Spadezer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Windy]

I don't like how good the composition is

There's too many notes. There's chords everywhere, tons of sustain pedal, there's no way I could recreate without clicking a bunch of MIDI notes in place, and yet it spews of emotion. I feel so inferior needing to comment on this, and you make me sick. I'm assuming you had to record your playing because that would be so much work (in one session) to click in every note, and from what I can tell it sounds flawless. So you know what, I'm going to remove some score out of production out of spite.

I'm joking with my last sentence. For real, it feels wrong to nitpick because there isn't a way I could compete, or in a way relate, with this within a similar style. The only real things I don't like is that I had to turn up my volume compared to other songs since you haven't normalized your song file to what NG can output, and there are sections like 1:48 that the left hand is playing louder than the right had so it makes it more difficult to listen to the melody. The production also sounds like recorded electric piano as compared to something like Francesco Parrino on Youtube. I can't put my finger on what it is, but your song (compared to a recording studio recording) is lacking the richness in the bass. Video I used for reference down below.

Well done, this is a great piece. It's upsetting, but well done lol.

Solacitude responds:

Sorry for that! I'll try to do worst next time :D
I really like your humorous way of putting it hahaha!
It's obviously a little bit full of notes. There was in my mind, an extremely skilled composer in @LucidShadowDreamer I pushed my limits on some aspects, maybe it shows a little bit. I tried to compose something that could give a chance to get to the next round as piano solo against a wide range of either piano composition styles, orchestral music, or electronic. LSD is extremely good in all these categories so I had to level up my game a bit! :) I left a plateau recently in my learning journey so this contest it testing where I'll plateau next, and it makes it 10x more exciting to me!! I'm very glad you appreciated the composition like this! Among everything I ever composed, Windy is my favorite. I'm also extremely happy by the way you consider it, and how it's received!

The flawlessness that you perceive, is made of hundreds of littles flaws.
I would also not be able to compose this by placing notes!
It has to be felt phrases played on the keys.

Thanks for the constructive review! I already made a couple corrections on the mix and it sounds a bit better. I'll update it in the next days. The loudness I went with loudnesspenalty.com but you're right! I should consider NG average loudness instead. I'll take that into consideration, maybe crank up the maximizer or readjust the mics volumes.

I used a Steinway grand library on this one. Maybe the lack of bass gave this effect of electric piano. No library can be equal to real piano recording though, but I try to get it as close to the real thing as possible, the real acoustic piano is always better :) Maybe one day I'll have a Steinway! I'm a long way from there though, gonna have to keep on with libraries.

Thank you very much for the tips and the kind words!

[Not a Lone Battle]

Surprise orchestral piece. Nice to see you branching out. I don't think your instruments sound professional or recorded. I know that I personally haven't dove into this genre to know too well how to work with orchestral VSTs, but my guess is maybe there's more work needed on humanization for the notes. On repeated listens, the issue becomes more apparent particularly in sections such as 0:13. I'm assuming all the notes start at the same time, but because the strings take longer to resonate than the flutes (and English horns???), so it sounds like they start late on their attacks. Because of that, you get sections like 0:23 that to me sound sloppy. The mixing around 0:48 doesn't sound as balanced as I'd like. It's a tad difficult to hear the melody above the backing strings, especially since this is an area that you're less focused on how the instruments attack the note. 8th note triplets have a much quicker attack than whole notes, and you have them all attacking the notes the same. Maybe you're limited by what you're VST can do, but humanization is one of the main reasons I don't work in this genre lol. There's so much work that goes into making it sound natural (unless you pay an extravagant amount of money to get some high quality orchestral vst packs). That being said, excellent sound dynamics on the snare at 0:34.

I do like how you've kept the rhythmic motif throughout the whole song. It definitely has that JRPG feel. You may not have explored it as much as it was a common thread underlying the whole song, but you do craft a bunch of context around it. Your chord progressions are top tier, you have good energy dynamics, and you even step into different keys here and there. Not sure I agree with the minimal instrumentation for the final chords of the song.

