LJCoffee's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Bloodrush]

Nice work

Not too much into VG but it had a great sound - you did a very decent job on it.

Loved some of the timbres used - the lead portamento synth has a great sound - a little quirky and a little sick - very cool.

The percussion was lacking though - It sounded almost like an afterthought - sorry but that's what I thought.

You've obviously gotten zero bombed (by looking at your score) - you deserve better - I'll help that in just a second.

Overall - really nice work with the exception of the drums.

WritersBlock responds:

Hey, thanks for the review. Yeah, I found that lead sound and took to it right away. Percussion is one of my main problems with my music, I think that once I've done enough experimentation, then things should be better on that side of things.
Zero bombed, is that what it's called eh? I notice that happening here and there...
Cheers for the review, very helpful.

[==(Breathing)==]

Nice job

Nice and clear - I'm not certain that I liked the timbres of some of the instruments but that's really just a preference issue. I can't quite put my finger on it but it had a... new age? feel to it... Sorry - difficult to describe but it's that whole fusion realistic instrument blended with obviously sythesized elements thing... Never you mind about my comments - All in all it was a really decent track - well put together and all of that. Sounds a little like you have some VG influences in there.

Keep up the good work!

[And Now I'm Fearless]

Awwwwwww.. how bitter-sweet

Nice and ...ummm, sweet? I liked the bits of reversed something-or-other that were in there.

This was a really nice track - Here's a disclaimer: My instinct is to recoil and/or throw up a little when presented with "sweet" things. Puppies playing on a sunset beach would make me vomit. Lovers walking hand in hand and sharing lingering gazes ignite not a spark of romance in me but rather turn my stomach and make me want to light them both on fire. Wistful dreams of gentle happy places fill my mouth with bile. - You get the idea...

So then, with that disclaimer I'll tell you that I really felt uncomfortable at certain times while listening to this track.

That's a fairly good indicator that you've created something really nice - something really sweet - something worthy of a stage/movie soundtrack. Either the scene where the two who we've wondered "will they or won't they" finally get together towards the end - or maybe the part where the protagonist reflects on all of the sage advice that his dying father gave him and thinks back about all of the good times - and realizes that despite his loss, all is right with the world...

*puke :D

It really was very good so you're scores are nice and you'll get the 5 but I really have to go now because I will soon be sick ;)

Nice mix too! - Levels were all good on this end.

pitbulljones responds:

haha this review made my have a little sex wee. Yea i very rarely do nice like this, but if a tune is being made you gotta go with it innit. thanks you very much.

let me know when you have owt new up.

pitters

[scarred]

Really nice job

Loved the layering -

The atmo sxf in the beginning were quite unusual - nice bit of reverb, gave it all a little depth.

The strings were nice - the soft edges did a nice job of masking the synthesis.

Some very different chord progressions. Very nice though - I really liked that the progression was unexpected. I think that's just enough to keep someone listening to find out what happens next.

The buzzlines and the 303-like arp set it all up as something other than a symphonic comp. Again, Made me wonder what was coming next.

The bells panned toward the right were nice and simple and added another layer that played nicely with the strings - Same with the pluck that was panned toward the left - both timbres were good and created some nice dissonance against the strings in certain spots.

The only couple of things I would have liked to hear done differently would be to drop the level of the distant bang synth somewhere near where the bells come in and bring them back again toward the end. Also the addition of a deeper, slow moving string would be great - maybe something an octave or two lower than what's there. Like a cello against a violin - you know...

All in all this was a really nice track and it was put together well. Overall mix was great.

pitbulljones responds:

Hey man thansk for the thorough review. Like i mentioned to ped i got myself a new vsti and its been my muse for this tune, sounds, timbres and shit.

The string arangement was obviously a case of trial and error, as i started with the atmos synth, tried getting a war feel, impending doom thingy me jig and well it mutated into what you hear.

I really cudnt decide on the arp for ages either, didnt know whether it was too 'electronic for the peace but it seems to work well as a bass supplement whether than lead/melody enhancer.

The bell synth is from rhino, think its a marimba, just played really high in octave, simple qudruplets that support the main chord scheme. and the pluck is a guitar with trem and slight flanger over it, bit of delay too i think..

I agree with you on the atmos synth, i have already rolled it bk quite a bit before mix down and rolled the bass off too, think it might be a mid-range problem where the noise is coming from but defo needs a roll back. and the addition of a lower string is a very good idea, i may have to go bk to this and do exactly that.

thanks again LJC

pm with with any tunes you need reviewing, best way to get me.

pitters

[[GF]If-I-Could-Be-You[GF]]

Hmmmm...

OK - you're calling it a remix PLUS to be honest - it sounds very much like every other trance or techno tune I've heard so you lose a few points for originality. Diversity is a little tougher - again, honestly it's the same basic timbres that you hear in all techno and trance - you've done nothing new here - but what you did do, you did well for the most part.

Clarity was fine - a few minor issues on this end but I can't tell if it's the track or my settings so you get the benefit of doubt and a 9 to go with.

Overall I'm giving you a 9. I don't particularly care for this style but I can appreciate the effort and skill required to make it.

