mr-jazzman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Against the Clock (WiP)]

Dude nice!

Wow, everyone's right, this is pretty much your best track - and not just cuz you added synths lol. I love this quite a bit! There's a lot going on here (much like my dubstep song lol =P). I love how this song opens; it's just epic, and then adding that DnB drum track made it all that much sweeter. And then you add scratching? Nice! The melody progression is also great, and your transitions are essentially flawless. The synths are so fat dude, just wow; when most people try to mess with these sounds, it comes out cheesy, but you nailed it as far timbre goes man! I commend you on that. The few weak points in the song, though, are in the overall EQing; I feel that your kick overcompensated for my "weak" one lol, it's so punchy that it just takes over the mix in places. There's also a lot of sound towards the end, and it contributes to this somewhat overall muddy, distorted tone. Structurally, I think you coulda carried out the ending a little further too; I was expecting this epic outtro, and it just ended short of where my ear wanted it to. But, the track is still very good, much better overall than anything else I've heard you make! It's like Mortal Kombat on crack dude! Haha. But anyway, it's good man, and the blend of both classical and electronica elements makes it all the more unique; make more stuff this complex, and you'll be at the top of the NG artists for sure!
9/10
5/5
Fav'd.

Step responds:

"Wow, everyone's right, this is pretty much your best track - and not just cuz you added synths lol. I love this quite a bit! There's a lot going on here (much like my dubstep song lol =P)."

Haha thanks man! I'm not sure whether this or Racing Through Eternity would be my best, but thanks for the compliments!

"I love how this song opens; it's just epic, and then adding that DnB drum track made it all that much sweeter."

Yeah :D.

"And then you add scratching? Nice!"

Lol, the scratching was the only thing I added which persuaded me to turn this into a techno song. At first I was like "Nah, I'm doing so well with Classical instruments and a drum kit, why turn it into techno?? Although I can just try out scratching just for fun..." and then I tried it, and I liked it, so I continued it as techno xD.

"The melody progression is also great, and your transitions are essentially flawless."

Thanks man. I think the transition from the first part to techno could use some work, but I'm glad you liked my transitions :).

"The synths are so fat dude, just wow; when most people try to mess with these sounds, it comes out cheesy, but you nailed it as far timbre goes man! I commend you on that."

Yeah, that was my exact intention when I was making the techno song. I was using generic synths, so I tried my best to make sure it won't come out cheesy.

"The few weak points in the song, though, are in the overall EQing; I feel that your kick overcompensated for my "weak" one lol, it's so punchy that it just takes over the mix in places. There's also a lot of sound towards the end, and it contributes to this somewhat overall muddy, distorted tone."

I totally agree with you regarding EQing. This is a WiP, and I tend to EQ everything towards the end of producing a song (I just solo each instrument I need to EQ and EQ each one individually) so that's why there's a significant amount of distortion and mud in the mix.

"Structurally, I think you coulda carried out the ending a little further too; I was expecting this epic outtro, and it just ended short of where my ear wanted it to."

Yeah I think that I'll add a break after the part at the end, and it turns into some trance.

"But, the track is still very good, much better overall than anything else I've heard you make! It's like Mortal Kombat on crack dude! Haha. But anyway, it's good man, and the blend of both classical and electronica elements makes it all the more unique; make more stuff this complex, and you'll be at the top of the NG artists for sure!"

Great, thanks a bunch man! I'm usually more of a Trailerscore/Classical person, but heck, it's my first proper techno song, so I may as well make it original :P. Thanks for the epic review, you never cease to impress as always :D.

