Or4nges's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Little Birdy]

Steel drums are hard to find,

Aren't they? I've been trying to track some decent ones down for months xD I ended up using Sakura, but it's not the same lol.

ANYWAY. This is fantastic. But I have to say it does get a tad repetitive. And a few of your transitional chords sounded a bit off and/or out of place. Completely made up for though, this is a tasty jam :P

[Daybreak.]

Oh my.

Quality wise, this is one of the best first songs i've ever heard. That kick is punchy as hell, the snare fits nicely with it, great (albeit fairly loud) bass, and a nice saw lead over it.

Here's some criticism though. On all your transitions you used the fruity Free Filter. You might wanna step away from that; It's a really full on effect and needs to be used sparingly. I recommend using reverse crashes, snare rolls, and other filtering effects for your transitions to keep things fresh. There's alot of things you can do.

Also, I think some of your instruments are a bit loud. The bass kind of drowns everything out, along with your saw lead. You can barely hear the hi-hats over it. Try working on that next time :P EQing helps alot too. By cutting out frequencies you can make room for other sounds while still keeping the same volume.

1:22 was an awesome break. Some effects here and there would do awesomely. Maybe some delay on the piano? That lead you had over it was a great call too by the way, i'm a sucker for distorted, airy type things lol. Only problem is your transition back, Maybe try filtering your bass back into the song at 1:43? As is it's kind of ... jarring :P

There's some other stuff too, but since this is your first song, i'll let it slide :P Seriously awesome work here though, Some people take ages to get this good of sound quality. Song structure wasn't that bad either, reminded me of a few of my first songs; Dancey bass, Catchy lead, and of course a piano break lol.

... Whoa, sorry for the wall of text lol. Anyways I look forward to more! Keep up the good work dude.

AustinHayes responds:

Thanks for the feedback man! I'll definitely have some much better stuff soon. And consider all of your suggestions duly noted:D

[Sound of my Dream (RW remix)]

/jawdrop

Dude I loved the original! I think most of us can say that was one of our first techno songs, and I think you're playing our nostalgia like a drum :P Either way, glorious.

You knnow, you compliment my mastering, but here you are pumpin' stuff like this out; this blows the mastering of most other versions of this song to hell. Bravo :P The guy below me says the volume of the voice falls at the drop? It doesn't really. I'm actually surprised it didn't with all dat bass lol

Only critique is that I think you rely a bit too heavily on the bass. Particularly at 1:20. Maybe rely isn't the right word. It just feels like it drones a bit much. Maybe throw some filters on it? High passes make the world go 'round.

Anyway, great job on the mix, Maybe not groundbreaking in terms of dance, but i'll be damned if it doesn't do it's job :D

Indigorain responds:

Whoo!
Thank! You! Sir! :D
Thanks for the compliments man! Haha, the mastering on the other tracks was one of the things that made me remix it :P
But thanks for the advice, I agree about the bass, I've been struggling with that throughout progress, because everything I added affected the bass.
But anyway, I'm really really grateful for this review! Thanks a whole lot man! :D

[F-king Piano]

Nice concept

Could be executed better.

I love the combination of piano and dubstep. I do it all the time. However, you need some work on it. The melody for the piano is great, but sounds very robotic since all the notes velocities are the same. Try to imagine how it would actually sound on a piano, and plot in the velocities where you see fit. It'll make it sound more realistic :P. If it sounds too quiet after doing this, try using compression to pump up the volume a bit. finally, the piano could really use a wider, longer reverb.

As for the wobbles, Great start. I would use some stereo seperation to widen it out, and boost the higher frequencies with an EQ. Try cutting out some frequencies around 500Hz, that usually helps the sound in my experience. Also you might want to add a few different types of wobbles. Just some food for thought :)

You lead was spot on, loved it. Great slides, awesome melody. Reverb made the song feel more airy. In fact you might want to consider adding more reverb to everything else to fit in with that vibe.

Finally, the percussion needs some OOMPH. I'd recommend watching some of Trancecrafter's tutorials on Youtube. He's got alot of useful stuff.

Anyway, great start, Hope I didn't sound too negative lol. Just trying to give some concrete feedback. i'd love to hear where it goes if you ever work on it more.

