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Sadly, generic.

Having read Fierra's review and your response, I felt it would be appropriate to clear up some confusion and then leave a review myself. ;D

About the kick - first of all I don't remember ever offering advice for this track, much less this specific version. Though I like the sound itself, I'm going to have to agree with Fierra here that it's loud, overpowers many other sounds (listen to the sub bass at 2:29 vs. 3:12), and even distorts. That being said, I get the feeling that in this case you believed my advice just because you wanted to believe it - whether that was true or not, though, everyone's opinion counts. I can't be right on everything, nor can anyone else.

I think everything could afford to come down in volume a fair amount, the track peaks almost everywhere except for the break in Audacity. For someone your level this is literally a crying shame - shouldn't you know better by now never to go over the 0 dB limit? I don't hear any distortion either so the track might be squashed as well, it certainly seems so. While mixing, leave yourself several dB of headroom (space between peak levels and 0 dB) and NEVER put anything on the Master Channel until the mix is 100% finished - if something sounds bad, don't blame the overall sound, it'll always originate from your individual sounds after all. Master Channel effects are to be saved for "master"ing, logically enough, and even then should be used subtly without squashing the track too much.

I recognize the following from VEC: the loop in the opening, and clap, crash, FX, and hit (kudos for almost separating it from the second half with the LFO though, I did that once in my PoE remix :D). I also hear many Nexus presets - all of these kill the character of your track. People won't remember this as Kr1z's track - I and many others will hear Manuel Schleis' sounds instead. For this reason I can guarantee this sort of music will never get signed and really could only be "successful" on Newgrounds and similar sites. If that's what you want, fine, but if you want to take your work any farther there's work to be done.

Supersaws are by nature unoriginal - if I were you I would have no more than one supersaw to a track to leave room for more original sounds.

I don't like the idea of your two synths playing the bass role, one as an almost offbeat sub (it sounds like one when the kick's playing) and one as a lighter arp. Why not give the track more character: take out the sub bass synth, then move the arp farther in front and add a new sub underneath. This way you're killing two birds with one stone by cleaning up your mix and making the track more memorable. Of course this is all only advice as you're probably not going to rework the track - right? But apply it to future productions.

I don't like the anticlimax - it's unfulfilling for the listener who has to keep waiting for the peak and it breaks the flow of the track. Buildups lose their effect when you use three (2:40/2:54/3:00 - the last is short but still a build in energy) to reach the same peak after all. I would have managed the energy differently by building constantly in that time, moving onto the peak by 2:58 at latest, adding in the drums right away.

There's a second break that's not really a break at 3:40, all it does for me is kill the energy. It's fine to want variation, but don't try to go for a long track because most Trance is like that - I'm sure the track could have been much more concise and enjoyable to listen to had it been a 4-minute radio edit instead. If you want to go longer, repeat the break-build-peak pattern, instead of just having a breather from what otherwise would be a 2-minute peak.

The composition here doesn't interest me. It's not i-VI-III-VII generic, but it's generic for a Trance track. Aim for something exciting to hear, that doesn't have to strictly stick to a major/minor key, that resolves into itself well. Having only 3 bassline notes also adds to the generic feeling.

Keep at it, Kr1z, and don't let me discourage you TOO much. :) I'd close the review normally but I'm out of spa

Kr1z responds:

First of all, thanks for ur time and advice!
It's only my 4th trance track yet so I'm learning :)

I don't have audacity or something :( I also didn't master the track.
My speakers are 30EU stuff so I wouldnt know about the peaking.

I'll remember the dB space advice.

Concerning the vecs yarr:
Loop is sliced :) Clap is a layer. Nexus presets are layerd, mod'ed, sequenced. It's still nexus, I can't use anything else becuz I dont know how :$

I'll remember the supersaw thing.

The subbass is slightly sidechained to prevent interference with the kick. That's why it sounds off beat =P

Second break was a lazy way to variate the song.

I agree on the radio edit. Would be more enjoyable indeed! I'm considering making one.

About the composition, I've never been good at being really original. I've never had any lessons in musical theory and I lack experience.

Quite discouraging. But thanks for the review, somebody had to say the truth.

Thanks for ur time, and u keep going :)

Not bad...

