Everratic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Gently into the night]

I totally agree with etherealwinds! It's deeply emotional and spurs me to contemplate my life. I almost never hit the download button on NG, but this is an exception because I never want to lose access to this track. I look forward to your NGAUC submissions!

mjattie responds:

Thanks for the very kind words!

[Happy Days!]

This is very fun to listen to! It instantly boosted my mood haha. Congrats on reaching your follower goal!

I'm glad to hear I'm an inspiration. It's cool to know that you tried recreating sections of my songs. I never heard a cover/remake of my music so it would be fun to listen to.

I have some mixing comments:

- The mix feels overly bright. I suggest experimenting with -1 to -3db bell cuts between 2k and 16k hz on all the instruments to get a feel for how it affects each sound. Some instruments need that brightness whereas others can sound much better with a warmer tone. Overtime, you can develop a taste for how bright or warm you like each instrument.

- If you haven't already, I suggest filtering the reverb sends with a lowcut 6db slope between 300-400hz and a high cut with a 6db slope between 4k-7k hz. This ensures that the reverb doesn't get too muddy or bright. If you're using delays, some of them have a built-in EQ filter where you can apply the same setting.

- The bass range is fairly weak. The kick and double bass blend together into a mush. You can try to find a kick that sits nicely below the double bass and EQ the double bass to give the kick some more breathing room. Using a lower key for the composition can also help give the double bass some more presence. Also remember to cut out some of the double bass' mids to make room for other instruments that need to occupy that range. If you darken the orchestral instruments, especially around 4k, you can boost that area on the kick so it pops out and has more presence.

- In regards to the arrangement, while composing, I suggest occasionally taking a global view of your composition where you can see all the notes simultaneously. Look for any overlap or lines that are too close together. Each musical line, whether one instrument or a blend of instruments, should have plenty of breathing room without competing with other lines.

Tangerine responds:

Omg, thank you so much. Mixing has always been my weakest skill with music! It's probably about time I start taking it into consideration a bit more xd.

I'm always a bit fearful and iffy with the low end because I am scared to make things sound too muddy. But a piece does feel weak and substanceless without the bass. But I guess it ends up muddy anyway. I'll play around with it a bit more!

Thank you for the feedback!!

[Sky]

This is lovely!!! I wanted the resolution at the end so badly haha

HollandAlbright responds:

Thank you so much!

[AIM - The Outcasts Meet Thingie]

This is pretty relaxing and fits the vibe of the art well. Overall, there's a healthy amount of variation so it doesn't get stale, but perhaps the percussion rhythm could vary more.

Creeperforce24 responds:

True, this is more focused on the instruments, thanks!

[FD - Abyssal Echoes]

I love it!

ForgottenDawn responds:

Thank you :)

[(AIM 2024) I miss You]

It fits the artwork very well! The chords and instrumentation effectively capture the nostalgia intrinsic to the art. The repetitive, continuous nature of the piano line brilliantly reflects the art's looping animations.

Some areas to improve:

1. It seems like you attempted to have a climax at 4:10, but it didn't hit the mark for me. There are two main reasons, as far as I can tell. First, the composition isn't very dynamic due to heavy compression and a lack of dynamic automation on the instruments, which diminishes the impact of adding voices. Second, there aren't enough substantive changes to make the listener feel a sense of movement on a musical journey. The final section feels the same as the first section but with additional voices and an echoing countermelody.

2. As mentioned, I think the level of compression diminishes the emotional appeal of your lovely composition.

3. Depending on the sample libraries you're using, you can improve the realism by automating volume and dynamic level.

There is more I can say, but I just want to focus on my primary thoughts.

Good luck with AIM!

DigitalProdigy responds:

Thank you so much for the very detailed review. I will definitely take your advice in my future music productions. Since the artwork was a digital piece, I wanted to make the music have a more of a robotic sound, not necessarily a digital sound, but more of a steady,even, with consistency, if the artwork was of a still life form, then I would have made the music more of a realistic,warm, natural sound, but I played the piano with the aftertouch turned off, and made sure all the other instruments had the same effect, but I understand what you are saying and I will keep all the information you have provided in mind when I write my next piece of music.

[We Are Free [NGADM 2023]]

This is fun to listen to! I’m glad you tried vocals — you did a good job!

The tonal balance is drastically improved :D I only have one minor mixing comment: I think you can scoop out more frequencies between 200 and 600 on the instruments with a lot of low mid presence. That can increase clarity and reduce the masking of the low strings.

Benji-G responds:

Thank you Everratic!

[Eclipse [NGADM 2023]]

This is enjoyable and exciting to listen to :) There's never a dull moment.

The overall mix and use of reverb is much better this time! Mainly, I think the high end is too boosted. I analyzed the the track's frequency spectrum and noticed the high end is loudest by a noticeable margin. With EQ, I added a -4 db high cut at 9khz and another -2.3db cut at 4khz and noticed a drastic improvement in balance and clarity. I'm not suggesting this as a solution - it's better to make changes on an individual level. What I do suggest is being more selective with what instruments you boost the high end on.

Benji-G responds:

Hey thank you! Being more selective with which sounds to boost the high end on is a great advice, and not something I've really thought about. I tend to mix all instruments individually most of the times, which may not be the best way to go about.
I'll definitely think about this in the future.

[The Big Band Theory]

Every moment is a pleasure to listen to! I noticed your arrangement and orchestration skills have improved immensely. The writing sounds very clean, smooth and deliberate. The structure is full of nice surprises and never gets stale. The percussion writing, especially toward the end, is phenomenal.

Some mixing comments:
- The reverb feels too large and diffused. For this kind of song, I think a more intimate, cozy room would work better and would provide more clarity. If you want a grandiose sense of space, what you could do is use two reverb buses, one with similar settings to what you have now, and one that's more intimate, and divide the instruments into two groups, foreground and background.
- The mix feels too dark for this kind of music. You can boost the highs (10K+) on the sticks, hi hats. and snares. If you find that they poke out too much with this boost, you can try adding some saturation on top. I suggest using saturation either way on the hi hats/shakers.
- I think you can boost or saturate around 200hz on the snare.
- The piano could maybe benefit from some dynamic EQ to tame some spikes, likely between 1 and 2k.
-The toms sound a little muddy. You can probably cut between 200hz and 700hz.
- You can likely boost the highs a bit on some of the more mellow melodic instruments, like the sax on the left.

I hope this helps! Good luck in the NGADM. This is a very solid and fun submission <3

AlbeGian responds:

Thank you for the amazing feedback! I really appreciate it ^^

[Necroswamp Abomination]

As usual, I'm impressed by the complexity of the composition and the extensive range of instruments and textures. 3:50 is my favorite moment. I love the gritty sound of the solo strings and the dynamic contrast with the neighboring sections.

LD-W responds:

Those particular solo strings are from 8DIO's Deep Solo Series, alternating between three/four different shorts-articulations (and the Slurred Legato occasionally on the Violin to layer up in other parts of the track, with the Quintet Legato and Adachi also layered behind those two!). In the much busier parts of the track, I've found Deep Solo combo's quite nicely with Angel Strings Vol1's Sautille Spiccato at varying velocity layers for a fine-balance between either 'the big wall', or a more intimate result