Gario's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Forest Where Secrets Lie]

Oh, I really like this track - sounds like it'd make for cool background music for a game inspired by those visuals. If it were for a game I'd even understand the sonic range the arrangement uses (though I'd probably knock ya for having it loop poorly in that case), though because there's nothing else that the arrangement needs to compete with sonically the other instruments could been more generous using the upper frequencies due to the piano having a pretty stylistically heavy low pass.

That's more something to note than a critique, since this sounds great either way. Nice work!

SomeGuyMusic responds:

Thank you for your review!

[Space Invaders Prelude]

Very ambient, indeed. There's some interesting use of the pads in the background - interestingly, they never really clash with anything, which is impressive, considering what chords are being made up in the background. Nice production values overall, too - no real empty spots in the soundscape or clipping, so nice work.

I really enjoy the drum work you have going at the end... but then it stops. I agree with Midimachine that it sounds like it's opening up to a new section, then it just dies. Would've loved to hear it go somewhere from there, but what you have is enjoyable for what it is, as well.

[Everyone Hates Squids]

Hmm, very strange tuning fluctuations in the drums in the beginning. It's not inherently bad, I'm just not used to them. I notice you lose them after the beginning, which made me a little sad, strangely enough.

Solid drum beats - I like the set you're using for this. The trippy sounds are fun to listen to, as well, and you're using your panning space effectively. I really wish you didn't do a 6-minute variations track on the same four notes, though; while I like the space you set up, after a while I started skipping through the track, as I was just getting bored.

Production is pretty tight on this, just wish the arrangement moved a bit more. Not bad, though.

Reinteck responds:

Thanks for the review and helpful tips! I will definitely think about these things when I make future songs. Thanks for checking out my music!

[[Knox]Canyon Song]

I like the guitar playing, and the strings/harp are pretty good, too. I feel that the track meanders with the same chords too often with a song of this length - don't be afraid to break away from those chords, else the song gets too boring.

While there are breaks from the guitar action, I feel that the texture is too much of the same for too often. When you can drop the needle in multiple places in a song and not know where you are in a song at any point (due to the music sounding too similar) that means there's not enough texture variation to allow people to distinguish any movement in the song, so vary the soundscape a little bit

Otherwise, it's nice and relaxing.

[Serenade of Storms]

Very nice arrangement. It's just a well crafted piece. I kind of wish you have a live performance - it's a little mechanical. It's not too bad, though - it still comes across quite well.

Awesome work.

BlazingDragon responds:

I know what you mean about the live performance. It sounds very quantized. My piano skills are improving though and I'll likely be playing more of my pieces in time. Thanks for the review!

[Breath of Fire III -BossT]

Hmm... I think your sounds could be nice, but the mixing in this makes it very hard to hear anything over the bass. Bring out your melodies, make the textures more salient and raise the levels on this track, since as it stands it's not really possible to hear much of anything.

The issues are almost 100% mixing. I suggest fixing the mixing and the volume of the track (it's very, very quiet) and re-uploading, since I could see this being alright, otherwise.

SmashesCupcakes responds:

I agree with you I didn't really check it out after I exported it from Fl Studio. After I heard it I was like... crap. But as for now I can't re-upload it without making a completely new upload so It's stuck like this until further notice :/ Thanks for the review though! I'll take your advice and redo the mixing!

[Nobuo-esque 8bit (famitracker)]

Huh, this actually evokes more 'Dragon Quest' for me. That's not a bad thing, really - Nobuo Uematsu was told to imitate THAT style in some form or another back in the day, so it has it's roots in Uematsu, somehow. Sounds like a DQ beginner's castle...

The triangle in this is a bit dominating, here. Bringing up the rectangle waves up a bit would be a good idea so the piece balances itself better.

Not bad at all.

EmperorCharlemagne responds:

when i made this, i knew absolutely NOTHING about famitracker, so I've improved a *little* bit in that time.

thanks for the advice though.