[Feel the wobble(Dubstep)]

Very dark

I particularly like the grittiness of that bass you've got. The drums are also pretty poppy, which is nice (although the hi-hats have too much "length" to them; try getting a shorter version of the hi-hat if possible, or just turn down their sustain levels a bit). While the LFO on the bass is interesting, I would recommend making it more stable in places, automating the chaotic movement only at moments when it will heighten the experience of your song (such as at the break, where the drums cut out at 0:27). You could also try messing with the cutoff frequency of the bass, just to give it more flare and character (you can get it to sound like it's talking this way, which is pretty badass). I'm also impartial to the way the bass opens, it just feels like it's too dominating; try building it up, complementing it with some other sounds and stuff. And one more thing: In the full version of the song, I'd recommend coming up with at least one more melodic pattern to complement this one, just to add in the middle, such that you end up with an ABA structure, if you know what I mean (or, you could keep this, have a break section, then add a drop - oh yes! you need to add a drop or two, my friend! I was hoping for it and it never really came! - and return to this dark melody). You have some interesting ideas here my friend, and I'm excited to see what you do with it! =)
8/10
4/5

ParadoxInc responds:

Well Thanks for your criticism and ideas. This is the first time I have ever even attempted dubstep so I was hoping I could get the feel for it. :) Ill give you a heads up when its complete.

[DrumBug - The Descent]

Much better than one of the others I heard lol

Nice use of sound effects in this one, and I'm glad to hear you varying that drumline up! The snare could use some extra slap accomplished through layering, but the drum part works vary well.

The drop is interesting, but just a tad bit too weak in my opinion. It could highly benefit from a "thicker" sound - i.e., utilize more than just using your lead sound. You need some more anticipation, and this is the way to accomplish it.

I'm also not a huge fan of that lead that you used. It just sounds a little "cheesy" IMO (God, I hate to use that word...it reminds me of something someone else said to me lol...). I would experiment with finding a sound with a slightly more "cutting" tone, because the washiness of it takes away from the integrity of this intense sound you've got building up. This may be just me, though; you can choose to disregard this if you wish lol.

As for the bass...I still think it could use a little bit more "cut." Check out the comments that I left on "Some form of dubstep" to see about how I would go about improving this. And, if it doesn't make sense to ya, feel free to PM me lol.

You've mostly got the dubstep thing down, but I feel that there's just a little bit lacking here yet. Your conclusion is a little bit uninteresting, and the main melody ends up a little bit dull because of its constant repeat thoughout the song. I'd recommend - you guessed it! - some variation in places, as this will give this song a whole boost.

I like the sound FX you're using a lot. Perhaps you should add some more of those sound FX in there, which would make the song a little bit more interesting in places.

The motif in this song is excellent. It feels very "tribal." I hope these suggestions are able to help you out. If not, feel free to contact me, and I'll be willing to discuss it more in depth.

8/10
4/5

DrumBug responds:

Hey thanks, for the review :)
The one thing that has plagued me the most since i've started to produce myown music is variation...
It's something i think people have touched upon on most of my submissions that i am pretty repetative.
Even though i do try and mix it up a little, it usually does come out the same...
I will take alot of your advice on board, especially with your review on my other submission, regarding padding out the song , and making it feel a little more thicker...

Thanks for the feedback.

[DrumBug - Some form of Dubstep]

Worth pursuing, but needs some work

I'd suggest, for your own peace of mind, avoiding the sequence on that Toxic Biohazard sound, simply because it's from the base presets. I'd recommend changing up the waveforms and the sequencer steps here to produce your OWN sound.

The bass works, but isn't dynamic nor dirty enough in my opinion. You'll want to find a way to work with the frequency cutoff, perhaps add a little "room reverb" (just a little bit to give that bass some edge), and maybe add some distortion and drive (you can check out some of my dubstep songs to see what I mean...while I'm by no means "perfect," I've been able to get some pretty edgy sounds outta the bass through experimentation).

The drums seriously need some work. In fact, this is probably the biggest area that needs some work. There isn't enough going on here. The kick doesn't stand out enough, and the snare is too "acoustic." To fix this, try layering the bass drum with a sine wave, and layering the snare with a tuned-down clap and a quieter electronica snare sample, to give your drums that extra punch, so to speak. You also need some more hats; I would recommend experimenting with getting those hats on 16th-note intervals, giving your drums a little more character; of course, don't just put the hats on EVERY 16th note, but vary it up in interesting ways. You also need to add some fills and varying drum parts, because although you've got the dubstep beat right, this is just the BASE. I'd also recommend increasing the tempo slightly, as it feels like the slowness drags the song behind in energy a little bit.

