Buoy's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Rising Up]

hah

Well there's some interesting songs here- I'm saying songs because it seems more like two or three songs slapped together than one integrated song. A bit happy rpg orchestral, then moves onto something more dramatic and emotional, then all of sudden there are guitars and stuff going on. you get what I mean? Probably not, but I'm complaining anyway :D

Well done, this stuff, something I could see done much better is the drum work, it's quite offbeat and with illogical patterns. Bagh

ConradB responds:

I'm not a drummer so I kind of just wing it when making them, however I think they're quite onbeat for the most part. It's just the ending I was having trouble with

ALSO THE REASON THERE'S THREE SONGS IS BECAUSE IT'S SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE THREE STATES OF CLOCKTOPIA "HAPPYNESS" "DISASTER" AND "FREEDOM" OK >w<

[Jazz Factor (Loop)]

Vewy nice

Very jazzy indeed. It'd really fit for some comical-royal thing, I don't know. Some of the instruments sound all midi, but that's pretty much the only complain- 'cept for that it doesn't really fill up the sound spectrum much. Maybe if you boosted the bass a bit, it would do more justice.

Yeah, a great happy jazz loop.

NickPerrin responds:

Yeah it's tough to find good-sounding saxophones, even in the BEST libraries. They always seem to end up sounding MIDI, no company has done a really solid saxophone yet!

[++ The Journey Begins ++]

Mighty uplifting

That rising little bass doodle that's going straight through the entire song sure as hell makes the tune uplifting. You did indeed create that kind of "first time in grasslands" or whatever feel very well. My only complaint on the song is how the drum kit sounds horrible. Patterns are basic and good sounding, but the track could really need some better drum sounds.

My suggestions are to get rid of or replace that tambourine with something, or just lower its volume, since it stands more out than it should. Then get up the toms volume, find a thicker, less punchy kick, and replace the clap with an acoustic snare. At least that's how I could figure it would sound better

Pretty much everything else sounds great, I really love the mood that pizz and guitar adds to it. Well done!

kelwynshade responds:

I appreciate the feedback. I do agree that the drumkit I used definatly isn't one of the best I have, however I figured it sounded good compared to titles like Secret of Mana and such.

I also agree that the tambourine is a bit too loud as well.

Thanks for checkin it out!

[*Darkest Shadow* / ZeRo BaSs]

YES

I love it. Which is scarce with your tunes, cause they usually have a more generic techno sound to 'em. Got more stuff like this? This is probably the only song I've downloaded all weeks, so it's pretty obvious that I love it.

The drums make it pretty damn great, but some just a bit more realistic drums, especially on the rather weak snare(s) (while still not sounding totally acoustic) would probably make some fatter, more intense drums. I love the beat and patterns tho, completely filled up with awesome.

well gud

ZeRo-BaSs responds:

Thanks SBB :D

[~EnV~Swinging in 4/3]

wonderful

But wait, did you just sidechain the whole song to the kick? If that's exactly what you did, that's fantastic and awesome, but if that's not what you did to get that effect, I hate you for all etirnity. But that massive sidechainage gets this flat, overcompressed sound. Which I don't like.

I enjoyed the pizzy start to the synth which evolved into some weird hands up lead. You should haf incorporated the pizzy into the song later on >:(

Envy responds:

The pizzy was the main synth o.O Just with automating the cutoff filter.

For the sidechaining, yeah I sidechained it to the kick. I agree, I should have lessened the sidechaining a tad so that it isnt so... ear hurting like. Anyways. Thanks for the review!

[A beautiful Winter]

har

clumsily but steadily the marimba progresses... it needs a bit steadier rhythm than that whimsy marimba note progression- I assume ya play that live? It sounds kind of like that. If you did it with software, quantisize and edit yer notes, cause it sounds very much off tempo. Lovely sounds, pretty bad quality but whatever. Well done.

kaptainkewl responds:

Yes I played it live, That's why the quality rings on the verge of crap. The tempo changes are just part of the song, save the parts when I'm just saving myself from screwing up. I dont care for using software, I find it lowers the skill of the player. *cough* Fruity Loops *Cough* Thanks though.

[Break Your Mind]

bah

I like that trance lead in the beginning, really bouncy and fresh sound, but it has quite some staticage, which happens to eat part of the ears- anyway, the base chord progression of the arp ain't too good, it sounds forced and somewhat off key, even though I doubt it really is. It's just the feeling.

Nice other sounds, the drums don't sound too good though. I'd expect a much more steady beat than the kick rhythm you got going there. Makes much of the power go away, I'd rather have some funky 4 on the floor variation there.

kindof like but it needs more

New-Milkman responds:

Yes, the staticage be me forgetting to attempt to get rid of it with EQ or something. And really, that lead is pretty much a preset in Toxic III, but I thought I should do something with it. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, and I ended up just throwing on some random drum beat that came after a bit of playing around.

Basically, this song can probably go into the "shit" songs. The stuff I actually did from scratch wasn't good apparently. Ah well, next time for me...

Thanks for the review tho.

[Techno-Guitar-thing]

hey

I notice those garageband presets, or at least I'm 99% sure they are :)

Cmon, try to make the stuff harmonize with each other, or at least make em go in the same speed in some kind of structure in a way or another- cause not it just sounds horribly random, like some sounds all mashed over the place with various instruments... And try to make some original synths, it will really remove the "preset user" stamp from yer face quite a lot :D

RadioactiveRhino responds:

The "harmonize" part was that one note, right? Well, i screwed up there, you're right! The guitar is going with the "same speed" comment, i'm guessing. First, this song was from a while back, i'm much better now. Buuuut, I had decided to finish one day. I gave myself one last try on that part, and even though it stunk, i kept it. Yes, i acknowledge the badness of that one part. Also, they are presets. The "cause not it just sounds horribly random, like some sounds all mashed over the place with various instruments" comment confused me greatly. PM me so we can discuss what it meant, won't you?

Thanks for the review!

[KR- Mario 64 dire docks remix]

gah.

Please. Don't make the main instrument in this song... a trash guitar. It sounds horrible, and doesn't fit the feeling of the original song at all. At least reverb it much more for the well known water feeling, or something just to make the terrible "ugh"-feeling go away, if you catch my drift :)

Also felt it's way too slow moving, remove some of the bars in the very start just to get the party started sooner. Never felt it really started though. I guess you need drums for that... subtle hint

knuxrouge responds:

Thanks, but I'm stuck with the Trial version of FL. What you hear is what we are stuck with, this song was way too hard to try again.

[{PBJ}Harmless{PBJ}]

Very nice.

I enjoyed the stepping synths and gated arpagge very much. It fits greatly in a song like this, though it gives a first impression of being synthie-only. Strings are absolutely wonderful. Drums feel filtered too far away, I'd suggest giving them some more in-yer-face presence, and exchange some of these kick and snare hits for hats, making the kick-and-snare pattern more groovy. Also I wanna hear more of that chorused guitar damnit >:(!!

Very nice, need major polish as you said indeed though

pitbulljones responds:

hey hey, Yea very basic notes and shit going on but they fit the styleof the piece very well those synths. The strings are from a nexus expansion and yes they are yummy, me loves em too much methinks. Drums are crap yes, that is my downfall, drums. I now have ezdrummer so at least i'll get better rythmns coming up on newer tracks. Haha nooooo more guitar is what you'd expect you see, just a little leaves you wanting more innit.

many thanks

pitters