Everratic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ghost Dance - NGUAC 2020]

Sorry for the long wait!

I like the emotion and atmosphere throughout much of the track. The reverse effects are a nice touch.

There are some major problems with the production. All the instruments sound like they aren't EQd properly. I think you can remove some low-mid frequencies from the piano, guitar, drums, and bass, and you can boost the highs on the snare, guitar, and piano. The bass ( or whatever instrument the strong bass sound is coming from) could benefit from compression as well as dynamic EQ to further suppress any unwanted resonances.The glockenspiel sounds like it's played at too high dynamics - you can play it softer and simply increase the volume if necessary; the glockenspiel should also be treated with dynamic EQ so it's consistent in volume and doesn't sound piercing. I suggest re-balancing the volume levels of all the instruments after making these changes.

The square synth in the 1:58 section sounds uninteresting. You can add more expression by automating vibrato, using different articulations, having pauses, using syncopation, etc.

You made some good decisions in creating an interesting atmosphere, but problems with production and lack of expressiveness detracted from my enjoyment.

I hope this helps, and thank you for participating this year!

Irish-Soul responds:

Thank you so much for the feedback! Yep, production is definitely where I struggle the most and I 100% see what you mean. I'll try to keep this in mind for future songs I create

[a simple song]

This is beautiful!

[Immersion]

I enjoyed this a lot. I like the sound design, especially the quirky samples.

[God of Thunder]

-Nguac Review-

Composition:
I like the section at 1:42. It's nice ear candy.

Many of the sound effects feel arbitrary; they don't evoke imagery of a certain place or any emotions. The vocals don't get me excited - they're actually pretty distracting because I have to pay close attention to understand the words, and the tone is too neutral.

The strings and piano writing is extremely basic, and there's no legato or dynamic control. It's important to consider dynamics and voice leading to enhance realism, and more importantly, emotion.

The section at 3:00 has an interesting rhythmic change, but the main theme is so simple that I wish for something else at this point.

After that section, much of the rest of the song feels like it's unnecessary repetition. 4 minutes is more than enough, but the song is nearly 6 minutes without enough content variation to justify it.

Overall, the song sounds like you stitched together a variety of generic electronic music elements without a plan for creating a cohesive, meaningful experience. I don't sense a purpose behind the song, such as telling a story, evoking certain emotions, encouraging people to dance, etc.

Composition Score:
1.6/3

Production:

There's a lot of great sound design here, particularity during the drops.

I think reverb has been used poorly across the board. It's significantly reducing clarity, creating mud, and producing a detached high-end reverb sound that doesn't add any value.

If you're using free reverbs, I suggest you consider investing in a good one. That won't solve all the problems, but it can potentially provide a drastic improvement in sound quality.

The mix sounds good during the 1:42 section.

Production Score:
2/3

Emotion Score:
1/3

Creativity:
.4/1

Total:
5

I realize this review is more of an explanation of my score rather than helpful feedback, but we make very different types of music so it's difficult for me to help you further. I hope you find some value from my review nonetheless.

Benji-G responds:

Uh yeah thanks... I’m still mad and sad, but in a few days It’ll be over and I’ll find this really helpful. But rn I’m pissed ngl, I’m sorry

[The Paths Our Heart Often Guides Us Through]

This is very heartwarming. I especially love the ending with the beautiful piano.

Which reverbs did you use?

AlbeGian responds:

Valhalla VintageVerb if I'm not wrong. Really glad that you find it heartwarming, thank you so much!!

[-Morningstar-]

I love this

PredatorMusic responds:

Glad you do so!

[Rock Bottom]

This is very catchy! I love the guitars and piano.

[Omnis Evanescet in Nihilo]

-NGUAC Review-

I like the instrumentation, orchestration, and structure. The choir writing is well done for the most part. There are a few voicings I dislike, such as 1:19.

I gave you very high scores in composition, emotion, and creativity. You lost most points in production. I sense some mud in the mix from the percussion, and there's some harshness in the high end. The part at 1:34 is too loud and harsh, and it seems like the mix hit the limiter pretty hard. Some instruments, such as the woodwinds, sound too dry. Maybe this video can help with that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0axfEAU5vbg

With a better mix, I think you would have passed - maybe with one of the highest scores.

SourJovis responds:

Thank you for the review. Glad you liked the song. I'll see what I can do about the mix.

That's a good tutorial. I've watched many tutorials like that, and I've been using my reverb settings quite like that for some time now. For this song however I've used mostly the actual reverbs recorded within the samples, because I really like the ambience of the room the instruments are recorded in, and nothing sounds as realistic as real life reverb. The placing in the room was determined mostly by the person who recorded it, but you can adjust the volumes of each individual mic manually. I kept the placing in the room mostly the same as they were when they were recorded, but sometimes I switched the left and right output if I wanted to have an instrument on the opposite side and I've done some (mostly minor) panning myself. To enhance manual room placing adjustments, and as an artistic choice, I've added a bit of digital reverb for what they in your video refer to as "early reflections". I've used the TSAR-1 by Softube with very subtle "dark" settings. The woodwinds are placed behind the violas, but in front of the brass ensemble, so they have more early reflections than the strings, but less than the brass (also less than the double bases which are behind the celli).

[DAZZLING DUNES]

This is very catchy and lively :D

ArcaneMusic responds:

Thanksies

[Glass-cutter]

-NGUAC Review-

The intro is intriguing and well-executed. The sound design is quite pleasant here. There's a nice surprise at :33.

After this point, I feel like the composition meanders and loses its meaning. The melody in section A isn't catchy, interesting, or memorable, and it seems too far in the background when it should be in the forefront imo.

The drop at 1:06 is less interesting melody-wise, and it's not clear how it relates to what I heard previously. This section is fairly repetitive until the 1:39 point.

1:39 is an awesome moment. The abrupt chord change and the runs are quite pleasing. But like in the intro, the composition seems to meander again shortly afterward.

The outro is satisfying by itself but feels weak in context because I don't feel like the song took me anywhere or made me feel a certain way.

The sound design is pretty good, and I like the delay effect on the piano. I like the bass and percussion together.

Regarding the mix, I think the bass range can be cleaned up a little (particularly around 150hz); the highs can be boosted on some instruments such as the pad, snare and piano; and low-mid resonances can be reduced across the board. The mix could sound wider as well - perhaps with those changes it will automatically sound wider.

Sorry for the long wait. I hope this is helpful! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Stargame responds:

This review actually comforted me in a way - these are all things I've felt about the piece, particularly concerning the composition, and it was nice to hear from a fellow musician who is able to articulate what I, myself was feeling about the song. It's comforting to see where it would need work. It's also nice because I had very little time and energy to make the piece, and I was very stressed while doing so (newborn third child) - as mentioned, it was done in 6 hours. I know it needs more time - I was burning out pretty bad at the time. I feel like if I can take more time on this piece a little later, I can really flesh it out. Thank you for the honest and articulate review.