Some nice concepts here, this track could have gone a lot farther though. I'll go through the reasons point by point:

The mix. It's quite busy and really should have been cleaned up. Namely, the sidechained detuned bass synth - you seem to have several bass synths and this one's the least necessary. Unless there's very little going on, all it does is clutter the mix, and it's detuned a bit too much - the track could have done without it entirely. That other bass synth you had (bad thing there - never use more than one bass synth in a track, low pads are ok but never at the same time as the bass synth) that came in at 0:26 or so was a lot better, I liked that one - a bit dirty for my tastes and could have been a little bit cleaner, but much better. Basically though, if you eliminate the sidechained bass, that alone will clean up the mix a LOT. From there it's just levels.

Drums. The kick's difficult for me to judge because of everything going on in the bass ranges. It definitely doesn't boom enough, and in some sections it's almost inaudible. Hihats and snare are great, but I wish you had added a loop or two to fill out the hihat line a bit - one open hihat on the offbeat, even with the occasional fill, is hardly enough for a Trance track. I hear one FL sound, a hit that you used - I do think it sounds nice, but sadly it's way too overused. Couldn't you have used something else?

Synths. I'm finding that you have tons of chorused synths, supersaws, etc., which isn't a good thing at all! D: I didn't realize it at the time, but my Paradise on E remix also used way too many supersaws - synth diversity isn't something you can go and ignore now. Choruses and sawtooths aren't the only sounds at your disposal, so go and use the rest! (To give you credit, I do hear some different sounds, and I don't actually know for sure what you're using - this is only what I hear.)

As for the composition, this is a cover - but I can still critique you here! I haven't heard the original, but I can say there's tons of melodic potential you haven't tapped into, namely that partially dissonant progression you begin to use at about the center of the track. It's really not used as often as it should have been - though if by cover you mean same structure as well as composition, I understand why, considering this was originally out of a video game. If not, put it everywhere, and take advantage of that dissonance, as it can really give the track character. :D

Sadly, the arrangement is quite repetitive. Again, understandable if you intended to use the same structure as the original. But if not, you really should have used that dissonant progression to keep the track interesting, and perhaps shortened it some so it didn't feel like you were just trying to add a few extra minutes onto the track (which at times it did). The progression doesn't quite lend itself to the break-build-peak structure found in Trance, but I bet you could have included that somehow as well. ;)

That's about it! An interesting track, good effort. :) Hope to hear more from you in the future!

WritersBlock responds:

Thanks man! This should help me out a whole lot. I feel that things are starting to fall into place easier the more I practice, but really, this sort of detailed review gives me a much better understanding of a genre I've only scratched the surface of. Thanks so much for your detail and critique, I hope I can put it to some good use and maybe scrounge something up for this MAC competition.
<3

Are you serious?

Generic tracks like this are why I've decided to stop submitting here - how do generic, Nexus- and VEC-abusing, virtually effortless tracks like this make it up to Weekly 3rd? I don't care that I haven't even looked for something better, this couldn't be the third best song submitted all week.

FIRST THING. THAT CHORD PROGRESSION. IS NOT YOURS. YOU DIDN'T WRITE IT. IT IS THE LEAST ORIGINAL THING YOU COULD POSSIBLY PICK (AND I SAID PICK, NOT WRITE) FOR ANY TRACK.

Seriously, that's in caps for a reason.

- You used a Nexus loop preset, OF ALL THINGS, for your bass synth. It's a plain saw synth, playing a preset rhythm (with a kick on top, that doesn't do the track any good either).

- You used a supersaw (which is, what do you know, a Nexus preset!) for your lead. Just as original as your chord progression.

- You used a 16th-note bell arp. Also overplayed.

- You used a "come on" voice sample that doesn't fit at all.

- Your kick is obvious as a Vengeance kick. Even if you say you got it somewhere else, which you might have, it's still blatantly Vengeance. Layer it with other kicks, and tweak/EQ/etc. the samples, to disguise the Vengeance sound.

- Your clap is thin and generic, your hihat line is an open hihat on the offbeat and then a 16th-note closed hihat rhythm playing inconsistently. Also unoriginal.

- The FX in the end muddies the mix until towards the end of the sound.

- The kick and snare roll rhythms are decent, I'll give you that - but considering how generic the track is, I somewhat doubt you even wrote them. The FX is no doubt a preset sample.

