Siggator's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Continue]

typical spirit garden masterpiece
only reason for not full 5 star is it does get a little bit samey with the drums and rhythm, a bit more variation to spice up the second half would do very well.
although..
..is continue a reference to how I want the song to continue?

[MEMORY TRANSMISSION:]

Solid atmosphere and track, really enjoy the melodies. The intro is good, establishes a pattern for the whole track while still being varied enough to be interesting. However, the drums feel very strange and out of place. The the way they are mixed feel weird and are definitely way too loud and present. I think it could be fixed by removing the distortion and turning the volume of them down a bit; idea being to get them less present in the mix, since I think that would fit the vibe of the track better. As for the programming of them, I don't think how they're done really fit the song. I would suggest you to reference other tracks of similar style to see how they do drums, my idea would be to do a simplified beat similar to what a real drummer would do. (if you want I could provide an example on discord)
Not that complex drums are bad, but the particular patterns used in this track don't seem to fit it.
The bass guitar seems to have some really complex lines. It likely would sound better being simplified, especially in the beginning section. It works in the drum section, but doesn't really fit in the beginning, since it doesn't really build up to anything.

[At The Speed of Light [DOOM]]

The instrumentation, guitar work, synth work, and all that is really well done; but the drums kill it for me..
There's so much melodic and rhythmic stuff going on with the synths and guitars, so there isn't much room to focus on complicated rhythms. It doesn't feel like there's any rhythm from the drums to catch on to, and for a track like this that's important. To put it another way, the melodies and chords are complex, so the drums should be simple; otherwise it becomes too complicated and too much for the listener to pay attention to, which I think is the problem with this track. 1:37-1:49 and the final section at 3:16 work well because they are simple to understand, compliment the music, and are predictable, where a lot of the rest of the track's drums feel unpredictable or even random.
If drums were fixed, easily 5 stars

VeryInactive01 responds:

the track's pretty old, I was hella worse in music prouction stuff when I made it lol
thanks for the honest opinion though, I am too aware of how ba the perc was, I'd definitely work on it more than I di back then

[~8,760 Hours]

This style is really amazing.
I really want to learn how to make music like this...

Only flaw I see with this is some of the mixing and how overly compressed it is. Else, full 5 stars. Really relaxing and good composition.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Thanks tons for listenin', man. I sorta cultivated my own thing over the years. Takes time.
Listen to a lot of IDM/Glitch/Ambient/Breakcore/Breakbeats/Jazz/Funk (if you're not already) and it might rub off on you?
Then again, I hear stuff all the time and I'm like "I wanna do something like THAT" and my brain just never goes to those places. End of the day, I just make what I make and try not to force it too much. Just trying to add my own voice to this whole human art experience/collective.

Yeeaaahh, my mixing may have gotten a bit sloppyish as the years have worn on. Was a period of time where I didn't have anything but monitoring headphones after my old speakers failed me.

[Fog]

I love the drum programming and sounds on this track, good stuff. I feel it could benefit from some chord changes, but if the intent of the music is to be more background rather then the forefront, it's fine.
I would appreciate some additional parts, I really like the drop and I want to hear more of the break but with variation and switch-ups.. this is really a matter of taste, because I can understand artistic intent and such, but this track definitely makes me feel wanting more of the drop style of stuff.
Mix is not fine, however. Listening on headphones the bass is fine, but with a subwoofer the bass is overwhelming. I recommend finding popular tracks and using them as a reference, and base your mix off of that, that way you won't end up with problems like that on frequencies you normally can't hear very well on headphones.

HypercubeRecords responds:

Thanks for feedback :) il do betters

[Timeless]

In both drops, it is lacking in intensity. The drums don't feel punchy, there isn't any extra intense instruments being added, and there is a lack of bass. Listening on speakers with a subwoofer reveals that there is an unhealthy amount of rumble in the low-end, seeming to come from some of the samples. I'd recommend having a dedicated sub-bass and EQing out the low-end rumble during the drop, having some rumble during the build-up could still be good.
Back on the break, because of it's filtering it doesn't feel intense. Because of the programming of the break, it should most likely be more at the forefront, instead of such a background element. It's like the track is teasing you for a full-intensity drop, but never delivers.

Sample-usage and the vibe this track gives is good, only recommendation I could give is maybe to add some extra instruments during the drop, and maybe adding some more variation.

I really like the idea this track is going for, but those flaws really hold it back.

HypercubeRecords responds:

yea i have no idea how this got frontpage but its only reason its still here :D

[Cloudshift (Symphonic Metal)]

wow
just wow
this is some amazing stuff, and deserves way more attention. I love the main arp sections like 0:18 and 2:44.
the only (minor) criticism I could think of is it being a little repetitive, wishing for more variation to hear even more of the amazing composition thats going on here. But that doesn't stop this from being a really good track.
good job, you deserve alot more attention

95TurboSol responds:

Hey thanks so much for the detailed review, that is super helpful to me!! And I couldn't agree more, I felt the same with it being repetitive, this was a track that kind of fought me during the writing process, I hope to do better in the future!

