mr-jazzman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[Orchestral Theme 2]

Great stuff

In my opinion, it sound much like the other songs you've submitted (the superhero one in particular), but hell, I gotta give it to ya, it's dope. This is not gonna be an easy song to conquer lol. I mean, the mastering on this thing is just ridonkulously good, and seeing as I'm limited in some of my mastering skills, I highly doubt I can produce a track of such profound professionalism. Then again, you DO have EastWest, so maybe that has a little to do something with it. I also noticed that your song clipped at the very end (is this what you were trying to correct lol?). Dammit, I don't wanna be completely squashed by you...I'm gonna have to the ingenuity route, f!@# it. Be back in about 2 weeks (I know, I know, you'll just have to put up with the wait. Mind you, I'm doing this WHILE studying for college finals, WHILE trying to do homework, WHILE doing several projects for different classes, WHILE working, and WHILE trying to actually have a social life, such as hanging out with my friends from Nothing More...So, if my song isn't as amazing as yours, I'm sorry lol.). Great stuff though.
9/10
5/5
P.S. Your choirs are sick. I love the minor-2nd intervals and tritones you add. It really gives it this chaotic feel. And your percussion is A-quality. I totally wish I had the ability to REALLY match you, but that's rather impossible atm. You're the toughest competition I have, and honestly there's no way that I can even compete, even with my guitar skillz and what not. You've honestly got the better setup, you've got the pro tools (not the program), so how can humble I possibly compete with you? ... How can a someone who's never swam in their entire life compete with the likes of Michael Phelps? ... That's about how impossible this task feels to me right now lol.

Gravey responds:

Thanks a lot bud. I'm happy with how it turned out to say the least.

I've gone back and listened to the original mix and the final master and I don't hear any clipping anywhere. So I think you are mistaken about how it clips at the end, but I appreciate you listening and reviewing for sure.

Thanks for the lengthy review.

-Gravey-

[New Light (WiP)]

Not entirely sure...

In my opinion, it's lacking excitement. It's salvageable for sure, but it needs a lotta work. It sounds sort of like Zelda, for sure, as Rakoun pointed out (or even Pokemon lol) but it just doesn't sound...exciting...if you know what I mean. The melody isn't as passionate as I hoped it would be. In my opinion, it feels a little typical - just being honest man. I know for some ideas, you could look into the Lord of the Rings music (Howard Shore is a musical genius, and you'll see what I mean about "excitement" once you listen to his stuff...which I'm sure you've already heard some of it =P). In my opinion, the flutes on single notes make it feel "cheesy," like a high school marching band; the flute works well in third and fifth intervals, so try experimenting with that. Also, the song could DEFINITELY use a boost in the percussion section, because right now it just seems like a backdrop (once again, you should analyze how Howard Shore does it). One final thing: You could try implementing some choir into here, I know of a few decent free choir soundfonts (surprisingly, Gravey and I use the same ones =P); this will fill out your song completely, giving it this epic feel, much on the order of Halo...which is ANOTHER good source of inspiration, btw (although it's rather overdone on NG =\). One thing I did like though: Your entrance, with the cymbals. It reminded me of Dance Gavin Dance, the beginning of this song called "Open Your Eyes and Look North." I'd recommend listening to them too...and (I sound like a broken record by now! lol) Karnivool. I promise you, these bands will change the way you look at music!
8/10
5/5

P.S. You know what? I just thought of another band you need to check out. They blend orchestra with metal, great stuff. Check out We Came As Romans, I promise you won't be disappointed. I think they have more of that "epic" feel your looking for man. =) Wish ya luck with this, and hope this helps you out a bit.

Step responds:

Thanks for the review man! I totally agree with you on everything. It is pretty boring to hear, and I was never good with the flute either, and I know about that percussion. There are timpanis, bass drums, cymbals and snares there but they can barely be heard. I won't tell you why that happened since it's a long story and I don't feel like typing right now xD. But long story short: East/West has a glitch which resulted in the percussion being very quiet. As for choirs, don't worry, I have Magnus Choir and even East/West has a few choirs, plus I have some soundfonts with choirs in them too :D. As for the melody, yeah I see what you mean. I might actually take a few ideas from this song and make a totally new one. Anyway, thanks for the awesome review, man, didn't work too hard on this so I'm impressed you have so much to say xP. Thanks for the band suggestions too, definitely will help with inspiration! Thanks again :D.

[Garden Party]

Badass!

Very unique! I love how it combines the swing with the techno stuff, it's pretty awesome! I've never heard anything else like it here on NG. The mastering's great, and it paints a picture in my head! The only thing that I don't like about it is that it's rather short, but hell, it loops pretty well, and there's not much you could add to it before it would get repetitive. Great stuff man, keep it up!
10/10
5/5
Fav'd.