Listen to more music before you make your next track, generic tracks aren't worth anyone's time and the only reason this has become as popular as it is, is because it's in the Weekly Best. And this could possibly be the most generic track I've ever heard. And why would I, or anyone else, want to listen to your music over the music of someone else who makes the same genre of music, but much better, more often, and more originally than you do? http://karcoreviewalt.newgrounds.com/ - read it and commit it to memory. I wrote it just for cases like this.

No doubt I'll get flamed for this review - nearly two years of making and critiquing music like this couldn't mean anything in comparison to some random kid who's browsing through the Top 5, could it? And it's definitely easier to believe all these people giving you 10 reviews, but believe me - this crowd will praise anything, unless it's downright noise and spam. You're not better than anyone else in getting their support, as they'll support anyone they find on the Weekly Top 5.

Last point, I may seem harsh, but I'm not all-out flaming you, rather, I'm criticising your track. Perhaps in a fairly angry way, but it's criticism regardless. And in any case, does simple praise improve people at all?

End of rant/review.

AndreaDigita responds:

Okay look...

I just started producing music and I might not be as good music maker as you...Im sorry if you think this track doesnt deserves its place on the top5 but that wasnt for me to decide, even I was impressed when I saw it (and extremely happy about it, I wont lie), but a thing that I wont tolerate is you giving me low scores with full criticizing reviews and NO help at all.

Reviews like this doesnt help an artist, its just the kind of review that tries to kill the popularity the artist is getting, but your review is completely useless to me, theres not even good constructive criticism on it, you just told me a very long list of things you thought were bad but you didnt gave me any tips to get better...

I just got this awesome opportunity of getting some exposure and now I can finally be able to get recognition for my future tracks (which will be obviously A LOT much better than this one), I promise I wont let you guys down...but you must understand my objective when making this song was to gather all of the different styles (of the dance artists) Ive heard on newgrounds and incorporate them into the song and adding new original elements created by me (like the snare roll you mentioned, I made that, its no sample or present of any kind and the last "FX" you mentioned, which I made it also using a bassdrum sample and pitching it up), perhaps thats why you consider this track EXTREMELY generic, but that was somehow the objective, to make newgrounders say "hey, I recognise that style from Envy!" or "WOW! Thats dj-Nate's style!", I hope you can get my point. (And btw, I did made the chord progression, its not a Midi or sample of any kind, you can look around the portal or on dj-Nate's account, YOU WONT FIND THE EXACT SAME MELODY ANYWHERE >:( AND THIS IS IN CAPS FOR A REASON!)

Sorry, but for my consideration you were extremely rude to me and complained about the unfairness on newgrounds and many things totally unrelated to this, so for me, your review is totally useless.....

Thanks for nothing.

Lacking in a few ways, but above-average overall.

I'll get right down to things...

The beginning (minus the crash intro, you could have gone without those) is great, quite original-sounding, especially your fill. :D You say you were trying to sound stock, and your sounds do remind me of FL samples... if they were, bravo, I didn't recognize them at all!

Your clipping/crackling is probably coming from your filters, so play around with those a bit. Lowering the Master Volume, and then raising it on the MP3 post-render might do it some good too.

Drums come in, they sound nice. I'd like to hear some more complexity to your hihat line than just one big open hihat and a smaller closed hihat sample. I'd like to hear a fuller, rounder kick sound - there's less response in a small area out of the bass frequencies (you have punch and sub, but very little in between), for example, which gives the kick a hollow sound. Clap sounds good, no comments there.

Your bass synth is a bit too distorted, I'd smooth it out so that it's a bit closer to the bass you had in the beginning.

The transition into the guitar sounded ok to me, what didn't sound good were a few clashing notes I heard in your chords, look through those again and make sure they all stay in the key signature. I'd also suggest making the guitar a bit more central and less panned-out, just so the song's a bit nicer to listen to.

Overall this is some of the better Trance I've heard on Newgrounds, but it doesn't measure up to label-quality, which should be your next goal from here (note I said label-quality, not getting signed - that part's up to you ;D). Having detailed my biggest points, I'll end the review here, as I've got other things to do - but check out my article at http://karcoreviewalt.newgrounds.com if you haven't already, there's a lot of advice there that could do you some good. :)

p4c responds:

ya that crash intro was kinda unnecessary but i thought it was cool with the outro echoing the same thing i.e. recurrent theme. if i expand it thatll change.

i played aroudn wth filters more and crackling is going down wooo wooo! ill also do that mp3 business, and ill spend more time balancing out frequencies now hehe. your review alt. is pretty sweet! il see what i can do about hats, too, though this song is pretty inherently simple, so i think that throwing a convoluted hat line might be a good or bad idea depending on how it turns out... also, the strumming of the guitar already complicates that section with the strumming, so maybe that's enough? ill see.

im glad you liked it, and i guess im getting better than before :D akkkhhh yahhh! thanks for the in depth review and the link, it srsly does help.

