Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Abyssal Industry]

rawr.

Never listened to this account. I had no idea you could do drum and bass. Pretty sick mix too. The intro has a really nice atmosphere about it. AR. Liking those bells/ alarms. There's something wrong at 31. I feel like it was something on the drum kit being panned. Soem of the panning is awesome, but there's just that one sound, it comes in later too... meh, opinions. Aside from that one drum, I actually really loved them. The reese is pretty cool. All over the map, just like a reese should be.

Great job sir. Good luck in the mac, and yes. His name is hank.

S3C responds:

yea, I've been trying to make DnB since mid may :)

Good luck to you in the competition to and thanks for the review Quarl!

[DnB CTSG Thing.]

fuck yeah!

fecking amazing sir, great reeses, nice solid drum work. I'm gealous of your dnbz :P

Funky.

DJ-NOSEBLEED responds:

<3 Quarl :3

[Sailing a Ship Into The Sun]

All of what your about to read is opinion.

Liking the track. Not 100% sure I'd call this dnb or idm, but it's a valiant effort. There are certain paradigms in dnb tracks. You seem to recognize some of them, but I think you just need another year to get it down to a science. A common stereotype of dnb includes a tempo that stays within 170-180 bpm... I never go as slow as 170 though, I usually stay within 175-178. Classic two step rhythm at the beginning of the rhythmic work, but you can usually get a much more dynamic rhythm by working with break beats. It's a preference of mine, but that's only because I refuse to work with the two step format.

Nav likes to hound me about some sort of 64 bar structure thing. I think it's a load of crud but if you plan on djing, it's probably worth it for the transitions. Now, melodies are a great thing to have in intros, but a melody is never the focus of a dnb track. They're necessary, but the reese or bass line is usually the focus. A reese is basically a distorted sawtooth wave format. In reason they're really easy to make using the malstrom, but I'm guessing you use FL. At least, I assume thats what the Fl in the authors comments is referring to. If you used reason I could give you some tips on how to make fun reese lines, but I don't know the differences between the programs first hand.

There's probably a lot more I can tell you but I'm not sure if we should worry about any of that. You said it yourself that you think this is your best. When it comes right down to it, music is a personal thing. It's all preference. I could sit here and preach to you all the connotations of what is and what isn't dnb, but there really isn't any point. I always get alternating reviews from different people and it's really frustrating to try and satisfy them all. Creativity is so under rated. Also, it's more fun to try and figure it out on your own. Go google dnb and see what you can find :P

Keep producing and you'll eventually learn yourself a new genre :D

Cebster responds:

haha thanks i really read through all that and i completly understand what you mean. yeah i prett much didnt really think this was a dNB song other then the two step and your comment reinsures me. but i figured id upload it here because it does have that two step and i thought people would get akick out of it. also your pretty much right about the mealody. i guess i just didnt really take into consideration what Dnb standerds people have. but if you ever listened to venition snares or even the DnB classic, its not all resse or hard bass. the style that people proudce on new grounds is more dark step. anyways thanks for the comment. yeah that song i reviewed of yours i really liked it. i downloaded it. hahah pretty chill.

[Rig & Spawn - 16 Bar Assassin]

nice.

Damn, I was thinking of doing a muffin rap on top of this... kind of kills the joy.

Awesome mix. I don't agree with some of those iffy kick/snare rolls, but whatever. The MC rocks. See if he's interested in doing a dnb track. There's nothing I love more than a dnb track with vox.

Rig responds:

Sure, I'll find out. And go ahead and muffinize it if you want! :D

You could also get in touch with him at war-spawn.newgrounds.com

[The Monks of Cherub Liang]

Nice track, but...

