Onefin's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[One night away]

Hey, BlastBeats! I finally found time to drop a review...

I'm inspiring now? :O Wow

One look at those chord progressions, and I'm totally sold XD Listening to the song, the composition is definitely as complex as that description let on! Unique and interesting harmonies fill this piece, and although a few chords sound off and a couple might be improvable (ex: Am in the end of the chorus would probably be better as an A), I was generally impressed by what I heard. Also, that's a lot of diminished chords in the breakdown :O I'm not quite sure what that unknown chord is, but it seems to function like a D#m.

I'd say the big emphasis of this track was story telling... my mind is having trouble painting a good picture (what can I say, I'm not a writer), but its definitely evident that there was heart poured into the piece - some deep emotions definitely went into its design! That, at least, is clear. Good job!

Constructive criticism, huh? My biggest concern is the master here... it's just more sort of "distant" than I would have liked. How do I describe it? It kinda sounds like everything was dampened... every sound is missing a sort of directness, for sure, but I can't quite pinpoint what's causing the issue. Maybe it's the bass? Maybe it's the mid? I can't tell :/

The drums kind of sound like they don't fit... this song is rather ambient in nature, but the drums sound like they were designed for a rock song. Maybe you could have gone for something mellower, maybe involving light bongos and various other, less meaty percussive textures?

Anyway, that's what I've got for you! Thanks for the role of inspiration, you did a good job! Maybe increased variation and a better master would help this track achieve its full potential, but as it stands, the composition is complex and awesome - truly a track worthy of telling its story! 9/10, 5/5 :)

BlastBeats responds:

You are very inspiring! In fact, because of you I dug up a midi keyboard form my attic, which had been gathering dust for the past 3 years, just to experiment with composing. Even though I've never really played piano, I decided to record some parts of this song with it.

I agree some chords aren't my best choice. That's because I've never even bothered to go ham with dem chords :P. I'm proud even though there are some flaws. But I'll take it into account for sure! I love them! I want more :D! I looked up that weird chord in multiple chord libraries, but it wasn't in there, so hence it's unknown.

Yep, full storymode: [on] I might put something about that in the description at some point.

I might do a remaster. I've been comparing this with other songs, and I get what you say. But here again... I know nothing about mastering. Looking at the Maximus in my master, I think I overcompressed the mids, and made the bass too loud.

Drums, my name, ugh... I designed them first. If you'd solo them, they'd sound like great DnB drums! They can do with less compression, though. However, the ‘meaty’ drums were as I intended. I reckon I should have made a different set of drums with more calm sounds in the more ambient parts. I like them, but I might have gotten used to them after relistening parts repeatedly.

I'm full of joy because you actually reviewed! Thank you ever so much for the appreciation and the useful and necessary feedback. I needed this. Nothing feels better than seeing such a review after you struggled so hard, trying to make this. I can't thank you enough :D

[Jump For It!]

Dude, wow! I didn't expect much clicking the link, but boy did you surprise me!

Right off the bat, the super intense mixing skill caught my attention! It kinda reminded me of Aeron's work when I heard it, and isn't it just perfect that I scroll down here to leave a review and his name is right there, two spots down? That's fantastic - good work!

And like Aeron said, the melody is SUPER CATCHY! Most melodies I've been hearing from similar sounds in this competition are okay, but a bit lazy sounding - the melodies here, though, are fantastic in design and really catch the ear! They're on the level of the likes of Voluto by Aeron and Velcro by LunacyEcho, so really nice job!

Your sound design definitely does a good job bringing out the quirk in this piece! I guess that quirk is what truly makes this piece unique from others I've heard. And the more serious, fierce tone in the electro drops is nice as well, although I would have hoped for a bit more contrast.

In all, maybe the track as whole could use more of that contrast. Overall, the sound is pretty much the same throughout the 7/2+ minutes - maybe more variation would keep the monotony at a minimum.

In the little breaks right before the drop (like at 1:02), I'm hearing some stock samples. This is confirmed by what I see in the description, but maybe you could have gotten more creative with the sound. At the moment, it just sounds amateurish compared to what's around it.

Overall, I love this track! More variation and creativity could do this potentious sound a long way, but as it stands, it sounds amazing - definitely a solid contender! 9/10, 5/5, good luck :)

MrKoolTrix responds:

Hi! Didn't expect you to review on this track, but I'm glad that you did. XD

Thanks for the positive notes.
As a plus, the constructive criticism's really gonna help in the future. =)

Thanks for reviewing! =D

[Overflow]

Hey, Aeron! Thought I'd drop a review for ya!

First off, this chord progression is definitely really interesting, as usual! There are tons of super strange and unexpected harmonies I'm hearing, and I absolutely adore it! The eccentricity of the harmonics here definitely make this track sound out!

The two-section trick you did here is really cool! It's kind of the same thing I heard in LunacyEcho's Velcro back a year ago, except backwards and also much more creative and unique. I'd say you did a good job with the transition, and the section itself resembles the first part of the track enough to feel coherent to my ears. :)

The soundscape here... man, you never cease to amaze me! The sounds here are all so good, and so well mixed, as usual for you! It's evident how much thought you put into each sound and how it works cohesively in the mix - with the end in mind!

