EagleGuard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Movement Error]

Alright, I'm going to be brutally honest with you here: I found it quite hard to actually listen through this piece. Although combining orchestral music with EDM is an interesting combination, it is a very delicate one that must be approached with extreme care, and unfortunately I found the quality of both elements to be quite lacking in this piece. I'll break it down into two sections.

Composition:
- When using classical instruments (including choirs), try to consider the position of the players themselves. Right now it all sounds very robotic, and lacks any form of human emotion that is so important for orchestral music.
- You used the same melody over and over again. Don't do that.
- You used the same harmony (chords) over and over again. Don't do that.
- There was quite a lot of dissonance, which made it sound "unpleasant".
- There isn't really a common thread to follow: the sections all sound very arbitrary and random.
- Be careful with the amount of layers you use: too many of them and your mix will sound cluttered.
- Voice clips can sound gimmicky really quickly. Use them only if it adds value.

Mixing / Mastering / Other technicalities:
- Clipping (sound levels too high; lower the output volume next time or use a limiter).
- Compression levels are too high (when side-chaining is active?).
- You should give the EQ another look: not enough spacing between the instruments, and the highs are too... high.

Pardon the wall of text, but I hope it'll help you improve for future works. If I were to give one final piece of advice, it would be to study some more music theory: that can really up your level and understanding of music quite a bit. That said, all in all, a 2/5 for the effort.

[How High the Moon]

Excellent stuff! There are many good things that can be said about this particular piece: the overal composition, the mixing, the arrangement, as well as the overal 'feel' of the song. Heck, I could even picture this being used in a film!

There are a few minor issues that could be improved upon, though:

1) The ending is a bit too sudden in my opinion. I was waiting for that final last note to come, but it didn't: it remained silent. It's a small thing, but an important one nonetheless.

2) Although the mixing in general is excellent, the vocals are somewhat hard to hear at times, especially during the busier parts of the song.

3) I get the idea that there is a little bit too much compression in some areas. Although it is an interesting effect on its own (and greatly subjective, too), I think it would've been better if the compression were more transparent.

Like I said, these are just small issues in an otherwise amazing song. All in all, a 4.5/5! Keep up the good work!

newhansen responds:

That's a great review you wrote. I'm glad you like it. Some of your points are helpfull to me. If i would record this a second time, i'd probably rewrite the end. I'd have given it a long ending chord in G-minor.

[Frootza - Phantom]

I find your description a bit confusing. Did you use somebody else's melody (with or without permission) to write this song? Though it's not directly part of this review, a detailed description is always nice.

Anyway, now for the actual review. Let's start with the good. As others before me have stated, the song in general is very uplifting and catchy, and has a "solid beat" to it. If you were to change it into a loop, it'd work great for certain types of Flash games.

While some of the melodies sound really nice (combined with harmony), others are a bit too random for my taste (e.g. 00:44 - 01:13). The chorus is great for example, it's just that some of those in-between parts could've used a bit more work. Perhaps it would've been better to actually cut a few layers of instruments here and there, as the song can be a bit "messy" or "too full" at times. This would make the melodies stand out more, thus reducing that "randomness" effect. Another option is to alter the mix through additional EQ and / or compression.

Speaking of the mix, in general I thought it was good. Be careful with those high-pitched instruments though, as they are just about nearing the "danger zone" of listener fatigue. Also, the bass drum could stand out a bit more.

Finally, a few small things. The "Frootza, Frootza, Frootza" thing is a bit odd, if you ask me. I personally dislike it when people "watermark" their songs this way, but to each his own, I guess. The ending of this piece is a bit too sudden, and this is really a shame considering what could be done with it. Lastly, there could be a bit more variety of instruments. I'm guessing you wanted this to sound 8-bit-ish, but try not to limit yourself too much here!

Whew, I think that was one of the longest reviews I've written... Anyway, all in all, a pretty good job! 7/10 Keep up the good work!

frootza responds:

*Updated Response*

I see the error... I wrote "his" when I meant... THIS! Complete confusion! So sorry Eagle, I really appreciate the PM about it.

Again, very happy that you enjoyed it. I think your critique was interesting, and I see where you were going with it. I actually might tweak the high hats not just the tonality but the rhythm. I was experimenting with a new sound pack and just trying to get the EQ right based on the other instruments.

Thank you for the response! You are awesome. Keep in touch dude!

frootza

[Seven nation army COVER]

I'm not really used to writing reviews for covers, so apologies if this isn't the kind of review you were expecting. I wrote this review in the same way I usually write reviews for regular pieces, so keep in mind that in the end, my goal is to provide constructive criticism, not act like the Spanish Inquisition.

Anyway, the first point I'd like to make, is the lack of creativity here. I know this is a cover, but I personally really like it when people add their own flavour to a song they cover, not just copy-paste the original song with a new voice attached to it. Yes, I realise this was done just for fun, but try to look at it as general advice: it's a good song on its own, but in its current state it simply sounds too much like the original.

A few more specific points here. The bass in the original is what made it so epic. Here, however, the bass guitar is rather weak. Apart from that, there's too much compression on the drums. Compression can greatly enhance your mix, but in this case the compression is way too obvious. Lastly, there's a bit too much vibrato in your voice every now and then, and at times I thought you were trying to hold back, rather than 'sing with your soul'. The guitar parts were nice though!

All in all, a decent cover, but there is room for improvement. Good luck!

