blackduckie's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[End of the tunnel]

Mehh

No points for originality, I'm afraid. D: I think someone commented earlier down saying that they used the same intro melody in a song of theirs? Most likely that's because, if you listen closely, you can hear the same kind of bassline in most of the commercial pop songs on the market.

What I mean by "bassline", by the way, is a set of notes, stretching for a bar or so each, that other notes can stack up on top of to make the melody. You don't actually have to have a bass or whatever playing through for the underlying theme to come through. I'm just sick of hearing this exact one and seeing legions of Newgrounders rating 10s when it's virtually no different to every other techno/dance song on here.

For that reason, I probably wouldn't call this classical, but don't worry too much about that. I made the mistake ages ago of calling a song "classical" simply for including a piano in it.
I'm also not blaming you for using this theme, because it does creep in to the minds of us all when we hear it all the time. I do like looking for something different, though.

But that aside, nothing really stands out to me about this song apart from the occasional distortion and the heavy-as-hell limiting that hurts my head ... I hate how FL Studio loads a limiter into the Master track by default: it doesn't make a nice sound at all; just screws with your levels. Try taking it out and replacing it with a Soft Clipper for a more natural sound that still doesn't become overly loud.

Also, try tweaking the settings on the piano instrument to get more of the sound you want, as well as using the mixer to your advantage. For example, loading a Delay effect in will give it a nice echo.

Sorry if you already know all this, but as you've said you're fairly new to the program, I'm just trying to help. 5/10

Eurykrates responds:

Yeah yeah, I just wanted to try out something new. I don't really have the hang of flstudios yet, cause I'm so noob-ish. Maybe you could help me and send me a couple tips? But hey, that's your choice. Oh well. Thanks for the review.

[Whatever You Want it to be.]

Not bad ...

I like the introduction, it's very nicely ambient, though the pad fading in and out is a little loud and amplified too much in the middle frequencies ... not so much that it's ruining though. The piano is also quite nice, and all the little effects here and there.

It was a bit of a disappointment to go from that to just a single beat repeating over with a kind of glitchy synth over the top. It sounds a bit better with the other instruments coming in over it, but it needs to go somewhere after that, in my opinion.

It bounces around a fair bit, but after the first minute or so, it just seems to repeat what has already played. The mastering is a bit weird as well, do you have a limiter on the master track there, messing around with the levels?

All in all, not too bad; a nice tune, but it gets a bit stale after a while.

kenshiIce responds:

Yeah I hear what you're saying, it really didn't take that long so its bound to have faults :)

Also yeah I have a limiter but I'm fairly new at the software.

Thanks buddy :)

[Hardyboys1 a troll response]

I voted 5 before I even watched it. XD

Did you intend for that first voice to sound like the Joker? I loved the lip-smacking at the "I'm very protective of my little boy" bit. XD

I didn't actually get spammed by this guy, but a friend of mine did, and he seemed to feel honoured that he was trolled.

Also, I'm pretty sure this "Ethan" kid is fictional. Looking at his banner, I'd assume he's just another dickhead from the Duck Division trying to ruin Newgrounds for the rest of us -- you saw what happened to the Art Portal, right? -- so I'm not sure the whole "If you were a responsible father of this child" thing was necessary, but it was still funny.

I also love your accent, by the way. :D

Stalagmite responds:

yes. he is fake lol, duck division attacks once again, but none the less, if they are foolish, i will exploit them.. i am always picking a fight with the crews lol. except talented ones like CC. :D i hate dick head spammers. they deserve all the abuse they give out. :D
no iwasnt going for a joker feel lol, this is kind of the only voice i can do hehe... and the lips smacking was well.... meant to be simulating something more sinister... lol...
thanks for your input man! your AWESOMENESS!!!!
and yeah as for my accent, i am frequently mistaken for a girl LOL!

[-Ricochet Love-]

LOL

When I first started listening, I was already thinking of writing a review saying, "It's a bit slower than your other pieces," before it even buffered to the 00:35 point. XD

It was a really great blend of Orchestral and Techno. I heard a lot of that kind of hybrid a while back, when I was listening to the Ratchet & Clank soundtrack. Where do you get your orchestral samples?
Very melodic, also.

I quite liked it after the 2 minute point, actually, where it all went quiet for the string solo. It really had a lot of diversity throughout, which contributed greatly to its epicness. I don't care how much time you spent on it; it wasn't wasted!