It's not often I get to nitpick LSD on something, but even then this is still a pretty enjoyable piece.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you for leaving a review! It's been a while; I hope you're doing well :)

My VSTs are definitely getting a bit outdated. As you say, the price tags on the latest stuff are quite... Intimidating. That said, I agree there are things I could've improved in this piece, with the tools already at my disposal! I ended up having very busy weeks (unrelated to music) for this round, unfortunately. I do wish I would've found some time to humanise a bit further. Alas, at the same time, I am very impressed with Solacitude's piece! I am not entirely convinced improving what I've got here would've made enough difference in this case!

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the composition regardless ^___^

P.S. The light instrumentation in the end is a reference to the many victory themes one hears after finishing JRPG battles; hopefully with that context, it makes sense for some of the tension to be resolved!

[Armada]

I like the big/epic style you have here. It fits well with the title that you have here. Overall I think you have a decent work, but nothing really stands out to me. Unfortunately, I'm weaker at giving feedback on orchestral works, but as far as the production quality, I think the instrumentation quality is fine. It feels decently balanced and there's decent use of panning. I don't know if I agree with the idea of using one electronic synth at 1:06 if that's the only spot you use it. It's not that it's a good use of it, but I'm just curious why you would use it once and not as like a stylistic choice to help give a narrative to the piece. For example, a common trope is to use organic instruments as clean and natural and to use electronic instruments as corruption, see Fellow Feeling by Porter Robinson. Another direction you could go is say that it's human forces collaborating or in contention with alien forces, organic instruments symbolizing human and electronic symbolizing alien. Otherwise, the composition, as I said earlier, has a large scale feel too it, but I don't think it has any specific high and low points until the very end. There are some good dynamics which I appreciate, but maybe my mind just isn't latching on too well to what you're doing and I get lost over the longer phrases that you're doing and that's what's causing me to think that each section doesn't progress well.

Overall, it's a very pretty piece that has a big feel. I think it's pretty decent.

[Tropical Surge]

I like the intro. It's an off the beat intro that had me hooked. A slightly quirky and upbeat feel. An initial issue that I notice is that the song feels like it doesn't move very purposefully at spots. It's not that it's repetitive, but it feels more stale, like it's missing some energy or some driving element. I say this lovingly, but the outro feels like a train wreck, and I don't mean that as an insult. It feels like impending doom that's uncomfortable for the listener lol. I don't like that it just ends

Mix wise, it doesn't feel that clean. I can't really put my thumb on it, but there's a lot of mid to high frequencies taking up the full mix. It doesn't sound too over compressed, and the balance is good for the most part. I do like your use of chiptune synths mixed in with modern softer synths. I feel like that's a good combo, even though a couple of sounds might be a little dry, for example, the sub bass at 2:05. Overall this is a pretty nice piece. It just feels like it's missing a few key things.

TheNormalMusic responds:

That's a great review! Even when it has lots of underdevelopments it somehow got high reviews on contest... somehow...

[Toast]

Oh that intro is clean. I'm upset at how good this song sounds. It's also super happy and bouncy which is also pretty enjoyable. I'm less fond of the 1:10 section though. It feels a bit too bright with the mixing compared to how warm the intro is. Fun and unique chord changes 1:41. The snare doesn't cut into the mix as well as it sounds like it should. It sounds too big to be in the background as much as it is. Once 1:52 comes in, your soft atmosphere is just so warm and refreshing.

Really my big critique on this is when the song gets loud. It's not loud and painful, but I think your mix suffers. I mentioned that it feels bright, and it's probably because you saw synths are too hot in the mix and crowd out the melody. The probably could benefit from some more high frequency filtering. I think the percussion could benefit from cutting through the mix more. I like the soft kick, so it doesn't need to do much more. There's appropriate sidechaining there. However, I've already mentioned that the snare could be more front and center. I really can't tell if you're trying to use high hats or cymbals in that section.

