TheBellmaker's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Whugh]

Nice

Good stuff here. I really enjoy the lead patterns that you have come up with. It flows very smoothly.

My comment from my review on your previous song still stands. This sounds more trancy than dancy to me.

But that aside, I feel that you've definitely got the basics down, and even a good part of the "intermediate" stuff. I think there's definitely more that you could have added to this song, even straight on top.

Hope to hear from you again!

Kassich responds:

Thanks man! I always struggle when it comes to classifying my music haha

[Rainfall (Kassich)]

A few words

First I must say that I'm really enjoying the theme that you're shooting for in this song. It is indeed very light and airy. Couple of things I wanna say though.

First, I feel as if you are dramatically restricting the potential of the piano by leaving in a simple 4 note chord pattern. As a light an airy song, I feel that the piano is essential to the feeling that you arr trying to capture. There is so much you can do with a piano, not just in this song, but in any song.

Second, more of a side point. This sound more like trance than dance to me. I dunno if that's just your style, but I'm just saying. Dance drives people to..well ..dance. this is more of a relaxant than a stimulant to me. Doesn't mean that it's not a good song, just that it's perhaps in the wrong genre.

Keep up the awesomeness!

Kassich responds:

Yeah i sometimes limit myself when it comes to variation, because i start making things and then i just loop them, and then i forget about them... i should def work on that..

[You are Literally a Douchebag]

Well, you got the bass part....

Don't get wrong, the riffs for the leads are brilliant. However, even then, I still think that this song is lacking a truly driving bass part. The leads you used, even the low saws, arent bassy enough. But that aside...

Taking into account that this was "accidental" DnB, I still think that you need to work on your percussion. I just feel that for a DnB song there isn't enough energy from the drums. There are points where I think you nailed it, but there are others where i think you are restraining yourself.

Good work!

Kassich responds:

thanks for the review, when i was making this song, i was just fooling around with the LFO's on the bass, and then it just turned into this and then i finally listened to it all the way through and was like... "what have i created..." haha

[Berlin (WIP)]

Very high potential

FL Studio, I presume? (then again, I usually presume wrong)

Overall Impression:
Very upbeat and what I like to call "floaty." I feel that the mark of the trance song is the gate, and you've obviously mastered it here. I just felt really calm as I listened to this short song. This song flows like a river in the heavens (pardon my cheesy analogy)

Melodies:
I am simply awed by your chord progression. Brilliantly woven and sewn together. Yet I feel this song could be so much more than just a pad song, if you add basically any lead. But that's at your discretion not mine.

Percussion/Bass Line:
Not much to say here. I guess the standard trance percussion progression fits here, not too much you can do to make it better, except add some transitions in the full piece.

Instrument Choice:
Please, please, PLEASE tell me what pad you used (Sounds like Nexus, but then again I might be wrong). I'm also a trance writer and gates have always frustrated me!!!! Yours just fits so well with the chord progression and beat of the song. Everything else seems to be in its place too for the moment. Good work!

Rhythm:
I guess I'll mention the gating rhythm here. Now, I have nothing against using the classic 16th 16th 8th gating rhythm, but you should definitely experiment with more, if not in the full piece, in future songs. That's all for that

Intro/Conclusion:
Not really applicable, since it is a WIP. I'm sure you'll think of something awesome

Transitions:
If you do add more discernible transitions, which I highly recommend, it will make your piece flow that much better. Even simple cymbal (try saying that 5 times fast) crashes will work for a piece like this. Again, since it's a WIP I'm not too focused on that.

Miscellaneous:
I wonder why it's called Berlin?

Good work, keep it up, and update me with the full version and I'll review that too. If you have the time, I humbly request a review on my latest trance song "Celestial Plane."

Review by TheBellmaker, former RRC member
Saw your song on the listed, decided to view it.

SASKID responds:

FL Studio 9 XXL is a correct assumption :)

Overall your review is very generous and i happily read it with a smile on my face

I named the song Berlin as the pad reminded me a little of Dash Berlin (artist) but yeah xD

I have more standing by but won't release it until its finished now i guess.

I'll send you the pad stuff via inbox.

Trancer to Trancer ;D

Thanks again

[[dB] Aliens]

I usually don't listen to DnB, but...

>Overall Impression
Patrick is an id1ot. But anyway, I must say that I enjoyed this song thoroughly. Very skilled blend of melody and percussion. I especially like the part from 1:07 to 1:18. I was very sad that you didn't extend it.

>Melodies
Great selection of melodies to complement your percussion line. To me, you can very close to creating the perfect balance between introducing new melodies and variations, and repeating the catchy sequences. Good work!

>Percussion/Bass
Best part of the song (well, seeing that it is a DnB song, I guess this isn't surprising). I like your selection of instruments in your construction of the main beat and following variations. Keep doing what you are doing and you'll surely improve

>Instrument selection
Overall, you seem to have this down. Nothing clashing or overriding another instrument. Every seems to fuse into an organic creation that excites and engages the mind (uber corny, but true). I personally like your instrument that comes in around 1:07, and I wish to know what synth/plugin you used.

>Rhythm
Nothing really to criticize here, you pretty much nailed it. Maybe you could have done more with the hi hat, but what you did with the kick and snare already satisfies me greatly.

