Karco's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Behind Closed Doors]

A good effort.

You start off with a decent riff... it's okay, but it could be better. You build on it with a few more synths as the song progresses... aah, I'm seeing drums now. Here's the tension... Wow! Nice samples there, and cleverly brought in.

Your melody is good - it fits your DnB idea. When you bring the piano in, it felt unnecessary, as if you put it there just because it was a piano. The notes were excellent, but the concept of a piano didn't quite fit. I think, had you found the right sawtooth or something, (maybe a low, distorted-sounding one?) it would have sounded much better. It could have replaced the melody synth you have before the piano, as well... try experimenting sometime.

Your harmonies are nice, but lacking. I hear a lot of low synths, and while it's a good NUMBER of harmonies, since everything was down low the number was in effect cut in half. Try to have variation in octaves, synth choice, etc. It seems you couldn't quite do that.

Your percussion builds up tension nicely in the introduction, no problems there. You have great drum samples and you used them well. You cleverly use them to introduce the melody, but you leave me wanting something a LOT harder and bassier after that buildup. The drums after the buildup didn't justify that buildup, I feel... try to justify your buildups, it makes a song a lot better. ;)

I don't quite get a "behind closed doors" idea from this song... it sounds to me, actually, like a DnB-Industrial mix. I'm not sure what I would have called it, but probably I would have called it something related to a factory, making... something. I'm not entirely sure of that. You set up nice atmosphere and should have built upon it by having bassier drums, more variation in your harmonies, etc.

Overall decent - apparently it's your second attempt at DnB, and for a second one it's decent, I'll give you that. =) Why don't you stop by my audio page and review my latest, After The Nova? Much appreciated, and keep up the good work. =)

Envy responds:

WOW! thanks for the long review, its alot of fun reading ^.^!! Yeah I suppose I was trying to hard to give it that bassy feeling by putting all the lower synths in, when the outcome wasnt what i had hoped for. I'll definately check your page, thanks for the review

[Defied reality (Finished)]

Needs... a LOT of work.

Hmm... you open nicely. Some weird, off-beat sounding rhythms, but I can tell you're trying. I recognize that piano from FL... huh, random notes again. Keep trying here.

I really can't find any sort of melody in this song... is there supposed to be one? There's a problem here, I only hear random notes, no more than one synth at once... this needs a LOT of work melodically. Random notes left and right... you're not much of a melody person, are you? PM me and I'll tell you more about making a melody.

The synths you've chosen for this song don't really fit and feel "placed," as if you couldn't find anything else that would fit and just chose those - and then, the synths that you did choose someties detract from the quality. The piano also didn't fit and felt like you just put it there because it's a piano and you like them.

Harmonies... I really can't say anything about these, either, as there's no more than one instrument playing notes at once. Hiniberus, you need harmonies for a good song! You NEED harmonies for a good song! YOU NEED HARMONIES FOR A GOOD SONG! (Well, a good song of this type, anyway...) Sorry if it seems harsh, but I mean everything that I say. Again, PM me if you want me to tell you about making good harmonies. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be a harmonamatic. >=)

Percussion... this is one of the better parts of the song. Gah, the piano started playing! Gotta wait... okay. Well, your drums seem randomly placed, as if you were randomly clicking on the step sequencer until you had something good. Let's take your drums apart one by one.

Your snare drum plays good rhythms, so there's no problem there - but the sample could have been better chosen. I think a more realistic snare drum would have fit more... Hmmm.

Your kick drum is waaay too weak. Is there a kick drum at all? Normally, I'd imagine a kick drum would play ONCE every beat, ON the beat. You're trying to be creative here, but it doesn't work. I suggest sticking to "normal" rhythms until you get the hang of it - then you could start experimenting. But that's just my thoughts.

Your clap felt unnecessary, and was weak. I think it could have been replaced, and the snare drum could have continued in its place.

That hihat... hmm, it didn't feel necessary and wasn't well-used. It wasn't well-chosen, either. I'd suggest finding a hihat that was a bit sharper and stands out more... but not too much or else it'll overpower the other drums and it'll ruin the song. ;)

The crash felt off-beat, too, and was overused. But at least if was consistent, which is nice. It wasn't necessary, though it did add to the atmosphere you had... it would have added to that atmosphere more, had you used it correctly at the right time.

