Karco's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Hillbilly breakout-]

Gotta love that style of yours...

Even if you stopped submitting for a while it doesn't reach me why your audio page isn't as often-viewed as it was. :\ Aah, well.

You know, this almost sounds cluttered - but somehow it's not! :D I hardly have anything to criticise, really. The composition's great, (is that a banjo somewhere in there?) the drums quite fitting, the vocals... o_O Need I say anything? XD Quite a humorous song. One day I'll figure out how you and so many others use vocals like that so well...

And even though it's under two minutes, that isn't a bad thing - this sort of song is quite satisfying even at this length. It doesn't need it. ;)

Hah, it's the quiet interlude with the laughter, etc... ho, ho, ho... :D I can seriously see this in a music video of some kind or another.

Not much else to add but it's a great song, I enjoyed it! Keep up the great work, I'm looking forward to hearing more from you! :)

Waterflame responds:

i guess pepole just asumed i was dead or something, fact is i was just waiting for something like this to happen to newgrounds :) you heard a banjo indeed. its true, this is quita e humorous song. i made it mostly for fun and i had a great time making it, so well its not to perfectly done but ah well, im glad you dont think it got any flaws XD and thanks ofr the kind words! ^-^ ill keep the songs commin ;) im thinking one every other week or so. ;)

[Airborn (Pulstated)]

About time! :D

It's been a while since you've submitted, Pulstate... it's great to hear from you once in a while! :D

I've always wondered, how do you get those synths - like the one you open with - to sound like that? Is it some effect or do they come like that? They sound awesome and never get old... >:D

Nice intro, good use of piano. Its melodies are VERY nice... :D Quite catchy. I like that bassline! That pad isn't quite being diverse, though, it could be playing more than one note here. Thankfully it does later in the song. ;)

Hmm. Nothing powerful, uplifting, etc. - it all sounds like one introduction. Actually, I'm hearing the piano come in with some GOOD chords - fine, it's not all one introduction, but there definitely is a long one in the beginning. Aah, this is sounding good! If only it would build up faster! Once it does get going, it's great. :)

Oh, wait, I just noticed this was a remix! XD I suppose I can't give you full credit for the piano melodies, then, but it's still great. And GAH! Now I just realized it's 8 minutes long! :O Ha, it barely fits at 64 kbps. I wish you could submit higher-quality versions... aah well. Actually, check your PM inbox, got a question or two for you. :) Keep up the great work, Pulstate!

Pulstate responds:

Karco, my great reviewer of all my tracks i submit! How are things!?

I am not going to say HOW i made the synth because i worked on it for 3 - 4 hours BUT, i can say that, it is the exact same synth Tiesto used in Lethal Industry. =)

The one at the start is a bass, with a very low freq, with a nice driving line to get the track going, and fast.

The pad was annoying because when i made it more diverse with the bassline still unchanged, (Octave Wise) it sounded out of tune, and killed the tracks drive. Oh, and btw, it's 3 pads! =D

The piano chords were amazingly made by the original artist, he is the same age as me, but is quite a talent also.

This is an Original/Club mix of the track, and i usually don't post those here, so thats why it's so long, lol.

I'll check your PM in a second.

[{SD} - Shades of Red]

Last song with the FL Demo?

So does that mean you're getting the full version? Or have you decided you're going to try something else? Anyway...

Hmm, well, the main three notes seem to be exactly the same as mine in Aurora! Copier! You said this was LOOSELY based off of my song! XD

And here's Cygnus... it works better in ambient songs, if you ask me... here it clutters up the song a bit. It doesn't quite contribute to the song as well, either. On top of that, it's detuned. :\ The bass-ish lead isn't that bad, though...

Just a question - what sort of drums are those? The kick sounds like an FL preset but everything else sounds completely different from everything I've heard. Are they heavily FX'ed FL presets or something? Anyway I can hear you also copied my kicks... >:( :D They're a little bit off but just as good, I think.

Here's an interlude, though rhythmwise the melody that's playing is lacking a little bit.

The arp comes and goes and I don't really like the sound of it... hmm, I think I know the deal with this song. See, not everything contributes to the same attitude, the same feeling. Songs can be SO much better when they're like that. ;) So, let's say, Vapor? Everything fit together very well. Ok, it wasn't perfect, but it's less of a mess than this song.

