Spadezer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Condensation]

This is an official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review

Beginning comments: I enjoyed it. I like the theme of the piece and I think it fits your description for the most part too. But on to the breakdown.

Production and Mixing: The beginning is nice, but I'm not fond of the percussion hits in the 0:30 section. I can't tell if the low snare is competing frequencies with something else or if the reverb is feeding in on itself too much. Actually in general I feel like this song is a little too heavy on reverb. I say that because there weren't many points that I felt everything was given their space to breath. Instead it felt more like elements were trying to be heard more than working in the space they naturally fall in. Aside from that, the balancing was decent for the most part, and overall the sound was managed well for the tone of the peace.

Composition and Structure: The plucked synths are combined well with the piano. I like the theme you introduce in the first big section at 0:48 and actually I wish it developed a little bit more before you moved on. I liked it a bit and I felt it was cut off. I you reintroduce it which is good, but I still feel like it didn't have enough room to develop. In general I like the hopeful feel and relaxing nature of the song, and there is okay use of dynamics, although some of their effectiveness was overpowered by the mixing but that doesn't influence the composition. The structure was decent for the song. It's not in a sense a logical song structure, or maybe common is a better word, which I say bravo to. You could have developed it a little better I think, but I'm pretty okay with what you have here actually.

Sound Design: Uh, I don't think rain and thunderstorms are condensation, but I digress (I see the point you're trying to make in the description so it works in that sense). I'm not as fond of the percussion where it's quiet, but you make up for that with the drumset utilized in the louder sections. The synths you picked were smooth and helped center the tone of the piece you were looking for. No big complaints here.

Ending Comments: Really a relaxing piece that I think captures the atmosphere that you were looking for. One nice touch I forgot to mention, I can tell the bass VST you're using isn't a high quality one, but you utilize it in a good manner which doesn't really make it obvious. Otherwise, neat song.

Score:

Total - 7
Production - 1.25
Sound Design - 1.25
Composition - 1.5
Structure - 1.5
Replay - 1.5

ColinMuir responds:

Thank you for your time Spadezer. Dang i wish i had a bass haha.

[32 North 120 East]

This is an official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review:

Production and Mixing: The intro is well managed. Very careful dynamics and good attention to details and letting them flourish in the space they need. Very good mixing and you did a good job of using the volume of everything to emphasize the tone you made. However, I think I hear some clipping at 2:51. Only real big issue. Other than that, it sounds like a professionally finished product.

Composition and Structure: I like that intro. Very serene and sets the tone very well. Around 2:15 I was hoping that it developed a little more in the dynamics, but hearing the climax towards the end I think was worth the wait. It never feels very huge, but it did not lack in depth. Which, by the way, that's an excellent climax. They way it wraps up the development of the piece, and adds a great lasting impression for the listener to end with. It's strictly beautiful.

Sound Design: Oh man this is lovely. Everything sounds great and real. I hardly ever felt anything was out of place or was distracting. Every element shared in the same atmosphere and well distanced.

Ending comments: Thank you

Score:

Total - 9.25
Production - 1.75
Sound Design - 1.75
Composition - 2
Structure - 1.5
Replay - 2

[Origins]

This is an official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review:

Beginning Comments: Boots and cats!!! I joke, but that is a pretty heavy intro. A very hoppin' tune and easy to digest.

Production and Mixing: You did a good job of managing all of the frequencies, but you do get some frequency competition between the piano and the lead synth(s). You do a good job of making it loud without it being piercing or overcrowded. You made sure that everything had the space it needed to flourish and sounds like a finished product.

Composition and Structure: Very simple composition. Very structure quarter and eighth note tunes. Definitely makes it a memorable tune, but there isn't much interesting to listen to outside of the gated pads, the repeated melody, and simple percussion. You do have a big dance feel, but I think it's just a tad too simple. Very stereotypical dance in every aspect, including the dynamics structure. Not inherently a bad thing but it's not original.

