p4c's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Nav - Drifting Higher [NG Cut]]

yummm

happy hardcore aint really my style--a little too ehaotically euphoric for me, but here are my thoughts:

pros:

this definately has energy! makes me feel like getting up and pumpin my fists. insanely. which is always good.

all the melodies worked together well [if not a little shallowly] so it remained not painful :D

i liked the chords at like 3:05, they are juicy.

cons[tructive crit!]:

throughout the track you might want to consider throwing in sound effects to give it a deeper atmosphere--its those details that often make a song have personality.

the breaks that it start off with could be much more interesting if they varied more instead of looping so often.

once the bass drums come in, it seems really really muddy. i guess it might work out in a club, but for just listening, it makes the mix sound kind of nasty. [or maybe its the fact that its 64kbps? lol]

the synth that plays every like 32nd note doesnt transition well into the song, it jst kinda comes lol. might wanna try to fade it in better.

for the chords at 3:05, maybe a some subtle dynamic changes and a deeper sound for the piano might sound better--its kind of shallow, but this is HHC so
idk if i can complain haha

the snare rolls are fine, but reallly overused by now--maybe that killed it's thunder for me haha because now it just seems superfluous.

i was also sad that thoes breaks at the start never came back--they were a nice touch ;)

----

alright, theres what i gotta say :) it was overall pretty good but i think that it lost its interest pretty easily. might just be me and my tastes, but thats what i thought hehe. hope i helped!

ps just after you posted ur review on my track... i posted another track :D wanna check it out?

Nav responds:

Thanks for the review! :D... Lemme address the cons...

Sound effects: I agree, but the problem is that the sound effects used at the time were stock keyboard samples, and that's getting WAY too cliche'd for me to use.

Breaks: I agree again, I never thought of that!

The Bass Drum: Yeah, it's not that it's muddy, it's that there a low bass note playing right after it, but its harmonics are blocked. Or do you mean the booms? They're separate samples.

Synth: Yes, I agree... I was having trouble deciding on ways to get it in without too much fuss, but eventually I just said "fuck it" and threw it in.

Chords: I would put in subtle dynamic changes if I was going for a realistic sound, but I was kinda trying to make it sound like it was composed on a tracker, at least in that aspect, as most old HHC songs were.

Snare Rolls: Remember, this is supposed to be from the mid-90s :P

Breaks: Yeah, I just forgot about them later in the track o.O

Losing interest: It works out better in DJ mixes of the same type ;D

I might check out your song, but not for a bit since I'm going away.

[Requited]

interesting one.

not like you wouldnt expect me to say this, but i thought it was pretty decent. though there are some things i have to say.

first, excellent job with the higher synths and stuff. i liked the use of LFO on that monotone background synth, it gives it that retro funk sound. the drum beat was solid, plowing on. very clean mix, and completely good arrangement of notes, giving a nice and lighthearted feel for the song. pretty much solid on the foundations.

there did seem to be some parts where that high synth distorts kind of painfully [3:49 for example].

i think that throughout the whole song, while you phased in different instruments and pulled them out in smooth transitions, being an electro song, there didn't seem to be much exploration in synthwork, giving it the sense of raw, unfeeling repetition. im all for repetition, but in this framework, i think it would make the song more dynamic if the sound of the synths would change throughout, especially considering it's 8 minutes long lol.

idk, listen to some popular electro songs and you'd get a sense of what i mean [dont mind if my examples are kind of lame--i just thought of them in 30 seconds by lookign thru compilations in my music collection for lack of effort to look for better ones ;)]--benassi likes to play with the bassline, and it's pretty obvious, but that's what keeps my attention for most of his songs. or maybe, for example, the beat is rockin (gregor salto remix) by ericke--that song basically just repeats, but at the start it sounds more organic with those almost brassy stabs as compared to the end where it has a kind of desperate distorted synth lead. you can feel it change, and it makes it more exciting and involving that way. i think lots of electro songs only get away without those kinds of involving sonic games when they're dominated by vocals [Come on girl (wideboys club mix) by taio cruz feat. luciana?] or relatively short [in a mix cd, probably, where it would be linked together with a shitload of other songs], neither of which this is.

also, sometimes the bass drum every half-beat transitional element seems to get used too often.

but basically, on all other counts, im definately impressed :) everythign works together really well and on the whole i think this is a pretty solid track. good job!

