Buoy's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Rucklo - A Better Tomorrow WIP]

Hey Fucklol!!

So a review with the production-aspect in mind it is. Prepare for a very opinionated review that is more about ideas for improvement than it is about the song itself.

I really don't like the plain, sharp triangle wave sound in the beginning. I think it'd benefit from a little, subtle bit of chorus or unison right before the delay, just to make it sound smoother. Reverb and delay effects tend to sound horrible and unrealistic on plain triangle/square/saw waves. The shaper and filter automation is funky, would be cool to hear that automation stand out a bit more.

Cool throaty bass. Really rough and unpolished sound, but I think it has its own character and should stay like that. Subby and boomy as hell too, I like that. The automation work from 1:40 or so is nothing short of godly. I don't know quite what you did there, but it sounds like there's feedback on the synth- ftw!

That distorted, resonant kinda filtered drum beat at 0:30 or so was WICKED AS FUCK. There are some great variations of that, like that waltzy slow variation at 2:48. Fantastic :) However, the main drums sound a too poppy and high pitched for my taste. I really love dnb tracks (all tracks actually!) with deep, hard drums, so it was kind of a disappointment after that awesome filtered beat. Those little shaker fills are swell too, I didn't notice them upon the first listen.

The piano has a great deep sound, proper amount of reverb and all. The melody sounds like improvisation, musical doodling if you like, no distinct melody or anything (I'll get back to that later). Try to do something more out of it and it will be great. Ooh, comeback of that raw waveform synth. It just played the intro again and faded out, which is fine I guess.

I don't know man- the song has no catchy melody and sort of wanders from one vague theme to another one. It never really had me hooked. I think you should take these ideas and rearrange the track a little, make each part stand out, and first of all give it a more recognisable theme. That's my opinion anyway.

You really have some sweet as hell sounds though, so keep it up! I expect nothing less than awesomeness from the final result ;)

[MS - Madness Gun Sounds!]

ooold

This is an incredibly old concept alright. Some really really basic drum patterns made with gun sounds. I myself don't think this is more interesting than a drum pattern. The sounds are extremely similar to typical drum sounds anyway, so I can call it a drum pattern if I want to.

If there was ANYTHING else than drums - perhaps some dark bassy melody that fits the dark mood of the Madness series, I dunno - this track could become slightly interesting. So how about you try making a full song out of it?

For now, this song is just another boring "using gun sounds as percussion" track.

MortalSymphony responds:

Well I'm afraid that the 4.36 above disagrees. (and rising)

[Uranus--Avarice]

Fair enough

An extremely repetitive little song- pretty much the same melody on the rhodes all over. Same drum pattern as well. The rhodes sound itself is extremely basic, could need a little more reverb just to space it up. Or maybe adding some vintage sounding distortion, making it sound like those classy ol' tracks with lp crackle and lo-fi rotating rhodes- y'know what kind of sound I'm talking about? If not, tough luck :(

Drums sound like some preset "Rock" kit, not really interesting, adds a rhythm, but doesn't really pack a punch. Bass isn't really audible, but sounds at least decent. I think a siney sub bass or other kinda synth bass would fit better.

You seriously need something more, be it new instruments, effects, parts or new melodies, but something more is needed. Cause this track is just the bit too repetitive. Decent starting point though.

[Moonlit Mechanics]

Hey!!

How come this has such a low score?

I love it. I would not consider this a drum n bass piece though. Ambient is a much more fitting genre, I mean come on, this track has all of it: Mellow sine waves with delay and reverb (which alone could define the ambient genre), Experimental, complex but repetitive drum patterns and loads of SFX as well as reverb. Ambient/Downtempo/Mellow/IDM in a nutshell.

And that is perhaps why I love it. I love everything about this genre, so this song is really satisfying. Lots of variation too, so it keeps me hanging on. Easy to ignore, makes it perfect for listening to while being in bed, and the atmosphere is just right for it to be a soundtrack.

