mr-jazzman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[{dj-N} Theory of Everything]

Here ya go Nate

A heartfelt review, as promised! =D There's a shit-ton to appreciate in this one. It's extremely artistic, and the mastering job is great. Above all though, I love how dark it is, and how you're able to slowly give the song life over time to the end. The whole thing was fantastic. Unmatched. I have no fear in saying that you're probably one of the best producers on NG, along with xKore. While the synths weren't necessarily the synths that I would have picked, they're still great in their own way - and I definitely appreciate the niche that you've found! If I ever go ahead to make a trance song (which I'm definitely considering playing with the idea now...with some dubstep influence too would be nice ;) ), this is precisely the atmosphere I want it to encompass. Great job man, and also thanks for your advice! I'm definitely interested in this opportunity. =)

9/10
5/5
Fav'd.
DL'ed

Your friendly neighborhood dubstep producer,
-Jazzman

dj-Nate responds:

It's tough getting a ten outta you huh?? Haha, thanks for the review man, I really appreciate it. You're an amazing producer yourself Jazzman, don't sell yourself short!

[[S,J] Mixed Junkie]

Talent here

I love your attention to rhythm. Most artists forgo this completely. But you've nailed it with the glitch patterns, which work fantastically. The only thing I'd say is that your bass is slightly too obnoxious. I've found that filthy bass doesn't necessarily come right from creating the most overt sounds, but rather the effects that you put on those sounds. I'd recommend these three things: Reverb, flanger, stereo. It should fill out your bass in areas. I also want to hear some of the drum samples come out a little more on top of the bass; this can be accomplished with even simple EQing. Overall, you've got a huge amount of potential, but I'd say there's still a little bit of work to be done. Catchy though indeed!

8/10
5/5

SmithCommaJohn responds:

Thanks for your lenghy-yet-helpful review. I've pretty much retired this song from work for now, but I'll be sure to utilize these techniques in future works.

[TiGeR - Altocumulus]

Not too bad

TiGeR, I've liked always had an inclination to like your music. Your drumwork in this song is phenomenal, I gotta give you that, and very much of DnB nature...actually more a combo of DnB and glitch, which is nice. The melody and everything is quite catchy, and this is what I love most about this song. Props on the piano work at the end too. ;) I will say, though, that there are a few things that could use improvement. As I'm making a DnB/Dubstep combo song at the moment, I think I can give you some pointers that could really help you out for the future. First, I want to comment on the synths: While they are good raw, there's a hell of a lot more that you could do with them that you haven't even tapped yet. I'd recommend playing with some reverb and a little bit of delay effects, especially on your main detuned square lead. Second, the snare and the kick didn't come out enough in the mix, and I think this is because of the method you layered them in. With my kit, I usually like to layer the electronica kit with some live/real/organic drum samples (this will give you that heavy, beefy feel that Pendulum has...and even if you don't like Pendulum, you gotta admit they know how to get their drums to stick out in the mix). I'm not entirely sure how much compression you used, and where, but I can tell you one thing that helped me out was sidechaining; once you figure out how to sidechain things so that they stick out better in the mix, your song begins to sound elite...and I'm not talking just a little...like legitly elite. One other thing that I believe needs a little work are your drops. I feel that there isn't enough anticipation with them, even with all of the effects that you added. One way that you can do this is gradually build up your drumwork as opposed to showing us a grand drumpiece that would better be used elsewhere.

But, man, I gotta tell ya, this is a fantastic song. Very moving and powerful. It's akin to any epic song that you'll hear here on NG. I believe it deserves its slot at the top man just based on its pure inspiration, despite the improvements I mentioned above. Beautiful work, and I hope you continue to create more pieces like this! =)

Your friendly neighborhood dubstep/metalstep/drumstep/DnB producer (currently, to say the least =P),
-Jazzman

TiGeR responds:

Thanks for a great review! First of all I've gotta say Reflections is one of my favourite songs in the AP, you did an amazing job with it ;D!

Actually, about the synths: the BG synths are heavily reverbed (at least as I recall...) but about the leadsynth kicking in at 02:34, gotta agree it's a little to simple in that manner. The leadsynth was basically the last thing I added before finally mixing the stuff and submitting it onto Newgrounds, so it's possible that I rushed it at the end for the sake of finishing the song :S.