Not everything fits together and the quality's pretty bad. Keep trying - though not on this, I reccomend you start something new. The last thing we need is for you to make a Vapor out of all of your songs. XD

Hate to lower your score... :\ But I think it deserves a 4 so that's what it's getting. Once again, keep trying. :)

ShirkDeio responds:

Thanks. The drums are actualy soundfonts I downloaded. I need work on getting better at rhythm and making the instruments fit together.

Oh, and no prob on lowering the score =p. I'd rather have a 0 with some good tips than a 5 that's not meant and doesn't have any tips >_<

[_-={A Warm Storm in Avalon}=-_]

A friendly storm?

Ha, you don't try to convey those very often. :D

I really like the anthem-like feeling to this song! You pull it off quite nicely, and that's great considering it's supposed to be one...

Hmm. I'm noticing that you're, I think, getting carried away with all the instruments right before the interlude... let's see. There are low strings, medium-ranged strings, pizzicato strings, (very well-used, by the way) brass, a choir, a singer, and the percussion... it all stacks up and makes the song quite cluttered, crowded, muddy, even. And what's more is that I'm sure you think the song would sound empty or wrong without one or two - otherwise you'd be yanking them off before they could cause any harm. :P Right? It's happened to me all the time. :D I'd suggest looking at how many instruments are in each range and seeing if the problem is there. For example, in the mid-range, I can hear a choir, the pizzicato strings, and maybe some legato strings though I can't tell because everything's so crowded. Hope this helps... :)

Hmm... the song slowed down for what seemed to be an interlude, but then it took off and left me here. :( Where'd it go? >:( I was hoping you'd pick it up again for one last bang of an ending. Aah well, I suppose anthems don't usually do that... :P

Storytime!

Humble villagers on the outskirts of a town barely subsist. They seem typical, uncreatively-made peasants, but, in reality, they really ARE typical, uncreatively-made peasants. :D Anyway, one of the children among them had a love for gardening and wanted to plant a tree one day. Eventually, their dream came true - the parents bought a seed and together the tree was planted. And so the life of a great tree began.

The family took care of the tree together, and in return it grew, providing them with shade and something to be proud of. The family passed on but their descendants took care of the tree, as it grew so mighty it couldn't be missed. It definitely was something to be proud of.

Some hundred years later, the now-old tree still was alive - and, in fact, had an entire village based around it. And circulating around the typical, uncreatively-made peasants of THAT village was a myth - that the great tree was planted by a child of a family no greater than theirs, which meant that they too could do great things.

And they always remembered that it came from a seed.

Ha, I like it! How about you? :) Great song, keep up the great work, Maestro. :)

MaestroRage responds:

hah! Yes Karco I am a victim of myself in this piece. I absolutely loved the melody of the anthem, so I just went STUPID with it. I've surprisingly got few instruments here. I am not layering on too much, more bringing things up or down on octave for more and more contrast.

I've always had trouble keeping things crystal clear, this is due to my inability to equalize things properly. Still having trouble with that!

And I did put too much kind of in purpose for this one. It's what happens when you listen to a song for too long with something. Even though you KNOW you shouldn't, removing the choir made the song sound empty, despite the fact it wasn't.

As for the story, it gave me goosebumps! I loved it. I especially enjoyed the first line of the story

"They seem typical, uncreatively-made peasants, but, in reality, they really ARE typical, uncreatively-made peasants. :D"

A hearty lol and knee slap was dispensed!

I am then reminded of a line said by Nightwish, in their song "Poem by a Dead boy" or something like that, which goes something like "Remember the sign, not the hand that wrote it", which is exactly what your story here entails. Though the original dreamers of the goal is long gone, the symbol, the very essence of that dream remains intact. With time becoming a solid sign of their future!

Thanks for teh awesome review Karco, I really enjoyed it! I'm glad you liked the piece ^^.

[Red7 - David The Gnome]

Well, I've never heard the original before...

Simple introduction, not bad. I suppose it's a remix, so while I like the melody, I can't give you credit for it. I don't like that hihat, though...