For me this is more difficult to score compared to most NGADM songs I've had to review, because most people produce content in a song that's pretty consistent in the song. There might be some uniquely good or uniquely subpar spots here and there, but not like this. As you can tell by my writing, I think there's sections that you nail it, and it's basically perfect. Then there's other spots were you have a full ensemble of sound happening that suffers in mixing particularly. Which I get it, trying to make a big space while being clean is difficult. My advice is to use reference tracks/songs while mastering/mixing. They'll give you an idea of how your song compares to a professional mix and help you keep in check what's supposed to be in the foreground and what belongs in the background. It also helps keep you mix in check if you're getting, what I'll call, producer fatigue (when you've listened to your song so much that you get used to your mix). This one is difficult for me to give a reference track suggestion, but a couple I would suggest would be Ganbatte by Pogo, and The Days by Avicii. They're not as close as I'd like, but they should be similar vibes.

icantpronouncethis responds:

Thank you for the thorough critique.
I've been getting the reference track suggestion so I should start researching about it.
Thank you so much for the examples too.
If you don't mind sharing, How would I go about using a reference track?

[Alteria, The Fallen Dawn NGADM (Round 2)]

This is a super unique song for a contest setting. You kinda remind me of Lich's style, but in a way that sounds both upbeat and crestfallen at the same time. It's a super cool atmosphere, granted I might be influenced by staring at the art a bit while listening to this. Unfortunately for me it's being held back by the mix. It's a tiring listen, and it sounds like there's a number of contributing factors. You've got some compressor abuse going on, which means that synths that our loudest in the mix are forced front and center, and anything that isn't loud is hid behind the main mix. This also means that what you have that's the loudest is the high frequency synths like your melody synth (I think) that starts fading in around 0:38. Now, your balancing is decent with all things considered, but now since you've squished your headroom, that means your melody synth has to carry the main force of the song, which causes an issue since it doesn't really change much and comes across as repetitive. I don't like saying that because I think it fits fine, but it really should be dialed back a hair so that you can develop each section more with what's surrounding it instead of the main synth. Which especially if you're going in with a trance style, you really want to focus on how you develop and move a song with what's in the background compared to what's front and center.

You also don't have your kick cutting through as much as I would like, similar to how a dubstep style kick would. That being said, you have great choice in percussion here. Another issue that you have that's contributing to a tiring listen is that you do have unchecked reverb contributing to the mix. Again, probably exacerbated by the fact that you're abusing your poor compressor in the main mix, but it is easy to have too much reverb which leaves you with a lot of sound contributing to your main mix that might not need to be there as prominently.

All in all, this has some great potential, and with some refinement it can be a really cool song to listen to. As it stands now, it's a little rough, but I really like it.

[Oh Brother [NGADM Round 2]]

Tuesday, September 17, 2024
10:30 PM

Oh boy, this one is a ride. I like the pic that you have compared to what you've got in your song. Definitely makes sense. I really do like the feel of this, and I get the sense that it won't be for everyone. However, I do wish the mix wasn't as tiring. Honestly this has a bit of brilliance I think. I wouldn't expect something that sounds so haphazard to work as well as it does. Almost like you failed at making a song for the Newgrounds worst song contest. You've got a rhythmic motif that you revisit and explore, and the whistle/flute that you break to, like at 0:45, feels like it works. You do have some issues with instrumentation that makes it feel like it's not in the same environment. For examples, the rest of the orchestral elements at 0:54, and the harsh guitar like synth at 1:02. They both sound cheap and dry compared to the rest of what you have.

Okay hold on, you started 4 hours before the deadline and made this??? I'm not even mad. I applaud this

trixelbit responds:

Brother, everything you just put down, I'm picking right back up lmao.

I'm just as surprised as you that segments fit as well as they did, despite not having a central theme guiding all the decisions.

Though the mix definitely feels like a major thorn that sticks out.

With only 4 hours, I just kinda started panicking and throwing anything into the track.
Still feel good that I atleast got something done instead of dropping out.
Felt like a real anime plus ultra moment for me.

I'm glad you see appeal of the song. Though I totally get why this has people divide when listening.

Thanks for listening and providing the thoughtful review!

[Lordant - a little creature among distant worlds]

I get the sense that the song had a long couple of buildups, which makes me feel disappointed that it basically ends at 2:11. I was feeling pretty invested in what you were leading up to. The balance is great and the mix is clean, although I'm not sure about the high hats. The choice of instrumentation is light and sweet, the choir especially fits in beautifully, although I'm not sure if I agree with your synth choice in 0:45 only because it seems so different from the rest of the song that you have. It may have worked out better if there was a big section that called back to it or referenced that section in a big way. Maybe you ran out of time or either bit off more than you could chew. Aside from that, it sound beautiful. It has nice transitions and has a playful and ethereal feel.

