Gario's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fruity Looping Losers]

Fruity loopin losers... ha.

I found it surprisingly catchy. However, the volume (and all the production problems that come with that - clipping, hot EQ, etc.) really takes the enjoyment out of this one.

Zodin responds:

Cheers, and what do you mean :O clipping , hot eq? Anyways thanks for the review

[Sonic 3 - Robotnik's War]

Certainly a worthy mix for the good doctor

I like it. Orchestral arrangements are not easy to do, if you don't plan on sticking with the source, note-by-note. Here's a few pointers to make your next track even better.

Watch for clipping - when all the instruments are in place, I hear clipping/overcompression. It detracts from the quality of the track.

Sample quality - while this may be something you can't help too much (samples can be expensive) there are ways to make instruments more 'real'. The velocities are there to help you in this regard, as are the 'Attack' and 'Sustain' options on the plugins. Play with them a bit and try to make the instruments sound more realistic.

Orchestration - It's actually pretty darn good, right now, but there's too much going on all the time. Try cutting some instruments out periodically (like the strings), because they wear on the ears if they're used too much. Keep them fresh by holding them back, every so often.

The high strings hurt my ears - use them sparingly to accent very special moments, not as the norm.

Other than that, great track, bro. I enjoyed it thoroughly (especially the story, lol).

geno136 responds:

He he, sorry to hurt your ears man. Didn't mean to with the high strings. ^_^;

In any case, I might as well explain a few things about this:
-So it's already obvious that I am much of a noob in regards to making music. I'm still learning a lot of things, for example: I have no idea what clipping or overcompression is. I'll learn it eventually tho, thanks to your review. XD

-I'm still working on the sample quality of things. I never expected this to be perfect, but I wanted to make sure I did a damn good job on the song overall.

-As for there being too much going on, I don't exactly hear it that way, but that's really no excuse for that now is it? XD
I'll have to work on that to get a more deeper effect.

-As for the high strings, I wanted them to be the main melody throughout most of the song, along with it not blending with the lower strings to the point where you can't make out the sounds very well.

All in all, there's still work that needs to be done. I might eventually remaster this at some point. But hey, thank's for enjoying my work.

[Super Mario 64 Dire Dire Dock]

Here's an honest review from me :)

It's close to the source, but that's not really a problem, here.

The tones are pretty basic (midi-like), but they're used well enough. The drums are annoying, there (that hat, in particular, is far too loud & mechanical). Bring some life into the drums - change up the beat periodically and mess with the velocities to make it sound more realistic. The hats need to be toned down considerably too, obviously.

The EQ'd highs on the master track are very dominating and piercing. Tone that down, since it's creating quite a bit of fuzz on the high end, there.

Other than that, it's not too bad. Instrument quality, drums and EQ.

mariogamer2010 responds:

Thanks for this honest review, more to come soon!

[Ninja Gaiden Act 4-2 Trance]

That about wraps it up, I think

You got it up again with new drums, eh?

Sounds pretty darn good now, imo. According to your score, atm, it looks like a few other people agree with me :P.

Nice work, bro. Now do more Ninja Gaiden music :)

TomMicrosoftNerd responds:

Sorry bout deleting the other one, I missed a couple notes that I should of put in there. If u can tell the changes in the melody. And I wanted more people to notice my song. And Ill try other songs too!

[Megaman 3 - Spark Man Mix]

Gotta love Spark Man :)

My personal favorite Megaman track (and I've heard all of them). The mix is amateurish, but as you explained you're not too experienced so it's to be expected. Here's some stuff that might help you out, a little bit.

The track is too loud - it's causing all the muddiness TehVoid is hearing. It's called clipping, and it needs to be fixed. The volume is also creating problems in the balancing of the mix, drowning everything out in favor of the melody. The melody needs to be the focus, yes, but the texture, drums & bass should at least be heard.

The source actually has more than enough going for it for a longer mix to be created (hell, I have one running over 5 minutes posted at remix.thasauce.net, same username, if you want an example of ways to expand a source... using a single program, like you currently are). The key change is pretty neat, and there's nothing wrong with a track that imitates the source closely, but there are things you can do with a source like this. You seem to believe otherwise, at the moment, so I'm just providing some proof of the contrary.

It's alright - not bad for an amateur, for sure.

BouncyPiglett responds:

IN all honesty, I was starting to think the best way to make this sort of thing sound good was to make it all as loud as possible lol.

I feared it wouldn't last, and alas I have been sussed.
D:

The main reason I stick close to the source is because I don't understand this thing people do where they uopload the note sequences into the program, I do it all note by note by ear, see.

Takes a lot of focus (form me) to do that so I don't have much...mindpower, for going off the beaten track.

