Jenni-Harry4eva3's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Stormwind (WiP)]

Ah yes, another.

Let's start from the beginning.

One thing I just want to point out... I could have sworn I've heard this before... I might have discovered this a while back... can't.. remember though.

Oh well. Right. Intro!

Lovin' the ambiance at the beginning. As it swells into the next section, I felt as those cow-bell dealies could have use some reverb in the mix. It would have made it a bit more mysterious. When the reese begins its showcase, it was nicely put in there, but I'm thinking a bit of high-passing or something just to make it come as a bit of a surprise.

Reese modulation is nicely done. Love the patterns. They revolve around the drums very nicely, and work together quite nicely. (It's like drum+reese=melody! lol)

My deal is with the drums. I'm feeling that they could use a bit more punch to them. A sub kick for sure, and some highs for that snare to bring it out some more. Hats are good, but I'm thinking some acoustic-like samples would fit the kit a bit more.

As for the other misc. stuff that I hear:
Swells in the mix are greeeeaaaaaaat!

Square leads are nicely done. (Still feeling some reverb to be added.)

Stutterings from beginning to end always take it out of context and messes with your miiinnnddd :D A great job with that.

Conclusion:
A great job for sure. Love the reese modulations as they follow the beat. All of the little nuances added to the track just take it to the next level. I haven't got much else to say except.... "When's the full version coming out? ;D" lol. Keep it up, yeah? I'll be lookin' out for you.

Cheers.

~[IZK]

(P.S. If you have time, check out my latest wip.)

[No SOS]

Ah. Awesome.

Yet another artist who appreciates Liquid as much as I do :) Never conform to what's in the NG portal. ('cause we all know that Liquid goes beyond the levels of Darkstep and Hard DnB any day. [Not saying that I don't appreciate Darkstep / Hard DnB for what it is, I just prefer Liquid myself.] There's just something spiritually inspiring about Liquid...) Anyhow, enough of my ramblings. On to the song. From start to finished!

*Rewind*
Very nice little crash you have at the intro there. The kicks are very quick to start things off, and at this point, I know where it's going. Basses are places very nicely in the mix and the patterns are awesome. That little mod you have there fits very well.

The strings/pads are put quite well in the background. And as it slides up and drops into your main verse, those little string plucks (I'm assuming pianos?) just take it to another world.

I must say that your kit is lacking a lot, in terms of punch and presence. (And I'd know. I've been making Liquid for quite a while.) The snare is quite full in your mid-low / mids, but there's no highs. You can add a bit to it so that it can stand out. Maybe filling out those highs with another snare would do it.

As for your kick... I can just barely make it out in the mix. It's that silent (Honestly). Filling out more of those lows will definitely add some presence. You've got your low-mids there, but you need a bass-drum attached to it so you can give it some extra thump when you kick releases.

Not much picky-ness on the hats, because I can make them out just fine. Although, just a bit of volume added to it can bring it out some more.

The other kit you have playing as it breaks down is very nice. Just what I'd expect when I listen to a breakdown: a minimalistic emulation of your first kit :)

Now, let's talk about those sliding basses (the one's that slide down). It does sort of get to me a little bit. It adds a lot to the track, but I think you can tone it down just a tiny bit. (Plus, adding some highs to them would help. They need a bit of colour.)

Interesting outro. I think it could have done without the sliding basses right there. (Or at least a replacement with a sliding sub-bass downward. I think that would have done it more justice.)

Conclusion
----------------
A very nicely made track. A bit lacking in your initial drum kit, so some beefing up would definitely give them more of a presence in your track. Those sliding basses could use with a bit of toning down, but not too much. (That or a replacement with a sub-bass sliding downward.) Your percussions in the background are well placed. So, no complaints about that. Besides these things, everything is in place, and it flows very nicely :) A great job. Keep it goin', yeah? I'll be lookin' out for you.

~[IZK]

fergyanimated responds:

gah, i agree with everything you say there to do with the kits. My folder of samples is terrible, i dont have any good snares at all :(
But im with you, liquid is wicked :)

[Quarra - Netch (WiP)]

Nicely done.

There are few more things that could be done, for sure, but as it is now, it is sounding pretty good.

Okay. From the top!

Intro. I suggest high passing that kit. You'll be setting your track up for the much harder stuff in the next 32-64 bars that you have your bass and your kit playing. I must say, that it is very well organized, and the ambiance is very well done. Gives it a dark feeling that neuro usually has. But when it approaches and drops into your next section, it's not as hard or not as "face-slapping" as I would have liked it to have been.

The kit itself is very nicely done. Those hats are nicely sequenced within, and not too much of resonance coming from them. (Though the track itself is missing some of those necessary highs to make it "sparkle", know what I mean?)