Seriously, I love this piece. This low score is not deserved!
One sweet piece man. Perfect in fact. Keep making tunes like this!

nostromer responds:

Thanks for the review and kind words, They are very appreciated.

I'm not sure why the score got nailed, Probably trolls? I don't really bother with scores anyways, its best to just let go of that number :P

And you are correct, its more ambient. I'll probably change the genre now that I think about it haha, I wish they had a "down-tempo" or "breakbeat" selection, but thats okay haha.

Thanks again man, - Enjoy

[Fantasie Mystique (NG Cut)]

Eey, guy

The first looooong notes from the strings are very very promising.The thin little synth adds a nice, classy feeling as well. It actually made me think it would be an epic masterpiece until I read the description. Oh well, that makes SBB a little disappointed :(

I like the subtle background sounds, which are sadly too much in the background for me. Is there a harp sound back in there? Some flute things perhaps? Feels like something needs to be be more present in the piece.

I like the long cymbal thing introducing a kick, 'tis very effective for that dramatic effect. Later in the piece, the drums sound way muddy and packed though. There's a shitload of different drums going on at the same time, I think some slower, harder drums would give the track much more power than it currently provides.

Now that lead synth, kind of destroys the whole feeling. I don't like the general sound of it, way too much treble. Sounds a lot like keyboard improvising with no real direction at all. Needs a stronger, more memorable melodic theme in my opinion.

The intro with long drawn out string notes and whatnot is great. I expected it to turn into something different. I'm not so sure what it would be about though.

Perhaps it's just not my cup of tea. Or maybe it's due to the low mp3 quality. I still think there are a few general flaws with the piece anyway. I still think this track needs some work (mostly within the last half, the intro is fantastic).

I gave you the 5 anyway, your score appears to be a bit low

WritersBlock responds:

Hey SBB.
Thanks for the review. Seriously. Awesome. I really feel that I've achieved something I've never been able to before with the classical intro. Yes there was a harp in there, I wanted the mix to be pretty quiet and I knew it was pretty hard to hear, sorry for not bringing that out for you more. The drums, well, I used them to get that change of pace to get the song moving, but it's just repeated over and over to sink in, and I think that something harder might've lost that feeling. That's just me thinking, I could probably try what you said and it might probably be awesome, but honestly, I think they get the job done and I'm willing to lay this track to rest.
The lead synth, I'm sorry that it spoiled the song for you, but I think that building the piece up to have more classical instruments added would just be too hard on my computer and it wouldn't have that contrast between the soft classical and dominant digital. I wouldn't know where else to go with the track. Thanks for the 5, and thanks again for the reivew. It's good to hear a bit of negative/constructive criticism along with the positive reviews. Thanks for putting a lot of thought into the review, it's left me with a lot to think about.
Cheers, SBB.
:D

[The Final Goodbye_JT]

Very well

And here's your promised review.

A very subtle introduction that fits the piece very well. The wind sfx provides great atmosphere, but it doesn't really fit into the theme of the song, as you don't hear it much throughout the song. The synth pad is played beautifully, while the sound of it is a bit too raw and unfiltered for my taste. It is a bit misleading as well- I did NOT expect to hear guitar solos when I heard it the first time. I guess that's just a positive surprise!

I love the clean sound of the guitar that is introduced. Very beautiful chords with a fitting rhythmic pattern. The piano has a somewhat similar progression, it's almost like those two instruments play with each other- which they are doing very well. They complete each other in a way. The bass is simply fantastic. While the bassline is very simple, it just sounds great on its own as well as supporting the up and in front instruments in an amazing way. I would love to hear the bass just that little bit louder.

Then, the main attraction of the whole piece is of course the lead guitars- the one introduced at first plays a great melody- I get the impression right from the start that "wow - this guy can play his guitar". I just love how layered it all sounds when more guitar lines are introduced. I'm also loving the little acoustic sounding fills like the one from 2:07.

And the soloing from 2:21 are, well something that is great. I won't say much about it, it speaks for itself put simply.