Overall, your percussion also needs a lot of work, but you did a better job with it than with your... melodies/harmonies/whatever you want to call them, since they don't fit into either.

There's really not much of an atmosphere to this song... but the few images I do get consist of sandy temples, ruined by the ages. If you had built on that image by adding harmonies and an actual MELODY, and better percussion, it would have been a MUCH better song overall.

A nice effort, but you need to keep trying! I hope all of this positive criticism helps... I think I practically wrote an essay. =D PM me if you need help with anything, I'd be glad to help you. ;)

HiniberusDelius responds:

Your right about the high hat, I don't have any other ones than the standerd fl ones... that suck. Now EVERYTHING I did in this track was new to me. It was the first time that I was useing the effects, all the instruments were new to me and such. I've never really been good at harmoneys. As for the drum, I thought it would be too much once every beat but good to know that it would have been better if I did. Yes I will not stop makeing music premanently but I might have to stop temporarily due to exams and such. Thanks for such an informitive review.

H.D

[My baritone]

XD

I'm sorry, FoD... this had me cracking up too hard not to review it. Pity this has to be the first song of yours that I review, huh? But... yeah. Like SBB said: This is genius. XD

By the way, is that an actual song you're playing? It sounds like one... and how offtone it is makes it just that much better. Thanks a lot for making my day. XD

Father-of-Death responds:

HAHAAHHAAHA i tried to play iron man by black sabith but i didn't go so well xD

thnx alot :P i'll get better soon i hope!!!1

[carnaval charMS (Mellow song)]

Hey, Music-story!

Congrats on making 20 reviews with your songs Final Showdown and Heavens Dancefloor! (And also a late congrats on passing 100 downloads with the latter mentioned. :) ) I wonder if this song will be as successful... we'll see. Why'd you submit it in miscellenous? Now that it's playing, it definitely does sound like something that's not your style... but I think it would still go in Dance! ;)

You open nicely... your percussion could be a bit more thorough here. Aah, and a tip - it's easy to find similarities between the percussion in your songs, like you're using the same drum kit. Try for some variation, different drum samples, etc. next time. ;)

Your melody is good, and this is another Music Story of yours, which means you're keeping this song fresh throughout. However, in a review for one of your songs (Final Showdown, I think) someone mentioned your songs seem to drag on. And while they're good, they definitely do seem to drag on. Songs like this shouldn't be any longer than they have to be... ;) Back to your melody. At times, there isn't one and it's a bunch of harmonies together - either that, or I can't tell which is which. XD Nice touch there. Your synths are well-chosen, but like your drums, they all sound the same after too much or too long. =\

Your harmonies are great, and you apparently really know how to make harmony in a song, but you unfortunately have too many, and the sound quality of your synths and that there are so many of them causes the sound quality to go waay down. This was a problem you had in your unfinished version of Final Showdown but not in your finished one, which implies to me you didn't put as much effort into this one! Never let that happen, Music-story! ;)

Your drums... well, I said plenty already in the first bits, but I'll continue now saying that, originality aside, you again have that dancy rhythm that never gets old. ;) Knowing you, I think you'd be able to come up with some creative new rhythms that sound just as good... so try to do that. =)

You have your great style here again, and I like it a lot... but too much of it gets boring. I understand you like the upbeat songs, but you need to let your style change itself. Heck, try getting and using different samples, and don't be frightened by how different they sound from the ones you DO use... if they ALL complement each other, your style will change itself. ;)

Hope my reviews are helping, Music-story! Keep up the great work! =D You get a 5, (it would be a 4 but I don't want to lower that perfect score of yours... ;) ) and a download as soon as I get the computer I download songs onto back. =)

Music-story responds:

Ahh no...you found me out. Yeah this didn't take as much effort as my other song. I basically finished this song in about 5 days while studying for my midterms :) I actually am not using the same drums I think? I have like 4000 drum loops and I just pick anyone at random and hope it fits. ;) I will try to guess better with my drum kits. I'm pretty lucky to be always choosing the similar drum kits. I should be on the show Deal or No Deal and keep guessing right the low money cases. Thanks for review and protecting my beautiful 5. You did find this song giving you a happy feeling though right? I might make some more mellow songs since I suck at the whole ravy stuff still. We will see what happens in the future. Maybe I can luck out and find a dancy loop that is not mellow. Bye for now

[Worm-Hole (Attack!) [Fixed]]

Hey! =)

Thanks again for the review, I can't wait to see what your song's like. But... you haven't submitted in a while! =( Go ahead and PM me next time you do.