[[dj-Jo] Piano Excursion]

Good melody

I'm not gonna lie, I really like your stuff. It's got anti-typical melodies, and it's upbeat. The mix is also pretty damn good, which is something rare to find on NG. However, I think that your songs (in particular, this one) could benefit from a more unique SOUND altogether. IMO, the drums sound too generic, the synths are on the same order as most other techno songs on NG, and the transitions are predictable. When I review I song, I ask myself the question, "What does this song bring to the table that makes it memorable, or interesting?" Your melody is tremendously powerful, I like the inclusion of the piano, but it seems typical in other aspects (i.e., it doesn't include much else that makes it unique). However, this is not to say it's a bad song, because it's very nice - just not as epic or revolutionary as I had hoped. I will say that my favorite part of this entire song is the ending, where you hit the sixth intervals on the synths backed by the piano; that part sent a shiver down my spine, probably because of the way the synth blended with the ambience, very good stuff! =) But, as some advice, in your future tracks, don't be afraid to experiment with drums or synths that sound totally different from everyone else's because this is what gives you your niche as a producer. I think once you do this, you could become legendary man, no joke, because you have the same taste in melody that I do: One that plucks at the heartstrings of the audience, one that just naturally has a tendency to produce something cool, ya know? Overall good stuff, I enjoyed it - much more than most other songs in this genre, to be honest!
8/10
4/5
P.S. Just because I'm going experimental this round, don't expect me to let up man, this one is gonna be close! You're some excellent competition, which means I'm gonna have to give 100% if I want to progress. May the sonic rain be brought (if I can do that in a couple days lol)! ;)

[Warfar [Preview]]

Excellent!

For a preview this is impressive! The drums need some better mastering (i.e., the toms seem really "boomy," and the rest of the drums, like the snare and the cymbals, seem a little bit static IMO, but I trust they'll fill out in the coming weeks), but your build-up is really good. And your bass has this dubby wobble quality to it that I really dig. This is really good! Just give it more skin, if ya know what I mean (flesh it out a bit, not so hollow), and you'll have a masterpiece. Good stuff, glad I got to listen to it! =)
9/10
5/5
Artist Fav'd.
P.S. Thanks for the review on my preview, I'll keep ya in touch when I release my first legit dub song, and I hope you do the same when this beauty comes out too!

landscapers1 responds:

Thanks so much for the review my friend! The intro is still under construction because I think it's too repetitive and almost boring. I mean, it becomes interesting at the end of the preview...
Yes I'm proud of my mixed bass, it sounds crazy :D

I'll keep you informed duly ;)
Thanks again!

[TCB - Bit Down]

Very gritty, nice

I really love your samples man. It sounds really awesome. You may be what I call a pioneer in dubstep; everybody else seems to gridlocked with repetitive wub bass, whereas you make a melody out of that shit. Awesome! I also love how gritty it is, very ambient and dirty. You're one of my favorite dub artists here on NG; keep it up man!
9/10
5/5

thecokebitch responds:

Thanks for the wicked review man!

And i doubt im a pioneer... seriously haha =P

[Orchestral Theme 1]

Wow, fail on my part!!!! =`((( Great song!

Dude, this is freaking ridiculously cool; it blends elements from 2 different styles of soundtracks: I can hear Howard Shore mixed in there with an element that reminds me of Bourne Identity. It's very ethnic, and the mix is great. While it is a bit repetitive, it makes for some great background sound. I wouldn't say this suspenseful so much as action-worthy, which is perfect. In my opinion, this song kicks some superior ass.
Now, onto my fail comment: While trying to 5 your song, I accidentally voted it as a 2, and I feel terrible about it lol. So, know this much: In my heart, your song deserves a 5. =)
5/5
9/10

Gravey responds:

Wow, two other people on MSN and AIM also said this reminded them of the Bourne Identity soundtrack. I'm pretty amazed with the comparison because that is some top shelf music for sure. I'm just glad people seem to be enjoying it.

As for the accidental two, don't worry about it. But feel free to stop by the next couple days and five it to balance it out. ;-)

Thanks for the review bud.

-Gravey-

[A Piano's Testimony]

You crazy dog, you!

Beautiful, Gravey, congrats on the win in the NGADM man (not that there was really any competition, eh? *snicker snicker*)! So now, we've BOTH landed one on the #1 spot, but I like yours far better than mine lol. This track is so floaty, the melody is beautiful, the soft tabla-like drums provide a nice backbeat (wow, I'm tired, I can't think of their names right now...that's the only way to describe them), the strings are a nice touch with the execution of the piano. Dude, you're just an all-around good composer. No matter what happens in the NGADM, man, just know that your stuff really is among the best on this site! =)
5/5
10/10
Fav'd.

Gravey responds:

Now you are just being way to nice. ;-)

Thanks for the great review bud.

-Gravey-

[101 Degrees (Dubstep)]

Pretty good stuff

I like it, it kept me groovin'. However, I'd be hard-pressed to call this stuff dubstep; the drums, the structure of the bass, and the beat fit more with trance. That's not to say it ISN'T a good track, because it's very good lol. The bass was nice and deep, which I like a bunch, and the mix is excellent. It kept me interested the whole time, for sure. Keep em comin, I love this stuff!