skyood's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lost But Not Forgotten]

Did you record the piano live, too? Because that would explain why it seems so far away and sparse. Also, don't know why there doesn't seem to be much use of the sustain pedal in that piano section (the bass notes are far too short). I guess I'm picking on the little piano section because it sticks out as being not on the quality level as the rest of the song, which is quite high. Good job!

MooseyMcSammich responds:

All the instruments beside the guitar are synthesized through Finale. I'm still trying to get a hang of making digital music. I'm sure there's a sustain pedal option...I'll check it out. Thanks for the constructive criticism!

[Transformation]

This is very good. The changes in mood, etc seem random-- like a movie score but with no visuals to match the changes in mood to, so the effect is a little confusing. It would work better as a stand-alone piece of music if the mood moved in a particular direction, instead of jumping around a bit like it does. I also agree that it needs more in the low end. Doesn't really need more notes than you're providing with the bass guitar (at least not very many more), but maybe something with more sustain, like a nice interesting synth. Imagine listening to this in a movie theatre ... you would want your seat to be almost shaking, to feel the intensity in your chest. In other words, needs more bass. :) And of course, it needs an ending.

Great piece though, you definitely know what you are doing.

EwigeDreamer responds:

thanks)))

[Blasted]

Old school hip hop, indeed. Fun vibe, and quality is at a level where it can be simply enjoyed. Would have liked a better ending, but who cares, it was fun stuff.

SJBarbarossa responds:

Thanks man.
I kinda dried up on the lyrical front at the end to be honest, so I was just like, "Fuck it".

[Son of Funda]

One thing that might help (and make more of a difference than you think!) is panning. Giving each instrument their own little space in the L<->R space, as if they were actually in the room. Small thing that makes a big difference, and as best I can tell everything is straight up "mono." But it's likely that you just hit the limit of usefulness/quality for whatever patches/sounds/etc you're using. Don't exactly sound realistic. But the music itself is well put together. Keep it up.

Ediblefungus responds:

Thanks for the advice, I'll try panning. I used samples and soundfonts for this one, not quite as good as a live orchestra (bit of an understatement) but easier to fit in a box. Thanks again,

Ediblefungus

[Fop Woppin']

A million chimpanzees on a million keyboards ... would only take 2 minutes to do this.

Gobblemeister responds:

So mad...

[Contemplative Bliss]

Excellent. What really made it work was all the subtle but important touches with the different instruments that say hello and then bow right back out ... the bass pluck here and there, the string chords, piano ... etc.

Only complaint is I didn't like the sound of the instrument that's doing most of the little arpeggiated chords (guitar, I imagine?). Just sounds overly dry and dead. Overall though, couldn't fully detract from the overall pleasantness of the track. Very well done.

TheBenjerman responds:

Thanks for the review! If you're referring to the instrument that played throughout (including during the string section) then yes that was a guitar, I'll look into it.

Thanks again, I appreciate it!

[Yearning]

"BIttersweet" is a perfect tag for it. Love the pacing of it, the way almost every note comes juuuust a little later than you'd expect it to. Nailed the feel you were going for, imo.

magnificat12 responds:

That slight delay is somewhat representative of the hesitation I feel before going outside my comfort zone. I wasn't thinking any of that when the piece was written, but it fits. :p Thank you for the review.

[HiiiPower - Stoner]

This is more like it. If you did this beat, it's much better/cleaner. Only hiccup is 2:02-:07 where you're not quite staying in the groove, but I have a feeling you know already knew that.

snp517 responds:

Yes, I was well aware of that little hiccup there. I'm pretty sure who ever did the remake of this beat inserted a pause that was just a litttttle bit too long. I was too lazy to try to fix it so I just flew with it. Thanks though for the critique; that is exactly why I post my shit. I need validation and outside opinion, negative or positive, they both motivate. Stay tuned too, much more to come. Peace!