Not at all perfect...

First and most obvious thing, avoid obvious sounds. Your piano and guitar are easily recognizable to anyone who pays attention to their music after hearing two or three songs that use it, for example. The bell sounds like it came straight out of Nexus... in fact, just by the sound of the track, it seems to me that everything came out of Nexus. Careful there. :\ I also don't like the octave your guitar is played in, I think it'd do better an octave up. It sounds a bit awkward down in the middle notes.

Drums are also blatantly Vengeance, especially your kick. You'd do well to layer your sounds from now on, when done right your kicks (as well as nearly any other sound you layer) will sound a lot fuller, and a lot more original, and what's more, it doesn't take very much practice to get the hang of it.

The biggest problem for me here is that there are no defining moments in your track. The melody's not all-out uplifting or even catchy at all, and the fact that you only use major and minor chords (or at least, that's what I'm hearing, which matters most in the end anyway) for your progression makes it boring to listen to and not catchy at all, compared to a better-composed track.

Try to avoid simple minor or major chords when writing out your progression (which you could do on a pad or some strings just so you can hear the entire chords at once, or on an arp to hear the notes in the middle more easily) - they won't help nearly as much. You can base your progression off of minor or major chords, but try adding a fourth note on top to build on that chord - the relation between the first chord, the second chord, and the fourth notes on top of the two of them (and all four of these, not just any two) will dramatically impact your track. For example, in the C minor scale, the Ab Major chord? Add a G on top and you'll get a deeper chord than your duller three-note Major chord. And if you add in an F - Bb - D - G chord next, then not only do you get a second chord with the same depth, but a bit of resolution waiting to happen in the third chord. Get a bit more creative than these shallow three-note Major and minor chords. ;D

Another thing that bores me is your structure - you seem to have the Breakdown - Build - Peak structure, except you've crunched it into a three and a half-minute track. You leave out buildups entirely, you just gradually bring up the energy a little bit and then throw it all in - though "it all" isn't much at all, the peaks don't feel that powerful either. By the time you get to them, you've already got nearly all the synths in there, and are just adding in the drums. The entire track feels repetitive because once your progression comes in, it never leaves! Vary things up a bit, you could have gone back to the simple progression from the intro for a break, for example (though that's not a good progression, way too simple, I shouldn't have to explain why).

As for your mix, just some minor complaints. The hihats (save one clicking closed hihat on the offbeat that I don't like very much) seem to get crushed under the rest of the synths and drums - your clap has the same problem but not to the same degree. The bells also are fairly quiet. Don't let your pad play too low - the lower notes it plays in this track muddy up the mix.

Your bass is too quiet! I just noticed it now, after letting the track loop quite a few times. First thing, take it off the offbeat, that's the easy way out and it's just as easy to be more creative than that. ;D Second thing, find a synth that will stand out. Bass synths can help you quite a lot if only you take advantage of them right. Listen to other Trance tracks for some ideas if you want to, I'd be glad to recommend a few, but never ignore your bass! That kind of mistake will only hurt you if uncorrected.

I think that's about all I've got to say. Please respond to this review and to the points I made, as I put quite a bit of time into it (and finished with only 39 characters left) and would like to hear that it hasn't gone unappreciated. ;D

F-777 responds:

Wow awesome long review =D!
I'll respond to your points best i can =).

1. Ye i was lazy in this one I used quite a bit of nexus but i did edit everything except the guitar.

2. I did layer the drums =P...but obviously i didn't do a good job haha!

3. Defining moments...nope your right there =). But that was part of the whole new feeling i was trying to give this track. So i am well aware of that but its exactly how i want it =).

4. Melody = well i personally like this melody...a lot =P. But melodies are impossible to make so everyone loves them =P. But ye i like it =).

5. Hmmmm i did not use simple chords. I had a 6 note chord then another 6 note followed by a 8 note for the long drawn out chord =). BUT i didn't embed a little melody or much harmony shiz with the pads so maybe thats why it seems so simple.

