Darren-M's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[D-Party]

good but could use work

this song was pretty good and fun to listen too but there were a few things that really stuck out to me. your drum samples for one were really...organic, which surprised me and i wasnt sure if i liked the style, i usually go for more fake drum sounds that have really punchy attacks, i think a kick like that would have sounded better.

lessen the reverb a little on the High hats. the piano in the middle was pretty awesome. and i like the pattern you chose at the end for the kick drum, its kinda hip hoppy and went well.

i thought your leads needed to be turned down in volume a little, they were overbearing. good build at :28 with the snare and crash cymbol.

dont get me wrong this was a good song i just figured you would appreciate a technical review since you seem put alot of effort into your songs and obviously it was well orchestrated so you dont want to hear that. :)

keep up the work!

Draikon responds:

thanks, but yeah i was doing this on my laptop so everything sounded different then it does on my home computer (which is broken)

[Carol of the Synth]

stereo

you had a few frequency interference problems but all in all it was really well orchestrated! i liked your version. the way you manipulated stereo was also impressive, my head was moving all around. the beginning was just a little bit weak in presence, but over all i enjoyed this song. keep up the great work

prog17 responds:

Thank you for the fair and honest review, I will agree the beginning is a tad on the slow side, but I wanted to try and make some kind of build up. That said, I probably should have shortened it. Something I should keep in mind for my next project, whatever that may be.

[Transformation (mastered mix)]

reason?

did you make this in reason?

well to start off this isnt a bad song, but i felt you way over used the low pass effects, i kept waiting for something to build up like quickening drums that lead to a melody or a lead. and there wasnt much bass after the beginning. i want to comment on that bass line by the way; it was really sweet! that was a pretty intense bass synth.

if you are using reason my friend, make sure you move the little "E" marker on the top of the timeline to where you want the song to cut off, that will help you get it to just the right length you need :)

keep working, this has potential.

Mans0n responds:

Thanks bro and lol i had a feeling people or someone would think i overused the lowcut sweep effect. but yeah thanks for the comments it helps. and i dont use reason, i use FL studio.

[.^3-2]

hard hitter

dude the drums on this were really sick, i think they made the song and the low pass you lifted at :48 or whatever that was was really cool as well, this song had alot of really cool parts in it.

interesting piece

yagru responds:

848651 686

[gloam (sunrise mix)]

better, but

this sounded pertty much as good as the last one, i like both but i missed those crickets haha, and there was some weird clipping that panned right to left on my speakers, probably an ultrasonic freq. they werent able to pump out. anywho this is such a beautiful song, im so relaxed now

when i first heard this song it heavily reminded me of a remix paul oakenfold did called Tears in the Rain, or maybe it was by vangelis, in any case if you want to look it up its on disk 1 of perfecto presents Another World

oddfellowfloyd responds:

:D aww hehehe the crickets with the drumloop you mean? they were...oddly part of that drumloop that i sliced to high hell, mate... unfortunately there's no separating the buggies from the drums XP i did put a couple sound effects that were supposed to pan like that.... and i did put a soft constant 'vinyl' effect throughout the entire piece... hmmm

but thank you again for the kind words... glad i could help you relax! ^____^ maybe i should post some of short guitar pieces...?

[Make Some Noise!]

bass drops etc...

the bass drop at :12 could have been more prevalent. your lead was way too loud and the piano was appropriate, i liked that, on 1:07 i liked the off beat bass but it has too high of a resonance, turn that down if you can, i just felt that the res is usually a good way to get a trancy dance lead sound but in this case it was a little over powering. cool drums at 2:00 it felt really in your face, nice attitude in this song.

my biggest beefs with this song was in the mixing, the lead was too loud, bass drops need to be louder. other than that i liked it for the most part.

keep up the good work

BenNeville responds:

Cheers man! I really appreciate that you took the time to review!
Yeah, The bass drop at 12 seconds is kinda a small bass drop on purpose, But I can boost it to match the others if it sounds better that way.

Ill master the song properly (mix it), make the bass drops louder/clearer, and make the synth not so over powering (lower the resonance) =)

Thanks!
~Ben~

[gloam (in the middle mix)]

simple and wonderful

your instrument sounded really good on this, i liked the slow attacks and tremolos. the groove in the middle threw me off of the relaxation and was a little distracting, it would have been better if it had gradually changed back to the main atmosphere with out and sudden stop. but the cricket sounds were great, probably my favorite. perhaps you were trying to contrast the crickets with the drum grooves?

in any case good work, very relaxing

oddfellowfloyd responds:

thank you, mate! check out the revised version i did this morning... i think you'll find that less jolting... :P let me know what you think! peace!

[Anxiety Cure _ RR]

melody

the melody was really hard to find in this but i eventually heard it. i really liked your sweep at 1:10 and the bass after that was cool, sounded like a low pass. i like how it wasnt in your face. the break beat around 2:10 was a little weird but it ended up being cool. i dont know if i was a big fan of how it changed key in the end... perhaps it didnt idk :) in any case good work, the mixing was pretty good also the lead synth was a little too loud for me but the drums were right on

RenoakRhythm responds:

awesome... thanks for the review. Ya there are some things i'd like to iron out on this. I made it real quick. The melody was supposed to go from unresolved to resolved to unresolved again.. but i'm not sure if that was a good idea. I really liked the breakbeat though, my favorite thing i added...lol

I really apprecaite the review... good to have honest critique.

[(Kaos855)Sunlight Kiss]

mixing

well everyone can tell this was done very well, but i want to comment on the mixing. i want to congratulate you on mixing the vocal track levels correctly, that is something i have alot of problems with, the level was appropriate and didnt distract the listener from the song and there wasnt any frequency interference

kaos855 responds:

Thx For The Comment

[Novarri's Anthem]

what i heard

at the beginning where the arp fills the background it almost is like a pad! nice use of the arp function, i agree that this is not over whelming and i appreciate that you didnt make it the lead. very few use an arp as a pad. it sounds like you side chained the kick drum, is so good work. since you really only used a kick and HH i expected more variation with the HH and felt the pattern should have been changed up some, just a tad bit repetitive. at the 2:140 mark towards the tempo automation i expected a more exciting build since the song dramaticly changes, though when it does i absolutely loved the way the lead sounded slower, it sounds amazing, at 3:20 i really liked the clap/snare that was a nice touch and the tempo automation was brought back in nicely though i almost felt it came back a little too strong for the way it ended. but i like how you changed the melody for the ending. by the end the song definitely built in energy and also musically but the atmosphere didnt change i think it needed a pad at the end instead only morphing and automating the low pass, though that was a wise choice and fit well. i would have liked to hear it cut off at the end without the delay. good work on this song! you definitely proved the "fruits" <---fruity loops, of labor.

omg that was a bad joke

Novarri responds:

That's awesome! I happen to be a fan of bad jokes.

Thanks for all the input, I'll try my best to work it into future songs...whenever I get around to starting my next project. I agree a lot, especially that the HH should have been much more varied. And thanks a million for being so specific! It helps a lot.