The basic melody is very cool, but could use some expansion. And I like that swooshing sound you use to transition the movement, but the song needs some work in areas. The first place you should start is with the bass, followed by the drums. If you've got any further questions, feel free to PM me. You've got a great idea here, you just gotta finish it!

7/10
4/5

[SN | No Purpose Flour | SN]

Blackhole12 recommended this to me...I like!

I love this sort of ambient DnB stuff, and the drumwork is phenomenal. Really, it's quite good, I love it! I love that breakbeat, glitchy stuff you add throughout the song... Really, it's great! Essentially, this is one sexy song man! I can definitely see why Blackhole12 recommended this track to me. I think the only thing I'd recommend is finding something else to replace that "whistling" thing, such as at 2:20-ish. The song could also benefit from an increased bass section later on in the song, keeping the same melody of course. I love this a lot as it stands though, it's really great work man!

Blackhole12 was right in recommending you to me, we produce similar stuff. I highly recommend you check out my latest dubstep track to see what I mean ("Reflections"...I dunno if you like dubstep much or not, but you'll see how we both have a build-up section, choirs, and a final concluding playground, with some nice breakdown sections and what not, etc.; BH12 thought that my song coulda been better suited to something like this, and I can definitely see why he would see this...in fact, this track makes me want to make an ambient DnB track even more than I wanted to already lol!). But anyway, thanks for the beautiful song, keep up the work like this man! You've just became one of my favorite Audio artists!
9/10
5/5
Fav'd.

SessileNomad responds:

i really am not a fan of dubstep, ive heard like...2 songs that were good : /

awww replacing the whistling sound i like that, its a sweep up with a high resonance phaser on it, i like how it blended

thanks for the review, i dont remember blackhole liking this very much, but im not complaining

anyway, ill check out your tracks when i can

[Digital Disaster (Dubstep)]

A little bit repetitive, but pretty good

I love the motifs here, and I also like how you followed the dubstep formula. Nice use of clips from Agent Smith, it sent a chill down my spine, remember the matrix. I would say, believe it or not (although I'm listening to this through my bass-biased headphones), that that bass could use a little more grime on it. I think the way you could do that is switching up the register that bass sits in (i.e., let it hit the current register, then take it down an octave for a second, giving your bass a little more character). It could use just a slight more bass register in my opinion, but it's still pretty good. The drums are rather divine, I just wish they woulda picked up somewhere, because the song got too repetitive at points. I'm also very intrigued by that slowing-down-scratching noise you make (such as at about 3:47 to 3:48). Any pointers on how to create it? I'd like to learn any tricks of the trade. You don't have to tell me here; just PM me for secrecy...if you feel like telling me, that is lol.

Reignee responds:

Cheers for the feedback ! I'll try that about the bass, I think I did it with one of my basses, but kinda forgot about the other. to keep things short I'll send you a PM about the slowing down thing ;)

[Beautiful Husk]

Very cool...This belongs to the NG people

Very cool idea. It's insane how many people submitted their songs. There's a lot of great stuff here, I wish I woulda known about this because I would've gladly submitted a track for you to use. I think, since this is such a collaborative effort, it automatically makes it beautiful. Not only, but the transitions are very VERY nice. It's crazy how much is going on here, how many different styles everyone has. I hear everything here: Trance, Dance, DnB influences, classical, metal, folk...lovely! I'm assuming, btw, that Pure-Metal-UTA did the guitar work at the end? Haha, good stuff man. This is truly the NG community submission!
10/10
5/5

InvisibleObserver responds:

Keep tabs on Rig's posting, he has plans to host many future exquisite corpses with different parameters.

Thanks for the positive words.

