TheBellmaker's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[dB] My Little Crazy World]

Interesting....

It's pretty unique as far as pop songs go. It has the feeling of longing mixed with confusion, with a touch of craziness. Just a couple pointers here.

-Static: That static noise that's playing in the background doesn't really fit with the rest of the song. I don't really think it adds to the overall feeling of the song significantly. It's kinda just...there. I think it should just be removed outright, or maybe low pass filtered so that it isn't *too* noticeable.

-Chord progression: The progression itself is very well done. The only problem is that it's the *only* chord progression that you use in the entire song. Combined with the relatively static melodies, this causes the song to sound repetitive, even after a short time.

-Percussion: Here's an area that you clearly are skilled in. The percussion is the best part of this track, hands down. However, even then I think you could have added much more variation to the beats, as not to make the track sound like a 10 second loop played over and over again.

-Melodies: The melody that you used is well written, and indeed reminiscent of the Beatles music. again, you just needed to vary them a bit, maybe throw in a new melody when the percussion cuts out near the middle.

Overall: Just needs more variation. Great work!

Decibel responds:

The Static is actually a glitch in the guitar - I would have definitely taken it away but it won't seem to go really :/

Anyway - I'm glad that you liked my percussion :) I work quite hard on that, even though this isn't my best instance of it really ;p

So yeah - thanks again for the review.

[Mau5trapped (Dj Sonik)]

Not familiar with Deadmau5, but....

Still think you've got a nice track here. I especially like the bells that you whipped out at 3:00. The automation is excellent as well, perhaps the one thing that truly makes this song awesome!

One suggestion: I think the hi-hat should have just a little bit more LP filter, so that it doesn't stick out that much when the other leads come in

Good work!

DreamEater responds:

Thanks so much for the review!
Hmm... :D that's actually a great idea! You've got quite an ear for this stuff my friend; It's no big surprise to me now that you write such great music... You definitely know your shit!

Thanks again for the spot-on review bro! As always, I can't wait to read your next one!

~Dj Sonik

[Fail (Dj Sonik Original W]

Good.

You've struck pretty close to professional quality with this song. I especially like all the percussion instruments that you've chosen.

Suggestions: I personally think the buildup in the first part is a bit too long. I think you could have introduced more elements, which would have also made the transition at 2:52 a little more smoother.

DreamEater responds:

Ah I didn't actually notice till you pointed it out, but you're definitely right about the transition at 2:52; I might have to go back into the flp on this one and make a second release with some changes :p

Thanks for the spot on review Bellmaker!
You rock! :D

~Dj Sonik

[Amelioration (Dj Sonik)]

Pretty good stuff.

I must say, everything goes together very nicely. Very good mixing and effects. I also like the choice of instruments that you use in this piece.

Just one suggestion: starting at 1:00, I think you should have played some sort of bass during the next part. The lower lead I feel doesn't really give enough back bone to this part.

Good Work!

DreamEater responds:

Hey, thanks so much Bellmaker; I'm really glad you enjoyed my composition/ Instrumentation!

I think I need to re-do the whole bass stem for this track to be honest :(

Thanks again for your feedback!

~Dj Sonik

[Some Kind of Expert v.2]

Wonky? sounds like a candy bar...

I don't really understand the title....eh a song by any other name will still smell as sweet. I got to say, this track is actually pretty calming, perhaps fitting for looking upon a wintry scene in a field of trees. Hmmm, I think I'll do type III for this one

-Instrument Selection: yes! yes! YES!!!!! nearly flawless in this field. The piano is just so calming, and the percussion that you bring is not to driving yet not too subtle. I still think you could have added more instruments too, especially some long strings or string type lead. The beep sound is also appropriate, but I think you need to add some reveerb/delay to it if you plan on just making it beep the entire song.

Rhythm- Excellent rhythm in the piano and the percussion. Nothing much to improve in this song in terms of rhythm. Perhaps some more variation would have been nice, but that would be hypocrisy on my part haha.

Effects: The piano reveerb/delay was nice. I don't know why you decided to take it off at around 1:08 tho. I think the piano would still sound nice with the delay on. There also that weird sound every 4 beats that I think could have also been mixed more thoroughly. Right now, it sounds like you are simply playing it a low volume. Perhaps some filtering would have made it more full.

Overall: Not too bad. I definitely like this one the most out of the three that I reviewed. Keep up the good work!

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Hey TheBellmaker

Yeah, I just kinda picked the title out of a hat :P. Nah, I just listened to the ambience and thought of a suitably vague title to go with it. I'm wanting to get better at this song naming business. Ah well, hopefully.

I spent a lot of time on instrument selection. I wanted the percussion to be pretty minimal in terms of sound, and the beep sound is a bit too dominant in my opinion. I think I'll change that. But thanks for your feedback.

I'm glad you said the rhythm was good. I tried a new technique with this song - I didn't quantize the hits, so that it had a kind of "offbeat" tonality to it. That's the essence of wonky, I think. Maybe I should aso vary the overall tempo. I'm getting better at percussion hopefully.

I gotta work on the volume controls I think, and filtering etc. I was trying to make the piano at the end without the delay more punchy, but I think it would be nice to go into a dream state of music, per se. Maybe the next step is to go full reverb and make a dreamlike atmosphere. That would zone people out lol

Thanks! Your review is encouraging! I'll keep you posted on future songs :)
ZigZag

[Relative Iniquity (SB)]

No reviews????

