decent but if you layer your drums you can get much fuller sounds. Try layering several different snares and kicks and you'll get what I mean. Find a snare that attacks low frequencies, one that hits mids and one that hits highs and create a new sound by bringing them all together. Equalize as necessary. Trying to get a hold of that technique should keep you busy for a while. Took me ages :P

molkman responds:

Thanks, I'll make sure to try that shizz out.

I always try to make my songs sound less videogame-ish, but they always turn out that way. It's kind of the easiest "genre".

[Tonestep! [MAC]]

mar

This would be my favorite ring tone in the comp but at the moment I kindly ask you to get rid of that intro. This is a damn ringtone. My phone rings once before I pick it up. Great work, just cut it a little shorter and you have the perfect ringtone/ a chance of winning. Peace.

Koriigahn responds:

Cheers man, the intros been cut now! :)

[°°Call Me Back°°]

maw

Meh, the piece doesn't waist any time getting into the track. Allot of other comp entires beat around the bush for about 30 seconds before getting to the damn ring tone. Just for that I'm gonna say this piece has a pretty good chance of grabbing top five with the current running. The ring tone is interesting. I'm not sure if I'd set my phone to this but I still really like it. I'm not sure how audible those voices would be on low res cell phone speakers but they were a really nice touch! G'luck whirlguy!!

Whirlguy responds:

Ha, thanks. I've been noticing the long intros myself, and made extra sure my intro was shorter than that. Aw man, I should have tested this on my phone before. It's sound quality is pretty crap so I'm gonna check it out(though I won't touch much of the mix if it sounds bad, except maybe volume on the vocals). Thanks for the idea :P

Also, loving the songs you've sent in. The one you did with Sorohanro is my favourite entry at the moment :3

[SR - Smashin']

maw

Made in a morning? Not sure if that's what you meant but if it is then rockin. If not, rockin anyways. Good fun, good vibes.

Curious, do you record your melodies with a keyboard or do you write it all up with your mouse?

SineRider responds:

Yeah it was made in a morning, like 2-3 hours of work one morning.

I rarely play my melodies in on keyboard becuase I suck at playing piano. I mostly pencil it all in, but brainstorm on my keyboard ideas, then work them out. The melodies in this one are pretty simplistic, rhythm-wise.

Thanks for the glowing review quarl ;)

[Pixel 9000 [Ring] (Dance)]

maw

I liked what I heard but what do you mean by 100% samples? Isn't that illegal?

djInTheDark responds:

No not those types of samples, the kind that you either recored or design/manipulate, meaning that this is completely me down to the last hi hat.

[SN | Obscene Amounts of Steam]

fsbdnd

I fucking love this good sir! Wonderful track, ace sounds and atmosphere. Really atmospheric! Fucking win!

I'm not sure how deeply you've probed newgrounds audio portal but this guy used to submit a shit ton of slick idm...

http://dj-padman1.newgrounds.com/

SessileNomad responds:

hot damn that dude does have some pretty sweet tracks

glad you liked this, worked hard on this one

peace brah

[Rig - Mind over Metal theme 1]

Great buuutttt...

Sorry it took a while to get back to you. Midterms. Also, I wrote up an essay for you but my browser quit on me and I lost the essay. Not to fear. I'll just paraphrase it into one sentence.

I HATE THAT FUCKING DRUM LOOP.

Now I'll do a rewrite. I don't mind it hiding behind syncopations and slight variations. Hell, even simplifying that core rhythm even further and making up some cool aux percussion stuff would have been good. You didn't even try though. It's so blatantly there. I digress. It's a video game loop. That drum rhythm might help give off a vibe of familiarity that ultimately benefits the game. It's more of an ethics problem than a compositional one. I've used it before too... once actually and it was recent... just to see what it was like. I'm disgusted with myself but I've gotten by somehow.

Aside from my gripes on the drum pattern everything else is cool so far. It sounds like it will work great with a game when you finish.

"It's the same drum beat." Hypocrisy :P

Rig responds:

Fair enough, I guess. What makes you hate the drum loop so? The repetition or that the beat itself is just so overused?

[AD - The Passage (DUB)]

asfdffffff

Sounds pretty good so far. That grimy bass is coming along nicely but it's a little too predictable. I'm not sure how your modulating it but if it's set to automatically modulate change that and just automate the bass where you want it to modulate so it doesn't always have the same attack. Like you said, the stabs need some work. I'm not sure if it's the texture of the voice or if it's the melody thats getting to me but I'd play with both.

Other than all that you got a solid track coming through the pipes. Keep it up!

AeraDynamic responds:

agagagag thanks I am working on it, I modulate my basslines with automation clips or freehand but thats in fl only hahaha the stabs are already done so far, I changed em a bit ;)