skyood's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Layered Piece]

I guess I'm a little puzzled about why you'd post something you're not happy with ... I suppose if you have rabid NG fans that keep pestering you to put something out ... but even then you're not doing service to your reputation by releasing something that you wouldn't consider very good. On to some actual review ...

I actually like it in a general sense ... the layers are varied but still fit together, and manage to mostly stay actual layers, not just a garbled heap. Unfortunately, the key word is "mostly." They don't seem to quite fit right timing-wise (a little quantization would help perhaps?), which makes it super mushy by the end. Like where you were going, but the lack of polish ultimately kills the end result. Keep it up, you clearly know what you're doing.

[Spring Equinox]

Very, very well done. Personally, it's a bit of a weird combination for me, the kind of spacious, relaxing top end with the driving beat underneath. Just doesn't fit together for me, but I'm sure that's just a matter of preference. Excellent job.

[Nocturne]

Very good, very polished. I could probably complain about something or other if I really tried (and normally I do for the sake of hoping to help ppl improve) ... but I'm too content with it to do so. Just enjoyed listening to it, and nothing in any way detracted from the enjoyment. Excellent work.

BlazingDragon responds:

Thank you for the kind remarks, skywood. :D I listened to Life, Obstinato and liked what I heard. It's always nice to get a review from another composer.

[Epic Trailer Music - Oney]

Really good stuff. The thing I would change is that I feel like the drums, specifically the kick, is a little too busy. Combined with all the other good stuff you have going on in there, it just gets to be a little too cluttered.

Otherwise, you definitely pulled off that epic feel, and a lot there to hold your interest. If you wanted it to be something you sat down and listened to, it would need to be longer, but I'm sure you know that and intended it for another use (like a short flash, apparently).

Oney responds:

yeah tbh this was rushed for a friends cartoon and the only drums i had access to were fruity loops shitty FPC, thanks!

[Where's the Map?]

I think you managed your goal nicely. What I don't quite like, if this makes any sense, is the minor tonality (it's a minor scale, isn't it? Been a looooong time since my last ear training session ...). I could be wrong about the source, but there's more tension in the melody line than I would randomly prefer. Key words being "prefer." Probably depends a lot on the context, etc. Anyway, like I said I think you hit what you were going for. It's short and simple, but not obviously/annoyingly repetitive for a menu/map type situation. Good job.

Neon-Bard responds:

Thank you very much Skyood! I can see what you mean by the general 'tonality' as you put it. There was a blend of notes, but most were of the minor scale! :) I tend to place more emphasis on the overall melody of the song than any other portion, which could certainly make things seem stressed. I'm not exactly sure why I do this...perhaps it's just an innate thing. :P

Anyhow, thanks again man!

[KKS - Abstract Motion]

I can't give it a full 5 stars, just because it's so short and it would feel wrong (I always vote up a notch from my review stars to try to counteract the zerobombers). :P But it's very good. Enough interest and stuff going on that if you don't look at the progress bar it doesn't feel like a 10 second loop until like the 10th time or whatever. It's just plain solid and good. Can't even think of improvements to point out.

KKSlider60 responds:

i c wat u did thar :3
Look, I don't care about stars/votes/dicks/whatever. I care about the feelings you can get while listening to my music. I want listeners to be immersed in a whole new world, an uplifting sonic experience they'll never forget. And this is just the starting point for my musical vision. :D
Thank you for your time
KKS

[[NAC] Party Tonight]

The idea is definitely a good one. Melody is good, and you definitely nailed the "addictive," hooky fun dance bit. I think there's a lot you could do with the mixing/mastering to make this better. I'm not great at mixing/mastering myself, so I can't really give you much advice on how to make it happen, however. :( But in generalities, the bass could be punchy-er, and the lead line ... I don't know how to describe it. It doesn't stand out from the mix enough for my taste.

Having said all that, I'm not much of an electronica kind of guy, so maybe I'm just plain ol' wrong. But overall I like what you have here. Lots of little touches that add a lot to the whole. Good stuff.

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

You are completely right. My mixing isn't professional level AT ALL, nowhere close. But I did the best that I could.

Also, I'm using laptop speakers to mix my work, because my headphone jack's all screwed up now. So the sound I'm hearing is not necessarily the sound you might be hearing. Thanks for the input, and I'm still working on making that sound crisp and clear, like the juices of a cool red apple.

Thanks
xxxZigZagxxx

[Hermit's Anger]

Pretty good. The vocal chords throughout are too short, especially for this medium (sampled MIDI-type usage). Hard to tell how much of this is just because you're limited by what you're using.

Nothing knocks your socks off or anything, but serviceable and all-around solid work.

[stiff sines #1]

I like sines. Good start to ... something. There will be more added eventually, right?