[Reasoner- Ticking Away]

hm, this is good, but...

thanks for the heads up on that pm i'll give you a review if you do in return :) please?

this is already a pretty cool song, so ill just nit pick :D

it just didn't seem to have a whole lot of kick. at the start, the first synth that came in made the song sound like it came out of like the 80's lol--in other words, it wasn't exactly the greatest attention grabber for me since it sounded so smarmy, though it works out when its layered as the song progresses.

i thougth that the beat you used was fine, but maybe a less organic feel, or some distortion/eqing/reverb effects to bring out the drums further in the mix might work better. i thought that the drum samples themselves sound too laid back, even though they have an intense arrangement, which bothers me a bit. but it might just be me...

the song definately progressed well. it kept my attention as the song continued, and the effects you used [did i hear reversed piano samples? always classy.] it made me feel like i was at high altitude looking down on the rest of the world. kind of like finished symphony by hybrid :D

the bassline was good too. maybe something a little less twangy, though?

and finally for mastering i dont know how to help you a whole lot... i just kind of do it and slave over the mix until it sounds good haha. just don't put very heavy compression over the entire track, maybe try a low ratio compression [2:1] with low threshold [-20 db-ish] in conjunction with a high ratio compression [6:1 or something a little higher or lower maybe] with a relatively high threshhold [-6db or so] instead of the kind of huge blanket compressing that seems to be going on. tweak the knobs to see whatll make it sound louder. maybe also on everything but bassline and drums and fx that need it, just eq the bass frequencies down since they wouldn't be used, and also try throwin a limiter on the lead synths and stuff. idk, i cnat really say what could help without tinkering hehe.

good job overall.this was a cool song and i cant wait 'till you throw on more stuff for ng :D

Reasoner responds:

Thank you for the detailed tips about the compression. I took an entire class on mastering in college and was left with more questions then answers. It's definitely an art in and of itself, and something that I will more then likely end up paying someone else to do with projects that I do someday professionally lol. Thanks for the indepth review, and I've marked you down to stop by soon and pay you one back bro.

[Nav - Lullaby Gone Awry]

pretty good.

the intro wasn't very eye-catching or interesting, but ill trudge along :)

the beat as it comes up at the start needs some more variation! play around with the drums a bit. pitchshift, distort, make more complex patterns, throw them back. it just doesnt seem very involving right now, u kno? i mean, its a solid beat, but it doesnt hold u very long. maybe also use some rides and rimshots and stuff to that effect, too, given that these are pretty retro samples.

also, for the beat, the hats are a bit too off kilter for my liking--it makes it seem almost sloppy the way they are now, i say tone down the off-beat madness a bit so that it isnt quite as offbeat as it sounds right now. its just exaggerated a bit much.

for the synth that starts at :35, for at least the parts where there isnt a sub-bass, i'd like it if that was bassier [after that, well, it'd just muddy stuff up.]

after that, productionwise, everything seems fine to me, so good job :) its all mixed well and you got fine synths and fx and stuff [though maybe u can use some more background fx, but tahts jst random preference.]

in terms of the melody and progression of the song, it just seems like its rambling the whole time. like, it never gets to the note of the key its in or anything, so it just kind of feels like its going on... and going on... in a big question mark that never gets resolved. idk, i might jst be out of touch wtih the dnb scene, but thats how it struck me.

overall, its a good song, but i wouldnt call it something i'd idolize or anything lol. more or less, its well producd, but at the end, idk--i just didnt feel very satisfied, ya kno?
--
i review you, so plz see my stuff too-its only fair :\