You start with your percussion which COULD be good... but if you want to try that, it had better be catchy and professional-sounding on its own like it sounds with the melody and harmonies.

Your melody is good, and it seems like a bit of effort went into it. It's catchy and you have some nice rhythms... I'd like to see how it would have worked had you played with them for some awesome moments in the song. You could have chosen a better synth for it, and I feel the chords weren't necessary.

Woah, what's that panning? It wasn't quite pleasant to listen to and shouldn't have been there, in my opinion.

Harmonies are good though I'm hearing clashing notes left and right. Try to work on that, if you had fixed those the quality (which I feel these bring down) would be better AND the song would sound awesome! ;) Keep trying there, you'd be good at this if you put a bit more effort here. I like how you end with a harmony of yours, though it feels a bit sudden.

Percussion is nice, and you have some very creative rhythms here. I wouldn't have started with it, though. Your drums are well-chosen and add some nice feeling to the song. No quality problems here, either.

Your atmosphere is nice, and I could see this in a game. Very nice sound to this song, though I think you could have built on it a bit more with variation in your melodies, sections to the song, etc. This song could potentially have very nice moments in it, but it needs some work.

Nice job, overall. You get a 4 from me. =) I hope to hear from you later when you submit a song... but unfortunately I'll probably forget to check your audio page, so if you want that review you'd better send me a PM! =) Keep up the good work.

CjienX responds:

Wow incredible reviews and incredible songs! you can do it all XD. i noticed all the points that you made about this song.. its not really one of my favorites.. if you want to hear one of my favorites tho listen to <[[Funky]]> Into the Beat, which is my newest, and my best older one is In The Clouds [Legend] thanks for the review tho man! and im going to PM you about <[[Funky]]> Into The Beat, so you can check it out like you asked :)!

[Final showdown (man vs. alien)]

Hmmm...

You start out the same. I love that introduction! Though it didn't detract from the song, I think you didn't need to add that new pad, though it definitely makes the song a lot better a little bit later.

What you've added between the last song and this one isn't that big, but the melody has definitely changed compared to the last song, and your harmonies add a lot.

New section, second half of the song. I like the sound of this! And a nice transition and buildup, too. Great harmony here between all of these synths. And now I hear some awesome new percussion which makes the song even dancier, nice job there. Is that a new melody I hear? You're great with those.

I especially like your style, with Music Stories and how they don't loop but keep going on, like a story... still, you can bring things back from earlier parts of the song, like an especially catchy riff or something to make it even better.

Again, you've mastered the dancy feeling. And for making music for only a little more than a month, you've mastered it quickly!

Your quality was a big problem in the previous version, though it's not that bad in this one. You've fixed things nicely, though it could still use work in a few places. You've improved it a lot here.

Overall another great song... you're getting really good, really fast! Another 10 and download from me, and I'm finally able to vote again, too, so you also earned a 5. I've just submitted another ambient-type song, why don't you review it? Thanks, and keep up the great work - I'm looking forward to more.

Music-story responds:

Yeah reviewed it. I added the new pad in the beginning of the song because DSMagnum told me in the demo song that it didn't have enough stuff going on. I liked that synth though since it added that whole alien persona. I really like that last melody I put it. I should make a new song just using that loop. Thanks again for your review. I need someone to master my tracks because I am still a newb with logic express. Is there no one on NG that doesn't use logic express 7? I'm done with music for a week or more so no new music, just lots of reviewing. Bye for now

[Pianos (Unfinished)]

Hmmm...

Hate to say it, but all I'm hearing are random keys. Sorry. =\ Normally I'd leave a much longer review but I really can't say too much about something like this.

