Zechnition's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Tranquility]

I have almost only praise for this song; the sound design is incredible, and at times it makes the simplest musical ideas feel fresh and complicated yet easy to listen to many times. However, it's a bit difficult to express what I feel is the main aspect to improve on. From a high level, the structure and melodies are good, but they could be great. I think there is a level of minimalism in the structure and design that is holding the piece back from being its full potential --a kind of very subtle same-y-ness feeling that covers the piece. This feeling might also be a byproduct of dissonance between the sound design and your choice of melodic structures. Hopefully these ramblings helped, and that you might have more insight into the song than me!

Absolutely lovely!

[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!

AlbeGian 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

[Newgrounds Member's Sex Stories #1]

I admit, as this is not a song I found it difficult to adequately review, however I noticed that the recording quality wasn't very good, I would play around with your microphone settings and recording environment in order to reduce background noise. In addition, in order to increase the emotional effect I'm sure you could've added some level of background music or ambient noise --I suspect this might also help cover up the voice quality and make the recording sound a bit more realistic.

Belthagor responds:

I was hoping for a review on the content itself, nevertheless, I find your review very helpful. Thanks for your input!

[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!