I've never really tried to master my music either, because I tend to tweak everything to my desired volume as I make it, so I can't really tell that you've mastered this, never having heard comparisons between "mastered" and "unmastered".
You did a great job of it nevertheless, I must say... again. =/

Keep up the good work! :D

Waterflame responds:

haha yeah the intro was supposed to trick you, sorta. so you get that element of awesome suprise. my orchestral samples are from a free soundfont called the squidfont. thank you so much! :D

[GammaRaXe]

Not exactly original, but...

I think you did a pretty good job of it overall. It definitely sounded better than some of my first songs. And you seemed to know what melodies sounded good together.
The funny thing is, I found this song by going to the last page in the Techno genre, and listening to the lowest ranking one.
It definitely deserves more than that!

To offer a bit of criticism, I have to say that the main synth seemed to kind of drown out the rest of the music, and I think it was a bit too repetitive (though maybe that's because I had it on looping mode. XD). It could have used a few more breakdowns, or parts that just sounded a bit different from the rest.
I don't think I could really make out the drums that well, either.

All that aside, though, I think it sounded alright, especially for your first submission. Just a few things I think you should change for next time. ;)

Anyway, good luck on any later submissions!
7/10, 3/5

GamaRaXe responds:

Thanks, I've come to realize that it is kinda hazy so when my comp gets repaired (Dead Video Card)
I'll fix this problem

[Helix - The Condition]

Awesome!

Wow, my vote actually made a difference! (4.2 + .031 %u2248 4.23)

This is great. I'm guessing that you use Audition for the effects, while you create the raw patterns with FL and arrange them with Acid. As other people have said, this song is rough, and yet flows really well. Panning was great, too. The bass at the start is really cool; it sounds layered, with a deep triangle waveform and technoish beepy sounds arpeggiating through it. The pad that you used sounded a lot like the one in Atlantis. All the different instruments had their own tune, and yet fit perfectly. The only part I didn't really like was the bit at 3:50 with the pedal hihats and the vocals. It went a bit too long and sounded awkward. Otherwise, I loved the whole thing. The style reminded me a bit of Unless You're Free..., but as always, it stands on its own as an original great piece of music. (I prefer more buildup-style endings, though.) You must have a whole arsenal of samples at your fingertips to create these effects.
Good Job. 5/5
ND
P.S. Have you got my PM about your full tracks yet? I sent it a while ago. :)

Helix6 responds:

Actually - FruityLoops provides all sampling/effects/synth, etc. Audition is simply for chopping/cleaning/mastering each sample (and some minor alterations, reverses, fades, etc.). Acid is used to compose the final track (chopping/beats, etc.) and do some fading/panning. I have a pretty straightforward group of samples (which is evidenced in some of my older tracks), but I am starting to use effects in a lot of new ways which I've found opens up limitless possibilities for new sounds. I will check my inbox - I am *horrible* at responding to online messages. I have a hard enough time responding to all my work e-mail, and I'm paid for that.

[Helix - Archetype]

Metallic...

This is a really awesome track. I love that sort of crashing sound at the start, and I'd really like to know what kind of synthesizer that is. Also, I was wondering if you knew where any of the full versions of your tracks were on the internet. My friend told me that he once found the full "My Best Friend" track just by googling it, but I've had no luck X8. Finally, (and I really don't want to sound demanding, but) I was reading some of the reviews for "City of Industry" and you said that you would try to submit something at least every two months. IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS! Ahem, sorry. Good work on the music, keep it up!
ND

Helix6 responds:

I have full versions on my hard drive, that is about it. Good luck finding any online. I'm not exactly popular enough to find on BitTorrent or KaZaa or whatever people "steal" stuff with these days. PM me if you want "full" tracks. Truly they don't add a lot except for "transitions" that make each track flow seamlessly on an album. But I've written about 3 or 4 albums now and published 0 so I wouldn't worry too much about the "flow." Honestly, numerous times I've gotten 90% done with a "record" and felt that it was out-dated and just started over, so you won't get a complete product anyway. By the way, I just uploaded a new track "Unless You're Free..."

[Electrick - Tranquillity]

Nice...

This is probably one of the best trance pieces I've heard. Not that I've heard much trance, as it is probably my least favourite style of electronic music. It gets a bit repetitive at some points but apart from that, I think it's great. Keep up the good work!
ND

Electrick responds:

Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.

Electrick