I'm not so sure about the very drastic change in theme from the middle of the piece at first- but a little into the second part it really feels like the tune is progressing. I really like the drum work in that part. I'd like to hear that part a lot longer though, since reintroducing the intro and latter parts isn't that interesting.

Now the lot of guitar simply jumped out of nowhere at 4:52- no buildup at all or whatever. That is the only thing in the entire song that I think sounds rushed. I love that part either way so it isn't too important. The new solo at the very end of the piece is a mighty sweet addition, adds lots to the climax feeling in the end. Very wonderful.

Seems like you didn't take the time to make an outstanding ending, which is disappointing. It would leave me as a listener with more of a "wow, monster track" feeling if there was a very definite ending with emphasis on powerful percussive elements like you know deep toms and a crash and what not. It is very very called for. What you did is fine too, I guess.

Great stuff. You are apparently a very great songwriter and guitarist, which are two very very good things to be. I think I've only been praising every single aspect of the song to the skies (which is well deserved) in my review, and nothing else, but I don't care, the tune is so damn sweet.

[Paramour]

Yes

It doesn't start as subtle as I'd expect this kind of ambient piece to begin. I think a simple filter fade or something would add to the atmosphere at least a little bit. The whole piece feels a bit confusing since it starts so quickly, and in the first minute you just add and add and add instruments. Since it is after all ambience, it's fine to stretch it out a little. Little happens the last two minutes anyway, so it would feel like it's progressing a little more if you had a little more space between the introduction of each "instrument".

The track generally doesn't flow too well. The sound quality is clear enough, but the sounds are sort of sitting on top of each other, and none of them really stand out. The biggest problem is how it sounds like all instruments are going at individual speeds. Check the rate of all LFO's, make sure they are synced with the track and keeping somewhat similar rates.

Other than criticism, I really like some of the sounds. The rather high, almost organ-like pad provides a dramatic effect, which to my ears could symbolise fear or a similar mood. If you emphasise that, it would fit great for a dark, suspenseful scene in a movie. The instruments fit very well together to produce an atmosphere. The only thing that disrupts this atmosphere is the high frequencies of that "buzzy", automated synth.

I'd say overall it sounds like a complete piece. It doesn't have any melodic theme at all, so I don't think there is much more to be done with this piece. Since it does neither have a recognizable theme or progress much, it will fit much better as subtle background music than a typical music fix.

[[L3] No Way Home]

Very nice indeed-o

Sounds fresh and chilled right from the start- so I would say you did a very good job hooking the listener since you made me think "wow, this is a good song, I'm gonna listen through this" within the first five seconds of the song. I like that very subtle filter fade in on the piano, makes it sound very ethereal. The piano sound itself is a bit thin in the beginning and lone parts. Not a problem when it's mixed with those fat fat synths and drums later in the song though.

The next thing that strikes me is "holly shit that's a lotta treble"- I think you might need to do something with that open hat, it's ear-hurting sharp. The other drum sounds are fine- I like that pumpy kick and love that cowbellish thing in the back. In general those drums sound very very good and stand out nicely.

The bass is a bit too grumpy for me. I think a cleaner or smoother sound would do better. Perhaps it could be a wee bit boomier too, though I'm not sure whether that would completely ruin the mix or not, so please don't listen to me.

The main arpy synth is lovely- I like the little hipass on it, it really makes it sound different from your typical trance lead. A lovely "melody" too, well it's not exactly memorable and about impossible to hum to, I guess that's just another reason to keep listening to it then! :D It produces a massive amount of noise though, making the tune less comfortable to listen to overall. It is probably the only reason why I don't feel like listening to this one much in the future- I suggest having a look at the high frequencies if you're ever going to tweak or remix this song.

Now there is one thing I could think of that would make this song very awesome, and that is some long drawn out strings chords or some other ethereal pad, maybe even both (I hear there is a very subtle pad going, almost inaudible but I know it is there in the first 40 seconds or so), playing something like the chords of the piano, maybe a couple of octaves higher. I'm imagining how it would sound and in my head, and I get the idea that it will make the tune sound more completed. I'm pretty sure it would do awesome in reality too.