Sound Design: The snare/claps at 0:38 are a little too thin. I can tell you wanted to wait until the drop to fill out the percussion, but it felt too shallow leading up to that point. What is the click/plucking at 02:30? It's distracting and a bit comical. Other than those complaints, you picked very genre appropriate synths. I liked the sound and they create a good dance feel.

Ending Comments: It wasn't spectacular, and my argument is due to the fact that it's nothing quite that original. Don't get me wrong, this is good work. You have good production value and trust me when I say I enjoyed it (and I'm still bobbing my head to it as I'm typing after it's ended). Music that's easy to digest is quite enjoyable if it's well produced, and you can ruin even a great song by mixing it poorly or by letting it clip. However, for a NGADM setting I fear it may have lacked taking some risks to push yourself into making a Deathmatch contending piece.

Score:

Total - 7
Production - 2
Sound Design - 1.75
Composition - 0.75
Structure - 1
Replay - 1.5

[Chords Dance]

This is an official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review:

Production and Mixing: No complaints here. Everything is well mixed and blends quite well. The only complaint I could make is that the winds and some of the strings sound a bit dry compared to the brass. Only a minor complaint though.

Composition and Structure: A nice relaxing intro. Gives a nice calm and happy tone for the song. This style takes me back to my band class days, and I'm enjoying this composition. It's mostly full and I love this atmosphere. This is where the song shines I think, because I can tell this is where you focused the most on and it's paid off. I really wish this had more percussion though to fill it out a little more. It feels a little to bare or shallow at spots and I think the percussion could help add a lot of emphasis and depth. Or maybe not have the strings cut off so short as they're doing their arpeggiations. Other than that, great chord structures and good use of different sections. The song developed well and utilized decent dynamics.

Sound Design: You picked the right instruments so not much to say there. I can tell they're not super high quality VST's but it doesn't hurt what you have here. It may become a factor though for later rounds so keep that in mind as you're using them (apologies, the review was written before round 1 ended).

Ending Comments: I enjoyed this and I think you could make this a legit composition with a score (if you already haven't done so). It felt simple and peacefully happy.

Score:

Total - 8.5
Production - 1.5
Sound Design - 1.5
Composition - 1.75
Structure - 2
Replay - 1.75

AzulJazz responds:

Thank you very much!

[Horizons]

This is an Official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review:

So first off, you set up the genre well. It's hard to be too cheesy with a synthwave song. But I notice a couple issues quickly. In terms of mixing and production, the track seems crowded. It sounds like you're relying heavily on compressors to keep things from clipping. Not a good thing. It creates other problems like at 03:05 in particular. There's a sub that's literally fighting with the mix and sounds like it's vibrating the whole waveform. It's like when you just crack open one window in a car and it creates a painful buffeting. You do a couple things right though. Nothing is really piercing, and you do an overall balance of mixing between everything, in spite of the exceptions I just stated earlier.

Composition and structure: The driving bass isn't bad for what this is, but I think it's a little too front and center with how repetitive it is. One major problem is everything sounds loud. There's not much use of dynamics with this track. It's easy to see in the waveforms on this page too because you can tell the volume never changes. Not inherently a bad thing but it can make it tiring for the listener. As for the composition itself, I'm enjoying your simple melodies and you have well placed harmonies. They do a great job with the feel of the piece and I didn't get tired of listening to it multiple times as I tapped away on my keyboard. You have a decent amount of details in the background happening too whether it be the driving bass, or the relaxing pads, or even the little shouts at 2:30

Sound Design: Exactly what I would expect for this genre. A flair of cheesy without sounding immature. I love the snare. I do have one small issue with one or two of the synths. The high pitched synth you introduce at 0:13 is a little piercing. You keep it mostly under control which is decent mixing on your part, but maybe it would have been an improvement to take it down an octave. Maybe. Otherwise, this is an appropriate use of synths.

Overall, decent work. A little rough but one you should be proud of.

