Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Violin_Liberation [Box-Ki]

nice!

Hey hey, really cool song. Just a few things I would have done differently if I found myself doing a classical song starting with the dynamics. Real instruments change their dynamics over time expressively. Dynamics is just a fancy word for amplification over time. There were a few crechendos in here, so I know you what's good. Just playing with the note velocities would create a good amount of terraced dynamics, but I find that it's more effective to automate shifts in dynamics instead. Of course you could go on to say that a song about a tyrant works better with terraced dynamics to give off a sort of marching dictation to it but I find that rhythm has a better effect than dynamics at expressing that kind of vibe. You're probably familiar with Nobuo Uematsu's One Winged Angel theme but go look that track up and really listen to how the instruments effectively change their amplifications over time to create tension. Sometimes the composer even uses syncopations that really create tension. Such a good fucking song.

Panning: I have trouble telling where there's panning if it's not really obvious, so I'm sorry if you did have some panning in there, but perhaps more pronounced stereo imaging would have been effective. Stereo imaging emulates live acoustics so it can help eliminate the digital burden of a mono mix. It also creates the illusion that things are louder than they actually are so you can turn the levels down on everything and have a cleaner mix in general.

Harpsichord: I'm really anal about that instrument. There wasn't anything wrong with using it. I'm just not a fan... you also used it in conjunction with a piano. Nothing wrong with that either. Like I said, I'm just really anal about it and in a typical classical piece, the two instruments would not have been heard together. This review could have gone without this harpsichord tirade :P

All in all, this song will work great in a flash and it's really cool man! The melodies are all really interesting and the harmonies work well together. Keep at classical composition, you definitely got some skill here :)

Box-Killa responds:

Yeah Man, I sort of forgot about panning and amplifications, I did a little bit but no much.

The harpsichord was just inside another instrument i wanted to use, so I couldn't get rid of it, but It does add a little bit of flair so its all good.

[Rig - VOT FIVE]

fuck yeah!!

I can't even begin to dissect this one jp. FUCKING PERFECTION.

Rig responds:

I KNOW RIGHT

[Ode to Madness]

sdisgrisgrgsjrgsogsojgsogso

Cool song. I don't normally give this genre a listen so I don't know how to be helpful, but everything sounds cool from my perspective. Really dark and brooding. I heard some digital clipping in there. I'd recommend turning down some of the louder levels in there that are doing that. If your not familiar with the term clipping, it's basically just digital distortion. It's that popping sound you hear when the levels peak. That would probaly be the only negative thing I have to say about this mix. Great melodies and sounds! Peace sir :)

popraz responds:

Yes, I noticed the clipping too, but i thought it was just my headphones being really old and faulty. I usually keep a low volume level so I'm not sure exactly why I got distortions. But now that it's officialy an issue, I'm going to have to look into it, maybe I missed something. Thank you very much for reviewing.

[Post Dr.Pepper]

fbbfbsfsff

Nice mix you got going. Chill melodies, good sounds. The only thing I'm going to complain about is the hi hat rhythm. It's kind of awkward. I like the variety you threw into the rhythm and by the second listen through the rhythm stopped being strange but that's always something to try and keep in mind while producing. I don't know what your writing process is like, but it definitely helps to take a step back from your work for a day or two so you can come back to a project with fresh ears. Sometimes you get really used to how things are in a track and you just let them be. I don't know if I've ever left you a review with this idea, but try throwing some delay on those hi hats and have it sync to the tempo. This will create instant dynamics and with a bit of practice can really flesh out a rhythm.

All in all, cool track sir!! Peace.

Syntrus responds:

Sounds like something interesting to try.

[Swirl Field]

ar!

Sounds like you got some serious potential going on. I'd tap this. Just a few little things that might help though, up the drums a bit or turn down the surrounding instruments. In a dnb track, the drums are defiantly the most important piece of the mix. The rhythms are really cool, funky variations and syncopations. I love the metal gear solid samps ^_^

Great song sir! Keep at it!

putzpie responds:

Sweet, glad you like it :D

[Wrong for the right reasons]

meow

haha, fucking awesome drum programing there and nice pads. I'm curious what the other reviewers are talking about in terms of the drum beat not fitting. Let's see here, it's all divisible by a constant measure... yep. That's a coherent beat alright. People get so thrown off when they hear things that syncopate. People need to learn to just throw their biased subjective opinions out the window when it comes to music. I'm guessing you're a follower of squarepusher and aphex twin? Also curious, what program do you use sir?

padlock916 responds:

I am a follower of Aphex twin. I actually only found him recently and he's been quite an influence on me i must say. as are plenty of other artist from every genera. The program i use is the one and only Fruity Loops. You can do a lot more with it than people would like to have you believe.

[Rig - Print 'n Bass]

lulz.

The review below gave me an image of a happier world where printers actually have a soul/ enjoy what they do. I've said it before and I'll say it again, just entering comps makes you the default winner. Looks like you'll have to mail $40 to yourself... I took a point off so I could feign objectivity. Seriously, there's something wrong with this mix and someone out there knows what it is.

Rig responds:

Something's missing in the middle frequencies ;(

[The No Name Wonder]

meow

Hey, not a bad go sir! After quickly running through your other tracks, I'd like to say that you could learn a lot from the drums in this track. A primary focus of a lot of electronic genres is a good balance in the sound spectrum. Drum kits need to hit all areas of the spectrum. You got the foundations for a great sound. Try this next time you produce a track: layer more drum sounds. Find a snare piece that hits just the lows, find a snare that hits primarily highs, then grab a snare that sits in the middle. You should also grab one that adds character. Then combine them all. This will create a new snare sound out of lets say four or five different ones. It's a rough technique to try to get at first but with a little practice it will come though. You can do that for everything else on your kit too, granted I'd stick to maybe two or three different kicks... which leads me to a little bit on dynamics...

Dynamics is the softness or loudness of a sound or note. All the sounds in this piece sound like they have constant unchanging dynamics which becomes really static sounding. If you layer your drums, you can utilize all of your kicks on lets say the count of one, then come in at a later time with just one of your three kicks and that will automatically create a softer sound and a greater dynamic range overall. You can also program your drums to play at different velocities over time which might be easier to do in a song like this where there really isn't any layering going on. Dunno, try it out if you can figure it. Another way to get better dynamics I've found is to just throw some delay on to the hi hats and have them sync to the tempo. I've gotten kind of wacky with that lately though. Speaking of the hi hats, most contemporary dnb down plays them in favor of the rest of the kit. You might want to turn them down just a tad.

Just a suggestion, but you might be able to slap a bit of reverb on the lead synth melody. I hear it at the beginning but I think the instrument transposes at around 25 seconds. I'm not sure if you know how to automate yet, but if there's actually two instruments there, try slapping reverb on them so they can take up a bit more space.

I don't want to bore you/ make you read more than you already have so let's just call it a day. Overall, great song sir! Keep producing, you got skill here. Just gotta keep on keeping on :)

Speedfalcon responds:

Thanks a Lot. This has been the most detailed, useful review I have recieved on any of my songs. I will review your tips and try to include some of the things you said the next track I do. Thanks for taking the time =).