Enough of this awesome anyway- I'm wondering why you put a "cheering audience" sample in there? I mean I know it's used lots in trance- but it's dedicated to a dog that was lost- that, the mood of the song itself as well as the title "no way home" are all sort of melancholic and not really something that would make people peppier and happier- so why the cheering? I was just wondering a little about that, it's not an important aspect of the song at all.

That should wrap detailed stuff up. In general, it's in my opinion a great song, although a bit generic. Sound quality could be improved on a bit. The melody theme is wonderful. That melancholic emotion and mood is portrayed very well. I can hear a lot of effort was put into this song.

Good job, well done! I hope you enjoyed the review (it's probably boring as fuck to read lol).

LiquidEvolution responds:

And in turn, a humongous reply! I think you diserve it anyway, after that monster review (and for the record, I enjoyed it alot).

Okay, the piano is the FL Keys VSTi. As you probably know, it's hard to get a full sound out of it and when you drop it a chord let's say, it sounds horrible so for lack of a better sound, I just went with my own patches for the piano. As for 2:05 and 3:27, I wanted a really lone and decreased quality sound to the piano so it gives you a more in-depth feeling of sadness and lonliness. Hopefully it pulled off.

The treble is due to my inexperience with mixing and mastering. I just throw the instruments in there and make sure it sounds good to the un-trained ear. For instance, the open hat is quite distorted (I didn't EQ it either so it's the sample's fault, not mine ;)) so I threw so many instruments over it that, your attention would be diverted from the faults.
As for the kick, no low bass and high mids.

Ok, the bass is a modified preset. I can't make basses worth a shit (Check out my track 'Deviant' and you'll understand). I couldn't find any preset basses that fitted this song so I just used the bass that I did in a previous song and it worked well enough for me not to look into it anymore.

Lol, the leads and the melody. I've used the arp' melodies in like 7 songs. I really think it's time for some variation and change (although, those leads, only 2 songs). Really, I was concerned about the amount of emotion I could put into the song and what instruments would be best to do it with (Piano, pads, percs). Crunchy arps' don't really come to mind when you think 'sadness' and 'lonliness' so, I just made a melody to fit the piano that was deep enough to fit the emotion levels in the song. I actually was surprised with how much emotion was brought out with the leads so, I just thought my job was done and that was that. 'Memorable' didn't enter my head for a second. About the graininess. I went out of my way for a crunchy, powerful arp' and I thought it sounded good. Maybe I was wrong, lol.

Hmm, more strings and pads you say? I've never been good at using pads and string effectively. Not to mention, if I added anymore crap to the song, my CPU would have died. I agree though, it would have added to the emotion of the song. Sadly, I'm not even sure what an etheral pad is so, I don't think that will be getting added (Unless you explain it to me, :P). I'm actually having a bit of enlightenment here and imagining strings being played over the interludes between the trance breaks. It would give the song a classical feel aswell. Hmm, we'll see how that one works out, thanks for the tip!

Crowd samples can add alot of anticipation to a build-up and I thought it worked marvelously in this song. Sure it doesn't really scream "Sadness, depression, destress" yada, yada, yada.. I guess I just lost sight of my sadness and my productivity kicked in.

Thank you so much for the great review. You're giving Karco a run for his money too. I'm glad my emotion can be heard in this song and I will have a see what can be done about what you suggested for the song. Thanks again!

[From Inside]

Sweet

It's very refreshing to hear an audio submission that's performed with real instruments and whatnot. This is of excellent quality (all kinds of quality, that is) as well, so reviewing it is a very pleasing experience good sir ^_^. I am not in any way experienced with this kind of music, so my review will be very much based on personal opinion.

The general sound quality is outstanding. No background noise at all, and crystal clear instruments/vocal sound is wonderful. Well done, whoever is responsible for mixing :D. Everything is in its place (except maybe that guitar in the very beginning. I have no idea why you would pan it completely to one side. Very minor problem though), and through the most of the track, everything can be heard perfectly.

