Spadezer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sundans - Wonder (Preview)]

I like what I'm hearing.
First impressions: it seems like there's almost too much going on in the mid-high frequencies. It gives an airy feeling but it almost feels like it's too airy. Too much reverb maybe? For the most part I like the percussion work. Combined with what's going on in terms of composition, it all feels simple. It's not bad for a minute and a half, but it sounds like it's going to develop some point after it. Granted it's trance and it's more of a forced ambiance, but with how you started this piece it sounds like the theme (or themes) will get more complex. Something to keep in mind when you continue on.

Stepping back a little bit at the composition: Makes me want to think of Mirror's Edge. It's close but I feel like if you toned it down a little bit, it could quickly be applied to something in that game. It's hard to tell though with the pads and reverb up as loud as it sounds. Keep in mind this is my opinion, and I don't do much with trance but I'm letting you know what I hear.

Sounds sweet. I'd like to know when you finish this. It sounds like you're on the right track.
-Spadezer-

Sundans responds:

I will absolutely experiment with the reverb levels and continue to work with the mixing.

[so metal]

I really like the beginning of this. Not something you would expect to come from a metal song. I could tell where it was going though, and it had me really excited. And then when the metal finally entered at 00:59, I had a hard time hearing the main guitar lead. The backup guitar seemed a little to overpowering, and the drums didn't feel like they were punchy enough. One suggestion I have that could help: maybe take the lead guitar up an octave when it's playing the main theme (like at 01:00). I bet it will make it a lot easier to pick out once everything starts playing at once.

I like what you're doing at 03:04. It's a really cool blend of what the beginning theme was, and what your metal was doing. I feel like it started entering the rock ballad genre at this part, which isn't bad.

It also feels like when you were trying to play the main theme at the 01:00 section, it also sounded a little empty. The only thing I can think of is that if you quiet down the back up guitar and have it play a little longer it might help. But I'm not an expert in the metal genre, I just occasionally listen to metal.

I like where it's going, but it needs a little work.
-Spadezer-

lantaren responds:

yep, everyting you're saying would probably help, actually. I'm no expert on the metal genre (though I listen to a lot of it) and I'm certainly not the best when it comes to production, but I'm glad that you liked it. The hard part is trying to get everything that I want into the song, without altering the sounds of the instruments to work together better (as that would lose even more depth, I feel) and just trying to control it (especially my sloppy playing). Definitely one of my favorite projects so far, but it does need a lot of work.

[Rocket Fuel]

It's a fun track that's jammin' the whole time. It's just a bit repetitive for me, but this it's still good for my homework studying music.

Downloaded
-Spadezer-

[Lurkin' in the Jungle]

Nifty
The only thing I can say about drumming is make it emphasize the piece, not simply to give it rhythm. The percussion work in here is fun to listen to so you're not having a problem in this track. When I'm making my tracks, I've started to make each percussion pattern unique so at the end I'm getting about 8-10 different percussion patterns, and it's not even including sound effects. But each one is different in some way to make the piece a little more fresh. I try to take special care in making the kicks and the snare hits kind of accent notes and rythyms with my synths instead of laying down a steady beat.

All-in-all, it's jammin'.
-Spadezer-

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks!
Those are some good tips that I'll make sure to remember and think about. I haven't really done many pieces with percussion at all, so I'm totally new to it. I know absolutely nothing of drums and the theory behind playing them in general, so I can only listen and experiment :p (I know next to nothing of mixing either, which is a problem as well).
I know I should make several different drum patterns to keep a song interesting though. I'll make sure to use this once I have time to make a longer piece (which regrettably will take a while) :D

[Spectral Cosmos]

I like it. It's pretty simple and has some cool moments behind it. Usually I find that if it's electronic and it's composition heavy I don't think people mind too much if it goes in the video game genre. I do that at least and no one has said anything. It still does give a bit of a 90's feel, but you still make it your unique style. I can see this stuff being used for some Luigi's Mansion stuff.

