Spadezer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[The Void]

Man the sound is so warm and huge. I feel like you lost some of your lead getting buried in the mix, but you definitely can make this sound so wide and full.

[Phantom Sage - Our Lives Past (Zelthyk Remix)]

So I got to say a couple of things. Firstly, I really enjoyed it. This is my type of jam. It's so full and warm and it sounds like a mainstream track. I was impressed.

What I do have to say though, and it's not about the mixing since that point has already been made. What I do need to point out is the composition. I want to make a pie chart of the different notes that lead synth hits, and point to how often you keep pounding that B trying to bash it into my skull. I bet it would take up a good 80% of that chart. I may have exaggerated my point, but I do have a small pet peeve when I hear songs that repeat the same pitch consistently because then my focus is taken away from listening to the song to listening to that note.

But please don't let that take away from how much I enjoyed that. This was great. I liked the sound and it was so warm.

Chliz responds:

Thx! On my next song I'll try mixing up the chords and melodies.

[Mandala]

Wait a minute.........

I've reviewed this before....

Love that sound design though

BiPolarBeat responds:

Have you?