Awesome mix. Just one problem. Too much sub. I'm wearing headphones and it's too much, I can only imagine what this sounds like on my speakers... oh wait, I CAN listen to this with my speakers... and it sounds a lot better here. Still, you should try to do a better job mastering your tracks so that no one gets left out. If you're making a track to get signed, make sure you've mastered a track so that it sounds good on ALL speaker formats and not just yours. Potential buyers won't be interested in listening to a track if it leaves them out of the loop.

Great track, just a tad too much bass. Also, layer that amen. I love using that kit, but I try to hide it under another kit through layering. I get a lot of shit from people when I use the amen break in my compositions. Great kit, but we know that already :3

Good luck sir!

SREvol responds:

Wow, I didn't use an amen break. Also it's not being signed for re-sale, just for spinning in the clubs. I think I already said this in the description.

Again, no amen break. Drums are original. Alot of drumming for dnb and jungle uses the same format as the amen break, you're most likely hearing the tune and recognising the same junglist / olskool sounds but no to the amen break itself being sampled!

[EDIT] Oh at the beggining, i thought you meant in my main break. haha i'm quite the fool. yeah amen sample used there. But its not a straight cut of the amen. its only the hats which i cut off in cubase and ableton. note the kick is not the amen kick and the snare is 20 hz lower. snare was taken from a previous song of mine called give to god. haha sorry about the mix up people!

[Rig - Furniture Monster]

Fucking beautiful.

I just had 8 orgasms, and that's on the first listen.

Drums ROCKED, track really fucked with the mind. The atmosphere was sassier than anything else I've heard in the comp... opinion, but it's mine so HA!

Really though, I'm in love. The only thing that I don't like is how short it is. Add on and have it ready for your future set at alfred. The audience here is really awesome, and I'd love to see how they interpret this... you'd have to warn them that it's off tempo though. Trust me. Seeing them move is amazingly fun to watch. Giving them a heads up about the time sig will save them the guess work.

Rig responds:

<3<3

[Ghosts [Preview]]

rawwwwwr!

I'm liking what you got going here. I really want to leave a review that tells you where to improve but I've decided I can't really do that anymore.

http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/9 58599

Besides, I love your work. I know that when your done, this will sound amazing anyways.

Also, when your done, keep this in mind: http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/9 55265

Seriously, there are a lot of subs in there that are rocking the experimental dnb. This sounds like it would fit right in if you could this done by the 14th.

Rawrthaas responds:

that was an interesting read..deep :\

but yeahI might try to push the full out before the 14th. TBH I haven't worked on it since. I have school again so yeah :\

[Inside the mind of Madness]

Meow.

Interpretation of song's "story."

0:00-1:00
Hank kills poorly drawn but well animated sprites.

1:00-1:40
Hank kills poorly drawn but well animated sprites.

1:40-2:20
Hank kills poorly drawn but well animated sprites.

2:20- End
Hank kills poorly drawn but well animated sprites.

Seriously, the madness series is pretty straight forward... I feel no need to add a story to this song in order to enjoy it more, there fore I move on with my review.

First question I ask everyone is "what program are you using?" I'm gonna guess fruity loops, but in all honesty this could have easily been done in garage band. Not like that's a bad thing. My first program was garage band and I learned a lot from it. Really, garage band has a nice preset synth that sounds a lot like the lead synth later on in this track. It sounds like you automated some stuff, so I'm just guessing you're using fruity loops. That is, if fruity loops even lets you automate things. I don't see why it wouldn't.

The song is all right. It has some good elements in it, but it sounds really amateur. PLEASE, don't take that the wrong way. I don't want you to be offended, but I just want you to know, there's a big gap between your productions and a professionals. I still consider myself an amateur and I've been at this for a few years, so please don't take offense when I say that.

Now, you might want to know what makes me say that. Well, I could tell you all the reasons why I think that, but I honestly would have a really hard time telling you how to improve in these aspects. I felt as if this was your best, so the only thing I can really tell you is to just keep going. I just gave a few of your other tracks a listen and I feel like I can hear you gradually improving. Keep trying harder and harder and eventually you'll fucking rock man.