See, when you're making a piano song the notes have to have HARMONY with each other. You know what I mean? This song isn't in any particular key from what I can tell, and as pointed out below, all of the notes are alone and you have no chords or anything. Again, all I'm hearing are random keys pressed with no particular intentions for a song.

So... keep trying. =) PM me sometime if you want me to show you how to make some good piano stuff.

HiniberusDelius responds:

I just wanted to try somthing out, I'll probably use a piano in one of my up coming tracks. I'll keep you in mind for when I need to use the piano again though. Thanks and much apprciated.

[Formermom:THESPREAD]

Wow, formermom, you're improving!

This is definitely better than the last song of yours that I've listened to. (Cry Beatnick 2.0.) It sounds like... what, ambient DnB or something?

You start out a bit annoyingly... but after the "infectious vocals" the song gets a LOT better.

You're using melodies and harmonies all over the place, and they make sense, too. Your percussion works very nicely. I have to say, I'm amazed, formermom! You've jumped far! I'll go in-depth now.

Your melody... it's much better than last time. Mind you, it still could be better... there are notes you could potentially switch around as for the most part you're making half steps between them which doesn't sound very good melodically. Still, it's a big improvement.

You're using many more harmonies in the song and they're much better! They make sense and there are few clashing notes. The only problem I have here is that eventually they, coupled with the percussion cause things to get a bit too loud later in the song. You could have kept things at the same volume.

Your percussion, I have to say, is amazing! I've just listened to Cry Beatnick 2.0, and it's ridiculous how far you've come in a few weeks! Ridiculous good, of course. I especially like the thing you do with the snare drums, where it plays eighth notes and goes up in pitch every now and then. That was an especially unexpected move and it worked well. Your percussion is especially unique because it hits and then fades out through a certain pattern of drums... then hits and fades again. This is especially unique and is quite a nice touch.

Your choices and uses for your synths and other sounds are much better... there are a few, however, you could have replaced with better choices - for example, the choirs don't really fit, except for that one pad (cloudchorus or something?) that fits fine. I hear FL presets, but hey - you can choose your synths much better before and that alone is a big step. Unfortunately, your choices in synths and other sounds are one of the two things (clarity is the other) that makes the song much worse than it potentially could be - should you have tried just a LITTLE harder here, the song would have been MUCH, MUCH BETTER! Just stick to this style and work on this and your quality and you'll be as good as I am!

In this song you've finally achieved an actual atmosphere, unlike your other songs that I've reviewed which don't really have that quality. This really gives me the image of a boss fight in certain video games, and sounds like it can be easily looped. It also sounded like you could have kept going, intstead of ending with that pad. The song could have been a few minutes longer should you have continued it and kept to the same standards.

Overall a very good song and a HUGE improvement. What have you been doing these past few weeks? Your songs must have been improving a LOT! So keep up the good work and PM me if you ever want a review for a song you've submitted.

formermom responds:

Probably the longest review I have ever had LOL

&& Yes I know it kinda does wreck it with those quire voices!! and I mixed it a littl etoo much, but i'm going to come out witha second verison cause I love this song:D

[The Race [short version]]

Melodies/harmonies need work, drums are great!

Well, I need to start by telling you that you start WAAAY too loud. I had to turn down the volume... try not to let that happen later on.

Hmm. You start out a bit plainly and simply, which isn't good. You could have used a bit more throughout the entire song, as it feels a bit empty. Do you know what I mean? Good points include a nice buildup into the melody and good transitions throughout the song.

Your "melody" is really just a bassline. And an overcliched one at that, too. You didn't even change it up at all, sticking with the same three-note sequence. Try to be a bit more original with it next time.

Now I'm seeing more harmonies coming out, though quality's being sacrificed now. You're making a mistake I used to make, which was that you wanted to give yourself somewhere to build up to, and took out too many harmonies in the beginning. The end of the song with all of the harmonies is good, and you don't suffer from a lack of them there, though. A suggestion I have for you is to instead have NO harmonies in the beginning, have DIFFERENT ones. Maybe have a quiet, mellow section in between the beginning section and the ending section to make the end seem even more fast-paced, if that's your style. Just a few thoughts.