About the drums... you won't believe how much trouble I have with them (along with the bass). Either the bass kills the drums, or it's the other way around. In this song I think I got a pretty even sound. However, as you say it still might not be powerful enough. I tried to but some EQs and compression onto the drums to make them sound way more powerful, but in the meantime they kinda wobbled up the rest of the sounds. Help me please, I have no idea how to do this correctly >_< I guess I'm more the creative composer than the mixing one lol :D. But if you could email me some more tips on the mixing part, I'd be very grateful!

So yeah, I'd say this is possibly the best review I've ever gotten, so thank you very much!

And... just a fun fact: the piano part at the ending that you mentioned... actually that was the first thing I created in this song. For some reason I felt like "hey, this should be the epic ending of an ambient DnB song", so yeah I started working from the piano part and long story short, this is what it ended up to be ^^.

~TiGeR

[HW - Fever]

Inspirational liquid

The funny thing is, I helped you out to get that formant bass...and I turn out inspired by this lol. I really wanna make a chill song of inspiration now. Great job on that formant man, it sounds excellent! Better in tone than the one that I invented, I think. While the mix seems off in places - a little too geared towards the bass in places (even though it's dubstep lol), sometimes overshadowing the beauty of things that enter the scene, like the piano, or the pads - and while the overall EQing could use a little more treble, it's still an excellent song. Rainy day dubstep FTW! =D Great stuff man...lemme know if you're ever down for a collab or somethin, I'd love to do one.

9/10
5/5
Fav'd.

haywirehaywire responds:

Thanks a lot jazzman, and im totally down for a collab.

[JazzO:SCK-Robot RD2010]

I wish the guy below me knew what res was

Yeah, it has resonance, but too bad he doesn't know that that's what makes it sound so insanely awesome! =) Congrats with the song man, I hope we do well! =)

10/10
5/5
Fav'd.
DL'ed...oh wait, already have it! ;)

Zizmo responds:

I see what you did thur ;3

[HW - Sanguinary]

So chill lol

Hey man, this is really the most chill dubstep song I've ever heard. I think that bass could use more character, but other than that, it works very well. I think the one thing I love about this song is the imagery you create; it feels like something I would listen to on a rainy day in an urban district. Very progressive, I enjoy that. The mastering's great for the most part, everything fits in the mix very well. Good job man; it makes me wanna write a really super chill dubstep song. =)

9/10
5/5

haywirehaywire responds:

Thanks man, i agree it could use more bass now that i look back at it. Thanks for the review man.

[Fight For You (Dubstep)]

Very moving

God, I wish the woman I marry loves dubstep also lol. (Too bad I'm one of the few Americans that even knows it's a genre...=`( All we get is Lady Gaga n shit. =( ) I really love the way this song is introduced...it's by far the best intro to any song you've written. The synth is just so creamy n smooth, I love it man.

The only thing I gotta say needs improvement is your wobble. It's not a bad tone - very chainsawish - but it just doesn't fit the mood as well as it could. I dunno if you've ever checked out Mt. Eden's dubstep (well, you must've at some point lol! =D) but I envision a deep, subbish open tone like in their remix of "Stay Alive" would complement the track a little better. Of course, you'd have to find a way to fill out the mix a little more (I'd recommend vocal effects...very effective...no pun intended =P), but I think you could definitely get a cooler vibe out of it. Not to say the vibe is bad as it is...in fact, I love it (and I've got an idea I'm gonna send to you over PM)...but I think it could be blasted into awesomesauce world if you were to make that tone more open. Just some ideas. I love the track though, it sends shivers down my spine! =D

Your friendly neighborhood dubstep producer,

-Jazzman

9/10
5/5

Aydin-Jewelz123 responds:

Cooooool man! Thanks for the feedback!! :D I'm off on holiday now, will probably get in touch at some point when I'm out there :)

[:O :O :O]

