Spadezer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[On Go]

This is an official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review

Beginning Comments: A song I think that fits your style, but also a good display of your skill. Something you should be proud of.

Production and Mixing: It's so clean at the beginning, and I can tell you pay special attention to your mixing. The only issue I had, which I didn't notice the first time around, the levels did seem to get a little tiring. Maybe the bass overall was a little bit much or the highs were a little too piercing. Not sure exactly what it was, but other than that I think this is well mixed and sounds like a finished product.

Composition and Structure: The beginning melody you use to build the theme is beautiful, and I think you build off of it nicely with your development. The only issue I had with the structure is that I was starting to think the first big section started to overstay its welcome about 15-30 seconds before you dropped the intensity down a bit. However, the change in dynamics are really nice.

Sound Design: I love your synths. The first synth you used for the intro reminded me of the Aquatic Ambiance song from Donkey Kong Country. Great nostalgia, but even without that in mind, it's such a cool sounding synth what you have. I like your very subtle use of rain at the beginning. Throughout the whole song you use some really interesting elements for background details. Those sound elements in the background may be off putting, but I enjoyed the details and helped with the tone of the piece. The other synths you use are a unique style to you because I know I've reviewed that style in previous chipscompos, but I never get enough of them either.

Ending Comments: I really didn't have many issues with your song. Which maybe as a judge that's not the best thing to say in a Deathmatch setting, but at least the few thoughts I could jot down could help with your improvement. Don't give up. Don't be too hard on yourself either. You're not going to make the best music if you think you're not good enough. Don't worry anything else aside from your music. Go On and enjoy the gift of sOnG…..or whatever.

Score:

Total - 8.75
Production - 1.75
Sound Design - 2
Composition - 2
Structure - 1.5
Replay - 1.5

Onefin responds:

ey spade

feel like your comment about the levels getting tiring and the comment about the drop section overstaying its welcome are tied together, probably has something to do with the fact that the whole thing is 9/8 swing which feels fast but the bars pass by really slowly

ooh aquatic ambiance, not entirely what i was going for but i do love me some david wise

i'm against you-know-who so i'm gonna have to pull myself together for the next three weeks :P i'm gonna try to take your advice to heart man thanks so much

also niiiice, i didn't think of putting "Go On" somewhere in the description, that's brilliant gg

[breaking glass]

This is an official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review:

Production and Mixing: Decent attempt overall, but I felt wanting more. The guitar introduced felt like it was too weak and the bass through the second half didn't fill out the bottom of the spectrum like I felt like it should have. I'm not saying it should be louder, because the mix is pretty good, but it just felt…..shallow. The percussion was quite solid.

Composition and Structure: The intro is really good. The strings and the piano have a really good sound to set the song with. The electronic synths are also introduced well. I feel like it runs out of steam part way through, and I feel like you started to notice that and rolled the song out to finish. The outro was good though (other than the fade out pet peeve, but that's personal preference). There's a lot of neat details you've added to add flavor and color to the song. I liked the interrupting bass stabs.

Sound Design: The filtered piano and strings at the beginning are ok for an introduction I think, but I love the plucked synth you bring in. And I love how it transitions to a more bass heavy synth. This is a really good mix of orchestral and synthetic elements. I had no issues with the choice of instruments. It has an Assassin's Creed feel at times. I'm most disappointed in the first guitar you introduce. By itself it falls flat. It adds a nice element when the mix is more full, but it's so empty by itself.

Ending comments: I dig this. It's a nice background piece in a good way. You've been able to incorporate electronic elements without being disruptive which makes this good study / background music. It carries a nice theme that develops through the song and I never felt that the song was long. Cool work.

Score:

Total - 7.25
Production - 1.5
Sound Design - 1.5
Composition - 1.25
Structure - 1.5
Replay - 1.5

Sequenced responds:

Yeah the guitar library I got isn't the greatest. #poormusicianlife

[Quixotic (Original Mix)]

This is an official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review:

Beginning Comments: Nice and heavy. I song I would definitely expect to hear in this contest and one I'm fond of critiquing.

Production and Mixing: The details are well organized at the beginning. The filter automation and percussive elements are pretty nice. Then there's the first big open section, and it sounds like it's a loud mix that relied too much on a compressor to keep it in check. Every time the kick comes in it sounds distorted. Maybe if you focused more on sidechaining it would have been a little cleaner. Aside from the poor mastering, the mix itself sounds decent. It's well balanced for the type of heavy song this is, and there are some nice production qualities happening. If you focused more on keeping volumes in check and then raising the volume of the song later with something like a multi band compressor, this would have been really rocking.

Composition and Structure: Good intro, and I really like how you built into the first drop. In terms of composition, this is actually pretty detailed in spite of it being a heavy drum and bass / dubstep song. Usually I expect these songs in this contest to be a bit basic / simple to make way for the sound design of the synths involved (which isn't a bad thing), but you have this chalked full of details. And the transitions between styles and rhythm changes are well polished. Every section is a fresh new development that always felt based on the original intent of the song. Great work. I'm not sure if I completely agree with how you ended the song by doing sudden recaps of each style you used, but it was interesting and unusual, so I give you that. The more I listened to it, the more I was becoming okay with it.

Sound Design: Like I mentioned earlier, songs in this genre usually let the composition be simple for the sake of sound design, but really is definitely not an example of that case. I was never really wowed by the choice of sounds or synths, but there was a good effort I think. You did a good job of picking ones that worked, and actually a lot of the stuff you introduced at the beginning were pretty cool. It's fun listening to what you're doing in the background too. There's a lot of carefully placed details that give this song a lot of flavor and good tone.

Ending Comments: I'm sad the production quality got in the way of me enjoying this as much as I could. There's a lot of brilliance happening here. It's chalked full of interesting details and ideas, and the execution was pretty good actually. Clean up the mix a little and you've got a pretty solid song. I enjoyed it though and I think this was pretty good.

Score:

Total - 7.25
Production - 1
Sound Design - 1.5
Composition - 2
Structure - 1.5
Replay - 1.25

KaixoMusic responds:

Thanks! I don't know what u mean with the mastering cuz it's fine imo... It's loud, but I don't hear any distortion at the kick. And any distortion that you do hear was put on it with a waveshaper to make the kick sharper and punchier. Which sounds okay imo...

The type of mastering varies per genre in the EDM world, and I am going for the heavy style mastering, if you listen to Muzzy - In The Night for example, that track is mastered very loudly. So I guess it's all taste...

Edit: The sidechain is just a volume automation and did the job correctly.

[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.

[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!

[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

[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?