I love the sound of the clean guitar. It's got that exact sound I love (if there was just a weeeeee bit more reverb, now THAT would be great). I'm pretty much neutral on the heavily distorted guitar though- I think it's a bit too dominant, and a bit too thick, bit as I've said that's just an opinion. Those solos though, are absolutely amazing. Very wonderful stuff, I love the guitar layering in the 2:12-3:00 area.

For the vocals- I, too, couldn't understand much. The vocals are very clean and loud enough, so that's not the problem- it's probably just because English isn't my first language. The singin's good, but the voice feels a bit anonymous and monotonous in a way. The singing doesn't change much through the song, so it's not too exciting. I can find no major flaws though, so it's mostly very good.

Then whatever is left- drums = good. Varied and nice sounding through the track, flawlessly played- but they drums don't stand out much. It's not really a problem, the drums get the job done very well. I don't have much more to say about drums than that. And- if there even IS a bass there, is is very subtle- I think the track could use having the bass a bit more present.

That's about it. Well done, you guys! An absolutely excellent song, great quality and, well, overall pretty damn sweet. I hope you don't mind me praising it so much :)

Satoris responds:

WOW! Thank you so much for the review and all the kind words. I'm going to be receiving a copy of the lyrics from my singer tonight. So everybody else who listens will be able to understand what's being said. Thanks again for the stunning review!

[=Judgement Day=]

man this is of my liking and here is my reason why

So I read your sig. MAJESTIC EPIC SHIT huh? Well I do indeed find this tune to be some MAJESTIC EPIC SHIT, and there is very little to improve in my opinion. It only grew into more MAJESTIC EPIC SHIT as it progressed.

I loved how it started right on, no cliché emotional slow thing with lots of pads, instead it started right on with the butt-pulverizing. Nothing clever or intelligent, but pure power and rage like that of a manly manly stone age man chasing an unfortunate bee. And it contributes to the MAJESTIC EPIC SHIT feel. Wonderful. Same with the bass that replaced the piano- a joy to listen to simply.

The strings arrangement work fine, they sound pretty awkward when playing the high high notes from 0:35 and a little bit farther into it, but apart from that the sound is fine. A catchy melody as well. The bass-pizz is absolutely amazing. Creates a half creepy, half angry mood that fits just perfect into the theme.

Some of the drum work bugs me a bit. All the 16th note kicks are getting annoying after a while. In some parts like 2:00-2:10, where the kicks play a major role, it's great. Although when they are more in the background, it's getting very tiresome. And the hats in the very beginning simply don't sound realistic at all. You obviously put a lot of effort into the drum work, with lots of variation and interesting tweaks and twists. It sure paid off and was to me what made this tune truly become MAJESTIC EPIC SHIT.

The piano wasn't all that great. Considering it only plays looooow notes, it sounds very kaka. That's easy to fix though. If you are still willing to work more on this tune, try to add more of that piano later in the timeline, adding some higher octaves, maybe two or even three, cause it's gonna sound dramatic as hell.

The overall feeling of this tune kicks, punches and demolishes major ass. The whole world is crumbling, people are screaming in agony, the universe is exploding into a nothingness that eats everything that lives from the inside and I'm sitting here eating popcorn and enjoying the whole scene!!! man

MAJESTIC EPIC SHIT is a head-on description for this tune. I love it, it was great, you put lots of efforts into making this didn't you? This is pure and straightforward colon dee.

(I'm getting a bit overhand with my praise of this song and that is a good thing)

I'm sexually attracted to the presence of this tune!! You like this, penis, don't you? ^_^

Hades responds:

Penis, I like! XD

Seriously man, thanks a lot for the review, this is definitely the biggest one I've ever seen (yeah, you were hoping I'd say that, right? ;D)! All constructive criticism is always welcome, and when it comes from someone who's a really established author on the APortal like yourself, it means more than a lot! I'll take your advice into consideration, I found your remarks extremely helpful! Thanks again, you have no idea how helpful this review really is. I'd say 'thank you' again, but I'm afraid it'll make my head implode, so just: tnx!!!