My only big gripe with the track is how it ended - quantization to the finish isn't something you hear everyday, but it's not exactly the most conclusive or creative ending approach, either. Plus, it kinda comes out of nowhere :/

In the end, though, this is a really solid entry! We're both All-Stars members, so we're against each other, but man, this is too good! 9/10, 5/5, good luck, man! ;)

AeronMusic responds:

Heyo 1f1n1ty!
I can hear why it sounds kind of random but I quite like those endings.
And yeah I like to put detail in my mixing, it's what I try to achieve with every release, and I am happy it worked out very well in this one too.
Thanks a lot for such a big review! I really appreciate it! (:

[Sky Streaks]

Hey, BeeFef! Nice track! For this review, I'm just going to start at the beginning and spill thoughts as I go.

Right off the bat, I'm liking the composition of this first arp. Maybe the sound itself could have been more square-y or sine-y, but that's just a personal preference.

At around 0:17, I'm heard just a bit of porta/glide in those chords. Honestly, I'm not sure why you haven't done more of that to the sound! That glide effect sounds really cool, and I would have liked to hear it more. :( Also, maybe give that bass more oomph?

0:46 - That kick has a ton of low end but not enough mid/high... maybe a bad sample? Regardless, you did a good job making that kick drum sit on top of the mix! The mixing itself is actually pretty nice so far.

1:30 - I would have liked a transition into this section, but the section itself sounds pretty nice! It's mad even better by the strings/pad that get added in later, although I would have liked a less gradual attack on the sound.

Your atmosphere thus far has been pretty solid! You've used your well-designed sounds pretty well to produce a really solid mood. Good job!

Going into 3:12, I would have really liked some more contrast. Maybe use extra, more powerful sounds in this section to really give it a bigger feel than the rest of the track?

I really like these sounds at 4:00! They're just super appealing for a reason I can't really explain.

Overall, it's a nice tune with potential! Maybe a bit more variation and dynamic contrast would really help it achieve that potential!

BeeFef responds:

Thanks for the review! First of all, the base of that first arpeggio I think is actually a waveform I drew myself in Audacity.

The more square-y or sine-y idea actually seems like it would work out fine. I could easily go and tweak it and use that sample for a future song.

Next, I admit that I should've put in more of the porta in the arpeggio throughout the song.

I'm not very good at creating drum samples, but that's not to say that won't change. The kick I used in this song was based off a sample I created last year before I was on Newgrounds.

For the next section, I personally like the dreaminess of it, and it reminds me of looking at a starry night sky. It was partially inspired by F-777.

In a review in my last song, someone said that I should do some better sound designing, and looking at this review it seems that I've improved since, which is nice knowing.

Something that I feel like I sorta need to be doing is changing it up more in my songs and making it more interesting.

The ending piano is the same sample that was from the middle of the song. It started out as a sample of a piano I have at home that I recorded on my old phone. And I agree, that part is mystical and appealing.

I really appreciate you stopping by and leaving this review. Especially from someone who's music is as good as yours.

[Walk]

Hey, PolarTrance! I'm dropping by to leave a review on this track.

The biggest thing I want to mention about this song is how beautiful your melodic content is! That small arp thing at 0:11 really appeals to me, and all the melodies generally sound pretty good, as opposed to those in some other entries I've heard! The rest of the composition is pretty solid as well - bass riff design, chord design, transition design, etc. Solid track, in that aspect!

Sounds could have been better, but they're good for what they are! They're chosen fairly well and were clearly crafted with the end in mind! Mixing is good, as well. Dubsyn below me commented that the mix sounds dirty, but on my headphones it sounds pretty okay.

So I'm about 3 minutes in currently, as I'm writing this paragraph, and so far I haven't quite heard any sort of coherence. There are clearly different sections, but how they relate and fit together is completely lost on me. This problem could be chalked down to repetition - each section is quite long and largely sounds the same throughout, with nothing really interesting developing or happening during the section (I mean, unless it's a build, but that's not really "interesting"). Maybe if you made sections shorter, a true coherence could begin to develop.

However, that doesn't mean the track is bad! In all, this track brings some wonderful sounds to the table - sounds which I definitely enjoy! 9/10, 5/5, good luck!

[Jagfunk]

This isn't really a review, but...

Did you use copyrighted samples, or are all those vocals royalty free or made by you?

[Omikron]

Wow! This sounds good!

The beginning is really tasty! The soundscape you've achieved creates a beautiful atmosphere which I love - every sound is designed well for its part and mixed well with regards to other sounds!

The intensity at 0:30 seems to come out of nowhere, as there's nothing leading into it, but the sound itself definitely gains an appropriate amount of energy, which I'm definitely a fan of!

The song begins to lose its flair about one and a half minutes in, though. I feel like there isn't enough sonic variation to really keep my ears interested for that long.

However, in no way is that saying the song is bad! For what it is, this piece sounds really well made and thought through - I really enjoyed this track! 9/10, 5/5, good luck!

ggaero responds:

Thank you so much :)

[Opportunities (NGAUC 2016)]

Hey, imadji! Thought I'd drop by on your NGAUC submission and leave some comments!

