FinaLee's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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.

[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.

[Ocarina of Time - Volvagia Battle]

Really captures that N64 feel to it. The delay/reverb synth that's panning around the mix seems a little bit out of place, if only because I'm so used to not hearing it in a more orchestral piece. Stellar job with the rest of the instrumentation though man!

MiguelVolkov responds:

Yep. I know sometimes it is hard to hear synth sounds with an orchestral arrangement, but that's just what I'm trying to do... All of my experiments involves both, the electro and the orchestral (or acoustic in some cases)... I'm just trying to find how to mix both kind of instruments in an efficient manner.
Thank you so much for your review... Everything I read here is useful.

[No name (beta test)]

Love this one. The gated melody, the panned hats. Even the drop has a little bit of a unique flavor to it. The kick and snare sound pretty unconventional for the genre. I think you can get away with the kick on this one, but you could probably do with layering another snare sample that adds some more of that low end snap.

Minor nitpicking: The track might benefit from having some more of that 300-400hz range scooped out so it doesn't sound so muddy. EQ is always a big deal, and when it comes to production, giving each instrument a specific area on the EQ spectrum can prevent frequencies clashing and dirtying up the mix. I think the snare suffers a little bit of this during the drop. Also, personal preference here, but I would probably make some of the vocal samples an ever so tiny bit more pronounced in the mix.

I can't really give you a good name for it though, man. It sounds very ethereal and aggressive, so maybe you can think of something by describing it? I don't normally get too caught up in the name, anyways. Very, very awesome track though.

Saao responds:

Thanks for the advice, but I am really trying to get a good name, so far I've got no suggestions

[Blue Flame]

You seem to have the mastering sound part down, but I think there's a lot of holding back on this track. I know it's only an intro, but maybe you can throw in some more subtle ear candy to spice it up a little more? That vibrato saw drop thing too. I feel like you could probably benefit from giving it a bit more of a tail. Maybe try adding a little more reverb or release so it doesn't end so abruptly.

You've got a pretty good idea going on for this one, though man. I especially liked the second rise towards the drop in this. Try taking some of my notes into consideration and I think you might have something that really stands out in this portal!

Saao responds:

Thanks so much, I'm glad you like it. I wasn't really holding back, it's my first song and I just bought a sound system (not mastered yet). And yes it was only meant to be my into to NewGrounds, but thanks for the advice, I'm actually in the process of making a new song so stay tuned for more (I also have 2 other songs if you'd like to hear them just go to my profile)

[Ninjic's Theme]

Pretty good, dude! Those crunching and plates breaking FX really put on a gritty intro to the thing. I don't know what to think about that rising bass being all the way on the sides. I think it would probably be better if you just stuck it in the middle and did some EQ work with the kick. It kind of made the drop a little empty too. Sounds like you have a pretty good general idea of song structure, though. A lot of people struggle with stringing one section of a track to the next, and I thought you actually covered that area pretty well. Tally ho!

Ninjic responds:

I'll definitly work on that ! thx for the analysis man !

[Criss Chambers - Voltage]

Sick! That rhythm guitar especially is chunky as hell. I love it. Whoever has this playing behind him will definitely have everyone's attention.

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Thank you very much. I'm super glad to be a part of it! Glad you dig it!\m/

[My Car Broke Down]

Cool little jam! Really loving the tone of that guitar. When are you going to slap some vocals on it?

DFerociousbeast responds:

Haha thanks! And my brother wanted to do some vocals over it under a band he wants to start with me