That square beep is nicely placed in the mix, but it could use a bit of those mid to mid-high so that it can shine.

Your bass, while nice and well created, it could use some love. You need to fill out the highs a bit, and add some more bass in there so that it can sound nice and phat. At this present time, it just sounds too generic. Be creative with it, and I'm sure you'll achieve a nice reese that sounds cool and grimey :) (Modulation pattern sounds cool.)

Now for your approach to your next section: You need some harder drums. Not saying that your kit right there isn't good enough, but I was expecting some tougher drums at that point. (I understand that this is a work in progress, but I suggest doing it. You'll get more slam out of that section with an improved reese bass and some tougher drums.)

Conclusion: nicely done. Mixing was top notch, with a few little stipulations here and there. A great job for sure. Keep workin' on it, yeah? I'll look out for your revision ;)

Cheers.

~[IZK]

[5o9- Trancer]

Pulsation.

I'm liking it. Let's see here.

For the intro, the pulsing bass stabs are pretty nice. The dance kit with those effects sound pretty cool. When the kick comes in right afterwards, the bass and the kick are clashing. You need to fix that. Some side-chaining would definitely help and better mixing.

I hear that the sliding synth there has some relatively below-audible side-chaining. You need to define it when you do these things. Also, it did sound a little sporadic in the intro, but once you had your pads and your arp in the background, I understood where it was going.

Your kit needs some better mixing. The kick has no real "oomph" attached to it and its being drowned. Not good, my man. Your crashes and your hats needs to have their highs lowered. A lot. When that crash comes in, its drowning your mix. There's just too much resonance clouding and cluttering it. Your snare-clap needs a better and harder punch to it when it's being played over your kick. I can hear it, and it sounds good and hard, but not as hard as I'd like it to be.

Bass needs to be mixed better as well. I hear lots of lows, very little mids, and barely any highs. Lower the extreme lows so that you don't hurt your kick. Bring up your mids a little bit, and your highs as well. Make sure to do some scooping so that you can give your mix some more room.

(Way too much delay on that crash btw.)

Side-chaining effect at the end is pretty cool.

At this point, it's nice, but it just seems a little too disorganized. Things could be placed in a better order. Melody sounds pretty cool, and those arps are nice. (I'm just nit-pickin' at what's bothering me, btw. Don't have to take this to heart.)

Conclusion: not bad, not bad. That pulsing, driving beat is what takes the song to another level. I think it could do without the sliding synth there, or just replace it with a better pattern so that it doesn't disrupt the song as much. (Or! Put it in the background. What really pushes the song forward are the arps.)

Keep on rockin' that trace. Nice job.

~[IZK]

[Get your Growler out!]

Hmm..

Let's check this out. *cracks knuckles*

The intro is very nice. I'm diggin' that reese. And I hear that amen break in the background ;D Haha.

I would like that bass to sound a little bit more together. Compression! Probably add another reese in there to fill out some of those mid / mid-high. I must say, that wub pattern is nicely done. But when I heard your second reese, I actually wanted to hear a bit more of a different modulation pattern. Variation is everything ;)

Your kick could use a bit more punch, same for your snare. Kick would be placed nicely at 80-100 Hz, and to get some more hit out of your snare, around 230 Hz should do it for ya. Just increase your percentage, and I'm sure you'll see what I mean. (Plus some more compression!) I mean, they sound hard now, but harder would be better ;D (Just being picky is all lol.) You might want to lower your highs on those hats. They do sound a bit much.

As for the mix itself, it sounds very good. Not much I have to say on that, except for the picky-ness. A very nice job for sure. (Bring out that pad int he background! Just a tiny bit. I can just barely make it out.)

Cheers.

~[IZK]

djhoohaa responds:

well first thing, big thanks for the detailed review :)) second thing, when do my lessons begin :P just checked out your 2010 tunes.. makes this tune look a bit pathetic lol. but yea i take all your points constructively, ive learnt alot in the past few months as far as mixing goes but i still know very little lol looking at knobs n dials thinking wtf does that do.. xD

[-YRX- Man Of God]

Hmm..

Hello, again! It's been quite some time, yes? I saw that you were asking for a review. Couldn't help but chuckle a bit because I don't really know that much about music, but more about music theory. The music part just comes when I'm messing around with sounds and then form a song based on whatever sound I made. But, anyway, enough of my ramblings, eh?

So... let's start this from the beginning. *rewinds* This rap vocal, I swear I've heard it before. Not sure where though.

The chord progression on those strings right after the vocal starts was very good, but as it entered into a different pattern with that sporadically abrupt kick roll, it wasn't too good. I would have been happier that you stuck with that first chord progression for about 32 bars, or in the least 16, before you entered the kick roll into the next section.