I really like the beginning of the piece! I could have used a bit more reverb, but what it has right now is really atmospheric and appealing to me, as an ambientstep artist. On that note, good job letting the sound fade out at the end!

Did you name the piece "Opprotunities" on purpose? I hope you've noticed the typo...

My biggest gripe with the piece (and oh boy, this is a big one) is that all of the bass notes are sharp by an entire semitone. I have never known how people's ears can be so mislead as to make this kind of mistake, but it's happened here :/ 0:40 is a place where I can describe the problem most clearly - the sine pluck in the back of the mix is playing some bass tones - C and E, correct? These notes would be right if the piece was in E minor, but it's not. Every melodic tone in the piece is playing in Eb minor. Those bass notes should be B and Eb. This problem is EXTREMELY apparent at points like 2:38, 2:08 and 3:57, where the bass plays by itself, the melody succumbs to the tuning error, and two basses playing dissonant notes play at the same time, respectively. What's even weirder is that you seem to have known that B and Eb where the right bass notes, as they appear that way at 3:44.

The drop comes at 0:51, and boy is it impactful. That's really good, but it's so loud that the sound is clipping. You might want to look into that before the deadline comes around, because I know judges will deduct a LOT for that. Might want to fix some other clipping issues here and there, too.

For the most part, your transitions are pretty solid, but the one going into 0:13 stood out to me as one of the worst ones. There's just nothing really leading into it - the reverse kick doesn't do its job at all.

Overall, the piece has issues, but that doesn't mean I dislike it. You've clearly done a good job - there are clear signs of effort in the sound. But if you want any hopes of making it to the final round, I'd patch up some of the issues - namely, the clipping and the poorly tuned bassline. 8/10, 4/5, :)

Pulvite responds:

Thanks 1nf1n1ty, I'm glad you addressed those issues to me, I (hopefully) fixed the issues that you were talking about. Good Job on your NGAUC piece, I really like it :D

[Chael - Leap of Faith]

Hey, Chael! Thought I'd drop by and leave your NGAUC piece a review.

First off, I'd like to say the mixing here is incredible! At the moment I'm not listening on headphones (because I'm sweating at the moment and don't want to ruin them), so I can't hear if anything weird is happening in the low end, but the mids and highs sound pretty good to me! I can hear most everything pretty clearly, and you've filled the spectrum of frequencies fairly well and consistently!

EDIT: Alright, I've put my headphones on, and now the drops sound a ton more impactful than they did before. Good job on your transitions and energy flow! Everything works well in one cohesive mix to produce one gesture of build-up and breakdown. This is something I personally struggle in, so good job achieving it here!

Also sweet arp at around 3:49!

So this is... progressive house? I don't listen to progressive that often, mostly because of repetition (I'll get there in a moment). So I don't really have experience in this genre to say what sounds good and what sounds bad - in fact, maybe some of the stuff I'm going to criticize in a second really couldn't have been avoided because of the genre. Welp, I'll give it a shot.

So the first thing is, as I've mentioned earlier, repetition. You've probably noticed, but this track tends to repeat the same thing over and over again. Not only are the first and second drops pretty much the same (until that sweet backing arp is added in), the piano pretty much plays through the entire piece, the chord progression never really sways away from its roots, and the sound never really takes any big leaps, besides the strings near the beginning at 0:30, but I can hardly consider that a "leap".

The melodies sound, well, average, really. That doesn't mean I hate them - they definitely have flavor, and change from time to time, but they sound a bit lazily written - they're just not quite at the level I would have liked.

Piano solo at 2:30. I have a pet peeve for robotic piano sounds in electronic music, and while this isn't that bad, it could be a bit better. Maybe more reverb and embellishments would have done the tricks. :)

Overall, this piece is good and well made, although it's not really my type. However, it's not that I hate the piece - as I said, it's really nice! The sound you achieve is definitely one that had a lot of thought put into it. 9/10, 5/5. Good luck!

Falsesouth responds:

It means a lot to me that you put so much effort into your reviews. Yes.. as you can see, I mainly focused on the mixing for this project because that i's what I am most consistently criticized for. Loving the pun you used for "leap" (xD) and I will try to make the melodies and I will strive for more variation as well. Thanks again for another awesome 1f1n1ty review!

[InfinitePowerSource - Warfare]

WOW This has a lot of potential! Sadly, I'm not hearing all that potential being realized in this track, but that potential definitely exists!

Coming from an ambientstep artist, you've done a good job designing sounds! The atmosphere sounds wonderful and whimsical, with some interesting chords and composition to boot.

As general advice to help you achieve what you might be lacking in this piece, I'd create a bit more complexity in the soundscape, use WAY less harsh sidechaining, and give the fills some more reverb. Generally speaking, in sounds like this, you want to avoid moments of complete and utter silence that could be better filled with the sounds of decaying pads and arps. Also, let the sound fade out all the way at the end instead of cutting it short. :) Good luck!

infinitepowersource responds:

thank you for the detailed review! I'll try to keep these tips in mind :D