Still, once the rest of it comes in, the highlight of this song is easily the percussion. They're some great samples and while the kick distorts a little bit now and then it's pretty good.

And, while I'm talking about clarity, might I mention how the song sounds remarkably clear in my headphones? I don't hear that kind of clarity every day so good job there.

Once the bass starts syncopating - or, at least, it goes off the offbeat every now and then - it doesn't sound as good. Maybe it's just my style but I'd rather it have stayed on the offbeat.

Your 8-bit NES-like synths are actually a pretty good choice. I didn't think they'd fit but they actually work. :O And the melodies/harmonies they play are great, too. Are they yours? Or part of the original as well?

There's not much to this song in terms of diversity - you change a little now and then but I don't hear any buildups, any huge changes, any quiet and calm, almost ambient interludes... this song could have done with that, it would have worked quite well.

Overall... I've never heard the original but this remix worked! :D Great job, even though it could have used a little improvement. Stop by my page sometime? :)

Redse7en responds:

Im glad you enjoyed this. I ended up spending too much time fussing with the drums and hats than workin on the melodies. Only two of those melodies were from the show "David the Gnome" the intro while all the rest was my doing. To get a feel of the real song just type "David the Gnome" on www.video.google.com or youtube.com and you'll get an idea of how the real song went. Im glad this song came out so well with clarity. I spent many hours looking for that one sweet spot equalizing this. Even though I could have done a better job at making absolute sure that it was perfect sounding I didn't wanna use up too much of my time but I'm still glad with the outcome myself :)

Yes the 8-bit NES synths I had to create myself in Fruity Loops because therre were no presets I felt could match. The first melodie line from this synth was in the origional song however the second I had created. Like I said before youd just have to check out the origional.

Your absolutely right about the buildup part in my opinion. I wish I had atleast made a bigger one like in my previous song "Coniferous Blizzard"

I just want to say thanks for such an indepth review of my song! Ill definately keep these in mind while I work on my next projects.

~RedSe7en

[[TMM43] Nova (?)]

Where have I heard that melody before?

I could've sworn I have before. :\ Care to tell me what song you remixed?

That kick in the beginning sounds a bit distorted, I don't like the sound of it. :\ What was that?! >:( There's a huge sawtooth-like synth playing chords and it's hugely overpowering. At least it calms down a bit later.

This would make for a pretty good song, but all I hear is the same melody played over and over and over and over again while your original stuff is in front of it. And considering that it's a MELODY, I'd expect it to be audible, but I can hardly hear it over the really loud sawtooth!

But that aside, let me say this - your percussion is awesome! :D I wish I had those samples... >:( The kick sounds better once the loud sawtooth's masking it. XD

The song isn't very much diversitywise... there aren't any buildups, for example - you just change things up one at a time now and then. Try harder, it's not that hard. ;)

This could use improvement. It's not too late to rework it and submit a new version. If you don't want to, that's fine, just a thought, but consider it, as this could be awesome stuff. ;) Keep up the good work. Stop by my page sometime? :D

TMM43 responds:

First off, I'd like to thank you for taking your time to make this review!

Secondly, the song I remixed it from is called "Joy Of Music"-Hardplayers Aquascape.

I don't know what's going on with me and my 'build ups' lately. They've been rather weak, if I do say so myself. I'm not liking it!
This has lead to to create a new song. It's inspired by my work day, and it's got a FAIRLY good build-up. Much better in comparison to this song!

I'm really glad you noticed my percussion work! I spent a LOT of time on the percussion alone, to tell you the truth. This song was really out of my norm. I usually have a kick, a clap and maybe a crash or high hat. This went beyond that. Thanks for noticing!

I'm sorry for the lack of diversity in this song. I really didn't know what else to do with the melody with this...So that contributed to the lack of other melodies, and what not. For that I apologies.

I more than likely will re-submit a new version of this, but I'm working on 4-5 OTHER projects. I hear songs, or think of melodies and HAVE to create new songs, but I never finish them all...
You may see another remix of this, but I can't promise anything.

Again, I give you many thanks for your review! It's really detailed and that's what I love to see!

[_-={Solemn Stone}=-_]

If only I had reviewed this one earlier!