Score:

Total - 6.5
Production - 1
Sound Design - 1.5
Composition - 1.5
Structure - 1
Replay - 1.5

[Closer]

This is an official NGUAC '18 Tryout Review:

The first thing I notice is just how clean the production is (and that you've left a nice amount of space to click at the beginning of the song in spite of NG's slightly unfavorable format currently). Everything sounds quite crisp and has its own space to breathe. It's a careful use of space within the frequencies. The synths that you've picked I think are great for the tone of the song's theme. The composition has a peaceful and happy feel to it, but it's also slightly melancholy which adds a crapton of emotion to it. I like how this song develops. The main theme is prevalent throughout the whole piece, but I never got tired of it since it sounded fresh each time, but the ending did end a little too abruptly. Maybe even a fading piano hit or two would have made it a much less sudden end. My only big complaint is that the drops are missing some fullness. I feel like it needed something else in the low end to help compliment the bass, or the bass just didn't sound full enough. Just something to add to the initial punch and warmth of the song. Probably all it needed was some additional layering or something an octave up to compliment it.

...Which, speaking of thos drops. I was absolutely sold with those drops. The build ups were good, but the way they add so much emotion to the main theme made me absolutely thrilled. I can't get enough of the sound. They came in so big too, regardless of some of the depth they were missing. It slightly reminded me of Marshmello's Alone, but I loved this so much more. I loved them.

I well enjoyed this piece and I think it was well deserved of the position it got. I'm looking forward to reviewing your next song in the Knockout Round.

Spadezer's Score: 8.25

N1NJA-Official responds:

Thanks so much!

[Shattered Serenity]

Quick note, to help give further insight. The composition I'm enjoying a lot for a piece like this, but I think I can point out what RemileOduen is searching for. The mixing/producing is weak. Everything in general sounds filtered or muffled. It sounds like you've had everything mixed so loudly in the beginning that you're using filters and compressors to quiet things down. If that's the case, you should mix everything to be about -3db before adding any compressors or effects to the main mix, and then use compressors just to keep even small volume peaks in check. This would allow the guitars and especially the drums to have the breath of air they need to really pop.

Again, I really enjoyed this, but it really needs some mixing work to get this popping.

Meatboot responds:

That is very helpful thank you!

[[FGS] Cosmic aberration]

Really good work. I am enjoying this a lot. Your composition is pretty solid, and your sound design is pretty top notch. The biggest issue you have that's really holding your song back from being really great is the mixing and production of this song. Your instruments don't sound like they exist in the same atmosphere with each other. Best example I can give is at 0:48. Everything before that was great, that long intro was perfect. I loved when you even added new sounds before that. The bass, the brass, the drums, all sound great.....except for that harpsichord. It sticks out like a sore thumb with how dry it is. It needed at least some reverb to match what you have going on with the brass and the piano. Another example would be around the 3:30 area. That growl/wobble bass could have benefited from being less dry.
Those two spots aren't the only spots, but I was just using them for examples. Aside from those types of mixing issues, I really enjoyed this. This is great work.

Ramn0 responds:

Thanks for the honest feedback.

Mixing has always been the tough nut to bite through for me :P

[Derpcat -Interstellar]

Got to make a few comments. The intro is spot on, beautiful intro. The build up section after the intro is nice too. I feel like there needs to be a little on the low end for that section, but still pretty good. Now for the drop.... oh boy that drop. I wish I could repeatedly make drops that huge.The chords are heavier than fruitcake but warm and gooey like a fresh browny, especially combined with that bass (which feels like it's massaging my ears). The biggest issue though is that it feels like the mix is only focused on the chords. They're so in your face that it kinda crowds out the rest of the mix it feels like. And for the second drop, this may be personal preference, but the sidechain cut out too much. I don't have a problem with it being that dramatic, it's kind of the point and I enjoy it, but there needs to be something like the arpeggiated synth in the background still going while the sidechain cuts out a bunch of stuff. Doesn't have to be that synth, it could be something like the reverb of a cymbal or something so that it doesn't sound like someone is clapping their hands over my ears everytime the kick hits.

Again, beautiful work, but I just wanted to give you some better comments (especially since NGUAC is happening and stuff but that's only a minor detail ;)

P.S. I agree that the first drop had a couple notes that seemed to last on for a good half minute, but probably could have been helped with some other background synth or detail to break up the note. Otherwise, no big composition issues with me