6. Well aware of the mixing im terrible at it lol.

7. BASS!!! DAMMIT YOU FOUND MY WEAKNESS!!! AUGH!!! I suck at bass's =P. Everyone i tried it made the song awful so i ended up just using a crappy one and turning it WAY down.

I appreciate the awesome review =). Especially from you =).

Finally got to this.

Sorry for taking so long, I've been busy lately. :)

First thing that comes to mind with this track is that you seem to still be using FL Studio presets with both your synths and your drums. I'd suggest getting away from those ASAP, those will do nothing but hurt your tracks most of the time. Find other synths to use or get good at making your own sounds, and as for drums, find better samples - for this style, Vengeance is always a viable option, though be careful, it can make your songs sound very generic.

Second thing, I believe that bass pattern came from a Basshunter song? Come on, it's easy to be a lot more original than that. ;) I also don't like your bassline - it's the very cliched dance bassline, i - VI - III - VII, which I hear used almost everywhere. Do everything you can to avoid it, your tracks will only sound generic (which is a bad thing - if your song is generic, there are others like it, and why would someone want to listen to your track over someone who does the same style but better?) if you use it. The vox "Let's drop this bass," didn't seem necessary at all to me either.

Next, use only one bass synth per song. So, you shouldn't have used either the sub or the bass from the intro - I'd have to say, the sub bass, as those rarely do a track like this any good while playing at the same time as the drums.

Try to find one core melody (4 or 8 measures long should do the trick - for this track, you would have wanted a 4-measure melody) for your track to revolve around. This is what'll make it memorable and defining to your listeners... believe me, it's important. ;D Without one, the track will sound random and incoherent overall.

Last point: check out my post at http://karcoreviewalt.newgrounds.com. I'm not going to repeat what I said there, here, so give it a look and see what applies to your tracks. I don't think any one point applies to your track particularly strongly, mostly because it's geared towards intermediate-level artists, and you seem to be still at a beginners' level (by my standards anyway - you seem to have been making music for a while, so you might consider yourself intermediate. In this case, my intermediate is your advanced, my beginner is your intermediate). ;)

What I'd suggest doing now, is first to find your own sounds. That's the most important thing. They can be anything, as long as they're not generic FL sounds. Those are probably the worst sounds you can use - they'll almost always hurt your track compared to what you could be using, believe me. ;D Second thing, aim for originality and coherency - don't use that bassline, and make a core melody to define the track.

Not that good a track overall in my opinion, but hopefully my criticism explains why I rated what I did. ;) Keep at it.

Sanryd responds:

Nice and lengthy, I appreciate that. I don't think I can match that length in response, lol... but we'll see.

When I first started making this song, it was called "Generic Techno Song", and so i tried to make everything generic, then I couldn't help myself and started writing more melodies and harmonies. Unfortunately I didn't scrap the poor idea of "Generic Techno Song", and left most of what was still there and hence the not cool synths, bass line, etc. So I think this song in general needs to be completely revamped... I agree.

The VOX, "Let's drop this bass", i loved that... Damnit! Do i really have to leave it? :P

Thats a pretty good idea about 1 bass synth, i usually cloud my piece with too much bass buzzy here and there and I've never figured why so much muddy sound in my songs. Thanks.

Everyone that has heard the song (not on NG) says they feel like its a journey, at first I took that as a completement, but now I see what you're saying... there is no "hook" or catch melody.... its way to long and moving.

Um, I don't see myself as anything but Beginner.... doesn't matter how many songs or how long I've been making them. I do see potential in my stuff but don't consider it good yet. I will definitely put it on my list of things to do to go check out your page.

I actaully read your review a couple days ago and have been getting new sounds and new everything since you mentioned it. Also have been watching FL tutorials... since that is something I never did, which I think was a dumb idea, since i've been making music on the same level for almost a year.... not a smart decision. So hopefully from this point, a difference in the quality of my songs will be noticed... I also don't think I'll be able to pump as much stuff out, since I have come to find out how much goes into a really good piece, lol.

I really appreciate the criticism, gets me off my arse to learn, and not be complacent. Thanks for taking the time to review.

-Sanryd

Not bad...