I saw this song this morning except I was on a computer with no sound and so I couldn't listen to it, let alone review it. >:( Aah well, I was going to get to it sooner or later. You know, it's actually been a while since you've submitted... I was expecting your MAC entry. Looks like you're putting more effort in it than that, though... :D

Hmm. I'm not seeing very much that's new in this song. Like The Journey - I listened to that one, I just didn't review it - the percussion, for example, in that one was great. :D And your songs At Roads Ends, Wrath of a Vengeful Soul, and Arise Sleeper all had huge effort in them, which always counts for something. ;) But there's not much new in this one... just some food for thought: have you ever made realism your top priority for a song, tried to make it sound played live? Because, admittedly - it's a slight exaggeration but I hope I'm not being too harsh - sometimes you use instruments almost like synths. :\ Sometimes, in songs like Arise Sleeper and Wrath of a Vengeful Soul, you use them VERY realistically... but I'd like to see sometime what it would sound like if you made realism your top priority. Again, just a thought. ;)

Awesome door and crowd effects... like the character's walking into a colosseum, for brutal punishment in front of thousands. :O The sword/metal-on-metal effect at the end makes for a nice cliffhanger, too. A suggestion for the crowd effects - I wouldn't think a crowd would be dead silent until the gladiator walks in... they'd be chatting amongst themselves... or even cheering already, to be reenergized by the gladiator walking in. I can't expect you to have a crowd sample playing through the entire song, of course. XD But maybe fade it in?

The image begins as a rugged-looking character is violently dragged by two guards. The purpose is not known but it can be assumed the character comitted a crime. People stare down the street as he is dragged towards the colosseum.

He is kept in a prison there and as days turn to weeks he anxiously awaits his fate. But no longer than a month passes until the busy colosseum finally reaches him, and he is taken out - the guards kick the door open and throw at him a sword and some light armor. As they walk to the colosseum door, the guards realize there's no resistance. They let him walk on his own.

As the huge door opens, the crowd looks in his direction and is reenergized by the sight of the criminal. They cheer and jeer and various items are even thrown at him. He pays them no mind and stares at the challenge in front of him - an armored soldier, his face masked by his helmet. He raises his sword and spins it, and it can be seen this man is a hired professional. Silence enshrouds the audience and the battle begins.

End of the story, what do you think? The images I got from the effects were just too good for me to ignore. :D Great song, hope my advice helps, looking forward to more.

MaestroRage responds:

your advice is always honest and appreciated Karco! I know that the crowd would not remain silent, however it became distracting and got old if it kept going, alongside that, I believe one or two reviews below yours is a review written by Dreamshire concerning the full story for the piece.

I did enjoy your story, a great deal. I love the gladiator scene, the broken, vicious criminal. The hardened maniac in a sense, whose desire to exist, to survive, bypasses those of morals and ethnicity.

This is also a rather old piece to be honest. Dreamshire had asked me to make a piece, and I had made it MONTHS ago, however I wasn't happy with how it turned out. I kept tinkering, and changing, and rebuilding, until at last he asked me one day "Is the theme happening at all?" *not exact words*, and I realized he was right. Enough was enough.

I put it up, and because it is an older piece, it doesn't have the equalizing, mastering I have now.

I'm still glad you enjoyed it, thank you for the review and story :).

[[TCM][Lost and Found g-R]]

Well, I know you didn't do this with me...

I can't recall doing anything like this. Anyway...

It's not a bad intro, and those effects are pretty cool... though the kick is a bit strong and you could have done without the noise in the background.

Hmmm... A second collab with g-r4ve, perhaps?

Anyway, the melodies are pretty good! :D Creative notes, though the rhythms are pretty consistent, which is a bad thing. You want all sorts of rhythms and notes! This person you collabed with, whoever it is, is pretty good. Though there are a few empty-sounding spots when the hihats and the claps are left alone with a synth... :\

Harmonies are nice, there's no problem, except for later in the song when you introduce a new gated synth. Then the song's quality begins to go down even more because of them. That wasn't a good idea. The notes are great, though, I'll tell you that.