[Dream Among The Stars]

Btw, we do give a f@#$

It's a good song. Really, a great song. It's got less going on that the song I made, so that all the frequencies line up perfectly, and nothing's overpowering. I just wish that I knew how to get such a master on my own track. It would be rather nice if you suggested how my song shoulda been mastered though man, rather than leaving me completely in the dark. The melody certainly isn't original, as it follows a typical VI-VII-i chord structure, but done well, mostly because of the layering process. The only thing I would suggest changing about this song is the structure; it could definitely use a B section, as every section is just a different emphasis of the same central melody, which makes it a little boring after a while. The synths used are rather nice, and the choir is a very nice add, good stuff. Keep it up, as this is what the competition for NGADM should be like!
9/10
5/5
P.S. We do give a f@#$, if we didn't then we'd completely ignore you, it's just that you find a way to debase your entire review without backing it up in anyway. Look above.^^ Okay, the bad things I said about your song: The melody is unoriginal and boring. However, I told you why: It follows a typical chord structure, and it's too repetitious. It wouldn't have been fair to you if I didn't support this, as this won't help you produce a better song in the future. THAT'S the kind of feedback I'd like, man; I'd especially love mastering advice, as this is why I believe my song sounds so pathetic.

ErikMcClure responds:

Yeah melody sucks. Its not mastered. This isn't mastering, its EQing. This has been argued endlessly on the forums but no one seems to care. EQing has to do with mixing things properly. I can't tell you how to EQ your song better in a review since it takes a 10-page tutorial.

[In for the kill (DubstepR]

I can hear it in there

By the way, I'm pretty sure, so long as you say it's a remix and give credit as to where you got the original sound clip, you can use the vocals...although I'm not dead positive on that. But, I can definitely hear "In for the Kill" in there (just lettin ya know, Skream already made a remix of this song...but, you may have known that already). You've got a good build-up, and I'm loving your drops of late man. I'm realizing, now that I think about it, there are 2 effects your bass could benefit from a little bit:
1.) Some EQing. Especially boost it in the Ultra Bass and High Mid sections, but lower it in the Low Mid. This brings your bass out in the frequency ranges you want.
2.) Some Reverb. Add just a hint of reverb, and your bass takes on this epic persona. Be careful how much you add though; you don't want to add so much that it sounds like mud.
3.) Try adding some stereo to it. If you balance it in the left and right equally on all ends (not entirely sure which program you use, but in FL they have the Stereo Shaper, which can really fill out your sound), your bass will sound that much bigger...of course, you might have to up the sound of it, as the sound distribution will be greater in this respect, but I dunno man. Just look into it.
Cool stuff man. Glad to hear that your bass is sounding more and more epic with every song you release! Btw, don't forget about your "Reason" WIP, that stuff is pretty damn awesome man! Keep it up!
9/10
5/5
P.S. I'm releasing my song tomorrow. You're invited for a premiere listen. ;)

Aydin-Jewelz123 responds:

Yo dude, thanks for all the great feedback on both songs! Really helpful stuff & I really appreciate it!! :) I will do my best to make sure I do both songs justice!

[Reason (Dubstep Preview 1]

Great!

I really REALLY like what you've got goin on here! Nice use of the formant, which is something that most people on NG have yet to discover to use (you'll see it in my next song man, it's pretty sexy stuff lol). A few suggestions:
1.) Make sure you get that "reason" vocal clip to match up with your drumbeats somehow. Try splicing it or something. But seeing as you were just aiming for a theme, I see why it doesn't line up lol.
2.) Fill out that drop a little bit more. It's a great - GREAT - idea, it just doesn't come in heavy enough. Lord knows, you beat me to the drop (I plan on improving my drops past this song...you outdid me in this aspect lol). Just make sure to add some heavy percussion, fill out the bass, or something to emphasize the officialness of the bass.
3.) You've got either too much distortion or too much resonance on your formant bass. Turn it down a little bit to let the pitch come through, cuz right now it just sounds like a YA YA mess lol...which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I think you'll want to emphasize the melody that you introduced in the beginning for sure. I'd also recommend mixing it with some wub bass to change it up, just to keep the listener from getting bored, ya know?
But, other than this stuff, it sounds GREAT. I seriously got excited from hearing this. It makes me want to add vocals to my own stuff SOOO bad lol. You've got some things to work on yet, but you're well on your way to that amazing dubstep sound man, great stuff! Do NOT let this track go unfinished man!
9/10
5/5