The kick roll sounds a bit overused, and I think it would have been better to fade in that kick roll, so that you add better presence to the drums, instead of starting them so quickly. The drum kit itself could use a bit more love. When the bass comes in, it drowns the kick just a little bit. (What I mean, is that it makes the kick lose its punch.)

As for the snare, you've got the low-mids of it set pretty nice, but I would like a bit of resonance (colour) on it. So, I would suggest increasing some of the high or high-mids in the equalizer so that it sounds better, instead of a muddy snare.

The hats don't fill out the kit as much as it should. Have the hat that comes straight after the kick playing every second step in the sequencer (or piano roll, whichever you are using).

As for your bass, I hear lots of uber lows / low-mids resonating from it when it plays by itself. Tone this down a little bit so that you leave some room for your kick and your snare. Most likely around 210 Hz - 300 Hz, and roll off some of the 32 Hz and below so that it doesn't overpower the track. A bit of colour could be added here as well.

Now when you have your hats, they just barely push through. Cut off all of the unnecessary lows so that they won't be drowned out, preferably from the lower end of the spectrum to about the low-mids. Increase some of the highs just a little bit, and lower the higher end so that it doesn't have too much resonance.

As for your strings, it'd be great to have most of your low ends rolled off, and scoop some of your mids so that they sound better. Make sure to lower any resonance left behind in the strings. (They do get a little sporadic and repetitive after a while. You might want to lower their volume as well, because they do sounds a tad touch too loud, eh?)

The mixing could be much better. I can hear the kick, the strings, and the bass clash when you bring them together. The bass and the strings are fighting each other, and the kit is just getting drowned by the power of the bass, and even more by the volume of the strings. But... you're getting there. (You don't have to take all of this to heart. They are just suggestions.)

As for the song itself, it's not bad. The sound effects put onto the kit sound pretty cool. Gotta love that cut off. That vocal is repeated every so often, and makes an interesting addition to the track. Quite nice, but could have some more effort put into the mixing (not saying that there wasn't, because I'm sure you worked on this for quite a while). So, my conclusion? A good job, but much more could be done with it. Keep on trying, and keep on practicing. You'll get there, my man!

~[IZK]

(I'll review your tracks anytime lol.)

YouriX responds:

Really good mixing tips. I will take them to heart. And your right the i heard the bass takover the kick and other sounds. But i simply ignored it XP

The hats didnt get that much love as it should i suppose maybe i should have layered them and do that wich you proposed me.

Thanks i will put more attention et my mixing even ive been mixing so much i could probly get sick from it lol XD

And thanks for the review ;)

[-ganon95- The Liquid Fact]

Hmm.

Hello there. It's been quite some time, eh? Let's get down to business, shall we?

Now... when it first started off, I was definitely expecting a drum n bass track to step out, full-fledged, raring to go. But.. I was sadly disappointed.

That kick is quite nice. Has a nice little sub fill to it, and can be heard quite nicely throughout. But when the kick and the smooth bass come in together, the kick loses some of its punch that it had in the beginning. I recommend some slight side chaining or a bit of better mixing between the bass and the kick so that it doesn't lose it's release, ergo it's "oomph". (It may be just me, but that's what I'm hearing. You don't have to take it to heart.)

The hats are pretty cool, and follow along very smoothly. That snare clap could definitely use some filling out (i.e. can be much harder-sounding when the sample hits).

The bells sound great. Very nice on the high ends, although a little bit too much, so you could tone it down just a tiny bit.

The sound effects sound nice in the background and when brought to the foreground, it fills out the track better than I expected. Crashes and reverses sound like they're put right in their place in the mix.

That flute sound in the background is great, and adds even more of a mystical presence to the song. Definitely sounds like a Liquid Factory there.

Whilst this is placed in Drum N Bass, this is not necessarily drum n bass, my friend. It does have that sort of feel, don't get me wrong, but I think it sounds a bit more like dub / breakbeat. Either way, doesn't matter much. I'm just being picky lol.

It could do with a bit more in the mixdown, but it's sounding nice. Things don't seem to be clashing too much, and most of sounds are quite audible. A great job. Loving the ambience, my man.

~[IZK]

(I'd give ya an 8.5 if I could, but I'll just leave it at an 8. 100/10 for originality, for sure =])

ganon95 responds:

thanks for the nice review! yesh it has been some time =P

i don't really notice too big of a difference in the kick when the bass comes it, its still pretty powerful. but yea it does lose a bit of oomph.

soz to dissapoint about the DNB beat lol, i felt the bottle bell gave it an underwater feel.

that flute sound is actually not even a flute its a....um...idk what it is...i made the instrament out of another instrament. glad you liked it tho =]

like i said to the other people im not exactly sure what genre this should be, its got several different genres, but i think it fits in DNB.

anyway thnx for the review!

