FinaLee's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Different Perspective (Complete)]

Hiya! I think I reviewed a work of yours some time ago, and it also utilized a sort of piano vst. Not really sure what I recommended there in that, but I'm here to review this one, not that one.

I can only point out two things that could definitely be improved upon in this track since once again there is only one instrument in it. ._.

Dynamics. Please use them. If your piano vst does not have some sort of setting where you can control the velocity, hammer strength or whatever then it is not a piano vst worth investing your time in. Effects can have a minimal effect (haha) in addressing this issue, but you really want to have something that can operate as a pedal for dynamics, like in a real piano!

Second, no piano player, not even the best in the world, can play a perfectly quantized piece. Try to give your composition a little "humanness" to it. I'm chiefly talking about mimicking the effect of human error. Move some of those notes around a little bit so that they are just ever so slightly off beat. I'm not talking to the point of the whole piece sounding arhythmic, but just a liiiiiiitttle bit so that it can have a little humanization in it, even though you're kind of faking it.

That's about all I can think of in terms of a solo piano performance on a vst, really. Hope I helped a little bit!

[Catalyst]

You know, I was just thinking about that old Mortal Kombat movie, and I'm getting some of those sames vibes from this, especially with those 303 arps going on. Anywho, let me try to break down a couple of things.

Is it just me, or is that kick like super duper stereoized? You can roll with your own flavor of style, but I'm not a fan of it. I take the more conventional approach of putting the kick smack dab in the middle. Keeps the mix nice, tight, and structured for me. And I don't know if that's just the kicks messing with my ears, but the whole track sounds like it's really lonely in the middle. Like, the snare and leads are all by themselves. :( Maybe you could have fitted some more ear candy inbetween the gaps?

I'm not sure under what subgenre of techno this would fall under, but it definitely doesn't fit within the more orthodox palette that generally comes to mind. If anything, I think it would be better suited for the video game genre, specifically because it sounds more like a theme on an older video game console than techno. The dryness of the track in general doesn't make a solid case for the strange choice of genre either, but you can call it whatever you want. I'm just a guy with opinions!

You strike me as the kind of guy who is a fan of arps. Me too! The real takeaway from your barebones track, if anything, is the interesting lead. It's kind of catchy, but much too sporadic sounding to be very memorable. Part of what contributes to that I think goes back to the overall dryness of the track. You've got to have some sort of flow with each instrument so that the track doesn't sound totally lifeless. A subtle use of reverb is good for this, but I would also recommend designating each instrument to a specific area on the EQ spectrum. That way, they have their own place to sound off and make the mix sound like they belong there. [^_-]

Drewpy responds:

First of all, wow thanks for the review. This is probably the most in depth piece of advice I've ever received ever. I get what you're saying with the kick, and I was honestly just trying a bunch of stuff out. The eq range thing is next on my list of things that I've got to figure out, so that's what I'm working on now. Thanks again for all the detail and helpfulness!!! Like seriously. Thanks so much.

[Lament of a Forgotten Winter]

Howdy! This seems like a pretty alright track considering your first go round. There are a few pointers that I'd like to lay on the table for when you hopefully try another piece the next time. <^_->

1. In the very beginning, the bass instrument sticks out a lot and doesn't really integrate well with the strings you have going on there. It's not that a bass couldn't work with strings (believe me, they do!), but the tone of it just sounds like it belongs in something a little more upbeat, like a jazz or rock n' roll track. What do you know about EQing? I think what would definitely improve it would be to just scoop out the mids and let the strings occupy that area on their own. Not sure how much that will help, considering the vst doesn't sound very high-end itself, but I think it would definitely be a start!

2. As for the strings themselves, it seems like you have them set to where there is a lot of attack. Attack is great, but too much can make almost anything sound like notes are being clumsily spliced together. It can have a very interesting effect in some areas, but I don't think that's what you were going for. To offset this, try adding some release to the vst. Release will give your notes more sustain after you, well, release them! It's generally a good idea to have strings with some attack and release coupled together, especially in slower-paced pieces.

3. That piano is waaaaay too dry and overall sounds like a poor quality vst. If you can't afford a decent piano vst or are unable to record a piano yourself, then the best you can hope for is experimenting with effects to at least mask the dryness of it. Reverb is a good bandaid for this kind of problem, but try not to go overboard with it, as it can make your instruments sound very muddy. Pianos have a wide range of dynamics, and that can be hard to translate onto a vst.

4. In pieces like this, there's a lot of variation and subtleties that spice up a mix and go a long way in keeping a listener from getting bored of a track. Try looking into adding some cool FXes and ear candy underneath the instrumentation, or variate the composition a bit more. Making the woodwind lead the only thing that is really changing throughout the piece is not enough, at least for me.

Hope that helps!

Bearhack responds:

Thank you for the review!

Rather than rambling on about how I didn't master or EQ the mix at all (I know, shame on me) or how Cellofan doesn't support legato sustain ("string bowing") and clips the release on prior notes when it retriggers the ADSR envelope on the next note, I'll just agree that you're absolutely right on all of your points. The problem lies in 3 places I'm thinking - My lack of mixing and mastering experience, strange artifacts peculiar to the free vst instruments(like the "click" of ADSR clipping with Cellofan, or that *really* dry mda Piano which doesn't fill the mid range like I wanted it to) that I chose, and lack of reverb to fill the gaps in the frequency spectrum. Thank you for your suggestions, you've identified areas I need to improve in order to make my music sound better :-D

[The Last One In The Pub]

I kinda like it! In most cases, I'm not in favor of poor emulations of dynamic instruments like guitars and even drums, but I think the theme of the track gives it a certain charm. Of course, I still say you guys should invest in real instruments for the kind of sound that I think you guys are striving for. The novelty of something like this can wear off pretty quickly.

Angelsosa responds:

Salutes, my friend. Thanks for your review, you're probably right. The sound of the instruments is the biggest weakness of this tracks. But, the song still has pretty nice riffs and melodies, hasn't it?

[Forest of Dreams]

Nice and chill introduction of what will hopefully develop into a super epic piece! :D I think the plucking is a little too metallic for my liking though.

Grandvision responds:

Yeah, reducing the velocity would reduce that, but the overall quality of the samples aren't that good.

[Gothic Rock]

The strings are pretty neat interesting in the opening. They seem to have a wave-like loudness to them that invites something a little more...disruptive. :) Drums are pretty tight. The snare especially has that sizzly snap that I like to hear in metal and hard rock tracks.

Guitars are pretty solid in the opening, but I think they could have benefited from being a little more layered. Instrumentals are probably hard to get right since they can't have something as distinguished as a voice to keep the whole track fresh. It would have probably helped to fill out the stereo sides a little more and just leave the kick and snare near the middle.

The solo was pretty sweet, though a little messy. The part where you were layering a 5th(?) on top of the original in particular could have been cleaned up a little better, performance and production-wise. Still a pretty tasty set of licks, though!

Cool jam man, but its still a little too raw and parched for me to consider it a full-fledged track.

[EnV - Dynasty (Preview)]

Right on, man! I really like the soft percussive sounding lead in the beginning. Also digging the Eastern theme to a dance track.

[Bluesy (Bluesy Test)]

Pretty cool little mellow rhythm you have! Are you planning on adding a lead onto that bad boy? Maybe throw in some fills for those drums to keep things chugging along. What are you using to record with, by the way? I can hear a very faint line buzz from the guitar that harshes up the chillness of the track. :/

MisterSatch responds:

Thanks, yes i go to add a little lead for the next step. Some fills must be revisited. The record is made with a SM57 on a Vox combo.