mr-jazzman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Veridian Moon]

I agree, very primal

Good stuff all around, I like the main melody a lot...it reminded me of some midnight Native American ritual dance or something, pretty epic. Good thing you got Gravey to master this one for ya, he's pretty freaking epic lol. I think the only thing I don't like about it is that it feels that the strings go a little bit too high in places, almost unrealistically. However, the vision of the song is what keeps this one persistent in particular, and I can't really complain about anything much; it was supposed to be somewhat ambient and open, so I understand why the instrumentation and effects were kept to a minimum. Good job man, keep it up!
9/10
5/5

Aeris responds:

Thanks, Gravey and I are really close friends, we both started up on newgrounds at about the same time, so asking him to master my stuff wasn't too big x3; I just don't really pay as much attention to Newgrounds as much as he does.

I wasn't going for a very realistic sound here, so the strings comment would make sense. Thanks for the review! And if you're interested in more of my mature music, I should have stuff up on http://ww w.artistcrazemedia.com/ in a week or so.

Thanks again,
-Aeris.

[LAMEO [Ring] (Dubstep)]

Not too bad for a first shot

Nice attention to the drop, but I woulda expanded a little bit on that intro (it just feels like it needs a little bit more development, ya know? like some sort of melody or something). As this is just supposed to be for a ringtone, the square sound for the bass is understandable (a "grungy" bass would detract completely from the ringtone sound). However, as you noted above, that bassline is "sketchy" and I'm not particularly turned on to the last portion of it (where it just goes up on discordant sounds...although the fade-in on that distorted thing is a nice inclusion). If you want some future inspiration, Bar9 is the guy you'll wanna check out; he's a f@#$ing godfather of sorts, holding some of the most coveted dubstep bass I ever heard. Also, we need to work on that bass for future songs; like I said, it works here because of the medium you're using, but I don't know how this would hold up at a club. If you need any help producing a dirtier bass in the future, hook me up; I've figured out how to produce some bass akin to Skream, and I've got that whole formant bass thing down too (you know, where it sounds like the bass is saying YA YA, a la artists such as Funtcase...and Pendulum uses it in their track "Set Me On Fire"). Good shot for a first attempt (better than mine, and mine was 3 times longer than this lol =P), but you'll need to listen to the big boys if you wanna get that pro-sounding dubstep (only way to improve, ya know?).
8/10
5/5

[Emergency {Dubstep}]

Great job with the bass man

That bass is I feel just shoved a little bit too far to the back, perhaps it's the reverb and mastering...but, out of all other NG artists I've heard, this come closest to the nice dirty wobble (although it still has a little ways to go). I love how much is going on here...it's ridonkulous...nice use of the dub sirens man, changes everything up real nice. This is a short track, but it works. Oh yes...and that drop was beautiful too. Great job with this one, really, keep it up man.
9/10
5/5

alextheDJ responds:

Thanks man :)

[-= Caped Crusader =-]

It's dubstep-ish

Not too bad man, it is dubstep I think...it just doesn't seem to have a traditional drop lol. This is because the drums are cut a DnB beat in half...it's more like "half-step" or something. I would also be careful to call that bass "crunchy" ; to me, it feels more open and square (typically, "nasty, crunchy" refers to a sound akin to Bar9, Funtcase, etc.; your bass is...well, I haven't really heard any professionals use a traditional open square bass, but you've done it well lol). This is interesting, but I think it needs some melodic expansion or something. Right now, it feels like the same exact beat with only the drums and vocal fx to change it up...wait, lemme take that back...there's a single change that I hear, occurring at the end. (Okay, so I was wrong...sorry =P) I would recommend still changing it up in the beginning somewhat. Also, I'd recommend increasing the quality of your drums by layering them...and, instead of using a clap for the "snare," layer a downpitched clap with a traditional, slappy snare, and you'll get that beautiful dubstep snare you're looking for. Overall, this was an enjoyable track, very original, and the mastering was good. (I think it woulda been awesome to include a drop, it woulda suited this song well lol...consider it if you make another rendition). Keep it up!
8/10
4/5

TheBiocide responds:

Thanks, man. People usually don't leave such good reviews, so I appreciate yours a lot.
I honestly could've made this track a lot better but I just had it laid out for my friend to rap on top of. Hence the repetition. I figured this version was fine for NG and it would just be a fun little first upload. I have some pretty serious songs, but I'd rather keep those for myself ;)
Thanks again for your review, you've inspired me to consider a VIP for it :D

[[oZ] ~ Hypnotize(DubstepRemix)]

Pretty dope

I love how fit B.I.G. in there, it's pretty awesome. Gotta respect that shit lol. Your bass is quite good as well, nice, square and open. The beat is catchy as hell. While there's a few mastering incongruities (your bass is slightly too loud at places, and some of the drum samples could be brought out a little more in my opinion), the track is quite solid. I just wish the drop is a little heavier lol, I was hoping for this big (no pun intended) powerful drop, and it never happened lol...Then again, you WERE dealing with sticking the rap in there too, so maybe this had something to do with it lol...wait, no, you totally could have made a slammin' drop at 1:32, to follow up the scratching, and again at 2:22. I woulda just made it bigger sounding, possibly with some extra crashes or something, that woulda been enough. I also like the way you conclude this song, brilliant. Keep it up bro, you're well on your way to becoming one of NG's dubstep audio stars!
9/10
5/5

Blizzaine responds:

Damn you didnt notice the second drop at 2:47? Or was it just as weak as the first? Lol well I really like the second one. Thanks for the review

[Botony Dubstep 2]

Well...

You're lucky that one of my specialties is dubstep. First, you're gonna wanna stay FAR away from that square bass ya got, get some more of the tearing stuff (this involves heavy distortion on detuned saws). Next, you're gonna wanna play with a lo-pass filter of some sort, to get it going at the rate you want.

Your drums are also strange for dubstep. Usually, they're not quite as busy as you've got. It also sounds like there's parts of the song that aren't lining up; are the patterns even correllating at certain parts? Also, it seems that other parts are coming in at random...I'd work that out lol.

Back to the bass: It's also usually not as busy. It typically stays on one note for a a long period of time before switching (this is why dubstep can get boring, unless you have some way to back it up with ambience or some sort of melody). While you're heading in the right direction, I'd highly HIGHLY recommend listening to some of the pros (look up Nero, Funtcase, Bar9, Black Sun Empire, Tek-One, and Mt. Eden on Youtube...you'll see what I mean). One final thing on that bass: It's usually a minor key, and extremely filled-out.

Back to the drums: The snare isn't a straight-up clap per se, but it's slappier than the average snare drum. The kick is also usually snappy, backed up by a beefy sub-sine or rich tone (I'd recommend getting the Subatomic VST and adding it to an acoustic kick, this is what I do). You seem to have your hats in the right positions...I can't tell if they're playing with the kick and snare simultaneously or not, but if they are, just use the hats for filling it out.

Now, onto your song structure: A TYPICAL dubstep song (just to get the idea, I don't recommend doing this because it can make you sound like mac n cheese) has these specific parts, in this order:
-Intro
-Drop
-Chorus/Instrumental
-Melodic Expansion
-Interim/Break
-Repetition of the intro
-Another drop
-Reptition of the Chorus
-Conclusion
I dunno if you're familiar with the drop, but it's one of the most important parts of the dubstep song; basically, what you do is you build up all this energy in the intro, climax it to a bar (many artists take away all instruments save for a defining line that's usually the title of the song), and then pound out the basic ideas behind your theme.

As it stands, your song has too much empty space, is too busy, and needs a few mastering/structural kinks to work out. You're in the right direction, and it's exciting to see someone that's interested in dubstep. The most important things you can possibly do is experiment with your sound, listen to the professionals, and practice the technique. This isn't stuff you're just born with lol! Keep it up man, and I wish ya luck. If you have any more questions concerning dubstep production, just go ahead and ask me...

And, if you don't think I'm legit in what I'm telling you, the truth is I may not be the most experienced artist here producing dubstep (I only started trying to make it in October 2009), but I've learned quite a bit. You can even check out my dubstep WIPs if you don't trust me lol. I honestly don't care, just know that I want save you (and everyone else) a ton of time by helping you get on the right track...and I think that's what you were asking for lol! So, don't be afraid man, I'll hear you out, Lord knows I've already helped several people get on the right track.

