Score: 9

"As always, impressive from the start..."

submission: ==(Northern Light)==

date: January 30, 2008

I recognize this style of yours - you seem to have quite a few different styles, depending on the song. :P It's changed, though, namely in the piano. I haven't seen you use piano like that yet... or, at least, I don't remember it. ;D Throughout the song, it's awesome. :D

Synths in the beginning sound a bit thin, which is ok in the beginning, but later on in the intro, not so much - you could have done with something in the low range, perhaps that pad played two or three octaves lower, or maybe a different one? Piano in the low (C3-C4) range would have either sounded awesome, or horrible, I don't know which for sure. The atmosphere in the beginning is really something, if you had preserved it perfectly throughout the song, this would have been a masterpiece. (Though any ambient song that fully masters an atmosphere would probably be a masterpiece, right? :P)

The squareish bass synth is a bit too sharp, in my opinion, and more trancish than ambient. It hurt the atmosphere quite a bit, in my opinion... there are other bass synths out there that could have done this song a lot more good. That it played a melody - which wasn't bad, but nothing spectacular - didn't help that much, either. :\

Drums are good, no complaints. I especially like your use of that ride starting at around 2:25 or so and until the end of that interlude (and in another interlude where it's used similarly), but it's really hard to hear, and probably would have been better off being a bit louder.

I hear quiet gated wind FX, and I like it - it could be just a little bit louder, though, as I can barely hear it like this.

That's about all I've got to say, I enjoyed this one! :) Downloaded, I fived it when I saw it earlier today, and here's a 9/10. Great job. :D

Score: 8

"Sounds good! :D"

submission: [GF]Beginning[GF]

date: January 29, 2008

Finally, you submit something new! Here's a review, as always:

First off, the intro isn't so good. You have a moment of silence between the reverse cymbal and the rest of the song... it doesn't sound too good to me. :\

Kick and the other drums are all sounding good, as is your bass synth - no complaints, nice job here. :D They're all very unique-sounding.

The vocals are weak in my opinion - you have only one sentence, repeated over, and over... you could do with at least one other sentence throughout the song. That one sentence gets overused throughout the song, and begins to sound old quite quickly. So, careful there. ;)

Melodywork is great, I found it interesting that you did it with the bass. It made the song a bit more boring than it could have been, but you did a great job pulling off the whole song with just one synth! :D

Nice going with the part in the beginning of the second half, the claps are a nice touch. By the way, what is VEE? Some sort of samplings off of a German playground? (They shout "Vee!" as they go down the slides! XD Kidding.)

The biggest problem would have had to have been diversity... it's also a big problem of mine, so now I can see where all my reviewers are coming from! :P Having the entire song only use one synth was a very original touch but also hurt diversity tremendously - you might want to make it more interesting somehow, instead of just one melodyline, one synth, one sentence, etc... see what I mean? ;) I feel this song could be shortened to something around half the length, and that alone would help the diversity quite a bit. ;)

I enjoyed it a lot, one of the more original songs I've heard in a while. Nice job, and keep up the great work! :D

Score: 8

"I already reviewed this song in chat..."

submission: {SD} - Tempest

date: January 26, 2008

...but, you know, I thought I'd comment on that commentary of yours: Kinda flattering you called my thoughts a "seal of approval." :P It's actually a good thing to do, regardless of skill, but you don't need to get it from me every time. Otherwise we'll eventually be making the exact same stuff with a slight difference that would be whatever's left of your style. XD

The kick distorts a bit compared to the version you sent me, too, so I thought I'd give that a mention. Be careful there. Try lowering the volume or messing with the lower side of the EQ. :P

But overall, though, great job! :D

Score: 9

"At last, I get to this one! :D"

submission: Rave Gift

date: January 18, 2008

I was shown this song, and I was REALLY impressed by what you have here - you really know what you're doing! So I'm here to give you the feedback you'll need to hopefully make songs like this, that are significantly improved. >:)

Amazing intro, the song comes at you full-on right away - I hardly ever hear that pulled off that well! The combination of synths is amazing - everything fits perfectly. There are only a few downsides, but otherwise, this song is PERFECT. I'll skip all the praise (for the sake of my fingers, ok? XD) and move straight on to the criticism I've got...

The one killer downside to this song is the quality - you've killed the bass here! D: What I would have liked to see was a mix for headphones, since not everyone busts out their giant speaker system for every song they listen to - I hardly ever listen to my music on speakers, usually I use headphones, and I'm sure a lot of other people do, to. What I'd suggest doing here is going a bit easier on the bass and giving it some room, while cutting the middle frequencies - or whatever you need to - to keep control of the amount of distortion, clipping, etc. that the song has. If I could hear the boom of the kick in this song, ah... I'd be listening to this for weeks, no joke! :D

The section from 1:00 to around 1:22 could have used some general improving, in my opinion... the piano was a bit strong and would have been better played on a MIDI keyboard - that is, if you didn't use one. If you did, then don't hit the keys so hard! XD The drums could have used some general improving as well, compared to your other drums in the good parts, they're... well, so-so. :\ If you could maintain a section like you started with throughout those two minutes, without losing the listener's interest, this would really be something amazing.

