himhim2340's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Pianore - Ceres]

I quite like what you have here, but I feel it could still be improved. The melody and drop compositions themselves are quite good. I must complain about your synths though. A lot of them feel too "wet". I'm not sure if it's because they all feel bandpassed, or if there's too many flang/phase effects on them, OR if it's because there's nothing really abrasive to contrast with. (Did you run everything through a highpass? was your mastering HP/EQ set too low?)
Your drums need some work. The snare feels like FL's default snare, (but I could be wrong.) and doesn't seem to be overly punchy. Consider both sidechaining and compressing the drums to make them pop.

Composition wise, I think you should have included a section without a background pad. I think taking that away for a short while could help emphasize the beat a little more (in the drop specifically).

Overall, pretty well done, but could be improved further. Keep making music man!

[Memory of an Illusion]

This is pretty decent, I'm surprised you did this in LMMS! The self made hat and snare are pretty good, but the click part of the kick feels a little off.
It's a little bit lacking in melodic substance for my tastes, but it's has an anthemic feel. This isn't something I would listen to on it's own, but I feel it'd work well as BGM. I can't really judge you on the master, i think it was kept slightly quiet to give a distinct feel. Mixing is pretty good, the lead feels a little quiet at times, but i can't complain too much.

I really like that little slide you through in at 2:25. (Reminds me somewhat of JohnFN's pulse slides he often uses.) Overall, well made, but doesn't quite tickle my fancy. Keep up the good work!

BeeFef responds:

I did my other one that you also reviewed on LMMS as well, actually. The reason why it's so quiet is that I used a low ratio on the compression. I used a MIDI keyboard for some of it. I could've added more melody if I had gone and gotten a spare cord to connect that with because I left it somewhere. The reason the lead is quiet sometimes is that I wanted to the bass up, but not to the point where it's hard to hear.

Thanks for the review! I hope to try even better next time.

[Lyrics and Vocals needed!]

This has a really clean and pleasant feel. I feel a change in melody at some point would be a great addition to the track. You did a great job of mixing and mastering this.

I have to say I really like the complex/moombah thing you have going on at 0:50 - 1:22 and 2:14 to 2:46 (ish). I have an idea about sync/formant filter synth, but I'm quite curious about that other bass synth in there. (I can't really even describe it.. It's the one that starts the pattern, overtop of the kick) Any hints on that one?

Overall, this is a well made track. It's pretty jammy as it is, but some sort of melodic variation would be really nice to see. If this is the "rough draft", I'd really like to hear it when it's polished.

ChickenTechno responds:

Thank you so much for your response. You are correct that it needs variation. The track as it is now is in rough draft phase and has not met master/mix phase yet. I am currently working on variation as we speak. For the baseline I use a massive patch and two sampled vst's. I was hoping to get a vocal for the track to help me in creating a different digression and buildup. Either way, I can't wait to hear the final result myself!

[flast 2 (sketch) [v early wip]]

Although it's just a sketch, this has a lot going on. I quite like all the extra elements you've used. Those sweeps, and rolls and things are all pretty neat. I feel this could turn into something pretty good if you fleshed this out fully. The melody isn't the most exciting, but I feel it'd work alright with a relatively heavy beat.
I look forward to hearing this when it's done.

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks, himhim. Your words are very kind. I will try to flesh this out as best as I can. I feel like I'm gonna add more melodies and lines anyway. I'll try to remember to let you know if I finish. :)

Thank you,
ZigZag

[BurgeraX: Crimson [Dubstep]]

I enjoyed this for the most part. Interesting composition and melodies. I'm incredibly jealous of your dubstep synths, I have no idea how to do things like that. (Well, I have an idea, but I don't own the recommended plugins, sytrus/massive) Only suggestion for them is to add more sub bass. (the entire track feels like it's lacking in sub, but the dub synths need it the most.)
As far as criticisms, the snare feels.. weird? It really reminds me of the FL Default snare. (I'm 90% sure it is after an A/B compare.) I think if you changed the sample and added some reverb to it, (in certain sections,) the track would sound a little more authentic. Also, your sidechain release times on one synth feel WAY too long. (It's longer than it needs to be to make the kick stand out. It doesn't really suit the tempo i think. If you're using Gross Beat, learn how to use Fruity Limiters side chaining features. Use a BPM to miliseconds calculator to set your release time to the desired length.)
In the intro I didn't really like the side chaining, I feel it was a little too extreme. That's more of a personal preference than an actual flaw though.

