5TanLey's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Restart]

Composition is OK-ish, not bad, not anything unique, just your average everyday house song, you should spend more time on melodies, dont stop until it sounds OK, but until it is great, memorable

0:40 there is quite huge jump in volume, from tiny silent intro to super loud drop... It's good to put the rendered MP3 back to FL (or whatever you use) and just look if there aren't any peaks like this in the waveform, then edit it back in project

1:16 don't really like this part, some of the notes sound off-key to me + that bell thing could be quiter

2:49/3:34 the bass has some high pitch noise in it, I would cut it somehow

If its only your 5th song, technical quality is really decent, but there is still a lot things to work on :)

cheers

B3yondMusic responds:

Thx Mate! I will definitely take your advice when i make a new house song. Definitely appreciate your advice.

[Ledge]

Seems like R4R thread is broken, so I came here to return some feedback at least :)

The composition is quite minimalistic, but it has enough elements and little things to keep it interesting. Those little synths (e.g.1:05) really help to create an atmosphere. The outro (2:20 onward) could be a few bars shorter I guess since there isnt much going on

vibe of the song with all those cheesy saws and delays and guitar thing reealy remind me soundtracks of old flash shooters I was playing here on NG, good times

mixing-wise I would push low frequencies a bit, kick is ok, but that bass behind it should be more noticeable.. rest is decent, it always could be better, but there are no major ear-destroying mistakes, which is nice

cheers

connorhawke responds:

Thanks for the review mate! The kick and bass were originally louder but were reduced to avoid clipping. If I develop this track I'll see what I can do.

[Qwaint . Ketchup Packets [2016]]

R4R

I'm a bit allergic to rapping, but this is pretty good :D I like that lo-fi feeling and sounds. Composition is OK I guess, I really know nothing about hip-hop, so I can't tell much what's right/wrong.. The song has enough variations and sounds+ending was pretty poetic

Mixing is also cool, I can't hear any problems

Overall it sound quite professional to me, so good job :)

KleptoidKat responds:

YO!

Thanky ;D

Q ~~

[Eurodancing]

heh somebody still cares about this song? :) you already have a pretty detailed review somewhere here, so just a few of my words:

Structure and composition are fine this time, really like that chill part at 2:00

but mixing is not cool yet, it needs simply better loudness leveling, that lead drowns everything else, the snare clap thing could be also quiter

and some of the fx are reeally loud and could use some EQing like 1:14 or 2:31.. those things really interfere with the rest of mix.. turn it down, maybe sidechain it

and take breaks when mixing, maybe try it on different sound systems, at different loudness levels, at different star constellations and so

cheers

Coolasp1e responds:

Wow, thanks for da awesome review!
I'll be sure to take your advice on the mixing, I just like the lead loud so I'll try to go into uncomfortable territory.

And don't worry, I'll be sure to try it in different time-space continuums.

[bad]

R4R

arrangement is realy thought out and the lengh is very refreshing, nowadays everybody makes 5min+ songs, when they make actual content for like 11 seconds and then just repeat it

I usually dont like songs with vocals but I made an exception here because your voice really pleases my ears and cock and the text is really practical and understandable, not like usual metaforical pseudo deep stuff from every other singer

I also appreciate the amount of work you put into drums, they sound really professionally processed, unlike some people who just use stock fl samples and think theyll get away with it

The song also reminded me that life is way better when you dont take everything seriously

cheers!

TheBetterAudioPortal responds:

Someone gets it :)

[Last Battle [exp]]

I like the combination of these genres, but some of your sounds are preventing me from enjoying the song.. I could say I like the intro, break and outro but not the drops :D

0:55 that melody sounds a bit cheap to me, I feel like you could put some more effort into it

1:20 the lead sounds really "foreign", compared to the rest of the sounds, I would switch it for something diffent

3:00 same case, these screech things dont fit much

I like drums themselves but the loudness should be a bit diffent, turn down that hihats a bit and emphesize the snare, kick is OKish

But experimenting, that's the spirit, you should try new things in your DAW everyday, even if they appear bad and you delete them right after.. sooner or later you create something good

cheers

Demonic-Overmind responds:

Thanks a lot for review! I thought of adding some harsh elements because that's drum n bass xD
The drums thing, I understood that those were badly mixed while mastering, but I thought of letting it go.

[track - 126]

Not my genre really, but it sounds pretty sick

It creates a vision of super dark future, you know walking in dirty streets of giant cities, neons, cyborgs and stuff. My favourite part is around 2:00, really like that stereo feel.

Mixing- wise it sounds quite professional.. I really couldn't tell the difference between this and a soundtrack of some high-end sci-fi thing

nicely done!

OPFX responds:

This has seriously been the best review I have ever received.

Almost had a heart attack.

Thanks a gorillion!

[Newton's iPhone]

I feel like it has some potential - composition is ok-ish with enough sounds and variations, maybe add some closed hihat shimmer to fill the high frequencies a bit

mixing is listenable as well,

but the overall impression is kinda killed by the sound quality - at this point it sounds reeeally preset-y and unprocessed, e.g. that snare is super "cheap", maybe try to get some better sample pack one shots, or just layer stuff

keep learning stuff like compression, EQing, layering, and it will get better soon :)

cheers

Corroid responds:

Thank you. I will try to follow your advices :)

[Everything is Canaan]

hi there sir

composition-wise it's ok-ish, melodies have that positive vibe, which I always like, but it would deserve more variations both in instrumental and rhytm aspect, you know a few super energetic bars like in 0:30 and then a few laidback ones, with longer notes lenght, using some other synth sound

maybe try to add some drum fills every few bars, you know a bit juggle with the drum rhytm, four on the floor all the time isn´t much entertaining

mixing isn't super good, I can hear all the instruments when I concentrate, but they are quite drowned by the main lead e.g. 1:59 that arp thing could really add some groove, provided it would be audible! Maybe try to sidechain harder and cut some very high-end on stuff to create more space for hats and so.. and there isn't much of bass, I believe every dance song should be driven by a kick and bass

I would compress the drums more, if you have no idea, try googling drum bus compression, it can really add some punch

hat 0:30/1:15/2:16 is a bit too loud and should have longer reverb decay imo

Overall it has some potential, but there is still a lot to work on

And I think there is no point of leaving newgrounds, I know that it's kinda rare to get constructive feedback here, but you can still get some new fans and stuff here, I guess the more places you post your songs on, the better

cheers!

Coolasp1e responds:

Hello there sir.

Thanks for the review, I always get told I've got potential, and I think I can work on a LOT of things, really this song is just a test to see what I can do. I do have another song coming up, and probably am going to release it here. I do think this is a nice solid place with a bunch of good people (like you ;3) with not many ass-kissers or haters. I thank you for your time and consideration, you keep up the good work!

[Tracks for Unfinished Games #1 - Rainforest]

The song flows really nicely, transitions from "action" to "calm" are pretty smooth, not forced

There's a nice combination of 8-bit "dirt" sounds, smooth piano riffs and reverbed pads

I really like the ambience feel, this is a proper use of stereo - it moves, it lives - a lot of similar pieces just have all the sounds stacked in the middle, no use of far left/right,

My noob-producer ears can't hear any mixing problems, so good job with that

All together it seems quite professional to me, could be perfect music for some "less pixel" game

scouted ya :)

ABitApe responds:

Thanks man ^^ Really appreciate the feedback :)
Good to hear the transitions and the stereo-width works well as I was a bit worried about those things! It's two things people usually mentioned as things I needed to work on in earlier tracks.

And thanks for the scout :3