Onefin's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Deathmatch]

If the throne only has one seat, then it's simple - get 3 thrones.

You say this is 6/8, but in all honesty this piece feels very 3/4. It may just be me tripping myself over, but anything really distinctly 6/8 in here just feels like syncopation, especially with those drums. Only the part at 1:06-1:38 feels 6/8 to me, really. But hey, it's not like 3/4 DnB is any less cool!

And cool it is! The drums are very well designed, I love the rising and falling fast arps, the piano is very pretty and awesome, the progression is solid, and of course, I love the rhythm!

3MbeR mentioned that your bass should be in mono. Honestly, you've mixed this so well that I didn't really notice that as an issue. But I know from my own experience that widened basses generally don't work, so I'd try to steer clear of wide basses, especially in DnB.

Also, you didn't fade the outro all the way out :/ I felt the pain of that white noise suddenly cutting

Ha. "Easy Listening - Solo Instrument". Trying to be real sneaky, huh? Didn't fall for it, though. I read the tags first :)

Overall, very nice "solo instrument" track! You definitely have a lot of skill on that piano! 9/10, 5/5, good luck!

Noisysundae responds:

I've done some research on how to count 3/4 and 6/8 and it's still confusing for me. Why isn't it as straightforward as it is in math? It's a freakin' 0.75 ! #justtimesignaturethings

I did syncopate the drum pattern from 4/4 because the normal 6/8 beat doesn't suit the theme well. Sounded too slow in the climax.

Frankly, I secretly do the mono version for each personal favorite track and use it as a ringtone. I always wondered why it sounds heavier than the original. Now with what 3MbeR said, I get it now and I'll give it a try! It's funny how he capitalizes "3M", though. XD

Ah, the outro. I'm gonna edit the tail even if it might be too late for the judges. I normally listen to things with very low volume and didn't notice it.

Really thank you for writing it long, but looks like this piece has too many mistakes so...g'luck to you too!
And lastly, the fake genre works for 16 seconds at most. :P

Edit : Forget anything I said that is related with time sigs. This guy cleared it up for me in his PM. Thanks big time!

[Pacifist]

Hey, Aeron! Deadline is through, so it's time to leave reviews!

Since you made drums first, let's talk about them first. When I first listened to this piece, I noticed that there was something very wrong with the timing of the drums. Now that I'm listening again, that no longer seems to be the case :/ what happened? I can't say.

Regardless, the drums sound good! Some of your drums sound like either they're distorted or they're clipping with the volume, but I'm willing to bet that it was the former and you intentionally made them that way. After all, you're Aeron! You always impress me with your ability to mix loud things.

I'm enjoying the happy/dark contrast in this piece! There's definitely a lot of quirk in this piece simply because of that contrast, which I love!

As many have mentioned below, the piece is a little bit repetitive. But I think the quirk of the piece makes that repetitiveness a bit more bearable. However, I can't say that's an excuse or anything. Also, your outro sounds to me like it really wants a low pass to draw in and make it more conclusive.

But man, what you have is stunning! I wouldn't call it pacifism, though :D 9/10, 5/5, good luck, man!

AeronMusic responds:

Ooh thanks so much man!
It's not the best stuff I've ever made. It's made really fast so take that as my excuse. I don't deserve to win with this piece, imo.

[3MBER - Strawberry Sky]

Hey, 3MbeR! Now that the deadline has passed, I have time to drop a review.

You're reserving your description until later, so sadly I can't really comment on anything you've said. But you did state you used nintendo sound effects, so that sounds pretty awesome

Let's start from the beginning and work forward. Right off the bat there's a nice pad sound that I kinda wish was more sine based than it is right now, but that's just personal preference and I won't criticize your choice of sound for something petty like that. You've included some pretty subtle and nice dynamics on that high voice (which I believe is a piano) which really adds to the phrase as well!

I've always been bad at chord builds like the one you introduce next. I understand that you're supposed to take the filters off the sound, but the sounds I have never eventually reach the intensity that yours get to. At any rate, nice sound design in the next section!

Your drum design also sounds pretty good. The drums in the buildup drive the effect, and then the drop is spectacular. I'm noticing that you decided to put a crash cymbal on pretty much every single kick - I'm not sure if I like that or not, but it seems like a nice decision on the surface. It's certainly not muddying up your very pristine mix, so that's good!