Starting with the mixing first. It's not bad, but it does seem held back at times. Especially at 00:49. The chorus synths could stick out a bit more. However, you still make sure that what is telling the theme the most is heard. I like the transitioning arpeggios.

The composition is where you still shine, and I like that. It really helps to have both mixing and composition, but I find in my opinion a piece that's mixed really well but is lacking in composition is fun for a bit but isn't as entertaining as something that doesn't have the best mixing but is really fun to listen to. But like I said, it helps to have both nailed down. Otherwise it's like cold pizza that's three days old. Not as good as when it's fresh.

Back to your composition though, I like what I hear. It's like a dark cartoon (or like Luigi's Mansion as I've said earlier). It doesn't quite stick out as something that makes me want to download it and listen to it while I'm doing homework though *sad face*, but you're on your way. You use the simple chord changes quite effectively, and then you break it up a bit to keep it fresh at 00:49. The build up at 01:27 is a nice touch.

It could use work, but I wouldn't touch it (doesn't make sense but oh well). It's nifty and I look forward to seeing more of your work. While the synths you're using sound vintage, your style isn't.
-Spadezer-

LunacyEcho responds:

Hi!

=> video game genre =>

I guess so. I'll probably do that from now on, seeing as 'video game' entices more people than 'miscellaneous'.

=> Luigi's Mansion =>

Really? Sweet!

=> mixing held back =>

That's pretty interesting. In retrospect, I think what I should've done there is bring out the chordal synth, lower the velocities of the snares, and add a limiter to the master track. Well, it's a bit too late now, isn't it? :P

=> composition + production =>

I think Step once said that those are the two pillars of music. Different people can enjoy different aspects without having much of the other, but everyone can enjoy a song that has both. Your cold pizza simile is great! :D

=> simple chord changes =>

Who ever thought that Cm-Bm-Em would ever work? Not me, that's for sure. But it does! Somehow. I'm not well-versed enough in music theory to explain that. :P

=> buildup at 1:27 =>

Thanks! That's one of my favorite parts of the song, even though it's a really simple and overdone transition.

=> "While the synths you're using sound vintage, your style isn't." =>

I think that's a pretty great way to describe lots of my music. :)

Thanks a ton for the big review! I'll keep all that in mind.

[Nightlady]

Not bad compared to what I expected. Definitely chill and relaxive. The song doesn't travel much though. Although I'd imagine that it was the intent. This works as good background music, but I wouldn't highlight it too much by itself. The only big problem I have is the way you've used the bass synth starting at 00:31. It sounds too bright at times as it starts, but I like it 00:36 when it settles down. I'd suggest using a different bass synth IMO cause it's not a bad synth but it doesn't work correctly in this track.

My only other suggestion is to put in the ambient genre. It doesn't help that this a chill genre in Newgrounds, but ambient fits better than dance.

Be awesome, be more awesome, and repeat.
-Spadezer-

[Dawnglide]

There's so much potential here. I may not say much since there are already some really good reviews that could point out a few things that even I can learn from.

I was listening to a couple of other of your songs before this one, and this one stuck out a bit more than some of your piano pieces. I'm not saying their bad, there's good stuff going on. But this track sticks out a little bit.

Some of the pads and the composing is cheesy, like Mario Golf for the Gamecube, but with a little mixing, adding some dynamics, changing up a few of the pads, this could be a boss piece (just noticed, I don't think this is metal in the slightest. Way more electronic than rock).

After listening to the track a second time, wow, there is a ton of cheesy 90's electronic flavors. Not just in pads but in some of the composition. If you listen to the Mario Golf stuff, you'll hear the same bass rhythm with the 8th and two 16ths.

But, after everything is said and done, this track caused you to gain another fan. Because, there a lot of really cool stuff that can come out of this. Once you get you synths down and your mixing, that ability you have to compose could do some really cool stuff.

I'll keep an ear out for you.
-Spadezer-

LunacyEcho responds:

Hi! Thanks for the review!