[5o9- Diesel >>FULL<<]

Collab pl0x~

Collab plox. But I can't just say that, cause it would be spam-worthy lol. Not bad, not bad. It does seem to be missing a lot... there's very little variation in terms of the bass. It very, very repetitive, and it sounds pretty much the same throughout. I would have loved to hear some modulation to go with that bass. Maybe a automated Notch, with some effects from the blood overdrive, and lots of cut off modding, for sure. I mean, I do hear the ol' sliders in there, but there needs to be more done to it to really keep your listeners interest. The amen break there has ton's of varied beats. Many breaks, offbeats, backbeats, and keeps it going along, but without better variations to the bass, it just feels like it's stuck in "intro mode".

Those pad/strings are pretty sweet. Very ethereal-like, as they move from the background to the foreground of the track. Although, this section lasts quite a while... which loses the effect of the "calm before the storm" type deal.

Love the melody that comes right after it though, and it sounds very nice and awesome on those pianos, and the kit sounds nice in the background there, but deserves some type of hats in-between the usual "kick snare, kick-kick snare" loop you have goin'. Trust me, it'll add lots of depth to the kit, and some more movement you have with the melody and the pads.

Now that we've established the bass in the beginning, to bring it back when the pads are playing, it just doesn't do it justice. It doesn't sound all that nice. I would have expected a smooth sub bass in this portion, or even a watered-down, cut off reese bass would have been great. Mixing liquid with dark-step like that seemed sort of odd... but hey, we all gotta try something different right? 'Cause different is awesome :)

Like I said in the beginning, it's not bad. Got some potential there, really. Mind if I make a remake/remix? ;D Anywho, keep it goin'. You're getting there, dude.

~[IZK]

Killa5o9 responds:

Remix Plox :D

[5o9- Lift]

Hmmm.. Let's take a look see.

Musically, this is pretty great. The volume levels are a little out of whack. Some synths and sounds are louder than others, which gets a tad annoying after a while, but that's naught but a small fix. Definitely love the many melodies that were inputted into this song. That super saw synth is pretty cools. I think many of these sounds could have done much better with some side chaining to the kick, because it does get a little overwhelming after a while.

Those leads are pretty great, but near the end, the delay makes them peak to quite an extent, and that definitely hurt my ears a little bit. As for the mixing, it sounds in order somewhat. Nothing seems to be ducking under, but I think you could do with a bit of frequency fixing. Just a tiny bit, nothing too big. The effects are great in this track as well. Very audible kick, and snare - they manage to punch through quite nicely.

I think when the guitar comes in, you might want to lower its volume level so as not to get in the way of the pianos. Just enough so that you can hear them both evenly.

Well, I think I'm done wtih my picky-ness lol. A very good track. Definitely a step up from your previous works. Nice job, and keep goin' at it. If you'd like, you may drop a review on my latest track as well. Keep on rockin'.

~[IZK]

Killa5o9 responds:

Hey thanx dude. FINALLY! No more mixing problems! :D
Yeah the frequency is a little off, but w/e
Thanks! Theres definitely more to come!

[Wolfsbane]

Marks-A-Lot :)

It has been quite a while my friend. I probably should IM you from time to time, but I kind of don't trust it lol XD with what your buds writing back those weird comments... but anywho... on to this track.

Positives and Negatives:

I definitely love the energy in this track. Very up beat, and very tight. Sadly there is no compression ._. Which kind of leaves things to free-fall in the track. The kick has no real "punch" and the snare is lacking very much in its hits. The ghosts in the set I love a lot. But... ithe set does sound a little too quiet in the mix. If you could bring that out a little bit more, that would be great. Ah, and the filtering effects you've placed in the track are great as always, man.

Sub bass/Bass could be brought forward a little bit more, If you can (I wanna hear my speakers shake, man!! :D). Your little square/triangle leads always continue to mesmerize my mind. (I have definitely been trying to emulate that as best I can from out last collab "Knights of Cydonia"). Vocals could sound much clearer than it is now, but I understand that you haven't done much to anything in the track ^^; (Sorry for the picky-ness lol).

As for you dealie with mastering and compression, I've been doing that for a while in FL Studio. If you need any advice as to any of that, I'm here for ya, bro. Good luck on your future tracks. Great job in this one!

~[IZK]

Marks-a-lot responds:

Ha! yea it probably isn't a good idea to IM that account, I'm barely ever on the comp anyway. Well you can't blame me for any mastering problems so I'm calling olly olly oxen free! IF I finish this song it will get mastered somewhere. All I know is that there is a LOT of sub on my computer that's why I think the vocals are barely audible. That's because what I am hearing is entirely different from what you or anyone else are hearing due to me not having monitors at my place. Thanks for the review though, it certainly has been a while and it was great to hear from you.

Hope to hear from you again