You've made progress since your first track. :) Since you want advice mostly on mixing, I'll tell you about that - though keep in mind your mixing will be in vain if you don't have any original sounds or samples to use. Try looking into Vengeance Essential Clubsounds, those are some really good samplepacks that, though you have to buy them, can really make your tracks a lot stronger overall if you know how to use them. ReFX Nexus2 is a very useful synth to use, but be warned you can sound very generic using it unless you use it right.

As for your mix. First off I hear very little clipping, crackling, or distortion, which is good. Though it seems to be because you've placed the entire thing under a compressor - I can hear your mix duck all at once where it would normally be loudest. I'm not going to elaborate on why it's bad, you've been given a link to my article in that thread of yours. ;)

Your kick has reverb - typically putting reverb on a kick will do you mix no good. You'll get reverb in the bass frequencies, which will muddy up your mix and make it a lot harder to keep clean. As a rule, never place reverb on your kick (I've really only heard one occasion when it was done right, and it was on a short transition anyway). The sample itself sounds like it came straight out of FL - it's all punch and no boom. There's no mid/high mid to it either. Like I said, find better sounds to use. ;)

Various elements of your track are getting pushed to the bottom of the mix, partially by that Master Channel compressor of yours, and partially because of the louder sounds in there. These include some of the hihats, the clap, and in the louder sections of the track, your pad. Be careful - to make sure your sound levels are good, share your track with other people (fellow artists will help you the most) and listen to it yourself with an objective ear. Make it a habit never to take the easy way out - sometimes that extra push of effort will really help your track and your mix.

I think that's about all I've got to say for now - those are the biggest problems you've got for now. Make it a habit to avoid them in the future and you'll have a whole host of new ones to worry about, I'm sure, but you'll have taken a big step if you do. ;) Keep it up!

Miren2k responds:

sweet thanks,

i like this review mainly because you've picked on some small things that i CAN change for my next track, so at least next time I have a track at the best i can make it

i just put my song on my phone to listen to it with ear phones - i learnt a lot just from doing that, i found that my bass was way too high, and yea i think i shouldve made the lead a bit louder or higher on the EQ on the highs

and i don't think i used a channel compressor.. or did i? :S

Right...

Well, first thing, I hear several raw Vengeance sounds. Stay away from those, you'll get a generic sound (because they've been used so many times) to your tracks and then nobody will really have a reason to listen to them over a different, more original track, or a similarly generic track that's just produced better. I'm recognizing the hit, the fill, the FX... all raw. The kick sounds like it came out of Vengeance as well, most obviously in the intro, while it's highpassed.

Synths and composition are lacking. Your lead is a supersaw, which is unoriginal as is. I can't tell if your bass on the offbeat is the same supersaw playing down a few octaves or a different synth, which is in itself a bad thing... try not to use more than one supersaw to a track for the sake of originality. As for the offbeat bass, it seems like the "easy way out" especially when you could be making a really creative synth playing a creative rhythm - great basses make tracks very memorable you know. ;D Your progression is boring and cliched as well - it's been done before in plenty of songs. Come up with something creative, that's ho songs get recognized. ;D No comment on the synth in the intro, I'm neutral about it, nothing special. Piano is nice, I don't recognize it, which rarely happens - it's usually either a Nexus piano, FL Keys, or a common soundfont these days. :( Though be careful how you use it - it sounds blatantly sequenced. Play with velocities and tweak rhythms by tiny amounts to "humanize" your notes.

Drums. Well, the kick doesn't boom at all, it's all punch, mostly because your bass synth is taking up all the bass room. I already said it's recognizable as a Vengeance sample. The snare is a bit too loud and trebley for me, and could use some minor EQing, though personally, I would have chosen a different sample altogether. I don't hear anything filling up the hihat role, there's a nearly inaudible closed hihat on the offbeat but that's it. What you should be going for is a nice, thick hihat line, even if it means using a loop or two - just make sure they're not blatantly obvious. ;)

The scratch FX at 2:55 or so sounded really unnecessary. It seems you added the clarinet in there for melodic and emotional effect, but the scratch ruins it for me.

I think that's about all I've got to say for this review. What I would recommend you do is make a song keeping all the criticisms here in mind. Once you're satisfied with it, give it a look with song structure in mind - how are your breaks? Buildups? Peaks? Intro and ending? Transitions between them all? Etc.

Hope this helps. :D

BlizzardTears responds:

Thanks. :)

Helpful as it is. I'll keep it in mind, and will use this to tweak my further songs. :P
I'll notify you when i submit a new song.