Don't mean to be a braggart lol. Good luck man, keep it up!

-Jazzman

BotonyProduktions responds:

Wow man, thank you so much for the time and dedication that you took to write all that, and I know that its going to help me out a lot. As you can clearly HEAR, dubstep is not my MAIN area, hip hop is. Ill start working on the techniques that you wrote, and in the mean time, I'm posting a new hip hop track tomorrow night at 12. Then you can see what I'm really good at. Thanks a lot.

[Cluby Love (Dubstep Previ]

Better drop

I like what you're doing with your bass, very good indeed. This is gonna be awesome once you work it out. Your drop is much better than that first song I listened to that you invited me to listen to, but it could be ever so slightly heavier. In my current dubstep song, I tried taking away all percussion right before the drop and then adding crashes and heavy stuff right AFTER the drop (the portion that meets up with the drop? I dunno what you call it lol, it's right after that climactic portion, you know what I mean...). Also, I'd try giving the stuff on ukfdubstep a listen, they'll inspire you big time. You'll see where to add different stuff, I tell ya it changed my outlook on dubstep completely. But anyway, good stuff man, keep it up, lookin forward to the finished product!
9/10
5/5

Aydin-Jewelz123 responds:

Cheers for all the feedback on this and the other song, its all helped a bunch! Ye I've been listening to lots of stuff on there like before I listened to some of the songs on there I had no interest in dubstep thinking it was only wobble basses with a drum beat but then realised that you can do so much within the genre! :D Imma check out some of your stuff too =)

[Hypnose (NG Cut)]

Wow

Great stuff man, really. This is awesome, some of the best DnB on NG (honestly, this makes the beloved PX9 look like a little child). I can't find anything wrong with it really, the mixing is really good, the drumwork is spectacular, the gaps are filled in nicely, the synths are fat and beautiful, it doesn't get old through over-repetition...Here and there there are "patches" that could be filled, but honestly, this is extremely minor when compared to the whole. This is sexy, hands down. It makes me realize just how out of the loop I've been with producing DnB stuff lol, I've been into the dubstep scene pretty heavy lately. GREAT job, I actually aspire to make a tune this cool in the future. Keep it up man, love it!
10/10
5/5
Fav'd.

landscapers1 responds:

Thank you for the review my friend! Glad you liked it :)

I don't think PX9 looks like a little child in every ways, he's one of the AP Master!

[TCB - ZOMBEH]

Aw man!

Dammit, I thought I was the first one on NG to discover how to do that whole formant thing...damn, you beat me by a couple days! Oh well, good stuff. Quite heavy, although I'm beginning to see that the formant bass needs to be exchanged with another form of bass as well, cuz otherwise the song just encompasses the same sound (a.k.a., use it sparingly lol). Good stuff, I love how you mix the sound effects in at the right times. Keep it up man, this is badass!
9/10
5/5

thecokebitch responds:

Yeah - gotcha, it does get a bit full on after a while huh... But meh, ive knocked this tune on the head, time for the next one! ha

Altho, ive sortv known how to do that with the bass in the past tho =P, its just the downsampling envelope in a bitcrusher - set in to like 10x or 20x and it gives teh sound a bit of 'wah' haha

[Eggman (Early Preview)]

Noice!

You've got a little while to go on that bassline, but it's definitely nice fo sho! I can tell you took my advice for sure lol, and I can tell you this will be fantastic once it fills out. I'd recommend boosting it in the high mid region, so as to bring out that sassiness in the bass, if ya know what I mean, but it definitely sounds tight. I like it, especially what you're doing with the LP. Great stuff, good beat. Another recommendation though: Your snare needs to come out a little, your kick needs to be slightly harder (in these cases, try layering your drums to get a beefier sound), and your drop needs to be harder (listen to Nero's "Act Like You Know," pretty heavy stuff...or, possibly even heavier than that, check out "Sleep with One Eye Open (Dubstep Mix)," which is originally by the metal band Bring Me the Horizon but remixed by Tek-One, which, although the track isn't perfect, has a f!@#ing heavy drop in it...I'd recommend dropping out all noise except a central melody for your drop). Just some things to consider. But, I like where this is goin man, good luck!
-Jazzman