[Smash - TomFitz]

wowzerz.

this sounded pretty nice! the beat was something i could defiinitely get down to. only thing i'd say is maybe bring up the bassline a bit more, and the bass drums, soften the claps/hats a little bit--my walls are definately not shaking yet.

also, the melody lacks variation, a lot. im all cool for repetition but only if you do something innovative with it. like distorting the synth into something new, making some more nuances in the melody, whatever. its just not tthere in this piece--it establishes itself near the start and just goes on.

nevertheless, rock solid, for on old track :)
--
i review you, so plz see my stuff too-its only fair :\

[Pop Punk^DFT {DEMO}]

yeah, pretty lackluster

well, the concept was fine, and ur lead melody was good, but the production was just really weak if you ask me. the transitions were okay, and some of the random sfx in the background were cool. also, i think this works better as a loop than a song, but anyway, here's my beef:

first, none of the instruments sounded deep nor realistic. i take it the electric guitar was fl slayer or something [i dont use fl]? well, it sounds just kind of painful and weak. theres no human touch to it so it just sounds very mehhhh. and the piano was not emotional at all, just crapping out teh same outline of the melody again. and then u get that harpsichord-type thing, but once again, no variation in tone... just the same melodic theme. in other words--it got boring really fast and the instruments you chose didn't sound very deep, nor push the musical thought any further.

second, repetition. i'm fine with repetition, but all you seemed to do was switch up the instruments and make slight variations on the melody. the basslien stayed the same, and the drums only changed from the intro [where they just sounded like a spastic, crazy, pretty much half-assed loop] to the body of the song.

well, i think you can do stuff about this. i'd either find a better way to work with the guitar and give it some style [maybe play around with the distortion, modulate it in real time so the sound constantly changes. just listen to a legit guitarist and try modulating all dem knobs until it sounds at least somewhat interesting], or ditch it for something new.

i'd just try to make everything just... sound more real, rather than a lame midi early 90's loop lol. because that's how it struck me.

im sorry if im being harsh, but i hope i helped out a bit. idk how to voice my criticism here--its just that it sounds so retro and basic in a situation where that doesnt really fit.
--
i review you, so plz see my stuff too-its only fair :\

Darthfett responds:

Thank you for being honest and for the lengthy review! Yes, the guitar is the terrible FL Slayer guitar. However, with all my experiments, I've yet to find a way to make it sound GOOD. lol, they just can't do anything good so far. The piano is going to be replaced with a very thin/light guitar sound.

The real-time modulation of knobs is something I recently learned about, but I haven't tried out yet. I'll try it out now and see where I can go with it. :)

Styles of music are still new to me. I only fiddle around with music every once in a while now, and usually it sound terrible. I try, but usually I'm just not in the creative mood. : /

On a side note, I try to review my reviewers' music, since they did spend the time on mine. I sometimes don't get around to it (sorry!), but I do try to give to those who gave. I will definitely review some of your stuff. :)

[AuECS- Flo Rida: "Low" (Remox)]

haha low

haha low is such a weak song but soooo catchy! your giving me back the bug lol

this was an okay remix. it sounded a little disorganized and random right now, wandering all over and with random effects and some painful mixing.

the vocals seemed a little lost wiht some strange distortion that made it sound pretty lo-fi.

at 1:40ish, it gets way off sync. fixxx plz!

the high frequencies of the percussion pierce my ears way too much! soften that, and the bass drum is really weak--layer it more, bring it up in the mix, boost bass frequencies.

the electro-style bass is fine, but its lacking in... well, bass. bring that up pl0x.

at the start, everything just sounds thrown together and chaotic--it isnt a very coherent start to the song and fails to really hold attention for more than like 10 seconds. it gets a little better in this aspect later, but it stays a little weird.

