TheBellmaker's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[(MiB!) Stuck in the rain!]

What is dubstep?

lol, just kidding. But I really haven't listened to virtually any dubstep songs. So, if you'll pardon my ignorance, I'll try to touch on the minor stuff. This definitely wants to get me up and dancing. I think the kick could be more powerful in respect to the other instruments. Not the bassy component, the more mid frequency part of the kick could be louder to give it a "sharper" sound. Just a minor adjustment though. That's really all I have to say. Any more, and it'd prove how little I know about dubstep.

RandomDanceOfHappy responds:

the kicks are hard to do for dub step cos i needed it more basey thin the huge bass synth i had so it lost a bit of its mids, im not to fond of dub step i base it of a slow hardstyle with lfo leads and more base, second already fixed the kick :D im to lasy to update the song oh and theres 9 kicks so adjusting one part is kinda anoying to
thanks for noticeing that tho :D

[Messing around on gtr]

Again?

I'll admit, it's better than the Twilight Zone track that I listened to. But I seriously think that if you wish to improve your guitar playing, Newgrounds is definitely not the site to do it on. YouTube is definitely better, because the audience can see you playing. Besides the fact that I don't play guitar, how would I help you improve if I can't see you? I could give you recording tips, like investing in a better microphone. But there's not much I can say to help you. Sorry.

NekoMika responds:

That's alright. I've been practicing for nearly an hour 6 days a week since I put this up. Got a new cord for amp and a mic that does better sound recording. :-)

Thanks for the review.

[Strange City]

Four seconds isn't a lot to review o.0

Even so, I'll try my best to pick it apart. Overall, I don't think the track is bad simply because it is only 4 seconds long. I like the feeling that it gives, that strange vibe. The percussion is decent, give movement to the song. If it was longer, I could see this being a very interesting video game loop/ambient loop. Some pointers:

While the length of a loop *technically* doesn't really matter, 4 seconds is cutting it pretty close. Most good loops I have listened to are around a minute long. This gives them time to develop, rather than be arrested indefinitely in a premature stage.

I think the clap could be filtered a bit more. The kick and the hi-hat sound more low key, and I think the high frequency nature of the clap doesn't fit in with the rest of the song. Maybe even a different clap is needed in this situation.

In the entire song, there is only one non percussion sound, which is the background hum. If you want to continue on the ambient direction, you could add more long noted instruments. Or if you wanted to pursue a more video game type track, you could add a lead or two.

I think you definitely started something awesome, but why then did you stop? So much more could have been done. Keep writing!

NekoMika responds:

Yea I agree with much of what you have said. I think the mistake I made in FL was cutting the loop short rather than wrapping it for a better sound.

Thanks for the review. :-)

[Insect Army]

hmmmm

I really like the feeling that you set up in this track. It does give the feeling of an impending battle. I like the sounds that you used in this track, as they all fit together to give a balance between the army aspect and the video game aspect. The percussion is freakin awesome! The transitions are pretty decent as well.

Even though you said in your description that you worked to make this less repetitive, I still feel that it still does get boring after a bit. There is so much you could have added to this track though. As is now, it seems to be mostly background. Even the addition of one more lead could have added a lot.

Good work here as well!

[Dark Duel 3]

Excellent!

I think what really blows me away in this track is the variety and energy of the percussion. I feel that as a "battle" track, you really nailed it. I can really imagine myself in some sort of computer world battling an unknown attacker. The sounds seem to fit together pretty well. A couple of things, however, that I think could be imporoved.

The transitions at 0:28 seems, well, insufficient. Give your awesome percussion up to this points, I was expected an epic transition. simply switching kinda surprised me.

Also, I definitely think that you could have make this more "dark," maybe with the addition of sfx. I dunno if you wanted to keep it more "cybery" but just my two cents.

Good work!

[~SW~ Mountain Reserve]

Ah, my bad

Full song, hmmmm...

Everything from my review on the loop still stands, including (unfortunately) the hi hat. It still has too much HF component, and it's also a bit loud.

Around 1:38, the kick is overly interfering with the flute and the other leads. It's causing "hiccups" if you will in the higher frequencies. I don't know if this is intentional, but just letting you know that I think it causes the song to sound discontinuous. Fortunately, the flute fits much better with the other leads than the guitar. Also, from this point on, I felt there was sooooo much room for percussion ownage that was simply left blank.

3:10, the kick continues to interfere

The ending was sufficient, but you and I both know there could have been more to close out this amazing track.

The biggest thing IMO was not the guitar this time, but the overpowering kick. For an ambient song, it's pretty loud, possibly because its frequency is very low and isn't that noticeable until you crank up the volume. I think you could have even done without the kick and replaced it with another percussion line.

Sorry bout the mix up, hope this helps!

SkyeWint responds:

I should probably change my high-hats or EQ them a bit more, they aren't the best, I admit.

As for the kick part, I thought that made it more interesting to have it make the "hiccups", that was intentional. To each their own opinion, though.

You may have wanted percussion ownage, but I was intending this song to be more atmospheric and airy, that's what it was requested to be initially, so... That's what it is.

I know, I know, the end could definitely have been better. But I was mainly wanting the electric guitar "mist" to go, and it felt too empty to just have it fade like that.

Thank you though, it did help.

[~SW~ Shadows in the Gem Forest]

Interesting....

First, some non-song items

Demanding that people listen to a entire 5-minute song before rating is asking a lot, considering the average attention span of a newgrounder. I like what you did in Cavern of memories, pointing out the good parts and allowing the listener to skip. I realize this is a older song, but just something to keep in mind.

Second, if mention ratebomers, you will only give the reason to rate bomb. I definitely learned that the hard way (if you are really curious, check my BBS history from a longggggg time ago).

However, neither of those items affected my review score.

