Zechnition's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Where is Roland ?]

This track does a really good job at being a cohesive whole, however it feels a bit minimalist. I would have liked to see some more expressive sections and a bit more polish, or some more complicated textures.

Still quite good though!

[Aim 2021 - Spring Petals]

I love how the song never stays in one place for too long, keeping it feeling fresh the entire time despite being so fast paced and maintaining it's connection to the art the entire time.

Bravo!

[AIM 2021 - Bridge]

I hesitate to say that the drums are the problem, in that they really give the piece something special, however the reverb and attenuation of the hits could definitely be adjusted to make the piece shine more than it already is.

Around the middle of the piece my ears are left a bit tired, as it feels like the higher tones are a bit too harsh. I suspect a bit more variation in texture throughout the piece or a bit of tweaking to the higher toned lead would do wonders!

AndieCiambotti responds:

Thank you, it really means a lot! I always wanted to learn how to mix and master, I am a film editor by profession and I've learned to play music by myself (but never got to the part where I should learn how to mix). I loved those tips, thank you again for taking the time! I also need a microphone... My Blue Yeti is not a good drum recorder :D

[AIM 2021 - Citadella]

I feel like what this piece exceeds at is finding instruments that sounds good alone, but fitting them perfectly with the other instruments to create an absolutely beautiful texture.

My only criticism is a bit of the background clicking at ~1:35 (perhaps percussion?), which feel a bit too hard, in that they break the silky texture. Despite the fact that they're very quiet, such a texture makes me focus more on the smaller details. ~3:05 however makes this clicking kind of sound work however, so perhaps the instrument is too quiet?

Anyways, awesome work!

Albe responds:

The listener appreciating the little details I put into the sound is one of the things I treasure and appreciate the most, so thank you ^^

The clicking sound is part of the preset I used for that texture pad, though I thought it'd still sound cool as if they were some sort of bongos playing in the background, but I get what you mean.
Glad you liked the song! ^^

[AIM -Angelopolis-]

vgm, breakbeat, and orchestral elements? Really reminds me of waterflame's older style. I particularly love the moments where the drums take the stage, although I wish that they could've stood out a bit more. In addition to that, my main concerns are that the ending portion is a bit abrupt, and that the bass tends to hide behind the other elements, and as a side effect the mix can feel a bit harsh on the ears near the end of the longer intense periods.

Preds responds:

Thanks for the criticism! I agree in all of this, this song needs a remake for sure! I'll try to work on my bass mixing more next time :D

[into the woods goblin mode]

Throughout listening to the piece I find myself hearing small bits all over the place that would by themselves make other songs amazing, yet here they're of plenty. The only downside I think is as the ending section wraps up around 2:01, it cleans up a few bars too early and feels a bit jarring; I do however see the effect you were going for there and think you did a pretty good job at it.

It's a bit odd to ask a question during a review, but what kind of process do you go through when developing a song that enables you to achieve so many great moments?

Miyolophone responds:

thanks! mostly i am inspired by deadline-induced panic

[Battle Brigade]

Wow, this song hits hard quickly. Props for the sound design in the section starting at 0:38 and getting all the instruments there to work together perfectly!

[Dimensional Tunnel - The Passage of Hopes and Dreams (Temp. NGUAC 1-loop upload)]

This song is a really great idea but is 50% great and 50% small mistakes that ruin it for me.

I like the little melodic ideas but instruments and sound-design could be better. Adding reverb or searching for some better soundfonts / samples [spitfire audio labs has some nice free sounds] would make a very big difference.

I would also try to make the main melodies (00:16-00:38) more organic, they're coming off as a bit too robotic. In contrast the melody from 00:40- 01:03 is a lot better, sounding not robotic at all.

There is no break from the percussion for 3 minutes, I would try removing percussion at 1:04 to give the listener's ears a break.

Sorry I'm only giving criticism I actually really like your song, which is why i'm commenting. Good job, keep it up!

[Sleepy Mario]

I love the overall atmosphere, this is one of my favorite genres too!

The bell lead quickly gets tiring though. I think it might be the release on the bell or maybe the reverb. Shortening the reverb would probably make the bell sound a lot less muddy. I think starting with low release on the bell for the first few bars, then transitioning into the normal reverb / release levels would be a cool intro effect as well as ease the repetitive nature of the bell melody into the listener's ears.

Decreasing the tempo around 00:58 might sound good as well, in addition to giving the listener a break from the bell.

I might also try to change up the bell melody a few times throughout the song, but only in little ways (maybe a note or two), so that the melody piques the listeners attention a little bit before lulling them back to sleep (Someone might hear the change and be like "ah! that's cool"). At least once in the first minute would be nice. 00:47 sounds great because of the tiny break from the bell! -- maybe more of this?

The bass starting at 00:10 and transitioning to the main bass at 00:19 is a great transition and sounds really good but the instrument sounds a little basic (I don't know how to describe this, but it sort of sounds like somewhere between a saw and square wave with the high end filtered out). If you could somehow give it a little bit of personality in some places it would sound better. Maybe a tiny bit of distortion or overdrive?

The drums are like this too. If you could take each sample and give it a tiny effect like playing over it a (very quiet) bit of a random sound effect or a phaser. It would make the song sound a lot more polished.

You're only using a few instruments, so each one has to be special -- each one has to have it's own unique flavour!

Nothing wrong with the composition of the drums but it feels like something is missing. Maybe some of the beats are off a bit? Maybe I'm going crazy? I don't know, but double checking it anyways once more can't hurt.

The strings note at 1:41 sounds a little too high and the note after it also sounds a little boring. Maybe look for some more flow-y notes by changing the pitch a bit.

The ambient sounds and french voice both really fit the atmosphere. Good sound design with them too!

Summary:
Great atmosphere but is repetitive and lacks a unique 'flavour'.

If you could tell me a little bit about how you made this song it would really help me to learn more! Love it!

Crazy-Unicorn responds:

Awesome review thank you <3 You're helping me alot!

I made this song after hearing this and being inspired : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVH1ICPLfnk
I first started by remaking the melody / chords with a rhodes. It was very beautiful! But I invented a second part with the same rythm to make it 2 times longer.
Then I bounced it as a sample (this is why I never changed the notes of the melody :/) and added some effects, I also added the bass notes with a simple square/saw bass (and it has distortion, maybe not enough), I added basic lofi fx (vinyl crackle, forest sounds, high / low cut...)
After that I created the beat, and I worked hard on the kick that I wanted strong.
And then I added some instruments as I was in the mood :)

And at the end I added every little details like white noise, transitions, some more mixing...

[Waterfall]

I love the contrast of the little ending section!