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.

[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.

[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. :)

[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.

[Doll]

eeeerieee....

this was very simple but got the atmosphere across. and the story is just as much a part of the song as teh audio itself! thats actually really interesting, merging music with a short story.

i dont think u should have tried to loop it, the ending didn't make it work well like that. i think that this would have fit better wtih the story if it continued after and developed a bit, but thats jst me.

very spooky track... good job!

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i review, review back plz--its only fair :)

scoutzero responds:

Thanks for the review! There's not much more because I can't think of anything more. >< If I do, I'll be sure to add it on here for more surprises!

[_=(Wolf)=_ Moments Of A high]

yummy

you had a pretty decent intro going on :) goood job on that. once the first background staccato synth established its melody, dont forget to make it vary as the song goes on.

the synth melody that came in was good. try adding a strong compressor on it to make it snappy [pm me if u dont kno how.]

the bass drum is wonderful! just make sure that it its actually in tempo--it seemed kinda off kilter. and the bassline was pretty decent.

something about the song made it sound really muddy, its probably the style of the bass drum, but i like that drum, so idk what you should do about that--maybe single out the dominant frequencies of ur bass drum and eq out everything else, or layer it with a trebly bass drum to make it more textured? i think it might help with the mix.

hehe, this sounded not so finished, so if u ever expand this, gimme a pm... i wanna hear :) hope i helped, this isnt very cliched trance and it sounds great. go for ittt

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i review you, you review me... its only fair :)

Geigamg responds:

Aya.. Yeah i like my idea here but it could be alot better =/
Thanks for your time and when I get a chance I will definately review you =o
_=(Wolf)=_

[:KA: tEtRiS rEm1X]

yumm! i liek russian folk song.

this was a pretty solid remix. felt intense and danceable [and yeah, maybe a bit cliched :D], but i think it could be improved in some ways:

first, reduce the duration of ur bass drums. i think that's what's partially causing this muddy sound in the mix, very apparent at the beginning, where it sounds like theres some bassy noise [NOT THE BASSLINE. lol.] that's making it sound unrefined in some ways.

second, i think you can make it more interesting by modulating your instruments more. distort them in real time while they're playing and between transitions, i think it would make it more interesting to follow.

and finally, i dont think the background, high saw synth that came in at 1:50 sounds quite right with the rest of the track. but thats personal opinion.

i can't really comment much on the melody itself since its obviously tetris lol. but you had some turtly fine variations on it, maybe let it run loose a bit and get more intense like a good electro song would :)

good job overall, and keep the good times rollin :)

--

i give u a review, so please return the favor. its only fair. :)

KorpzeAudio responds:

Cool, thx for the great, long review. I would consider using this advice in future songs (if possible) cuz I don't like to remaster my remixes after I make them lol... to me its kinda weird to do it.

[Recrution (Short Version)]

very nice!

you made very good use of those videogame samples, it was really interesting to hear it, and the reverb fx made it epic. your dnb manipulation sounded very good too. this is overall a good song, and it looped well, so keep it up. i disagree with the breed on one part-- i think that the dnb part in some ways was _more_ energetic than the trance four-on-the-floor madness ever was.

one comment: the bass levels seemed very weak. i could barely hear the bassline, and im running 5.1 surround soudn system thats generally bass-biased. so i say raise up the bassline and bass drums :)

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i give u a review, so please return the favor. its only fair. :)

DjK31 responds:

Thanks for the review! I know this song might be a little crappy at some parts because it's my first time making a DnB-type piece lol. I'll try to reduce the high-band EQ and increase the low-band EQ because I think it's pretty loud :|

-Peace :]
\\DjK31

[Xx))-Dream-Flight-((xX]

some problems with this one.

this was an very good base for a song, but it didn't sound complete to me. it had some flaws that made me not want to listen to it a lot and didn't really capture my interest.

first, it just sounds like a 2-minute-long intro to a song that would be more epic and have more variety. it didn't seem to ever progress into anything more than i thought it would be.

second, the bass drums play 3 times in rapid succession too often. i say reserve that for every 16 beats, or just for dramatic transitions at most. another problem wiht the bass drums is that the way you layerd them made them not play at exactly the same time, so it gets a weird start whenever it plays. this is a more minor concern, but its there.

third, i also wish your chord-outlining synth that plays throughout the song would change more and vary. it sounded very light throughout the song, so i was hoping it might get deeper, bring in some lower frequencies or have a longer release or something. but it never happened, so it was kind of a bummer.

fourth, the whistly-pad that came in like halfway through had a good melody and sounded fine, but it was a little bit painfully loud compared to the rest of the song.

and finally, fifth, the bassline was there, but it wasn't bassy or very noticable, which may be a problem llol.

i think that if you changed those things, this is a very solid base for a song. it just doesnt sound very complete yet, but its a decent start :) rock on.

--

i give u a review, so please return the favor. its only fair. :)

Psycedelic responds:

Thank you! This review helped me a lot!

You are totally right that this doesn't sound complete. It isn't complete ;O!

You gave me a lot of good tips in your review! One day, I might become top-listed because of your help!

Again, thank you. I have never recieved such an good response before, so this strengthen my motivation to create more!
-Psyc