Zechnition's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Lost City of Ri]

Aaaa, I wanted these to be done a lot sooner, but at long last it's finally here:
Official VGMC'21 Review~!
======================

First thoughts: I love the bells/chimes you're using; they give a mysterious feeling to the piece that sounds great. Also, the bass you're using for atmosphere accompanies it perfectly. I know I'm biased, but I just love the harp instrument you use around 1:00. It adds this timbre to the atmosphere that's very raw and grainy, yet a bit adventure-y. I also really liked how you approached the narrative, and I think your arrangement does a great job at capturing it.

One thing I noticed is that the melody from around 1:00 to 2:25 feels like its wandering a bit much. I can't really grab onto any melodies that it plays. I like what you do at 1:59 and 2:30 in order to add structure, however I would've liked more moments that stood out in a similar manner, but perhaps in a different way. Something like having the harp be a harmonic accompaniment to the bells for a bar or two, or having it play the same melody.

Your mixing was really good; all of the instruments feel like they have their own space in the arrangement yet feel cohesive. However, I think you might've been able to play with some subtle effects in addition to some layering to bring out more details in the instruments. The harp for example, despite being a super good fit for the arrangement, feels quite bland. If you look up some references on YouTube of people playing instruments such as the harp, you'll hear a lot of soft but interesting high frequency details that most electronic pieces lack. However, it is totally possible to get very close to this level of quality without paying for high quality sounds. For example, one might add a soft accordion and some FM bells playing at the same time as the harp, but quieter and with a bit more dynamic range to make up the details.

Great job all in all though! I'd say my concerns here are mostly minor ones.

ps: feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions (discord or ng) & we can chat more about your song!

PythonBlue responds:

First of all, thank you for getting back to me with feedback for the challenge. While I was getting concerned over the wait, I still feel it was necessary for me to participate in some ways, as I admit I've had a bit of a creative low lately.

That being said, your critiques for this composition are accepted, especially insofar as the melody getting lost a bit: I fully admit that I struggle to make memorable melodies in the first place, and with how rusty I've become, it seems to show here.

Also funny you mention frequencies for the harp: I did end up using a mutiband compressor for it because some lower frequencies ended up becoming way too loud due normally to the reverb algorithm I had used.

Thanks again for the feedback, and glad to be able to submit to this!

[Cave Siren]

This song does a lot of cool things, but I feel like some of the structural choices take away from the feeling that the song is trying to convey. Not that these choices are bad necessarily, but that they feel kinda half-hazard, one might even say structurally dissonant. One example is the chord progression and melody around 3:33.

In addition, I wish that you could've played with some of your melodies a bit more. Past about 2:00 the melodies tend to be relatively simple and they repeat a lot of times in sections which seem to be focusing on melodies. (playing with velocity of the piano notes & humanizing them a little would do wonders)

As for the sound design, I love how you were able to find a lot of great samples and integrate them really well. It really enhances the experience. However, the instrument design could do with a little more timbre, as they feel a bit dry. The pad at 1:10 is a good example of this. Adding a little automation to the timbre of the wave, or something to remove uniformity from the instrument would be lovely. There are also a few places where some painful frequencies manage to escape, such as 0:53 and 2:50.

In summary: great song, but never stop looking to improve!

Ziondiac responds:

Thanks for the feedback and vote

[AIM . Glimpse of God]

If this contest was about making a song that perfectly fit an image, I'm sure you'd win. Alas, there are a few things you could work on, such as playing with the dynamics of the droning bass to increase the diversity of the piece. After 3 minutes of the droning bass not changing, my ears started to get used to the texture, and it no longer felt special. One possible thing you could do is to add a section somewhere around the end where the tension of the piece starts increasing.

Would love to hear your work in the film industry one day!

LexRodent responds:

Thanks a lot mate ; That artwork it's so expressive on it's own, I was of afraid not being able to represent it with justice. Glad to know I did.
That's a great suggestion ; Maybe an automation to intensify the effect on the bass could help to keep it fresh all along the track.

Would love to make music for a short film in the future too.

[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

[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...

[ID #2 (WIP)]

I liked the drum progression and the bass growl sounded pretty good but most of the song is just a single instrument and drums. I would try layering multiple instruments together and adding a bit more melodic progression.

However, there still is potential.
(^-^)

BlueAlpha14 responds:

I don't even know what I did when I made that bass, it just sort of happened lol.

Here's the thing: I know the intro and drop lack a lot of melodic progression, but the problem is I don't know how to fix that. I've tried a few things and they don't compliment eachother very well. I've been drawing blanks, basically.

Thanks for the review, I know I can always count on you.

[They Taught Us To Dream]

Ca, c'est la chanson que j'aime le plus dans NGCHIPS!

DEM0NW0LF responds:

Merci !