2:17 has a very quick and possibly sudden transfer of energy. Perhaps you could have guided my ears in that direction first and then went for it.

You've differentiated the second section from the first with faster rhythms and slightly different sounds than previously. While that's good and provides a level of variation, I would have liked to see some compositional variance as well. Maybe change up some chords a bit, introduce distinctly new melodic lines, even add modulation and tempo changes.

But hey, in all this piece is a solid entry! Excellent sound design and mixing, and energy flows well from one section to the next! 9/10, 5/5, good luck!

x3MbeRx responds:

Time constraints led to some not so good transitions and problems with composition :/ Turns out it's a side effect of the way I go about arranging my tracks. Oh well, Thank you for your review! :)

[Plasma]

Now that I'm through making my entry, I have some time to drop reviews!

I think you did a pretty good job creating a cleaner mix in this as compared to Omikron, but even more so than that I think you did a good job creating a more varied soundscape! It may be the illusion of length (or the anti-illusion?), but the various sections in this piece did a better job capturing my attention for longer periods of time. There seems to be more dynamic contrast and a bigger range of sound than your previous entry, which is pretty awesome!

Sound design is superb! How about I start with the drums? You've differentiated the drop drums and the verse drums well, and it shows - the drop definitely sounds bigger than what comes around it! And what about the synths? From beautiful plucks like at 1:42 to really freaking big leads at 2:27 and everything in between, it all sounds awesome! And to put the cherry on top, it's all well mixed!

The biggest thing I'd criticize is the low compositional variance in the track... both the first and second drops are the same, melodies are constantly repeated, and there aren't any real chordal changes anywhere in the piece. Perhaps you could have included more variation and creativity on the compositional side.

Overall, though, fantastic track! Definitely one of my favorites from this round. 9/10, 5/5, good luck!

ggaero responds:

Wow, thanks for the detailed review :o

[GTB - Break My Fall (Original Mix)]

Gonna go for a R4R time before I have to start working on my NGUAC piece

Praise:
+ The chord progression isn't one you hear every day in songs like these. That was a pleasant surprise!
+ Good structure! You have it pretty well defined what certain sections are to be.
+ Synths aren't the greatest, but they're pretty well designed.

Critique:
- More dynamic contrast! Pretty much every section was the same volume, from the verses to the chorus. Certain section like at 1:32 need to be MUCH, MUCH bigger than they currently are.
- The piece is overall pretty repetitive. In all, there's not much in the sound that interests me at all.
- A few harmonies are strange, and not in the good way - they sound out of tune. However, describing exactly which harmonies those are would be pretty difficult...
- The drums feel like they need to sit more on top of the mix and be more "lively", if you know what I mean.

Dj-Gonzo responds:

Thanks for your review 1f1n1ty, you pointed out all I wanted to know to improve next songs.

I know some harmonics seem to be out of tone, but actually they are correct (I don't remember which scale progression I made to change between the last synth verse and the outro, but it fits with the bassline, I know the bass makes it difficult to distinguish it well.) To be honest, I didn't know how to change the main structure of the song in terms of chord variation, that's why it feels repetitive. Anyway, thanks for your support and honesty!

>GTB

[Heros Legacy]

Hey, Enzer0! Dropping by as promised!

Right from the start of the piece, the beautiful sound I heard caught my attention! The sound was so pristine and pretty, with just the right amount of reverb and dynamics. Excellent intro for an excellent piece.

And excellent it is indeed! Just listen to those sounds! At 0:19, a moving arp sound is added, and boy does it sound pretty! Your impact going into the strings is fantastic, the strings themselves are fantastic, everything's just beautiful! 1:55 introduces some lovely bells, 2:31 introduces more developed bass drums riffs, a type of sound which I've always wanted to be able to create but have never successfully accomplished, and the climax is absolutely glorious!

Speaking of the climax, how about that progression? If this was Rhythm Heaven, your flow would be at maximum! Energy flows very well from one section to the next, and progressively builds and builds and builds AND BUILDS! Everything is done so well to accomplish this build - every sound, every melody, every... everything! It all builds to the climax at 3:47, which is absolutely gloriously achieved! It doesn't feel sudden, and it doesn't feel underwhelming - the immense sound truly gives the feel of ardor and strength! A song worthy of the word "epic"!