DivoFST responds:

I agree with every single aspect of your review, i made this cover with a few simple things in mind...one of them was to have fun and i certainly did, i also wanted to train my midi composition so i tried to do this as close to the original as possible in instruments and finally i wanted to have something where i could sing to improve myself vocally as well.
I didn't have a bass here so i used a VSTi and i do realize it takes away a lot from the song, the drums im actually pretty happy with them (considering the objective was to sound like the original), the vocals i once again agree with you they are not great and the vibrato iv been using lately annoys me like hell but i cant control it.
Thanks for the review EagleGuard!

[Magic Bubble Sunshine]

I imagined something a bit more... picturesque when I listened to this, but if it makes you think of fat people, I guess that's fine too! I personally think it would great as 'credits music', or something scenic.

Anyway, the biggest issue with this song, is that it gets a bit repetitive after you've listened to it for the first time, which is a shame considering the nice tone it sets. Apart from that, there are some volume balancing issues here and there (some tracks sounding louder than they should, 1:56-2:01 for example). Furthermore, there isn't really a melody or anything, but depending on the kind of setting you're aiming for, this is not a bad thing per se. Another thing that does bother me however, is the somewhat cheap ending. I know it loops better this way, but it would've been worth investing a bit more time in it.

That said, all in all, it's not too shabby! Keep up the good work!

KanDuDor responds:

Thankyou :D

[Here you go!]

I've got to agree with TheoryGuy on this one, the effects pretty much make the piece! I'm guessing both 'jazz' as well as 'miscellaneous' would be fine to describe the genre.

What struck me most about this particular piece, is that underneath its 'basic' appearance there's quite a bit of complexity in terms of melodic and harmonic progression. All in all I really like the piece, although the ending was a bit abrupt. It's fast, it's catchy, and I think it would work really well for short movies.

There's not much I can say about the mastering / mixing, other than that it sounds fine the way it does now. That said, I don't think one can do much harm in these areas when only one instrument is being used.

All in all, a job wel done. Keep up the good work!

shieldurhope responds:

I agree with you.
I did think about a short movie when making this. Something like a villain with long, pointed eyebrows and nose tying a damsel in distress to a railway. That idea I originally used to make another song: "The Train Tracks", but here I thought I should stick to the original flavour.
Thanks for the review, hoping to do more stuff like this.

[Yeah yeah (oooh!) S&T]

"How come THIS song didn't get the attention it deserves???" is the question you asked. Well...

First off, this song is really hard on the ears, and not in a good way, I'm afraid. Those high frequencies (ironically coming from the bass) are causing some serious listener fatigue. A good equaliser would have been your best friend here.

Apart from that, the piece is a bit dull. It feels more like a never-ending build-up than an actual song, although the final part is better than the rest. I personally dislike dissonance in most music (unless it's done 'really' well), so try to make your productions sound as harmonic as you can. Studying some additional music theory would be a good thing to do in this case.

Please try to take this all as constructive criticism. I can tell effort went into this, but there is still some work to be done, unfortunately.

Good luck!

The-MickMad responds:

For the frequency thing I actually didn't notice that; I'll see what I can do. About the dissonance, apart from an error I made near 2.06, I don't think there are any, but I'll try to spot them. Btw, thanks for giving this song the attention it deserves :)

[Double Trouble!]

Hehe, I must say, your piece put a smile on my face when I first listened to it. It sounds really goofy and would really fit the kind of games you describe. It's quite rare to see someone use Reason for orchestral productions, so that's a nice thing too see for a change.

Although there is a lot of variation to be found, the main melodies are repeated a bit too often for my taste, considering this is a rather short piece. Apart from that, the xylophone is a bit too loud in some parts and the climax at 00:36 - 00:45 could be toned down a bit to keep volume levels balanced. Of course, these are just small personal preferences.

All in all, a job well done!

Mattashi responds:

Thanks for the review :)

[On The Horizon]

Composition-wise, this is quite a nice piece. I liked the way you progressed the chords, and they really set the mood well. There is, however, still room for improvement.

I personally don't recommend using Sibelius as your main sequencer, basically because that's not its main purpose. It's great for writing your scores with, but when it comes down to the actual production part, it's much better to work with a proper Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) like Cubase, Pro Tools, Sonar, Reaper, Logic etc. The main reason for this suggestion, is that it makes MIDI editing 'much' easier and it will allow you to achieve much more realism in your productions. Although the composition was quite nice, it still sounded a bit artificial during some parts.

There are also a few things mastering-wise that bother me a bit. The strings are rather hard-panned, which makes it somewhat unnatural to listen to. Yes, basses are usually seated at the right sight and violins at the left side, but now it sounds like I'm actually standing in the middle of the orchestra, which sounds a bit awkward, to be honest. Apart from that, the reversed cymbals (?) are also a bit too loud and are more of a distraction than a contribution to the song.

Apart from that, not much that I can say, really. The composition itself sounded fairly professional and the piece would work well in films / games.

Keep up the good work!

TheoryGuy responds:

Thanks for taking the time to review!

I use Sibelius first because I very much need to "see" my scores as I write them. It helps considerably with my vertical thinking and allows me to see the theory on the page in motion. Once I am satisfied with the work as a compositional effort, I recreate the sound in Reaper. I just figured some credit was due to Sibelius since I do indeed use it to start projects.

Audio engineering is still fairly new to me. I've made my entire career up to this point by writing for actual ensembles, which has served me well. I always welcome thoughts and comments about how to gain more skills at audio production. My degree is in composition, not engineering or production, after all!