Jacob's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[You Are So Beautiful]

Man, you already know I'm in love with this.
Beautiful work.

[Amaryllis - Hiver]

I'm in love with this track.
I might edit this with feedback later, but for now I'm just glad you made it.

[Kastor - The Cure]

Great design, crisp production, and wonderful progression. I might like a catchier hook/refrain from a song of this type, for the sake of the earworm and pop play.
That is my only criticism.
Really nice work!

[House Party]

Big fan of this.
The conversations in the background complete the sound really well. The rhythm is catchy and playful. The melody and chord structure continue that trend very well, without being so predictable that they irritate my head on a second or third loop.

Just enough variation, and the crescendo moments are spaced far enough to make this listenable for quite awhile.

This would be perfect for the Menu screen in a game or movie. Also very meme-able.

Funky stuff, my dude.

[Slivered]

I love the thin percussive elements dancing around the field. The steady rise is well built.
This led to me reminiscing on a lot of things. The piano at the end, in particular, takes me back.

Would've loved for this to build even more, and perhaps open itself up. It seems I'm spending all of this time looking back, and it'd feel great to open my eyes and break through the clouds, before settling back down here once more.

I may be alone in this, but the snare feels odd on B. I kept wanting to hear C, or alternatively G. As it is, it feels a bit dissonant and out of place. Great choice of sound, though.

Beautiful work. I always look forward to it.

[Don't Mean a Thing]

Such a fun song.

I'm going to let this critique follow the flow of the song for this unofficial NGADM review, typing in stream-of-consciousness format:

You have quite a bit of bass in your voice. These frequencies are competing with the guitar right off the bat, so I'd recommend scooping some of that out of the guitar, especially in the 100-500hz range.

The esses are harsh in the vocals (and a bit in the guitar, too). A de-esser would make it easier to listen to this at slightly higher volumes.

The first guitar would benefit from either a stereo delay to separate it into the left and right channel, or a somewhat hard-pan that could be balanced by other instruments in the other channel. It's fighting with the vocals for space, and I'd love for your voice to have more room to shine.

The warmth of the string plucks would sound very nice on their own, but they're adding even more competition to the low-mid range. Attention to EQ would again be handy.

Enter another low-mid competitor: The bass! It's fighting with the kick, too, so it ended up getting turned up crazy high just to be properly audible in the mix. We end up with a boomy sound without a lot of clarity.

Really great composition and progression so far. The break at 0:38 is wonderful, although the kick comes in a bit loud. This kick sounds like it would work with EDM or 80s music more than this folksy tune, since it's very sharp and full. A little humanization would go a long way, too. Nobody stomps the pedal exactly the same every time.

The guitar sound doesn't really need to be humanized at this spot. It sounds like it's being played by a keyboard, so it works just fine. It occupies the mid range nicely, being one of few instruments that isn't fighting for space.

LOVE the banjo. You're right to think it could be humanized, but it's charming enough for that not to matter. The bells are great, too, but quite loud.

Not a huge fan of the choice of double-time execution at 2:57, but it's charming when you do it, and the comedic aspect makes up for my opinion of the compositional choice.

There is a ton of reverb in this track, creating even more competition for space, and adding more boom.

There isn't much to criticize in terms of composition. Although the double-time was a bit rough, and nothing particularly new, riveting, or out-of-the box was employed, this was a delightful song with a positive message and a giddy style. Great work!

The sound design was fairly consistent (folk meets synth pop), but it just barely held together. I would have loved some more quirky sounds to give extra life to the track. Percussion, in particular, would have benefited. It also sounds like you used a lot of stock sounds, then added compression and reverb. Still, loved it.

You received a high score in creativity and replay value for obvious reasons - this is very catchy and unique. Still, playing around a bit more and taking some extra risks could have bolstered creativity in particular.

My apologies for not being able to get together a more structured review!
Work on that mix and continue pumping out the charm, and you'll do great.

Composition: 8.25/10
Production: 4.75/10
Sound Design: 7.5/10
Creativity: 8.75/10
Replay/Application Value: 9.5/10
Overall: 7.75/10

NG score bolstered because Judge Jacob is about one star harsher than User Jacob.

[AIM - Timeless Adventure]

NGADM '19 Review:

Lovely intro! Nice and simple, and 3/4 seems to be a good choice. The instruments hurt a bit in the treble range (maybe around 8-10KHz?), but this is a pleasant start, compositionally. I picture a group of young travelers, or perhaps halflings, trekking along a hilly grassland. Optimistic smiles and expectations of a grand story to tell when they return home.

The bells are also rather sharp in the treble/presence range, doubling my ears' retreat. Sadly, no matter how much I turn it down, this range seems to stick out the most. This makes the fun-loving joy I detect much harder to give in to.

The strings are lovely, and the short sample of birds is a great addition. That said, we're missing warmth to fill out the space. The strings and percussion both seem rather thin and bright.