i liked how u [or rather, dj dore] is chanign up the rhythm at parts like 3:20. just, it sounds a little bit messy--refine it a bit.

the effects that you did use, though, were VERY nice! they just didnt seem coherent nor well-mixed, so they lost their lustre a bit. also, the music didn't seem to necessary reflect the feeling of the song, as it sounded more or less similar in the chorus's and the rest of teh stanzas... i want to hear more relevant variation, u kno?

yeah, i think thats what i got. ijust kinda threw things in when i heard them lol. hope i helped ur friend out :)

--
i review u, so plz look at my stuff too--its only fair :)

[Streetlights (Original Mix)]

cool stuff.

since this is pretty long, ill just listen and point out what i hear.

the bass drum sounded kind of strange when it first came in just because it sounded a little too grainy. i think you should try to get the layered samples to start more closely together [by altering start time on the parts of the redrum that allow you to] and reduce the high frequencies with a parametric eq a bit.

as it progressed, it started shaping up really well. the background was nice an a little spooky, which is a good feel for an electro track. the bassline was very crispy at that point too :D you snapped onto a very catchy melody, i see :)

the snappy percussion every 4 beats stood out too much in the mix--bring it down in volume, pl0x :D

its good you have variation in the bassline as you go along--thats always good. maybe try distorting it a bit more aggressively along with the changes in the melody? i mean, it has a part where its more subdued [i assume thats maybe envelope frequency goin down?] but i'd like to hear some power!

the use of sidechaining was subtle, but made all the difference. nice job! also, the fading in and out of the higher synth that comes in at ~2:13 was teh sexx.

after that, the effects that come in are all really well done, congrats on that. i dont have a lot more to say since it starts repeating the same themes, so yeah.

conclusion: this song was kickass! it stayed a little too calm and relaxed for my liking, but nevertheless it was good. and while i dont mind repetition, i generally prefer repetition where there are more distinct variations [from the intro to the body was fine--from the body to later in teh song didn't hold my attention very long.] it was more or less mixed well, except for some random details that i noticed, but otherwise, it all was very nice! good job.

--
i review u, so plz look at my stuff too--its only fair :)

[TBBAM: Ivan's Theme]

hmmm

this was a well organized and melodically structured piece, but in terms of development, it didn't stand out to me as awesome as the dramatic theme made it out to be. heres some tips:

1) the bass drum sounds a little weak and out of place here. try to replace that--i thikn ur using default fl samples? i dont use fl, but nevertheless THAT'S FINE. i dont care about that--just choose something more appropriate if you can. that kick didn't sound quite right to me--something a little more organic but even stronger might have sounded better--or maybe even just try layering it more.

2) some of the instruments didn't sound very well synchronized, like the lead melody by the violin stabs--fix that lol. i mean, it some parts a more off-kilter, unstable feeling, but sometimes itjust felt messy.

3) i wish you varied velocity/volume more with your instruments to stress beats, exaggerate emotions of the track. softer parts for the more pensive parts, etc. the only variance i heard was the addition or subtraction of instruments, which doesn't strike me as enough stress on the emotions of the piece as i would like.

i liked how you combined orchestral feelings with a more industrial, technological backdrop--it was very eerie and intersting, i thought that was a great asset for the song. it got me involved with it, and i enjoyed every second of that :) specifically, the cellos roll in with a long attack and a short release--that is dramatic GOLD. haha, keep it going.
--
i review u, so plz look at my stuff too--its only fair :)

BudGPStudios responds:

Yes I did use the FL default kick sample, but everything else wasn't default. I'll probably just replace this one with my remix of this song. I changed the bass drum instrument and gave the mix a deeper feeling. When you read this response, It'll probably have been replaced so give it another listen. I'm going to start this song from scratch again like I always do to my songs when I'm bored. Wait for "TBBAM: Ivan's Theme Redux". I'm also surprised that someone noticed the contrabass roll in long attack with short release. I learned how to do that in FL just recently.