Nice little piece. The title fits it pretty well. Not much to say but good work :)

Lordant responds:

Thanks for feedback :3

I personally love doing long buildups, and there was a climax in the mockup, but I didn't have enough time and passion to finish it, so I changed the structure a bit (well, I need to stop doing my works at the last day before the deadline). As for the synth, I personally quite like it, although it is a little out of the arrangement. Maybe I will change it, if I do a revamp of this piece.

[Zenology (NGADM - Round 2)]

That very initial intro has a nice hook, and sets the tone for the song pretty well. The hype sections feel loud and overly compressed. You can especially tell like with the piano, it's compressed enough that the hammer strikes (at 0:53) themselves are quite noticeable. The mix is just tiring. While it is loud, it's not unbalanced, which makes me think it's more of a lapse in mastering instead of mixing/eq. I don't have too much else to say on that. It's adequate, but it would be nicer to have more headroom before maxing out the mix. I understand that you have a lot of sounds going on at the same time so I do appreciate what it took to be as clean as it is.

Compositionally, it feels super hype and frantic, but at the same time it doesn't feel varied. I do like that it has retro EDM feels, like OG Newgrounds with ParagonX9. Originally I felt like the sections don't feel varied on my first listen though, however as I have listened through it a couple of times I appreciate what you did to separate the sections. What I did notice is that while they are compositionally different, they have the same feel of energy. Most of the song feels a lot like "I'm sonic! I gotta go fast!" Some of that might come down to how you've done the mastering, and some of that could be that the melody doesn't slow down at all either. Stylistically, it definitely doesn't help that you have a high BPM for this style of music even though I'm not against it. However I do like the sliding driving bass in the last section and it really adds a good element. The outro feels like it just ends which I feel like is kind of a let down. I really liked the 1:14 section with the acid synths, and you did a good job of making a big open space in 1:58. It's similar to how I've done song progressions in the past since I tend to like making similarly big spaces.

Generally speaking, I feel tired after listening to the song lol. But it's a fun ride, so I'd say it's a good work :)

[Overclocked Chip [NGADM + NGUAC 2024]]

Yo that intro is dope. Super good hook. It really had me jiving and ready for whatever you came in with the drop. I wasn't quite sure about the drop at first, but as it continued on, I think it's a solid complextro feel. I'm definitely impressed with those that can pull of this style similar to MDK since I don't think my writing process would help me emulate this well at all. I do want to nitpick the drop though, and the issue I had repeated itself at the start of the second drop too at 2:56. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think my issue is both that it feels a little dry, and it's also missing some connecting background white noise of some sort. I wish I could find the video again of a producer who was breaking down their design process, but a trick I've done is to add crowd noise in the background. It's not very loud so it's more felt than heard, but it really can make a section feel connected and energetic without adding more sounds to the mix. It's a pretty neat trick that's hard for people to notice too ;)

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the mixing. It's so nice to hear loud music that's not crowded, and I was even starting to get afraid that I was just turning into a broken record repeating "compressor abuse" in this contest. I think you also manage to make it sound full and big while also using a minimal amount of sounds, so I might actually be taking notes on what you did here for myself. However, and I hinted at this earlier, I think you managed to accomplish this at the sacrifice of having the synths feel a little dry. Some of this I would attribute to sound design choice. Kinda taking a guess here, but your bass synths have a sense of mostly being made of saws and squares without any poly voices or dimensional expansions (assuming your using serum). Best example is 2:15. Again, I appreciate what you've done because it makes the mix super clean, and I personally appreciate clean mix more than pretty sound design. But it feels like it needs a few sprays of water mixed in lol.

Also where's the cover art? It's not placed in the description (at the time of this writing)

NatahDN responds:

the cover art is the thumbnail of the song ( I'll probably start posting the art in the description lol)

also tysm for this great feedback :3