Sonically, the piano, strings, and horns are a welcome addition. Compositionally, I am met primarily with unison, and the occasional bit of harmony. Chords that better convey the subtext of the scene would be greatly welcomed.

The same melody has been looping for over a minute now.

Dropping into a section with the bells at a lower octave is a great choice. Keeps it soft and gives us some release. But the melody here is a variation of the original melody, and I would really love to depart toward something different. Perhaps something goes wrong, or we've forgotten something and have to run home (justifying a comical return to the original melody later on), or we stop to chat or eat for awhile, or someone new is introduced - really anything to provide a second swath. As things stand, I feel stagnated.

And we launch into the previous melody once more. A voice in the background has been added, but this is otherwise identical to the first time we heard this section. I feel as though the same images as before are transitioning over the screen, like I'm watching a looping slideshow on the Play screen of a DVD. I would love some sort of variation. If we're going to come back to this melody, I'd love more than a 30 second break. It needs to be earned.

I don't mind the section it falls into, but I'm a bit unsure of what's happening. Have we arrived?
The thematic melody returns, implying that the journey never really ends - but then this melody serves as the vehicle for the conclusion. We finally land on the route chord, with nearly everything panned in the left channel.

While I really enjoyed the melody as an introductory element, it was belabored until everything pleasant about it was lost. The piece never really seemed to move, and the majority of added instruments were added as layers for the introductory melody, stuck on loop for most of the piece.

Now that I've viewed the piece of art upon which this is based (to see what inspired you), I reiterate, affirmed, that the melody was a nice way to start things off. But it's as if the image never has the opportunity to move. It seems that the ship is headed somewhere, but I don't feel that it ever even reached the edge of the frame. This could be re-framed in a way that would make that fact comical, but it doesn't sound as though this was intentional.

The chosen sounds were pleasant and fit one another well, but I feel that more could have been done to create the space. If a ship near the port were the setting, for instance, I would have loved to hear some wooden creaks, flapping sails, water, spraying wind, ropes, and perhaps a bit of commotion.

The production did little to aid the thin design. The balance was mostly nice, but high (and even theoretically dulcet) elements were harsh on the ears. The reverb was decently balanced, but did not seem to reflect on a particular setting. Some elements sounded a bit like they were in a concert hall, while others were present and dry. The bells and violin are out of one another's way well enough to hear each, but occupy the more unpleasant frequencies together. The bass is nearly absent, although the bass drum resonates as though we are inside.

This was a bonny little tune! Hopefully my stream-of-consciousness review articulated my points well enough. If not, I am more than happy to continue discussion via PM.

Composition: 6/10
Production: 5/10
Sound Design: 7/10
Creativity: 6/10
Replay Value/Usability: 7/10
Total: 6.2/10

(Stars bolstered, because my Portal scores and Contest scores are different. Portal Jacob is much more agreeable than Judge Jacob.)

[Groove Grove]

Watch that bass and those low-mids, bruddah!
Sadly, I don't have time for a full NGUAC review right now, but I wanted to say how much I love the composition, here.
The production, however, needs work. Most of your levels are pretty good (although the lead is quiet, and the piano is buried), but the EQ is all outta wack.

I may come back with a more complete review later (or you can hit me up), but for now I recommend cutting the low end (below 80hz, maybe even higher) from everything but the bass and the kick. Then figure out where the kick needs to pop through (maybe 120hz or so? not sure), and give that a lil tiny boost, and carve the bass in the same spot. Then fix the levels so that the low end of the bass isn't so overpowering.
Lastly, find something like Bluecat Frequency Analyst, and take a look at how pumped the volume is 500hz and below, compared to the top half of the audible range. Figure out what to carve and turn down (or up) in order to give this track some breathing room, and you'll be on the right track.

Mad love for the funk here, man.

Desmae responds:

Thank you so much, this is really helpful.

[Fragmented Reality]

I can tell you like the bass! It sits a little hot in the mix, overpowering everything else by a small margin. It could also use some decay, as well as a few surprises like quick octave changes, a chop, a wobble; anything to break things up a bit.

I'm a sucker for crushed bits, so I love the sounds used, here. The main melody deserves a change up, though, and either 1:15 or 1:22 would be the perfect spot. Even some harmony on the same synth would do the trick. As things stand, the track feels a bit stagnated.

The stereo field is utilized nicely by sound effects and the counter melody - but I'd love to hear some percussion occupying the space as well, like some 32nd runs on a hat, traveling through from right to left. Or, in order to heighten the sound, the snare could be layered with a stereo clap or another sound later in the song.

Cool stuff, man! I feel transported into the scene, and I love the sound and vibe.

larrynachos responds:

Yeah, it's undeniably repetitive. That's something I really gotta work on ;-;

The percussion was definitely underutilized, but I was so in love with the impact the crushed synth had on the feel of the whole piece.

Thanks so much for stopping by Jacob! :)