Drums are great, samplewise, except for the kick, which is a bit strong and could have been quieter. They're your average trance drums, and actually they're used pretty well. Since they're used the usual way, I can't really comment on the creativeness of the drum rhythms... :P

Hmmm. Nearly everything fits together to create the same attitude - except for the kick and extra gated synth (Toxic?) which distort the song and hurt that attitude. I've told you before about all parts of the song contributing to the same attitude, right? Yeah, distorting doesn't quite help... ;) Remember that.

Overall it's a good song! Good job to whoever made this with you, and good job to you too. :P Looking forward to hearing more from you...

MtMTheCandyMan responds:

No, in fact, you haven't...

You just talk to me on MSN for 5 minutes, tell me some random assed thing is wrong with the song that I have no clue about, and you get off before you explain it to my slow brain lol... GET ON MSN!

[[TCM][We're Back! g-R]]

How'd I miss this?? For two days!

Aah well. I already did an in-depth review on The Music Repository so it won't be nearly as long here. Still, I'll mention my thoughts on anything that needs it. ;)

It's still sounding a bit cluttered and the volume's being inconsistent... UP, down, down, UP, down... it's a bit of a headache. It didn't work...

You didn't answer my question, and if you did, I didn't see it. How are you collabing with all of these top-notch people on NG? You just got lucky or something? >:( :D I mean, there's ZENON, g-r4ve... me... XD Nah, we never made a full song (we should) and I'm not top-notch (yet). :D

Wha'd that vox say? Didn't quite get it...

Aah, it's a new section? Or just edited some... there's not much new about it. Maybe it loops perfectly but I don't think so, I'm thinking it's lacking in diversity. >:( Come on, you're better than that... and if not, g-r4ve is. :P Aah, there's the ending.

Not bad, though could have used a little more work. ;) Now to give Lost and Found a review... if I have time, that is. I should.

MtMTheCandyMan responds:

Thanks Karco. I have to keep telling you don't I? I'm just... so... CEXIOMGOSHZ0RZ!!!11oneo1n!o1eno!

No really though. I don't know why, I just do. Up until... yeah some part... I didn't touch it. I will check really quickly, hold on.

While we're waiting... I got a new gay assed phone... I fucking hate it. It sucks so badly I just want to throw it against a wal... oh here it is.

Up until 1:15 into it, I didn't touch it. The rest after it though was all my composing. I mixed his stuff with my stuff then did all me.

I fucking hate this new phone!!!

[[TMM43] Heavy (?)]

Returning the favor. :D

The introduction has me impressed already... awesome hits! :D Though it's sounding more like trance than DnB. It's almost professional-sounding but sounds like a different genre.

The arp changes throughout the song and in parts it hurts the quality. Careful there... in parts of the song, it really becomes loud, to the point where it's more than a relief that it becomes quiet.

The drums are more trance drums than DnB drums, easily. Trance drums... they're just like what you have. DnB drums are a bit different - they're usually based on a kick and a snare drum, with the kick on the first beat and the third offbeat, and the snare on the second and fourth beats. Often there'll also be a closed hihat on all of the sixteenth notes, or a ride on each beat. But here you have a kick on each beat, and a clap on the second and fourth beats, and a hihat on the offbeat, which essentially make up standard trance drums.

Genre aside, though, it's not that bad a song. With a bit of cleaning up on the arp's part, and a better kick (you could use a bassier one, I think) I could imagine this song playing in clubs. (Which would also justify its lack of diversity, hah! Next time you try for this song, aim for a melody.) And... the title Heavy definitely fits. :D

Good job with this one... here's my 4. :) Keep up the good work.

TMM43 responds:

Thanks for you long and thoughtful review Karco!
Haha. As the first 2 reviews have stated. THIS IS NOT A DNB track. haha Sorry for my misunderstanding.
The crashes during the arp changes really do hurt the song. I'm re-doing this song and I'm taking those out.
Thanks a lot for taking your time to tell me how to make a DNB song. I'm using this info to try and make a DNB! xD
The kick for this is rather bassy, but the arp, and everything take away the bass from it...sadly.
The club feeling is EXACTLY what I was going for! I'm happy someone noticed. When I do remix this, I'll take everything you said into consideration.
Once again, I thank you for your review!