Gario's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[FS: Shift]

Oh noes abruptt ending!!1

Nah, just kidding, I know you just didn't want to make it anymore :P

I like some of the sounds that you use - the wobbly FM synth is really fun, especially. Overall I get the feeling that there's really no direction or change of pace, though, which makes it feel like it drags on a bit. Changing up the chords more frequently would help in this regard considerably.

Nonetheless, it's pretty good.

FairSquare responds:

Well, i didn't really put much effort in this, so you're definitely right. I use to change things around much more, just didn't felt like doing it this time so i made something extremely simple that's just fun to listen to for 1 time.
Anyway, thanks for the review! Appreciate it :)

[AA2: Tell the Truth 8Bit]

This is an impressive 8-bit track

Sounds like an authentic 8-bit track to me, so either you're miraculously good at emulating the oldschool sound or you're using the wonders of a tracker. Either way, an impressive track. I especially found the quick program/timbre changes very well done.

bluerabbit78 responds:

Thank you! Actually, I use FamiTracker. I made this track a few months ago, and have improved slightly since then, so my new creations are better. But I have to say, this is one of my best pieces. Thanks for the review! ^^

[The Corridors of Time]

Worth the hype, I'd say

There's a lot to like about this song - it rightly holds it's high position on the portal. It's not the live instruments that enchant me with this song, but it's the combination of timbres. There's something magical about the light guitar, bonjo drums, celesta and vocal 'oo's (Especially the vocal 'oo's - they're pretty amazing).

The melodic guitar parts are very well done, but I feel they sometimes get lost in the background (especially in the beginning area, before they're risen up an octave). The celesta, while cool and an iconic part of the source, tends to just sound like it's 'there', after a while. I'd love to hear them drop out from time to time - that makes their effect more pronounced, and serves to give some focus on some of the other stuff going on in the track, which is neat in and of itself.

Great work on it.

Twone responds:

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the comments!

[Cold Winter Skies [Chiptu]

Chiptunes, awesome

Always like to hear what people have to offer when they limit themselves to few channels. With six channels, though, this sounds pretty hollow - polyphonic voices can do you wonders thickening out the sound (listen to some of Follin's work on the NES, like Silver Surfer, to get an idea of what I mean). I liked the custom reverb, though - another classic chiptune effect that sounded very neat, here.

The XM dives and such were well placed throughout the song - something that I'm not proficient in, myself. Nice work, overall.

SuperBastard responds:

Thanks a lot for the review, man. I agree that it does sound a little sparse for having 6 channels. I wanted to keep it down to 4, but I got bored with that and slapped on the extra two, which I only really used for the 0CC arpeggios and an extra voice for the melody. I probably could have done more with them, and I suppose the extra voice did end up being difficult to hear, even though I set it to a relatively high volume. I'm considering going back in and either adding a slight vibrato to help distinguish it or giving it some panning, so check back later if you're interested in hearing whatever improvements I settle on.

That said, I appreciate the generous score, especially from someone who seems to understand the magic behind the music. Cheers :)

[You Spin Me Right Round - 8bit]

Dat Triangle...

Very awesome triangle wave action coming from this track. I am a little disappointed that this is more pseudo-8-bit, but I won't let my purist preference take too much away from a pretty enjoyable remix.

Nice work on this, it kicks ass.

flaminglog responds:

I used famitracker, this IS true 8-bit. I can provide an NSF file to prove it. (If you want to try to make a remix using the 2a03 module be my guest).

Glad you liked it though!

[Sonic- LavaReefZoneA2 Piano]

Classic tune, there

The instrumentation was tasteful, though it strikes me as a bit dry. There's some phasing and such to make the mix wetter, which helps, but I can't help but feel that the piano samples should've had less cutoff on them. The saw bass is nice and fat, though.

The track isn't bad, though.

DrMackFoxx responds:

Whoa! I'm quite surprised to see a review from you here. 'Tis a good surprise, though. I really appreciate your thorough critique. Thank you very much. :)

I guess aside from sub-par guitar samples, the piano patches on my softsynth of choice don't have very long notes to work with: part of why I back up a lot of the piano lines on many of these remakes with strings or synth strings.

[Stargenx - Bloody Tears REMIX]

A decent arrangement, though muffled

The arrangement is pretty fun, overall, though I suggest brightening up your guitar with some EQ'd highs. Right now it sounds very flat and uninteresting - even sequenced guitars can instill life into a track if mixed properly.

Otherwise, this is alright. A nice chill arrangement of a classic track.

Stargenx responds:

Thanks for the review! That's a good idea, thanks for the input!

[Dynamite 8-Bit Remix]

On the bright side, it's mostly within the limits

... but on the down side, it limits itself a little too much. Why no Triangle love? Needs some triangle wave in there :(

I think the mix could use a bit more balance in the mixing. Keep things within a pretty close level, and make sure the sound doesn't hit the ceiling too hard (which happens here quite often on the main track). A slight nitpick, but the instrument combination on 0:22 goes against NES conventions (2 rectangle, 1 triangle, 1 noise, 1 PCM). I know not everyone goes for the true NES limitations, so I won't knock you for that.

It's a decent effort. Keep on truckin' and you'll get the hang of it.

mythicman95 responds:

Thank you for the excellent review sir, and here is the official response to what all of what you said.

I agree that It could have used some more balance. I did not know about the conventions of the NES at 0:22, and thank you for being specific, as I wouldn't have been able to pinpoint the exact moment for a while. Oh... and about the triangle waves...
This entire piece was supposed to have more of a bite than an actual slick texture of sound to it. If you wish to hear a good use of triangle, check out my Ballad of Special Fred song. It pulls it off well I believe. But flawless review.

[Industrial Intrusion]

Hello musics

The arrangement works well. I feel the production quality isn't quite up to par, though. Here are my thoughts.

What programs are you using? Right now it sounds like Anvil Studio or the like, and the SF is possibly/probably from the Soundblaster MIDI hardware. I suppose that's not really a bad thing (I was using similar software/hardware for years :| ), but you could really improve your sound with better soundfonts & plugins. I am not the right person to ask about that (seeing that I use Reason, which isn't compatible with those fancy gizmos), but you should look around the Audio forum and see if anyone has any information on plugins/samples/soundfonts you could use.

Yeah, sounds alright, but it could sound much better with the proper tools, so go out there and invest some time into that. It'll make a big difference, for sure.

DrMackFoxx responds:

Ah, ha. Well, the program I am using for sequencing is Music Studio Independence. The soundfont? WinGroove Software Synthesizer. Until I get some more software, I can't really use any other soft synths. This is only my third song: I'm learning as I go and certainly have much to learn. :) I really appreciate this thorough and honest review as well as your advice. Thank you very much. :)

[SonIIc - Hill Top Zone]

Hmm...

I've gotta agree with ChickenWarlord, here - that lead & rhythm is mixed too far to the foreground. That pushes virtually everything else to almost nothing. You need to balance the track better.

When that's all said and done, the strings in the background just don't seem to mesh well with the harmonies of the track. Listen to them against the harmonies of the source and compare.

Sonic 2 was awesome, and so was it's music. There's quite a bit of room for improvement, so step up your mixing skills and show us what you're made of.

Treviabot92-Virstein responds:

Actually, I did listen to both of them. The synth strings match the equivalent instrument in the source.

For the record, I've been showing what I'm made of, so that part of your review is kinda insulting. Fair warning; others might not take it as lightly as I do (I take it the way I do because I've done the same thing in the past with less understanding people).

Thanks for the review!