The key change is about the furthest I've got with...personalizing a track I hear, so far.

Step by step right?
learn to do one thing properly, then move on to another, sort of deal.

But hey, thanks for the info.

I have sparsely any reviews yet, so I'mma come back and re-read this time to time, like.

Feel free to leave some more specific help on any and all of my other songs, if you feel so generously inclined ;D

[Ninja Gaiden2 Overdrive(Rmx2)]

Um... interesting instrument choice, there

Probably wouldn't have been my choice, but I won't hold that against you - personal taste is... well, personal, after all.

Some of the chippy sound is alright, but the quality is very inconsistent throughout. Sometimes the synths are thick and in your face, while at other times they're thin and restrained. A more consistent sound would help this track considerably.

Take down most of the portamento in your tracks and save them for special effect. They tend to muddy tracks, if not handled carefully.

It has potential, but it doesn't have a consistency that I can hold onto, right now. It needs work, but it isn't off to a terrible start, either.

Gorgz responds:

Yeah, I'm still fairly new at making music and I'm really just feeling out the program still. I really appreciate the feedback. I'll definitely be trying to better my instrument selection as my work continues. I'll probably even come back and redo these older songs too once I figure it out.

[Tribute to Snakeman (on Tour)]

Chippy - I'm down with that.

It's pretty simple, overall... not that it's a bad thing, of course. That dirty synth has too much prominence, though; you need to mix it into the background more and only bring it to the front for punctuation. Having it play as long as it did takes away the element of surprise.

The variance on the drum volume is a little harsh. Don't be so sudden with the volumes.

Otherwise, even for as hollow as the sound was, I liked it. A fun little tune to get down to.

djshadows responds:

Thanks Man Criticism well (noted) DJ Notes GEt IT hahaha... sorry :)

[Viva La Vida (Acoustic)]

Not bad at all.

For what it is, not bad at all. The acoustic guitar playing works well, and your singing is quite good. No autotuning, ftw.

If you're going to make an acoustic song, the reverb and such need to be taken down a notch, especially on the voice. Listen to the guitar and notice the reverb on it is quite dry. The voice needs to match that, otherwise it lets off an unsettling effect throughout.

There are a few pops in the recording, but there's nothing you can do except re-record, which I don't think you'd want to do so just be careful with the mic setup next time.

Watch the guitar levels, 'cause I hear hard clipping periodically (more toward the second half than the first).

Great mix, though - it's certainly above par (especially the singing), so keep it up!

seatellite responds:

thanks for the review =]
from now on, all my mixes are going to be a lot better, cause I just got Mixcraft 5, which is a HUGE amazing upgrade from Mixcraft 4, mixing and recording is so much easier now. Yeah I know it sounds reverby. I try to put on just enough, but it isn't easy. Not enough reverb makes the vocals incredibly dry, and too much makes it too echo-y. Gah >_< lol
but thank you lol

[Dr. Wily (Loop)]

Boom-chick-boom-chick

Ad nausum. Fine for a good 8-16 bar unit, but do something to the beat to give it some flavor. Hat work, some synchopation, something.

If you want this to be a loop, don't upload a song that has a silent spot in it - that defeats the purpose of it.

The melody is drown in the mix, so it's hard to listen to, there. Try separating the melody from the sidechaining you've got going throughout it all.

Not terrible, but nothing special.

Eurykrates responds:

Yeah, it was meant to be simple. I cut off the silent spot in the song on Audacity, but for some odd reason it still stuck there. Hmm.... Thanks for the review.

[Doomsday Zone (Remix)]

Here's some constructive criticism...

The production on this one is really, really dirty. Whether you did this intentionally or not (I'm leaning towards the latter, in this case) you really need to clean up the clipping on it. It's just too difficult to hear the arrangement, on it. If you don't know where to start, turn down the master volume until it doesn't clip, then turn up the tracks individually and mix them so every track has a different place in the song (instead of trying to bring every instrument out to the front). The production really knocks this down quite a few pegs, so fix it.

The arrangement itself is pretty much the source. Not a bad thing, really, although I'd encourage making it longer and playing with the source a little more (that way it won't sound repetitious when you extend the length).

Keep working - the arrangement may or may not be finished, but the production has some way to go. Good luck.

Cam3leon responds:

Yeah I always thought about the idea of the sounds sounding a bit too smooshed together, instead of complementing each other. But I'm getting better at that, starting to figure out to assign separate channels and what not (I'm still working out my prowess at FL Studio).

And yeah I was thinking about extending it a bit, but it was honestly out of laziness/sleepiness that I cut it short lol. But yeah I'm gonna keep working on this. This really REALLY helps, dude. Seriously, thanks for the feedback!!