Jacob's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hank J.W´s Adventures]

That snare's got a PUNCH! So sick.
Oh shit, these leads.
THESE LEADS.

You've gotta share your secrets on this before I drive myself crazy. Every single synthesizer in this track is absolutely pristine. This gets me excited!

Only issue I've got is that this entire thing feels like it's building up to something massive, and it never quite reaches that point. It tells such a story, and rises so high, but it never quite blows my mind. So close, though! Soooo close!

Phenomenal track, guy. Just phenomenal.

DjGoldwing responds:

Phenomenal track? really? thanks dude your review is very important and have a nice day!

[Bring out the Madness in me]

The intro is excellent! I feel like I'm listening to Nine Inch Nails.
The mixing creates a sick atmosphere. I could listen to this forever.

The only issue I have with this is the lack of a melody. A seriously great tune for background music - I honestly think it belongs in Madness Combat itself. However, as a standalone track, it's lacking that center-panned goodness. Out of the MD2014 tracks I've heard thus far, however, this is my favorite. God, it's like I'm playing Quake III Arena.

Hey wait, where's the ending? Jacob want conclusion. :(

Sick track, Deshiel. I'm definitely going to make time to check out your other submissions very soon. And if you wouldn't mind sharing the VSTs you used for that guitar-ish sound, I'd be very grateful.
Circa 1999 industrial right here. Bringing back all of the memories. All of them!

DESHIEL responds:

Hey you don't know how happy your review makes me. I'm sure that we can pretty much relate to each other with our fears that nobody will like what we did. I'm glad that somebody does, so thank you for leting me know. ;)

I'm still learning when it comes to "story & melody progression" in my music and pretty much thanks for confirming my fears that the ending I "threw up quite lazily" wasn't enough. I realy needed that lol

I'm glad that I caught your attention, but be careful, I uploaded around 470 tracks on newgrounds.
As for the guitars...
Three slightly moded and EQued FL SLAYER presets were used.
dist Rock
dist Metal
electro Jungle

If you own fruity loops, you should already have them.

[Meet Frances]

You had me from the start. Beautiful, inspired ambiance all the way through. I'd have loved a little more melody, some more involved percussion, some tension and release... But the atmosphere makes up for it.

I'd love to collaborate sometime! I'll be checking out your other submissions now. You have a fan.

Semaphore responds:

Thank you very much Jacob. If you want to to a collab some day pm me =)

[A night to remember]

First thing I noticed: Too quiet!
Assuming you're using Audacity, use the Normalizer effect to set the dB level to -3.00. It'll make everything even, and at a standard volume.
Second, insulate the area around your microphone to avoid background reverb. It will give you that warm, present effect.
Third, use the noise profiler on a clip of nothing but your background noise to allow you to eliminate that buzz in the background.

The overall quality here is pretty nice. It's hard to tell, being so quiet, but I like the voices.
I know you're not a native English speaker. But you can use that to your advantage! Your accent and inflections can be used for certain characters, especially being Mexican.
Work on your Americanized accent in the mean time, of course, but always play to your strengths.

desierto responds:

Wow, that's a lot of tips, thank you! i actually used audacity for the first time whilst recording this, and i will surely implement your suggestions and learn to use it better in the future.

I would've liked to add some noise effects, music and some voices mumbling here and there and what not, but had no more time, i totally agree, it also sounds too quiet to me too!

Thanks for dropping by man, i really appreciate it!

[Stuff Happened One Night]

Nice work!
The story was nice for sure, but the voices were what got me.
The main character and his friend were both very natural, while also contrasting. It's hard to make more than one or two distinct natural voices, so I appreciate the quality of that.

I'd recommend adding a vocal exciter to really bring out the vocals.
Oh, and get a pop filter. Your P's sometimes pop pretty hard.

Overall, lots of distinct voices, and that kind of range is appreciable.

Good work!

Rehab-Reject responds:

Hey thanks bro! Yeah the hardest part was making the two main characters sound different and natural. What's a vocal exciter? I'm pretty noobish when it comes to recording, but I did have a pop filter, I probably was too close to the mic when recording some parts. Thanks for the review and tips.

[Night to Remember - Voice Act]

Is that Jesse from Breaking Bad? Haha
I REALLY like that character. The voice, the inflections, everything. He's very well done.
Teddy... Good, but could use some work. So here goes that:

First off, despite how different the voices might feel, it's important that you go all out in contrasting your voices. Use different pitches. Make his voice quite a bit higher, so he really stands out against Steve.

The same goes for your other characters. Make sure their voices are in different registers! Otherwise, it's obvious that it's all one guy.

Next, recording and mixing:

First off, it sounds like you used a good mic. But regardless of the quality of a mic, you NEED to insulate the area around it. Otherwise, an unpleasant reverb makes its way into the recording. It sounds distant, as opposed to the presence you're looking for.
Second, noise removal is crucial.
Simply take a two or three second recording without anything but the ambiance of the room, and go to Noise Removal in the Effects bar of Audacity, and you just have to Get Noise Profile. From then on, you can use the Noise Removal to remove the background buzz.

Ultimately though, I really liked this. The characters were likable and interesting, working as a perfectly contrasting duo. The story was easy to listen to, and consistently charming. The ending was funny and satisfying (though a little predictable), and this stands to be one of the only two entries I have been able to listen to from start to finish.

Good work!
-Jacob

PS I'm scouting you for the Audio Portal

doctorrapture responds:

Hey man! Thanks a lot for all the feedback and advice. I will buying my own equipment by the end of this month - so far I have limited knowledge of a friend's studio which I use on occasion (and for this).

Much appreciated, sir!

[I'm A Dot]

These lyrics truly are a work of genius, though.

Actually, this is really catchy. It's short, low quality, and you obviously weren't doing something for the sake of exerting effort - but hot diggety damn do I like it.

DL'd and, despite the review rating (my official rating), 5'd.

ForNoReason responds:

Why thank you!

[I wish I could drink...]

I'm not a member of RRC, but that's how I stumbled upon this.
This is a really, really nice piece. Calming, uplifting, yet deep and artistic.
The ambiance and piano work together beautifully to mold a thought-provoking background.

Pros:
The piano, though simple, was more than lovely. The ambiance was well manufactured, but without the keys this would be too calming. Instead, you gave it life - and I love that.

Cons:
I really, REALLY would have like a different ending. Better yet, a loop. This is the kind of song you keep in the background for awhile as you create or contemplate. It's harder to do that when the ending is a bit harsh, and you hear the piece start and stop every 3 minutes or so.

I also would have loved a climax. Maybe some strings or a stronger, synthetic bass as well as a sudden rise in dynamic. The heart-beat style kick would get a little louder, slightly more frantic, and the song would really begin to go somewhere, until finally fading away, and perhaps a lighter ending with a higher frequency ambiance and some light tinking on the piano - finally looping into the beginning once more.
I understand this could contradict the chill and ambient vibe you were striving for, but the song honestly seems to have taken a different route to begin with.

Regardless! I liked this a lot, and I'll be listening to it again. :]
Thank you for sharing!

-Jacob

Carr77 responds:

Thanks! That was a great review with a lot of good information, and I'm glad you liked the song :3
Thank you!