Jacob's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[NK - Fracture (Palicraft Remix)]

This is nice. That snare is great for most the track, but it doesn't work super well as a lead-up to the drop. Sounds a bit forced, especially since it's not one of those supercut snares from the excessively loud period of dubstep.

I like the haus style bass for the dub, although I would've liked to hear more pan play. Even the offbeat vocal sample ('bounce', is it?) switching from one ear to the other would've been cool. Just something to give it a little more bounce and shuffle. Some 16ths on the hats could've helped, too.

Palicraft responds:

I'm making a note here: more panning (and better snares). Thanks for your feedback!

-Edit- The vocal sample was more like 'Dial'.

[Lugubrious Cacophony In The Middle East]

Ha! It's a villainous soundtrack, and all mankind be the antagonist.
I really dig this. Makes me want to play Mastermind: WC.

EdKempeper responds:

Hello ! Thank you very much for this review ! yeah, it's very different from what I do usually...

[~ SameBrain - Inquisitor (Arcz Remix) ~]

I think a little velocity work on the piano at the beginning, as well as more reverb (take out some of the dry mix) would be a good help. I'm not a huge fan of the kick nor snare that come in after, but I do really like the woodblocks. I'd probably have panned the blocks to the left, maybe get a snare with a little less on the tail end, and give the kick some more punch. I get where you meant to go with it, but it sounds a little odd on the low end.
I like the drop quite a bit, but there's nothing on the low end! You've also got hella headroom up above that you could fill if you liked. But I definitely need a bass in there. Some of that percussion, particularly hats, could be panned to the sides. The left in particular feels neglected.

I'd layer a sub bass into the second drop as well. I like that drop a lot, too, but it's not full. The hats could be dual-panned to the far right and left, which would help make it run.

Good start, man! You've definitely got potential and an air. Keep playing around.

ArczMusic responds:

To be honest, this is by far the best feedback I’ve gotten on something, and I really appreciate you taking the time to criticize my work. So thank you :) but yeah, I usually do layer a sub over everything now and I try and make the drops a little more full with higher and lower frequencies, especially bass. Also, referring to the parts about the left end being neglected, I don’t think I actually panned anything, which I do need to start doing.

[Snapski - Trial No Error (NG Version)]

Love that shaker at 0:21.
Really big sound, like a grand journey; sort of starts of feeling like morning, and gradually moves onward to the golden hours. I really like all of your percussive choices - very Tarzan with the woodblocks.
The ending sort of left me with blue balls, but I'm willing to bet that the next track fulfills the want.

SnapskiMusic responds:

Expect some high energy and deep thumps with the next release.

[XS - Fellaria]

I really like how it all comes together, especially once the plucked strings play alongside the piano chords, around 1:47. The woodblocks sound so nice when enveloped in a full mix. The operatic background is also really nice - what'd you use for that? It sounds recorded, but if there's a library or vst, I'm sold.

Jimmypig responds:

Thank you! The woodblock riff was the thing thing I wrote and the last thing I edited, the whole song is really built around it.

The choir is a preset in Omnisphere. If you haven't heard of it it's a sample based VST with tonnes of really cool, really high quality sampled instruments.

[Crypt Freeks]

I love the way that drum moves and resonates.
Really great world you've got here. Would've liked a little more new biz going on in the right ear to offset the constant changes in the left. Just moving the sitar would do it, I think. It's fighting with that beeping arp.
The snare might be a bit sharp, too.

Beautiful, though. I'm gonna loop this bunches.

Bradley-Pittman responds:

I appreciate it man. That's some really solid advice. I remixed it a bit with what you said in mind and replaced the file uploaded here. I think those small changes made it sound a lot better. Cheers!

[∀malgamation - Berseepon]

I think this is the best thing I've heard from you yet!
I'd quiet down the entire first section in general, maybe give it some ebb and flow, EQ stuff to make room, quiet the kick at that point, as well as all percussion, allow plenty of room to swell into the beat when it drops. I'd also recommend finding a drop by the time you reach :45-:100, but if not, then I'd hit it at 1:13. The synthesizer you added there sounds like it'd come in after the drop, or maybe halfway through. Given how hard this hits on the beat, I think the drop would benefit from focusing heavily off of it. Think about it as jumping and dancing its way back to the beat. That'd be a great time to use a heavier sidechain, as well, which has the added benefit of maximum loudness without peaking.

This is a great start! You've got something building, now take me awayyyyy.

Skiddle responds:

Heh, thanks dood. This is my only good song made in the software we call Caustic xd. I know that it has problems, but whenever i have an idea for a good song I never know how to pull it off .3.

[sine waves]

I love where you ended up at 1:06, and I would have really liked to have heard that section built upon further. The sudden ending bummed me out.
Not a big fan of how much the synth stuck out at the beginning - maybe do a little more hi-passing on it? I see what you're trying to do, and that might help you open the track up a little better.

You should seriously run with the beat at 1:06. Some chord changes, some sfx thrown in on the offbeats, panning around - a couple of glitches and empty-beat slots, I really think it could be great.

gdalkali responds:

Thanks for the review Jacob! Yeah the "drop" right after the build up was made cos i had this idea of turnig that sample into an instrument and wanted to get it down in FL before I forgot about it. Unfortunately that lead to me forgetting to extend the buildup, so that's why it ends so quickly. But yeah I agree, it would have been better with an extended buildup, might get round to updating it when i get the time/motivation. Thanks again for the detailed review, honestly wasn't expecting that on this song! :D

[Your Everyday Happycore]

The middle was actually my favorite part, by far! But the whole thing is a lot of fun. It's interesting that the resonance of the chord, reinforced by several voices, is almost always louder than the leads. It puts me in a trance, despite being so upbeat.
Really nice work!

Noisysundae responds:

The meter actually told me its level was equal to other instruments, but I trusted my ears more. I guess I did a bit too much. Might be because of my new KZ ZS6 which is biased toward trebles.

(Off-topic) I had to buy the ZS6 for using it in summer. Summer in the tropics (in my case, Thailand) means hellfire, man. it's far too hot to use my usual over-ear. The ZS6 has obnoxious trebles but I like the sound when I lower them enough.