Definitely worth finishing - and work on the quality, too! If you have to, make two different mixes, because this stuff is gold. :D You would get an 10/10, but you get a 9/10 because of the quality. D: I wish this were perfect, because then I'd download it... but you'll have to settle for my continued checking on your page instead, for something better. XD I really enjoyed this, and hope my advice helps! :D One last thing - care to stop by my page? I have a brand new submission that could use reviewing. :P Thanks a lot, and keep up the great work!

Score: 8

"Looks like I'm a bit too late..."

submission: [TMM43]Digital Girl [?]

date: January 16, 2008

Seeing as you've got another submission up and all. D: But I promised a big review, and you're going to get one! >:)

Great synth you started with there, though I recognize it - Nexus, right? I might be wrong, though I know for sure I've heard that synth SOMEWHERE before... hmm. Either way, try to keep your synths disguised - like this, it works for the casual listener (though in some cases even they might recognize an overused sound), but all of your fellow artists will notice. ;) If you disguise the things you use, it'll have a new sound to everyone. :D

On that note, I'll bring up your vocal FX, and your hits - Vengeance Essential Clubsounds, right? I don't have any real comments about their use, but rather that you used them at all. Once again, try to make it difficult to recognize what sounds you're using, so you've got a unique sound that you can call your own. ;D I'm recognizing your hit, "Are you ready?", "Freeze!", and the transition at 0:20. Also, another thing - I see you're using multiple vocal FX samples, some of them only once or twice throughout the song. I understand the concern for diversity, but try to keep the number of samples you use like that to a minimum - it gives the listener something to come back to. ;)

Next, your synths and composition. Composition is great in this song, though I would have liked to hear a bit more rhythmic diversity - the melody had some, but just a little bit more and it would have been perfect in my opinion. Synths are all well-chosen - once again, try not to use them raw, but give them some additional FX so they sound different. (This applies to the last paragraph too, by the way. :P) Synths are all good - nice sidechained bass, by the way! :D It could have been a bit more bassier in my opinion, but it did the job. Your lead is a bit thin in my opinion, and too quiet in places. Miscellaneous other synths/instruments are all fine. I don't recognize that piano, which is great - I vaguely remember hearing it somewhere, but otherwise it's completely new to me. Way not to use FL Keys! XD

Now for your drums - your snare is the first one I'm hearing, and I've heard tons of snares just like it before. FX might be in order here. ;) Thankfully, its volume is fine. Kick is new, I haven't heard one like it before, which is good - though it could be EQed better. Or, maybe just the rest of the song around it - my guess is the boom of the kick is getting lost in the clutter (see next paragraph) of the rest of the song. The clap and hihats also get drowned out by the rest of the song, I can hardly hear them - they need to be louder! ;D Try EQing them as well, (raise the higher frequencies) for a slightly different sound, and then choose between the sound of a different EQ and a higher volume. Sometimes one is better, sometimes it's the other. The crash is good, but could be a little bit louder. Your reverse crash is also good, no complaints.

Lastly, mixing/EQing. It's decent, but it could use some improving. The song overall has a cluttered sound, possibly by having too many instruments playing at the same time, with too much reeverb. It might be that your bass is a sidechained pad... maybe a sharper sidechain and better individual EQing would give you a cleaner sound? I think that the overall mixing/EQing could do with a bit more work as well - I don't know specifically what's wrong but I can tell this song could sound better as a whole. ;) Stick a Fruity Parametric EQ (or Fruity Parametric EQ 2, or whatever equalizer you use if you don't use FL Studio) on the master channel and play around, you might get something you like. ;D

Overall, it's definitely a decent song - you definitely know what you're doing! ;D However, you've also got a long way to go. So hope this review helps, and sorry again for being late! :) I'll give this an 8/10, and I'll vote 5. :D One other thing - my latest song hasn't gotten a review in a while, any chance you could stop by and tell me what you think? I'd definitely appreciate it. ;D Thanks a lot and keep up the great work! :D

Score: 9

"Next review! :D"

submission: Bring The Night Preview

date: January 14, 2008

First few seconds, and I'm impressed - nice melodic sound! :) I don't like the clipping once the hit comes in, though - you've still got some mixing/EQing left to do for this one. ;)

Bass is on the offbeat, but it's not going to kill this song. In fact, it sounds pretty good. :D Now, that clap... maybe it's because I use them all the time, but it sounds extremely old and overused to me. :\ Maybe you'll want to FX it a bit? At this stage, it might be hard to choose a new sample altogether - though if you can, then do it! ;D

Unique-sounding hihat/ride you have there in the second half, I like it. :P Don't change it at all. :D

