Gario's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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. :)

[Ducktales - The Moon (Rem]

wait, wut?

Atatyrk35, your comment makes no sense. First, this game was an NES game. Second, this is a Genesis rendition of it.

Very well done rendition, btw. It sounds very sonic-like, just as intended. The synths are pretty spot on :)

[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!

[Eyes Open (FINAL)]

Slow, but clean

The production value on this one is pretty high. The overall sound is good. Some of the mixing sounds wrong, IMO (the synth @ 2:11, for example, seems a bit mixed down, considering it's the closest thing to a melody we've got going, there). I'd say it's repetitive but that seems like it's inherent in the genre :P

I liked it. Doesn't quite strike me as special, but it's certainly pretty good.

5kyLight responds:

Thank you!
I'm going to work more on less repetition, I realized that the worst part of the song is the fact that the breakdown is way too short, lol

And yeah, I didn't have much time to do the mixing but oh well, I'll probably do a remake that's better after these comments..

Thanks for reviewing!
It helps me a lot :P

[Project 26 ~ 10 (Laguna)]

Hell yeah, March is Laguna Month!!!

Last year, OCR had a flood of six (count em', six) Laguna WIPs (including my own). Some were better than others, but one thing's for sure Laguna gets more love on March than any other month of the year, thus I pronounced this month as Laguna month. This track continues that tradition unintentionally, lol.

I guess I should comment on the actual track while I'm here...

The arrangement is accurate, and the soundscape is full (if a little strange with the instrument choice - but understandable considering your background). I really like the percussion choices, personally, but the synths are a little wonky due to certain processing issues (lead has too much portamento, some synths have too much release that muddies the track, some synths have too much vibrato, etc.).

Nice percussion work. There's room for improvement in the synths. Love the source. Good work, overall.

paradiddlesjosh responds:

The portamento was purposeful. One final thing about my percussion ensemble: the conductor is also the electronic music professor on campus, and his deal with synthesizers is "the stranger the sound, the better." The "synth" with vibrato was actually someone's attempt to create the ocarina sound from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time when activating vibrato (by holding the control stick down). I loved the soundfont so much when I got it, I'd made an effort for a long time to use it in everything. Often, of course, it doesn't work, but sometimes (like in this track) I like the timbral flavor it adds.

Your mileage, of course, varied, but that's not really too big a deal.

Being a percussionist, I'd kill myself for bad percussion work. xD

Thanks for your review. While it may be Laguna month elsewhere, I'm trying to give the whole damn game love this month. :D

[The Tallest Tower (ToH remix)]

Tower of Heaven, woot

Yeah, that soundtrack was pretty amazing. I will remix some of that soundtrack someday, myself, but until then you've got it covered :P

I like the conservative nature of your medley. The use of similar (yet better) instruments is effective, and the way each theme links to the others works well. Then again, the soundtrack is so cohesive I can't say it would be THAT difficult to do that, but you still did a good job with it.

There seems to be a lot of heat in the mids on this track. Be sure to EQ your synths and snare drums so they don't take so much room in the mid area. It'll give your soundtrack some much needed breathing room in that range. The bass need a little more bass to it, so be sure to give it some more volume (and take down the mids for it, as needed to prevent clipping).

Overall, it's really good. Fix up some of the production and it'll be great.

[Heaven don't sound this g]

Taking a completely neutral stance...

... this isn't half bad. The sounds are fitting (although that repeating mid-bass synth is bland), and the tune is pretty neat. The chorus really picks things up and really brings the track out.

It's has a rather plain soundscape, and the synths, while fitting, are a bit too mechanical for my tastes, but it's not too bad.

BouncyPiglett responds:

Well, luckily for me, ever facet of it which you just complimented are the features that i was working on improving at :D

So basically, you're telling me I'm getting better at what I aimed to get better at, and for that, I thank you

And it has taken me this long to realize that this response sounds very defensive and smug and snarky

So sorry about that

I worded it badly
>:

[A Hero Rises (8-bit)]

This is fucking amazing

This is 8-bit at it's finest. The textures, the melody, the timbres... It's just beautiful.

NickPerrin responds:

Glad you enjoyed it. Although of my own 8-bit tracks, I prefer my two most recent...
Thanks for the review!

[xKore - Eden]

Gotta say I agree with some of the other folk...

If Dupstep was more like this all the time I would be addicted to the genre. The simply harmonies are quite effective in this context, and the gating + sidechaining are very effective.

Not to mention that bass. I mean, hot damn.

Well, I wouldn't have heard your stuff if it wasn't for that thread you put up against Dj Cetacea. I'm glad things are getting resolved, at least on that front.

[2 Levels]

Ha, you put it up, lol

That's some insanely frantic sounds you've got going there, and I like it. The EQ'd drums, chiptunage, crazy textures, etc... I hear a lot of awesome stuff going on in
here. Beware of some common production mistakes, though - there are times where there's a little too much going on in the mid area, which causes some clipping in that area. Towards the end I hear a little upper end clipping, too.

I like it, though. Nice work :)

CornixEtCorax responds:

Thanks for the Review