Your drums were the best part of this song - you did a very good job with them compared to the impression the other parts of the song gave me. They do wonders for your transitions and buildups, which is good, though they get to being a bit too quiet later on in the song. It sounded good before you introduced more harmonies... that doesn't mean you shouldn't have as many harmonies, but you should try to figure out how to keep the harmonies there without interrupting the drums. ;)

Synth choice could definitely have been a bit better. The bass arpeggio you have throughout the song (you start the song with it) is good, but you could have chosen that a bit better, I think. The first harmony synth you introduce could definitely have been better-chosen, I think that was the worst choice of the song. (It's all relative, though... halfway decent on its own but bad compared to your other choices. You know what I mean?)

You had a bit of a cliched attitude I see all the time as I review, and while you could have built on that I didn't see that much in the song. Your drums did most of it, of course. If you had built on that with better synths and variation in your melodies and harmonies, the song would have sounded MUCH better, I'm sure.

Overall it's decent. I'd vote 3 or 4, but I don't want to lower your score... so I'll 5 it. =D Why don't you stop by my audio page and listen to a song or two of mine? A review for either of my two most recent (Aster Revisited or Lost in Time) would be especially appreciated. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

Fico responds:

Thank you for your review,it is *really* helpful.
I will try to change my style,following your notes. ;]
Cheers. ^^

[Old School Techno (Loop)]

Crashes, huh?

I'd like to see how you use those...

Melodies... well, I see you're trying to stick to riffs now, as you've been told to over and over. This is a decent effort for someone who doesn't like to. Still, it definitely needs work.

Hey, that's your first harmony! Good job on trying... but, frankly, it sucks. >_< Here's why: it sounds like another melody altogether! Also, it doesn't quite sound like it's in the same key, and instead of blending with the melody to make a more... melodic song, it's causing chaos. You need to work on your harmonies a LOT... well, that's what practice is for!

Percussion... well, it's good that you're finally using some variety with it! The section with the crashes, actually, wasn't at all necessary. Your claps aren't really necessary either in the beginning, but when you introduce the kicks along with them, it sounds unexpectedly catchy and works very well in the song! Consider this your first percussional breakthrough - learning how to use a kick and clap together! =D See, this is what happens when you take my advice. =P

(And you still have a LONG way to go... >_<)

Synth/drum choice... eeew, eeew, eeew. One day I'm going to look up a synthesizer just so you don't have to use those. Your melody and harmony synths don't fit, and are, honestly, headache-inducing. I hope I'm not being too harsh - but you seriously need new synths! XD Drums... nothing fits, really... I have an idea. How does your drum program work? Can it use MP3s found on the internet? Because I know where a PLETHORA (a TON) of drum MP3s are. I think they can really help you out.

Attitude and atmosphere... well, you do so badly in all three of your songs that I really can't judge you here until you get better with the four other categories. (Melodies, harmonies, percussion, synth/drum choice.) Don't take that as an insult... it'll come with practice. I promise. =) Just don't quit yet and be patient.

Well, I've given another fairly big review... is it just me, or is it shorter? Is it just me, or am I fairly sleep-deprived? I should be giving this review in the morning, when I can make it huge... ah well. It's fairly big already anyway, and I don't want to keep you waiting. =P

Overall another good effort. I can't say with an honest conscience to keep up the GOOD work quite yet, though. =P I can definitely say to keep trying, though. So do that. =P I hope these reviews give you some kind of motivation or another. Because I'll review every time as long as you're submitting me and PMing me reminders. ;) Hope all my advice helps, once again.

New-Milkman responds:

Yes, I do need new synth. I changed the sound more that the previous two songs, but I guess it still wasn't great...

The harmony was a bit of a half-assed harmony attempt :P I will try harder on the next song, I just wanted two beats in one song for some reason...

Good snare + claps? Yes! Now that I've done one combonation well, I'll have to do another good one (which might not happen...). BTW, the drum program I use doesn't use any mp3 files or anything. I select a step, choose a drum, adjust tone, decay, punch and... I forget the other one. Then I select where I want that drum to make a sound, and then reapeat untill I have the song made. The most annoying thing is that the BPM isn't set the exact same in the two programs I use (synth set at 148, drums are set at 149). I don't care if it is a small difference, it's annoying!

Hopefully I get better at this, so then you can tell me how well I do in attitude. Thanks for another extensive review!