=> cheesy =>

The thing about using cheesy tropes in music is that it works. I've definitely done my fair share of super-cheesy music (The Flute Song being my magnum opus in that field), and I think the reason I do it so much is because I'm lazy. These are tropes that are widely used in tons of music, and I just happen to have observed them and reused them. I've never taken any consistent music theory classes, so I just copy what I hear, and the cheesy stuff is only cheesy because it's used so much.

=> metal =>

I agree! This isn't metal at all. Still, the general feeling the song has (especially in the rhythm section) sort of has an indie feel, which a subcategory in the "metal, rock" category of genres in Newgrounds.

=> bass rhythm =>

It's one of my favorite driving bass rhythms, and as usual, I didn't come up with it. I'm sure it's been used in many places and I've heard it unconsciously in many songs, but the first time I remember listening to the bassline and thinking "hey, there's an interesting bassline I can use" was from a Waterflame song.

Thanks so much, Spadezer! I really admire your work and hope you can participate in the next NGADM so we can hear more cool stuff from you too.

[Forest Adventure]

Pretty cool track.

The main theme is light and I like listening to it. It always throws me off when people loop their music though. It shows that it loops good but I'm like "well this is repetitive, wow it goes on forever. I'm only 01:30 in? Oh it's looping". The biggest thing is that it's missing something. The beginning is perfect, I love how it's building and I have no complaints about it. It's when it gets at 01:00 that I feel like that's it's missing another pad to make the whole piece feel big. It feels like after that point the lead syth is too loud for how the piece is backing it up, or the piece isn't backing up how loud the lead synth is.

Other things that I like about it however, the percussion is spot on in terms of what you used. Probably could have been a little more prominent but it's really good stuff. Cool stuff though and I don't have much more to say about this track.

Keep up the good work!
-Spadezer-

[The Archive Is Still[WIP]]

Not bad in my opinion.
I'm always happy to hear people actually playing their instruments in their music. I'd do it too but I (1) haven't messed around with recording too much and (2) have nothing to record with other than a laptop mic. I can edit the computer fan out of the mic, but refer back to (1).

I don't hear stuff like this too much. It sounds like you've really tried to put an effort into the chord structures behind the composition. It's relaxing and kinda psychedelic in a good way. It doesn't sound like that easy of a piece to play. I can get the intro to Metallica's Nothing Else Matters down but I'm out of practice, but this isn't about me. Now that I think of it, it sounds like you didn't do this all in one clip.

I like what you did at 01:23. I wish I could have heard that effect you did more than that once. Even if it was only twice. It's a nifty thing you did and I want to hear it again. Being really nitpicky, I hear some noise/buzzing starting at 00:44. It doesn't hurt the song, but like I said, I'm being really nitpicky.

It makes me feel good, and I like what you did. Keep it up, and keep up the good work in college as well.
-Spadezer-

secantwave responds:

You are certainly correct that I didn't do this in one clip. For one thing, there are two guitars playing for most of this piece; but also, in order to get takes as close to perfect as I could, I split it into sections. I'm still not entirely satisfied, so I'll probably rerecord it after some more practice.
I too was really happy with the effect at 1:23. If the piece had been longer, I definitely would have tried to include it again, although even as it is, I think it feels a bit weird as the only electronic effect, so I may try and insert a variant somewhere else.

Thanks for the kind words!

[Into The Unknown]

So good! I loved it. You guys were telling the story perfectly and everything had it's place.

However, and I hate saying this. It sounds like everything gets muddled up a little bit. For example, right at 01:02. It could be that my earbuds aren't the best (as I found out listening to some of my music on someone else's speakers. Earbuds can be good, but even though they're great, there's some things they can't do). However right at 01:02 it gets muddled up and it's hard to get an idea of what the main theme is for a couple of seconds without turning the volume down.

Oh wow, 02:50 is so pretty, as I'm typing the review. Seriously, this is some of the best composing you can find on the internet. I just hope the mixing doesn't knock you down too much (or I hope that it's just my earbuds failing). The ending seemed to end the final chord a little too quick but that's a really nit-picky thing.

Loved it. Downloading it. Loved your stuff this whole contest.
-Spadezer-