It was well made but you've stayed right in the middle of a very safe path - I didn't hear anything new or extremely exciting in this track. You lost a point of two for using the stereotypical cheering crowd samples. I've never cared for those at all - oh well though right?

GroundForce responds:

after listening to my track, i noticed that the crowds are toooo loud lol^^

anyway thank for this great review!!

[GF]

[Shall we]

a little choppy

Your loops aren't gelling perfectly - there seems to be a slight delay in there - almost like you used an .mp3 as a loop... nothing happened here - a few neat little clips, the wargames opening was fine but then the beat kicks in and never really goes anywhere... to be honest, if it weren't for the vox samples, I would have thought this was a single bar loop.

Oh well - work on it and develop it more and it'll be a demn decent track but as it is it's nothing notable.

Sorry man - I'm just trying to be honest with you.

[Iridion 3D - The Pacific]

Not bad at all

I have to open with a disclaimer - I very rarely listen to this style of music but I think you've done a bang-up job on it. Sounded good on this end. I have no idea how original this is so I'm giving you the benefit of doubt and going with a 10. Diversity will get you an 8 - by it's nature, VG doesn't seem to be an incredibly diverse genre but you did manage to get a nice cross section of timbres in there. Quite clear and effort - well... how can we ever really judge another persons effort right?

Overall you get a 9 and I'm voting 5 - great track - keep it up!

CyrusOfNaias responds:

Thanks, man! I put a total of about 7hrs into it. That's breaking down the days and my schedule that fluctuates like crazy. You can bet your ass that I can still do better, so look forward to it!

[Mortal Kombat VS Remix]

Great Mix

I went into this one thinking that you were going to get a relatively low score for originality but I really like what you've done with a track that's been remixed so many times. It was actually a pretty original remix. I thought you did a great job overall. I couldn't find much wrong with it.

Again - great job on it!

[-AF- Once Again]

Mix,,,

Sounds like you're having the same problem that I am at the moment. I just upgraded a few things and my sound card settings are a little different from what I was used to - it's causing some mastering problems.

OK then - there is a bit of distortion on the percussion - not enough to sound intentional though which leads me to believe that it's a mastering issue. Also sounds like your either sidechaining everything too much OR your dynamics are just getting destroyed by something in there. it ducks a bit too much - Again - it doesn't quite sound intentional. The guitar(ish) synth is a bit loud, it dominates everything else and it sounds a bit too synthetic.

I think it might be a little too far outside of traditional DnB to do well in this genre - I expect a lot of people will wrinkle their noses and say "that's NOT Drum and bass" while giving you a lower score.

Overall, there's not really any one thing that's wrong here - it's just that there are a lot of little things that don't sound right - mostly due to bad mastering. I think that if you went back, adjusted your levels a bit, applied better compression and didn't try to maximize the sound so much it would sound a bit better.

Something on the guitar would be nice - a little reverb or delay - something to help smooth it out a bit more would help it sound more realistic - the attack and release are a little too short - especially the release. I think there should be a softer tail on it. As I mentioned, I think that this instrument dominates the mix but it sounds as if you didn't put a relative amount of effort into getting it to sound just right.

I'm not trying to rip you up here - I'm really trying to help point out problem areas - I do think you did a decent job on it and I'd like to hear some more from you.

As of right now, you've had two 5's and one 0 - I just brought your score up to 3.33 so don't feel too bad about the one zero - that almost always happens when the score is at 5...

I really hope this helps!

ArisingFlame responds:

I want to thank you for the extensive review, it helped a lot! As you said, the problem I find most is mastering. My problem... I don't know how. I somewhat intended the distortion on the precussion, but it doesn't give me that sound I was looking for, and I have no idea what I'm doing on that note.

With the guitars, not knowing quite how to tweak it, it is three different guitars at the same exact nope\pitch\timing... Kinda not the best way to do that. =P

Another big problem pointed out... It's LOUD. For some reason, I end up doing that to all of my songs.

If you could help me on any of these, it would be AMAZING, I really respect you as a fellow (and much better than me) musician and I really enjoyed receiving this review. Thank you!

[Static Call (Full Version...)]

Damn nice track here

Some great synths in there - sounds like a little bit of bit-crushing. Nice pad. The guitar is a bit synthetic but damn, it's so hard to find a convincing guitar synth... unless it actually IS a real guitar and now I look like a complete noob :D - my money says it's a synth though - oh well aside from breaking out a guitar what can you do right?

I really liked the almost jazzy breakbeat thing you have going on in places. Just enough to wake the beat up a little without going too crazy with it. I actually would have liked "too crazy with it" as well but what you did seems to fit nicely.

Overall a really decent track - a bit on the short side still but that's cool.

Quarl responds:

Hey, thanks for the review, it means alot to me. Yeah, the guitar is synthetic, but I always play my melodies in real time on my computers keyboard, so there's a little bit of realness in there sort of.

AS for the shortness of the track, I actualy just ran out of ideas. I didn't know where to go with the track. I probably could have brought it back around one more time, but...that would have came off as a little repetitive...dunno, maybe I should have spent some more time on it,