Now, I guess it would only be fair to let me tell you what I felt were weak spots in this mix so you can try cleaning up a little.

1. Vocals leave very little to the imagination, and they're kind of silly. This mix could probably do with out them.

2. Drum kit sounded kind of dull. A lot of times, just getting a good drum kit will really fix the entire song. Really, there wasn't even a snare in this mix. Take my advice, from a drummer to some one who obviously isn't... don't ever try to be unique, original or experimental with your drums until you understand what makes a basic drum beat sound good. I know that may sound like horrible advice, but the best way to get good at something is to stick to the rudaments. Granted, this track is primarily four to the floor, just giving a few of your other tracks a listen made me wonder "how does this kid go about writing drum rhythms? It doesn't sound like he understands anything but a solid kick."

Ok, please don't take that the wrong way either. Like I said, my goal isn't to offend you, so please hear me out.

If you want to learn the fundamentals of rhythm, go search some tabs online and copy them, YES, I SAID COPY THEM. We stand on the shoulders of giants, and before you can be good at something, you have to be bad at it. The reason why any one is good at anything is because we have other people to look up to.

Besides, I can guarantee that any rhythm you find in tab form is gonna be basic and unoriginal any ways :P

3. There was a cheering sound halfway through the mix. It adds a bit of depth to the mix, but it sounds really muddy. You could have replaced it with a synth of some sort and it probably would have been fine.

4. You might have benifitted from a few extra pads. A pad works like a chord in that it adds depth and atmosphere to a song. I feel like you really only had one pad in this track, or at least one instrument that acted like one. It was the wind sweep.

I really need to end this review because I'm about to run our of characters, but I really hope some one else leaves from where I left off. I guess all I have left to say is keep producing and you're guaranteed to get better. Just keep your head high and work work work! Trust me, it only gets more fun ;)

Sanryd responds:

No offense taken. This is the very reason I submitted the work.

I think your assesment of my work is exactly how I feel about it. - As well as pointing out things I haven't thought of.

1) Interpretation... you have a good point, I'm cutting the voices... way too cheesy and doesn't stick with the Madness program.

2) I use Fruity Loops.

3) I am an amateur with drums, and percussion... got a long way to go on that, I think your idea about going to go look at some tabs with drums is a great idea, I had never thought of that. Also maybe purchasing or finding some free decent VST's online to make a nice rythm.

4) Being better at mixing could have fixed that muddy cheer... working progress

5) Something I didn't even think about for this piece or in most of my pieces is background pads..... I usually use strings or something, but pads... sometimes the obvious isn't seen until someone else points it out.

I appreciate the honest review... I like the constructive critism.

I'm re-working the piece tomorrow for sure.

[(NUB)TheseMistakesAreForever]

hmmmm.

I've seen you around the forums and what not but I've never bothered to check out your music. I'm gonna have to check all of it after this. Really smart dmb... intelligent actually. Really spectacular drum programming. Curious, what program are you running to make this? I ask almost everyone that question :P

I'm giving you a 9/10 because the songs tone gets a bit repetitive. The track might have needed a lead of some sort, or some different elements later in the track. Repetition in electronica isn't a bad thing. Hell, it's a key element to it. It's just, a new pad or synth later in the track might have helped a little.

Dunno. Maybe I'm just dumb :P

nubbinownz responds:

Hehehe no worries. Thank you very much for the wonderful review either way :D

and just to point out hehe at 3:50 not only do 2 new synths and a new pad come in but an entirely different drum beat :P

[Rig - I Love Clock Day]

lol.

I keep listening to this one, then the old one. They sound identical, but this one just seems to rock so much harder. I can't quite put my finger on it... I'm guessing you raised the awesome sliders on your synths? Or was it the radical knob? I can never really tell. My ear just isn't as fine tuned as yours.

Rig responds:

I tweaked the EQ a bit. ;D