P.S. Search for EVM Grand Piano if you're interested. It's a fantastic free piano VST. Not that you have to, I just like spreading the word :P

[Race Around the World]

Ergh

You should look up Waterflame. He's got a pretty famous song by the same name :/

But that has nothing to do with the song itself does it? :P

It felt somewhat empty. You should really work on your mixing/mastering to bring out all the elements in the track and to make everything fit. As is all your pads and leads sounded pretty raw. Eqing, stereo seperation, compression, reverb, and whatnot are your friends
- The lead at 1:12 needs some harmony methinks. The melody itself could use a few flourishes and some more surprises.

Kinda catchy though. I can see it being used in a racing game to be honest :P Oh! And that voice was a nice touch.

Anyway, keep it up. Also do you think you could give my newest track a listen? Thanks!

RawGreen responds:

When I titled the song, I was thinking of the movie, I didn't realize someone else had the same title. Then again, when I made my first Tetris remix I did the same thing.

Thank you for your insightful advice, I will go over everything you've mentioned thus far.
I'll check out your stuff gladly.
Thankyou <3

[Fighting (FF7 Cover)]

LOL!

[insert nostalgia here]

Dude, 0:56 is orgasmic. That's been like my favorite "riff" of just about any song ever since I heard it in the original game. Awesome.

[NGHH'11 - MadFLeX vs Gasmasq]

Madflex.

Better flow, harder punches, and he knows when to turn the heat up in his language.

[And Life Goes On(Final Mix)]

Hmm.

Alright let's see.

First of all, I like the idea for the lead, but I think it needs some reverb, and almost definitely some delay. It contrasts too heavily with the piano, which has alot of reverb. You also might wanna tinker with the chorus a bit? It sounds a little.. eh.. phasey. lol. Also, I think your bassline is a bit off, I heard some dissonance that sounded a bit out of place around the 1:30-2:00 mark.

Next your percussion. I think you should add a bit of sidechaining with the kick to give the track a bit more of a bouncey feel. It's really common these days, but it does add alot. Also helps the kick punch through the mix, which is essential in house and dance music. You might wanna try tinkering with the clap's EQ. It sounds too raw :P

At :34, I would try to introduce a new synth, or at least add something an octave or two higher above it. There's no transfer of energy; no build up.

-On that note, you should add some crash cymbals at the beginning of each segment, and some reverse effects before hand. That prepares the listener for a transition. Kind of a heads-up, and really helps with a songs flow.

This probably sounds kind of negative, but I figure advice is more helpful than "it was good" :P

You've got great melodies, the song structure is there, you've just got to work on adding more effects, more synths, get the percussion to cut through the mix, and possibly beef up the bass a bit. The low ends are really important in dance music nowadays. The bassier the better.

Keep it up, man.

OneEighteen responds:

Haha thanks. You're the first person to give me legit ideas on how to make things better on Newgrounds in... well.. Probably ever. I'll look into working on that stuff. I'm not particularly good at the EQ'ing and transitioning part of production yet, but I'll work on it. Thanks. :)

[[Genesis]]

Hmm

I know you're kind of showcasing the synth at the beginning, but I think it needs bass. Try EQing out the low ends and adding a sub bass? Or just a regular square type bass thing if that's what tickles your fancy. Either way, it definitely needs something.

:28 Needs work, I literally thought the song restarted lol. Maybe introduce another sound as well after the filtering?

Also, for your transitions, try using some cymbals or some effects. All the meat and potatoes are there, it just feels like the song could do a better job getting from one section to another.

P.S; Really enjoyed the synth at 2:30.

My last little suggestion is have your melodies vary a little more? They're all good, but they're all a little basic/generic as well. Add some triplets here, some nuances there, maybe a slide for good measure. Anything to break monotony and/or keep the listener glued to their seat.

Regardless, really liked it. Nice and punchy, with good energy.

Keep it up man!

halfdeadorfull responds:

Thanks so much! This is perhaps the most comprehensive review I've ever gotten on any track before! And it actually is stuff I can improve upon, not just a simple comment like "that's good", or "i liked it". Thank you so much for the feedback! It means so much to get great feedback like this! (: Thank you!

[Xkore - Moar Unfinished Lololo]

Haha

I'm in the same position lol. I can come up with a new idea in like 5 minutes, it's finishing the entire song that's hard for me D: That's why most of my stuff is so short.

Anyway, Favorites were: 2:35, 3:25(needs less bass if you could believe it Lol.)
3:56(I like your slower more meaningful songs.) 4:33 could use work, but I liked it alot. Also, 6:50 was noice. I like the idea of mixing house and dubstep. DOO ITT :D

If nothing else, I say do the one at 6:50.

P.S. You like that starwars sample don't you. Haha.