[Escape Without a Plan]

Really like the pitch bends on this, good job with that.
0:29 - There is too much low-end on the drums. I am using headphones, not using subwoofer to check how the low-end sounds with that, but on reference tracks the low-end isn't that powerful, so I would say it is too much, and for me, it overwhelms the listener compared to the other elements of the track.
1:02 - The melody and bass/other elements could work better together, it seems as if the main melody is going off doing its own thing, being unpredictable. I think if it were more "together" in a sense, it could sound better, especially leading up to the great progressions coming next.
1:21 - Am amazed at the super great composition! Good job!
1:33 - Good break, could even potentially cut the drums here for a moment if you wanted to create more dynamic range
2:12 - Main/guitar-ish melody, with again the thing of not seeming to be really "together"

Really good track, only mixing issue here is the low-end on the drums, other then that well mixed and good composition! Instrumentation is also really good, I really like the sounds of it.
Good job!

[Galactic Groove]

The melodies and progressions in this are very good, suits the spooky/halloween vibe. Instrument choice is nice, the main problem being the mixing.

Feels like too much reverb on drums, and seems like there is some reverb on low end, causing it to feel distant and not hit as hard (and hard-hitting drums would fit the mood its in.)

Reverb works well for making things distant and filling space. However you don't want your whole track to feel distant (unless your going for an atmospheric track). You also don't want Reverb on the low-end, because it only requires one bass to fill up that frequency range, and adding reverb to it causes it to be muddy. For reverb on other instruments, it should be dealt with lightly and shouldn't be put on everything. (the chiptune drums and such for example, don't work that well with reverb)
I believe the reverb mixing is the main problem in the track, since the melodies, progressions, instrument/sound design is done very well compared to the mixing here. Overall a good track that would be made even better if that was improved upon, still good work!

Raiiju responds:

Wow! xD

I’m really glad to know my main problem is mixing, and that my actual musical structuring and melodic values are descent, because this means I don’t have to worry a ton on musical structuring, and I can now focus on mixing. Recently I’ve been really focusing on music theory, and trying to expand my knowledge, while producing consistent music that portrays a feeling or story well. Of course I still have LOTS to learn, but I think I’m at a good point to start taking mixing more seriously and take a break from learning music theory. I have a new approach I think I’m going to take with my mixing, after this trip when I get home, I’m going to start experimenting with some of my new songs, and even make a few with this idea I have. Your right my biggest problem is reverb, the DAW I use only allows me to control reverb for the WHOLE song, and not specific channels. I thought of a way to bypass that, and that’s what I want to experiment with. I’m also going to finish Galactic Groove, and mix it better. It’s funny how well this song did, and it’s not even the full version. I really hope it doesn’t seem as if I’m milking this song after I release the final version.

Anyway thank you for this review/score. I highly appreciate it, and it seriously helps me. I can’t thank you enough.

-Drazil <3

[Righteous Fire Remastered]

I really like the melodies and progressions in this track, great job on that!
First thing to improve would be the drums, because of the big amount of reverb the drums sound distant and not hard hitting, when hard hitting drums would help improve the impact of any drops/choruses in this track. Reverb on the drums would be fine for a beginning section, but having it continue through the whole track is too much. (also any reverb on low-end stuff you most likely want to remove, as it easily causes mixes to be muddy)
Instrumentation could be improved, since it sounds the same throughout the whole thing. It may be a good idea to make the instruments more alive and energetic during a chorus/drop, but tone those effects down a bit in lower-energy areas, giving more variation and again making choruses and different sections more impactful.
The structuring seems a bit messy, with there being a bunch of sections that don't build up together. For different sections, its a good idea to maybe change an instrument, remove or add one, instead of having the same instrumentation throughout the whole thing. It would help give the different sections a different personality and feeling, and would help give the song a stronger structure.
Overall a decent job, would really like to see this track expanded and improved, since I am a fan of the melodies in this one!

Raiiju responds:

Wow. This is extremely insightful. Thank you for this, a bunch. I’ve always had mixing problems with this track, Ive tried to remaster it, but I still didn’t do the best job. My biggest problem is the muddiness like you stated, I haven’t figure out how to fix it until now. It makes so much sense to cut off on low end reverb. That would seriously help this tracks. Also your right about removing/adding sounds as the song changes. I’ve built one of the melody off of the main melody, but kept the main melody to back it. I realize now it kind of clutters the track, and I should remove it. Also Dynamics: the drop isn’t very punchy because of the consistent tone, and the un crisp sounding drums, like you stated. I like this bit because it would help to improve all my future tracks. Actually all your insight will improve my future work. With all that said, I think I’m going to remaster it one more time, and extend it. I’ll be sure to let you know when I finish, or just look out for it. Thank you for this. I highly appreciate the criticism and kind words friend. xD

(Also sorry for late response lol)

-Drazil