Weird, considering your most recent song had like 9 haha. But anyways, down to business. For an experimental track, I'd say you have found a throng of quite interesting sounds. As an experimental track though, I will have to review it not as a song, but as a collection of instruments. So here goes

0:07: I really like the percussion you came up with here. Definitely fit for something danceable.

0:14: ehh, I don't know about the panning sound that you decided to throw in. I don't think it's "full" enough to have it be played as one long note. I never understood the purpose of panning, so I'm not going to go there.

0:28 : the clap is a bit too loud for my liking.

0:42: huh, what? Oh, I just wasn't really expecting so sudden a switch. I like the sound that you introduced here. In fact, I'd rather you pan this sound around rather than the one you did at the beginning

1:24: Interesting sound. I think you'll find lots of use for it in future songs, especially dancey/trancey type songs. If you put a filter on that baby, I think it will sound even better.

Overall: I like the sounds you came up with. Personally, I'm too lazy to create leads from scratch, so kudos to you!

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks for your kind review!

About my latest song having lots of reviews, I found that quite surprising and cool. I rarely, if ever, get a single review for my submissions, but this is very welcome, and I thank you for taking the time out :)

Your dissection of the different instruments is quite a good aide, to see what sounds "worked" and what sounds/rhythms didn't work. I've done a lot of "experimenting" with sounds, and it is only until recently I've been contemplating bringing them together into something coherent. I will take the sounds that you have advised me to take, and leave the ones that didn't really hit the mark.

Thanks a lot for the review! Let's keep in touch!

ZigZag

[ZIG - By My Side Tonight]

Nice beat

Despite having only one lead playing at a time for most of the song, I think you still have apretty nice tune going on here. I can see how this is the work of several different versions.

Some things I want to point out

-Tempo: I feel that this song is too fast to be a House song. House is usually around 128 bpm, and this is definitely faster, even faster than trance which is around 140 bpm. Thus, I feel that either this should be placed in a different genre (I think video game would be most appropriate) or you should slow it down if you really are aiming to write a House song.

-Variation: You definitely need to vary the bassline if you are going to use it for the entire song. Varying the percussion was a nice touch, but the repetitive bassline kind of overshadows it. Introducing a new melody at :40 was a smart choice. But as far as I can hear, there are only 3 distinct leads playing 3 distinct melodies.

-Instruments: Judging by your instruments, I'm guessing that you don't have access to multilayer synths? Well, that's not the real problem. What I think could have made this track better is adding more subordinate instruments that back up the main bassline, or even stack on top of it. Throughout the entire song, you usually only have one lead playing, which leaves this empty space throughout the sound spectrum.

Overall, I think this is a good start, but you could have definitely added a lot to this track to make it sound more interesting and varied.

Good work!

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks for your very helpful criticisms!

I agree, the tempo is quite quick for a house song. I'm quite new to this house thing, just experimenting with sounds I like/dislike. The bassline can get repetitive, I agree. I haven't layered the synths, and you've shown me that that's a good idea. I'll take your advice on the next song I make. :)

I agree there is a lot of empty space in the spectrum, and I'll try to fill that up next time. Thanks for your kind criticism! :)

ZigZag

[Snake's Service Announcement]

I am fully inspired

I do agree, the track does fit the voice. I like your wit and humour in the announcement, and to be honest, I feel that kids would be inspired because of you.

I think you could have added to the announcement. Now, I am not saying that simply because of the soundtrack :P, but perhaps you could have been more specific, like referencing specific things you should learn in school. Hehe, something like "Do you have any idea how I managed to take down the final boss in Metal Gear solid 3? I used the Pythagorean Theorem..." If time is a constraint for this track, then I think you did everything you could in 48 seconds.

Overall, loved it, but I think you could have extended it.

SirKillington responds:

Yeah, I just felt it should be quick, like an after school special kinda feel to it. I was thinking of doing more of them, sorta make a series. I wanted to make it longer, but I kinda like the shock value of it being short because it causes you to want to listen to more, it beckons you to want to hear what he says. I just didn't want to beat a dead horse by continued examples. I really appreciate the music you lent me, and I thank you for the review good sir :D

[(Day1) Evolution]

I really like this version :D

I'd say it was a big improvement over the first version. So much more energy, and a lot more variation. It kept me much more interested and "awake" than before. Everything flows very smoothly. I especially like 1:30 where it starts to get a little mysterious sounding. Just two suggestions

1:00 (or within a second of) The background dance lead hits a note that sounds very dissonant with the rest of the song. %uFF34he rest of the pattern for the dance lead, just that last part.

1:31 when you introduce that weird sfx, I think it could be processed/filtered a little more to give it a dance feel. Right now, it sounds a bit raw. Maybe some reveerb would also help it as well.

Very good improvement, I must say!

RandomDanceOfHappy responds:

about 1:00 i dont hear anything being off but the lfo a tiney bitand to fix that will be kinda hard -.- ill see what i can do tho!. im more or so use to makeing hardcore sonds where being off makes it sound better
im re working the mastering atm after that imma try filtering the part after 1;31 better
this song is vary high energy for me intending this to be vary slow lol