Oh, and those suspended chords in the outro. Perrrfect.

If the mix is muddy, it's only a little bit, and honestly, it's only the kind of mud that should be expected and glossed over from cinematic masterpieces like these! I certainly couldn't have done any better with this kind of intensity! Overall, man, fantastic work! I'm starting to run out of words to describe it XD I have no doubt that this piece with do very well! :D

Enzer0 responds:

Thanks for your kind words. Im glad you enjoyed it. I do feel it needs some cleaning up at the end. The entire piece had problems with the mid so making it punch at the end was a little difficult and i still feel it could have been better achieved. But i'm glad you had fun listening and things can only get better, so i'll kepp producing! :D

Thanks for the indepth review.

[Valparaiso]

HOLY FREAKING CRAP I AM IN LOVEEEEEE

Gosh, this is so well done! I love pretty much everything I hear - the drums, the riffs, the melodic sounds, the mixing, the progression, the atmosphere, the... everything!

Where should I start? The intro set the mood really, really well - the extremely soft, mellow pads holding out some really pretty chords are pretty really awesome! The soundscape is absolutely perfect and pristine - everything about everything is just p e r f e c t.

And then at around 0:25, you pull off some interesting rhythms with this synth which I ADORE! It works excellently going into the next section with the drums (which are beautifully designed, to say the least), bass, and even more beautiful pads :O

1:17 is super cool! The drums gain some energy, there are these bell arps which are super tasty and pristine, and the whole mix is just astonishing. And then at 1:52 you introduce the main melody, and that melody is really, really good!

I don't even know what to criticize... I guess I could go for more variation, but this track is so good that it doesn't really bother me! I rarely give tracks a full 5 stars, but this one takes the cake! 10/10, 5/5, I wish you good luck! :)

adieuwinter responds:

whoaAAA THANKS SO MUCH! Your kind words are boosting my ego to the moon :3
I'll try to keep experimenting with this style, much gratitude for the motivation again <3

[Light Waltz]

R4R, but this isn't going to be any normal R4R, no no no; since this is also an NGAUC entry, I'll need to give it a proper review :)

You seem to be pretty good at piano! Better than me, at least, as you can actually pull off rolls and trills and octave runs :/ Was this a freestyle or did you write it first and then go off the music?

The rubato sounds very natural as well! Although there are a couple spots where I get a bit disoriented by the tempo (ex 1:07 and 1:22), in general the accels and ritards are very clear and definitely enhance the piece! Of course, all part of your ability to play piano, right? Oh, and by the way, the 4/4 bars are at 1:19 :)

I'm no expert in waltzes or any of that stuff so I'll just refrain from commenting there

Do I have any criticism for you? I guess maybe... more interesting harmonies? I felt like some of the notes you played were a bit harmonically dull, if you know what I mean :/ Try harmonizing the melody in the right hand or using more major and minor 7ths every now and then. I don't know :/

Overall, very nicely written and played piece! I've written solo piano before, so I'm not exactly new to the sound - but I have never written or really listened to waltzes before, so that's definitely new territory! 9/10, 5/5, good luck!

sebastien01 responds:

Thank you very much for this review and your appreciation!

I've been playing piano for 10 years, it's my favorite instrument too :3
This song is the result of 3 freestyle recordings of around 30 minutes each, always keeping the wanted style and theme in mind. I chopped what I think were the best 2:20 of it, then I worked on resulting midi file. This song is around 90% original from the recording. I enhanced some ritard, rubatos, crescendo and decrescendo, corrected some flaws, but it kept 90% of its original essence.

You got disoriented by the tempo right there (1:07-1:10 and 1:19-1:22), where the 4/4 bars are + it slows down. Because the rest of the song is in 3/4, this bar seems to have a very long and slow 3rd beat instead of a 4th beat. I was minding about how people would feel about these bars :)

Harmonies, that's a good point. There are some brieve sus2, sus4, and 7ths, but it's overall mainly on the natural notes. I love this sound, I personally think it makes a classical song sound more like it's coming from the romantic era. But I'm far away from a Chopin level of skills, so I'll work on harmonization for sure! Thanks for the tip! ;)

Welcome in the waltz world, and thanks for this lighting review! Take a look to chopin's waltz if you want to go further in this territory, and good luck in the contest you too!

[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