Once again, if you would submit longer clips, I'd leave longer reviews... but so far, so good - keep it up. ;D

Score: 9

"I think I like this. :D"

submission: -Emotion Burst locomotion-

date: January 8, 2008

Nice feeling here - funny that sinspike says it should be slower, I think it's pretty slow in the beginning, compared to your other stuff. :P

I hear FL Keys - or possibly some other widely available free piano thing - throughout the song, I'm not so sure about it... :\ It's really recognizable to those of us who use FL Studio and even some people who don't, but have heard it enough times to know it. You left it really recognizable, too... come on, you can do better than that. ;D

I really like that distorted synth that plays on the first beat and the second offbeat of the first measure of every four measures in some parts! :D A bit of a long, specific sentence, but you get the idea. :P Point is, I ALWAYS like to hear synths like that in a song - it's a personal taste thing and I think it's awesome. :P The bass synth is also awesome, I just noticed it, and no complaints - really good and original-sounding. ;)

Vocals at 1:04 sounded a bit random, to me... :\ The song didn't really need them, in my opinion.

Composition is great, instruments are great - together, they make a slightly video-gamish feel. :P Drums are, as always, first-rate... do I hear some panning in them? o_O Because my right headphone is making just a little bit more noise drumwise than my left now and then... ah, well, it's all great. The ride (or is that some kind of an open hihat? It's on the offbeat) introduced midway through the song is good, though you did some weird gating stuff... you should have just let it play! ;D

That's about all I've got to say, great job with this one. :D 9/10, 5/5, and a download - keep it up. And congrats on weekly 1st with Control: Crowd! :D

Score: 8

"I've got half an hour to write this review..."

submission: ==(Climbing a Snow Mountain)==

date: January 7, 2008

So let's see what I can do! >:)

That synth/arp thing that starts the song... I've heard it before. o_O Recycled? Stay away from that... ;D

Nice squarelike (right?) delayed synth. Strings are good, too... not too much to say. Drums are good, but the low, distorted synth makes the whole thing sound a little bit odd. o_O Composition is nice, but I've definitely heard better out of you - I hear the "snow" in the strings, and the "mountain" part in the down-to-earth drums and now, bongos. (You did stretch the idea of ambient, a bit... XD) But overall this all doesn't really mix well. :\

Wow, that's three minutes? It felt a lot shorter. :P But this is all I've got to say this time... sorry for the short review. D: 8/10, and 4/5... good, but you can make better stuff. Especially now that you have Logic. ;D Keep it up.

Woah, I just realized how short this review is. At least, compared to my usual ones. Sorry about that. D:

Score: 7

"Not bad... :)"

submission: {A10} Experiment

date: January 5, 2008

The melody and harmony parts are all great - your drums are great too, though I'd have to agree with Rig - you're a bit lacking in the bass area. I think your bass synth is a good one, though a little bit distorted - it just needs some good EQing. What would really help that bassy feeling is if you found a better kick sample - this one is centered around frequencies too high for a good "boom." ;)

Lead/guitar are both great, but could use some more EQing so they stand out. Is that some sort of phased arp I hear around 0:10? Waaaaaaaaaay too quiet, make it louder! ;D

I'm not sure if mastering is really what you want - quality is definitely what you're looking for but you're using the wrong term. At this stage, you'd want proper mixing (adjusting the volumes of the individual drums/synths) and EQing (cutting and boosting certain frequencies of individual drums/synths, and the song as a whole). Mastering is for once you've got those two perfected. ;D Still... check your inbox. ;)

Well, this was a bit too short for me to write a good review (by my standards :P) but it's a loop after all. 7/10, 4/5, nice work.

Score: 10

":D (my summary is just that face but it won't..."

submission: ==(Morning Sun)==

date: December 12, 2007

...let me submit it like that. So I had to type in more stuff. >:( )

Interesting glitched-sounding introduction... very well-done. A bit repetitive, though, you could have begun progressing the song sooner.

Nice transition there, to enter the drums - EQing and mixing is perfect, too! :D There's something off with the toms - panning, maybe? o_O It's no big deal, though. They're VERY catchy every single time. :D

Something I'm noticing about the composition is that it's repetitive - it's a short, four-chord chord progression, with each chord stretched through two measures. If you had stretched it to 16 measures and 8 notes, while keeping it consistent and not wandering or anything that would have made the song even better. :D That might be my taste in music, but I think this is some helpful advice here. Your call, you're the one I'm giving it to, right? ;D

Later in the song, everything still sounds crystal-clear - I like that new synth you introduce somewhere between 2:15 and 2:20! Piano composition is great, too - and VERY realistic-sounding, you could have done this with a MIDI keyboard. Did you?

I've got only a little criticism, and this is definitely one of your best songs. So... 10/10, 5/5, and a download once I get home today. ;D Great job, this is really something awesome.