Heaviest dubstep I've heard on NG

CnB, I dunno if I ever told you this, but you inspired me to start submitting shit here on NG lol. And I gotta say, for your first track of 2010, this is one of the heaviest dubstep tunes here on NG. You basically took my "dirty bass" that I developed, my screaming formant bass, and my "metalstep" that I'm currently workin on, and you falcon-punched it into the farthest depths of the universe. It's absolutely legit dubstep, through and through. I always took you for a DnB man, but this proves you otherwise. The drumbeat is simple and heavy, as it should be; the bass is dirty as hell; the vocals are an excellent addition; the sweeping effects in the beginning and in the drop just gave me an eargasm. I seriously wish this song was a little longer and expanded upon, because it's ridiculous how awesome the theme is. And btw, progression CAN be part of the track, it just depends on what you're goin for. (A lotta my shit's prog dubstep, and it's worked well so far.) In this track, you were obviously aiming for the vibe, so I can't realy dock you on this. It sounds really good, that's really all that matters! =D Dirtier than watching George Bush take a shit on the American flag while recording a gay sex porno on Independence Day. (*ah, the irony!* ;D )

The only thing that I can't really feel from this (and I suppose I agree with Spikrodd on this one) is an obvious robot theme. It sounds fantastically awesome, but this is one area where it seems to fall short. However, this has not so much to do with the track, but rather the contest. Still, good luck broski, I wish ya the best! =)

This is how the fuck I feel! >=D

9/10
5/5
Fav'd.
DL'ed

Your friendly dubstep producer,

-Jazzman

cornandbeans responds:

Thanks for the kind words, glad I got you interested in submitting. :)

[Children (Awake Remix)]

Welcome to the epic club my friend!

Great remix of a classic man. This has some really great sounds in it, and it's a good arrangement. It reminds me a lot of the song that I produced, and it's very epic and ambient...just, yeah lol. While the bass is nice, I feel like it was too wide with the cutoff, and too quiet compared to everything else, but it still works well. The saws that you use are great, and really add that trancey, upbeat feel. This combined with the classic element is great. The drums are quite good, and really only need to come out in the kick (it's just a hair underneath the mix, but it still works well). I think that the drops require a just a slight bit more anticipation, if you catch me; they come in too suddenly after too much time (if you wanted it to come in suddenly, you should have backed off on the measures it took to build up...it's like you're ears are idle for too long). Overall, though, Rawrthaas, this is an excellent tune. I'm seriously impressed. This is my favorite song by you, for sure. Keep it up, and carry on writing songs in the same vein!

Word, from your friendly neighborhood dubstep producer, Jazzman! ;)

9/10
5/5
Fav'd.

Rawrthaas responds:

thanks man

[[P] - Laboratory (Dubstep)]

Don't freaking give up! EVER!!!

Okay, so your song needs work. Obviously. This is what I'm gonna help you with. But, hell, don't give up! Seriously! If you like it, keep trying. Listen to the masters, see what they did, and try to emulate it. My personal advice. ;)

You're in luck, because I've learned how to develop a decent wobble. It took a while, but I finally got it lol. PM me on this, and I'll fill you in, because it's kinda difficult to explain here (and I don't exactly like the idea of everyone knowing my formula...just yet, anyway...=P).

As for the actual song, I understand that you spent a minimal amount of time on it. I feel like you coulda done a ton more with it, because it feels pretty empty right now. Even aside from the wobble bass, the leads weren't really as present as they coulda been, nor as prominent, and the drops (with the laugh) need some more anticipation in my opinion. The sweeping thing is cool, but there definitely could be something else going on there as well. The drum samples/loops that you use are actually pretty good, although the kick could definitely come out a little more.

One thing that I appreciated about this song was how ambient some of the background stuff was. I liked how you blended the pads and synths in, although, like I said before, those leads could come out a little more.

Keep producing music man, don't give up, keep learning, and PM me. I'll help you out bro. And sorry if my review is a little choppy (I'm tired and I have to piss really bad atm =P). I hope I gave you some stuff to ponder on!

7/10
4/5

Pezmobile responds:

I wasn't planning on giving up completely. Yes i have listen to many of the masters, such as I have 12 hours worth of podcasts from Dubstep.fm. I believe I'm an afficianato on it, just not making it. I keep trying out some new stuff in the meantime too.

I dont think I'll do any more work on this particular song though, but I'll take your advice for my future ones.

[P]