Overall this is relatively well made, and relatively a enjoyable tune. (Decent mix and master by the way!) Keep up the good work.

PS: "Timbres of Heaven" and "Chorium" are soundfonts not VSTs.

EruptionMusic responds:

ha wow thanks for the review, yeah I use fruity limiter for the sidechain but idk what was happening to it it just was so heavy for it, it could possibly be that I used a ghost kick instead of something lighter but yeah I couldn't end up fixing that. and the sub was tough because it didn't really stand out as much as it should've but I couldn't make it louder or the track would be all crackly, but yes more to work on in the future, thanks for the review:D

[Wahoo Stomp]

Overall this is pretty enjoyable. I'm not familiar with the original, but this is pretty fun and energetic. The sounds seem to fit well together, and everything feels in key.

I'm not sure what happened with the volume, but it's INSANELY quiet. A certain drums feels as if it's panned all the way to the right. It's the loudest element in the song by far. Also somethings up with the audio file in general, as the player thinks it's 4:28, but the song clearly ends before that. (at like 3:30 ish.. but the exact time changes if you skip through the track.. weird.)
I could be horribly wrong, but my best guess for the volume issue is a poorly handled 32-bit wav file. That panned drum could be setting the max peak for the rest of the track, causing it to squish everything to well bellow 0dB. (Or you mixed to this volume but forgot to master.. that's also possible)

Overall not a bad track, just needs some serious mastering.

KaiserBeats responds:

Thanks for your response

[Don't Guide Us]

This is rather enjoyable. I really like the feel of this track. Everything feels pretty well mixed, the master being decent as well. The track is fairly simple with heavy repetition, but I think it suits the dance aspect pretty well. It's not the jammiest track in the world but it certainly isn't bad composition wise. Everything seems to flow smoothly.
I'm jealous of your backing super saws, they sound so clean and soft, yet still crisp somehow. Also I think you're porta/arp thing is pretty satisfying.
Overall, the production quality is spot on, just doesn't quite tickle my fancy for "jammy-ness". Very well done.

BeeFef responds:

I regretfully deleted my first response, so I made a new one.

I was curious to see if it would take me to an "are you sure" pop-up, so I pressed "delete" and there wasn't. But I wanted to say I'm sorry for deleting it and I hope you already read it. I said that I was thankful you for the review, I congratulated you on my first review, I said that I didn't think I was that good at the master, and that I used a limiter in the final master and not a compressor.

Truthfully, thanks for my 1st review and a satisfying one!

[crazy bass loop]

I quite like what you have here. It's fairly simple, but the slight rhythmic and melodic variations make it rather interesting. I feel it could be mastered to add some significant volume, but it's not so quiet it's unenjoyable right now. (Consider a compressor or a limiter+gain to help pump the levels.)

This has potential. You seem to have the same issue I find with neat loops like this, it's hard to make them into anything that resembles a track. Keep at it and eventually you'll figure out how to get past that road block.

Overall, I like the melody and variations you've put in, but it needs a little more oomph.

[Innovation]

I like the track overall. Good melody/composition/arrangement for the most part. at around 0:40, things get a little busy in the mix, all the synths around the same frequency seem to be fighting each other.

This feels fairly simple overall, I like the lead melody, but the rest of it isn't all that memorable. I think your bassline could be a little more prevalent through most of the track. Overall though, great work!

Zechnition responds:

Yah, the entire song sort of "blends together" I get that. Thanks for the review though!

[Twilight 64]

I really like the melody and the composition. Very well done here. Everything seems to flow quite nicely. (except for that first crash cymbal/transition, that could be better.)
I'd suggest pumping up the levels a little more. I find "commercial volume" really makes tracks more enjoyable. The overall feel if the synths is pretty good, I feel a pluck/decay synth would have made it feel a little more chiptune-y, but what you have going certainly isn't bad. @1:25 ish the lead synth is pretty dominant in the mix, evening it out with the bass a little more might be nice.

Overall, well done. Your composition is awesome, just the mastering needs some work.

Zechnition responds:

Ok, Thanks for your review! Definitely putting in that pluck synth. =D