Overall, I really enjoy this track. There are a few points in the song where I felt like the instruments didn't fit together perfectly, but generally, I liked it :D

0:08 You *almost* had the right lead coming it. I'm talking about the long noted lead. It just doesn't fit with the "foresty" atmosphere that you're trying to establish at the beginning. I could see it as a the start of a shadow, but its a bit too electronic for my liking.

0:42 the ascending sound you used to transition seems a little out of place. It feels very isolated with all the other leads promoting a peaceful forest soundscape, while this one gives the impression of "techiness"

1:38 The lead coming in literally made me jump a little. Maybe it shouldn't be as loud initially, or there should be some transition to tell me that it's coming.

2:25, the bg sounds really dominate the song here, which in my opinion shouldn't happen. bg stuff should stay in the bg. Fortunately, this domination doesn't last very long.

2:39 different hi-hat pl0x

3:38 I can detect a hint of distortion originating from the kick. I am not sure what is causing it, but it's barely noticeable. Just thought I'd let you know though.

Very good conclusion, I must say.

Since you have most of the fundamentals mastered, I just thought I'd show you a couple of details that you can watch out for in future songs. Good work!

[~SW~ Mountain Reserve Loop]

Interesting mix

I see what you're trying to do in this song, but despite the fact that you worked very hard to bring together two opposing elements, there is still a bit of awkwardness. The guitar sounds very homey, but the trance leads sound very distant, so it's like two separate songs layered on top of each other.

At 0:20, I literally eargasmed after hearing the electric guitar (?) come in. But it felt so out of place with the first guitar still going and going.

0:38, your choice of percussion instruments is good, *except* the hi hat. It just feels very raw going with the smooth kick and snare.

Other than that, this is a pretty short loop, nothing much else to say. For the main guitar, I suggest you filter/reveerb it much more than normal so that it fits with the other trancey stuff. Work on your percussion instrument *selection*. The patterns are good, but the hi-hat is just...no.

Awesome stuff, keep working!

SkyeWint responds:

Thanks, but this isn't the full track... ^_^` You can find that here: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/432717

I fleshed it out. And while the high hat is still there, it's a lot "fuller".

[~SW~ Cavern of Memory]

Some pointers.

I've got nothing major to say about this song. Everything fits together perfectly, creating a very smooth track.

So pardon me, but I'm going to go very nitpicky on you.

0:18, the 16th note lowish lead is either too loud, or not filtered enough. It's high frequency component can get very annoying after a while. Maybe turn it down or run a low pass. I also feel that there is too much high freq on the transitional "fuzz" too. In addition, I think you should reveerb the snare a little more. It sounds a bit flat at this point.

0:56 Again with the transitional "fuzz" Its frequency is so high that it becomes overwhelming. A simple filter could fix it, even just a little low pass. For some reason, the 16th note lead mentioned above becomes less piercing here? Did you mod one of its parameters? Because it sounds much cleaner in this part.

1:18 :D :D :D D :D, However, I think the background noises could be turned down just a little bit. Or maybe the lead is the bg? I can't tell, they're both about the same
volume.

1:36 The bg noises are a bit too loud for me to fully enjoy the eerie drone.

1:53 This transition just feels so out of place. The ascending then descending "buzz" I feel partially kills the mood that the song has worked so hard to set. Combined with the fact that it's so loud, I was very shaken when it came about.

2:16 ???? It feels like you spliced to songs together at this point. There's no real transition between before and after, it just kind of switches. Fortunately, this interlude doesn't last very long, and you jump right back into the main theme

2:59 You let me down with the ending. I was expecting something awesome/crazy/mysterious to go down, but instead I was met with a fade out. I guess with the ambient nature of this song, it's acceptable, but not nearly as good as it could have been.

Overall: You have all the parts, there's just some polishing up you have to do. Tweak your levels, especially so that some instruments are subordinate to others, and you don't have 3 leads all playing at the same volume/frequency band.

Hope this helps!

SkyeWint responds:

Thank you for the mixing assistance, I mainly focus on the compositional element. I make my songs complicated, but have the actual notes fit together. My personal attitude towards mixing: If you can hear all the instruments, and there isn't distortion, it's good enough.

As for the beginning of the arp at 0:18 and at 0:56, it's pretty much the same thing, but the bottom note is maybe a half step different, I think?

The drone actually can only be heard at 1:40-1:46, the beginning and end of it are quiet.

At 2:16, I made the track go from high to low to high, then used a reverse cymbal to go out... and back in. The song is designed to tease and tease, leaving the listener wanting more every second of the way.

I admit, I'm not as good at mixing. I could definitely use some help with learning how to do it really well. Also keep in mind I'm using simple ear buds and occasionally actual headphones - no fancy mixing surround-sound speaker setup for me.

Thank you for the AWESOME review!

Edit: I fixed up the "fuzz", which is white noise. Put a compressor over it and adjusted the high/mid/low filters. I also added an ending to make you happier. Enjoy.

[SF-BOSaTS]

Definitely my cup of tea

Excellent. I always love a good piano trance song, and you've definitely come up with some killer stuff. This has good the workings of a good trance song.

Couple things

Piano reveerb > what it should be. Especially at the beginning, the piano was starting to muddle up a bit. It sounds great when its with other leads, but by itself the piano reveerb is overwhelming. You just need to automate the reveerb a little, that's all.

Second. I feel that this song could use more bassy riffs. It could be a result of my crappy headphones that I'm not hearing all if it, but regardless I think there's a lot you could you can do in the lower frequencies.

As a FL user, feel free to ask me anything you need :)

djsoundfigure responds:

i agree with you totally about the piano and the bass. I'll probably remaster it when i get the chance. Thanks for taking the time to write a review and listen. Much appreciated :)