>Intro/Conclusion
Here's is my main issue with the song. You close out the song very smoothly and nicely. Maybe you could add another sound effect or melody variation, but you have the gist of it down. Now the intro to this song, for me, just doesn't make any sense. It is a very well written intro, make no doubt about that, but it just doesn't lead into the rest of the song. The only connection you make between the intro and the body is the percussion fade in. To me, it's too light and airy for a DnB song intro. I don't know if you wanted it that way, but I'm inclined to review the song "as is"

>Transitions
Besides the transition between intro and the main body, your other transitions are seamless. In fact, I'm extremely jealous of people who are skilled with percussion and can make killer transitions, such as yourself. Keep up the good work

>Miscellaneous
Nothing much else to say. Very well done.

TheBellmaker
Former RRC member, saw your song on the list and decided to review it.

Decibel responds:

Hey Thanks!

The synth, sorta, at 1:07 is a square wave sf2 I'm not sure where I got it, but I'll PM you with a link if I find where :)

and I'm not skilled, I'm just a kid with a DAW, but Ir's reviews like yours which lighten up my day,, and I'm glad I made some DnB you enjoyed listening to, it's not my cup of tea, but I like to please the people who hear it with every genre I make!

thanks again :)

[deciBel]

[Rhythmic Serialist Loop]

Pretty good.

Ok, I'm going to try a new audio review structure, so bear with me

>Overall Impression
Pretty catchy, I must say. It has a lot of potential to become something greater, and as I read you probably are working on it as I type. Kind of reminds of me of a antiquities store for some reason.

>Melodies
Well, since nothing is repeated, I can't really say there are distinct melodies in your song. It's perfectly okay to have no distinct melodies, but as a reviewer I have nothing to say on this matter.

>Rhythm
I really admire your use of rhythm in this song to vary up the "melody" and to compensate for the fact you only have one instrument. Again, there are no repeats in rhythm, which I think is slightly more undesirable that no repeating melodies. As a listener, I tend to try and find order in songs, and if there is no pattern then I either don't remember the song, or I start getting confused while listening to it. Just a thought

>Instrument choice
I do like the instrument you pick for this song. It's part of what makes this song interesting. However, adding more instruments couldn't hurt at all.

>Percussion
Not applicable.

>Intro/Conclusion
It's a loop. Although you may want to make the beginning and end slightly different so it doesn't start to become monotonous.

>Transitions.
There are none I can pick out. If you do start making distinct melodies, these are important. But seeing as you only have one long melody, no need to worry

>Miscellaneous
Good work!!

-TheBellmaker
Former RRC member, saw your song on the list, and decided to review it.

WizMystery responds:

Thanks for the review despite your non-membership to the RRC!

This does have an "idle" feel to it (not sure if that's exactly the word I want) and I had the same impression, something to do with a store.

I did design it to have a sort of... lead instrument, but you are correct about there being no distinct melody. Things do repeat, however.

This is actually a string quartet. I made each instrument blend into each other with a varied pan and volume setting. The rhythm, of course, never repeats because it's one giant string of binary.

I'd like to add a deeper bass and light percussion sometime to brighten things up a bit.

Harmonically, there are transitions. The piece changes key four times through dominant relations, but the overall feeling does stay the same.

Again, thanks for the review!

[my first looop]

Over 9000 times better than my first attempt.

I really like what you came up with the first time. I can see you have already got the hang of FL 9 (stuck with FL 8 over here -___-). Good use of presets to make a song, although in the future I am sure you will come up with plenty of original stuff.

You have everything you need. You know what goes into a goo track. Just keep making them songs!

Thanks for the fav on my latest submission as well!!!

[Love's Embrace]

Excellence

Well written, I must say. Definitely evokes the intended emotional response

One thing: I like how the string has a long attack, but on the shorter notes, it becomes somewhat "awkward sounding" (I don't know how to word it). Simply put, short notes don't have enough time to reach peak note volume, which can be solved by having a shorter attack on short notes, or having them portamento to the next note, or using my favorite technique, having them start before the last note ends.

I think I heard some chord dissonance, but I am not sure, nor I am that educated in music theory to say it is undesirable. I think love songs should have a smooth chord progression.

Possibly could add more instruments/expand into a more emotional song. The piano and strings fit perfectly, but I feel something like a high violin/viola would do this song much if you choose to add it.

Review written by TheBellmaker. I humbly request a review on my latest song if it is convenient for you.

[Suspense Theme (Extended)]

I swear I heard a noise behind me....

Excellently written, I must say.

Only one improvement to suggest. Your bass sound has too much high frequency "fuzz". I don't know if that is intended, but I feel it would sound better if you added a slight low pass filter to it, or used a different sound altogether.

Very, very creepy, indeed. Well done!!

Xixo responds:

Thanks a lot for the review! It's on purpose (as long as what my ears hear count as "on purpose" xD). I'll try to improve on that.

[Arcade Attack]

Just a little disappointed.

I am impressed that you made an entire 2:20 song using one sound.

However, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns).
The best I can describe this song is amateur. I know you have only written four songs, and I don't know if you are using this for some special purpose, but I feel compelled to review the song "as is"

First, you seriously need to vary your main four note riff in order to keep the listener interested. Even if you choose to use only one instrument, which is perfectly acceptable in my eyes (piano pieces), if you constantly repeat the same thing over and over again, you will bore the listener to death, and they will most likely try to return the favor.

Second, try to add more instruments (You probably used one instrument on purpose), but in the techno sphere of music, well written one instrument songs usually are very short.

That is all I have to say. Keep writing, and you may one day conquer the world of music.

doppler73 responds:

Jeez, i really need to revise this song, thanks a lot for impressions!