Pretty good.

In fact, so good, I'm down only to a few points, mostly nitpicky ones, for this review. :(

The main problem I have with this song is that it's 5 minutes of sameness. It's background stuff. The energy level really doesn't change much throughout, the biggest change is the "melody" later on in the song (though it's just a synth on the offbeat, I actually don't see any one defining melody in here) and the quieter section before it but I still don't see enough of a difference overall. There's very little structure to it that I can find, it's section after section of goa. Well-produced goa nonetheless, but it's difficult to listen to it all the way through (even for me, and as a comparision I listen to 10+ minute trance songs all the time), let alone multiple times. This is the kind of song that gives me a good impression the first time, so I download it to my computer (which I have already), listen to it a few times, but then rarely listen to it after that. And even now it repeats in the Newgrounds player, and I hardly notice. :\

I'm not necessarily asking for a break-build-peak sort of trance structure, rather, I'm asking for defining moments and sections in the song that makes it addicting to listen to - I'm not finding many of those here.

It might just be that this song's not a serious song, or just an exercise, or something you pulled together for the sake of submitting something after you came back (great that you did, by the way). But hey, a review's a review. :P

Other than that, I have very little to criticize on. There's no real melody, the kick has a little too much click for my taste, 4:06 is a little rhythmically disorienting (though that could be a good thing depending on what you were going for), the bassline later on sounds somewhat simple - it's all mostly personal taste. Other than my first point, the song's really well-done to the extent that I can hardly critique it, after all.

Last thing - if you've got the time, I'd like to ask you to review my remix of Paradise on E. Last time you reviewed one of my songs it was really helpful, so much so that you made me reconsider where I was going with my music entirely. If you don't mind, I could use that point of view again. ;)

Nice job with this, keep it up, I hope to hear more from you soon!

PERVOK responds:

Goa is entirely different from "real" trance. If you don't like it, you don't like it I guess.

I was thinking about reviewing that song when it first got on the top 5, but I didn't for two reasons: It's really, really, REALLY long, and it repeats itself a shitload.

Sorry bud, but I wouldn't be able to review that song without going for several cigarette breaks in between. I do appreciate this review, and just PM me when you have a newer song that's up that's a little shorter and I'll gladly oblige you with a review.

Here we go...

It's been a while, I believe I really enjoyed the preview, let's see what I think this time around... sorry I took a while to get to it, but I've been busy. ;)

First off, if you used Nexus, then you HAD to have used presets... perhaps modified presets, but presets nonetheless. :P

Second, I recognize your shaker line out of Nexus's Factory Presets, under Textures and FX I believe. Just like last time I think. :\ Its sound doesn't really fit all that well with the rest of the song, either - it just stands out and gives this kinda corny sound, and the fact that it's mostly noise (like white noise or something, not loudness :P) doesn't really help it much.

Your bass is really loud in your intro there, I can hardly at all hear the boom, or almost the punch, of the kick, while it plays. It's almost a click in comparison. I'd EQ it some, cutting the bass frequencies a fair though not extreme amount, so you have more balance between the two. The bass also makes the entire song hard to listen to - it overpowers nearly everything, I can hear the hihats ducking under it, for example. It even distorts a small amount in places... :\

I don't hear any kind of overpowering c
ompressors on the master channel, which is a good thing, considering a ton of the songs I've reviewed lately have had one. ;) Just a tip while I'm at it, you might know this already, but why not? When putting the finishing touches on the full song, aim for subtle effects when FXing the master channel, instead of dramatic ones.

Other than all of that, though, I've got nearly nothing to say. :) I'm sure most of this was obvious to you already anyway, I don't believe you needed my review. :P I'll give this an 8 (with better mixing you could have earned a 9 :( ), though I'll vote 5. Good luck this week, hopefully I'll see this song somewhere on the Weekly Top 5... ;D

Kr1z responds:

Yeh the bass might be a lil loudy ;D
I'll fix it.
Shakersz less noise.. will do
Thanks for the tips, its just hard to do every little detail correct at the first time, but next time it will work out better.
Thanks for ur time ^^

I contributed to the Newgrounds Audio community between 2007 and 2010 as an electronic music artist, a reviewer, and, briefly, an audio mod. I still make music! Go to the links section here to see where. 🏳️‍⚧️

Joined on 12/29/06

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