EagleGuard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[To Battle]

The beginning of the piece (until 00:34) is quite well done! It does indeed sound very epic, and the melody is quite nice. The instruments aren't perfectly in sync here, but that's just a small flaw.

However, the last part of the piece is unfortunately not of the same quality. The instruments are 'really' out of sync and the guitar riff sounds quite generic. It's almost as though the final part was rushed, which is a shame considering how awesome the beginning was.

Anyway, I guess it's fair enough for teaching purposes, as the techniques you describe are quite easy to distinguish. I don't play the guitar very well myself, though, so I'm afraid there's not much feedback I can give regarding specific playstyles.

All in all, a decent composition. Keep up the good work!

guitarmandan responds:

Hey Eagle! Thanks for the constructive criticism. The last part is a little more generic in order to drive the point home about the technique being taught. I do admit there are some timing issues, but I seem to be having some latency problems between my computer and recording interface which makes it really hard to sync things up... I play it in time... but then its not.... its pretty frustrating. Something I need to work out for sure.
I could definitely spice that last section up with maybe a well played solo or a continuation of the lead guitar.
I think you've inspired me to flesh the idea out more. I definitely need to fix this latency issue before I record something else though.

[Launch]

First of, I apologize for the low score. You wanted a constructive review, however, so I'll try to be as honest as possible.

The biggest issue here, is that the song is atonal. It sounds as though the notes were placed at random in a hopeful attempt to make it all sound harmonic. This is, unfortunately, not the way to go. In fact, it creates a fairly unpleasant listening experience.

Apart from that, the song is fairly repetitive. I can hear you've tried to put some variation in the song, but the small amount of patterns clearly shows that you basically looped things over and over. Again, not the way it should be done.

Mastering/mastering-wise, the song was okay. There was no noticeable clipping and every instrument could be clearly distinguished from the others. This is, however, most likely the effect of using preset synthesizers, which have usually already been optimized and require very little mastering knowledge to use effectively. Apart from that, the piece is quite 'crowded' with instruments.

If I were to give you a single piece of advise, it would be to study some music theory first. A lot of people start writing music with no music theory knowledge whatsoever, hoping it will come to them simply 'by experience'. While this is slightly true in some regards, you can greatly improve your skills simply by just immersing yourself in the technical things 'behind' the music.

That said, I wish you the best of luck with your future productions!

All in all, 2/5 stars.

BFeltMusic responds:

Thanks for the constructive review. I am still what I consider to be a beginner and I do this mostly in my free time which I have very little of so I'm trying to learn through experience. I wish I had the time to study musical theory, but right now I don't. I do things by ear so I basically try and play off what sounds good to me in the hopes that it will sound good for others as well.

Thanks for the review. I may have to send you a message with questions.

[Carefulstep 2.0]

What I'd recommend, is that you get into music theory first. I found it quite hard to listen to this, and currently the only use I can think of for this is background music (no offense). It's very important that you understand the basics of music theory, before actually starting to write your own music. It's okay to experiment, but don't forget that just as with painting, there are certain rules one must apply (even with electronic music). Also, listen to other peoples' work and analyse it carefully.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Ectohelix responds:

Hell yeah, anything that will help me get better at it. It's funny you mention music theory, as I literally just downloaded an e-book on it. XD

No offense taken, on anything. I expected harsh/constructive criticism when I came here, and like cutting teeth, it's painful but necessary. Your feedback is helpful and appreciated. I realize I'm creative, have lots of good ideas, but lack the structure to pull this off properly.

With time, practice and study, I hope to someday produce something you don't find hard to listen to. lol

[Sanctuary]

I think this is the first 10 (or full 5 stars after the redesign...) I've ever given to anyone... You've created an absolute masterpiece, which is absolutely astounding considering the fact that you're still fairly young! The climaxes/crescendos are sometimes a bit unexpecting, but that's just a small point. Other than that, there isn't a lot more criticism I can give... I like the melodies, the harmony, the overall feeling, the flow, the tempo changes, the mastering... Yep, pretty much everything! You've really made it sound 'natural', which is a great achievement. Well done!

All in all, 10/10 (screw the new rating system) and 5/5! Sorry my review wasn't as useful this time though :)

Step responds:

Hey man, long time no see. Thanks for reviewing!

"I think this is the first 10 (or full 5 stars after the redesign...) I've ever given to anyone... You've created an absolute masterpiece, which is absolutely astounding considering the fact that you're still fairly young!"

I'm flattered, honoured and speechless AT THE SAME TIME. Thanks :3.

"The climaxes/crescendos are sometimes a bit unexpecting, but that's just a small point."

Haha you might be right! I see where you're getting at. Thankfully after the first listen you'll know when the crescendos are and can expect them, so I guess to a new listener this is only an apparent problem for four minutes :P.

"Other than that, there isn't a lot more criticism I can give... I like the melodies, the harmony, the overall feeling, the flow, the tempo changes,"

Thanks, that's good to hear!

"the mastering..."

Wow that's a surprise! A pleasant surprise too. I'm not usually very good at mastering, lol.

"Yep, pretty much everything! You've really made it sound 'natural', which is a great achievement. Well done!"

I'm relieved to hear that since I did work on getting it to sound more real than my other orchestral submissions.

"All in all, 10/10"

:D

"(screw the new rating system)"

Haha, agreed!

"and 5/5! Sorry my review wasn't as useful this time though :)"

No man it really helpful, and a lot more detailed than your average NG review.

Thanks a LOT for going out of your way and reviewing this. It's much appreciated!

[+*. Duty to Fulfill .*+ (WIP2)]

Great!

Saw you needed some feedback in the audio advertisements thread, so here goes :)

Let's start with the positive. There's a nice uplifting feeling to it, giving it that extra bit of epicness. That said, it also sounds a bit 'cartoony', which is not bad, but I think the title is a bit too serious for the mood you've actually created. It reminds me more of pirates than of the need to fulfil my dudy, but that's just my opinion!

Anyway, you've also put a lot of variation in this piece, which is usually a good thing to do. Though some transitions seem a bit inconsistent because of it (more on that later), the different parts in general sound good.

Then there is the mastering, which is well done overall. Nice use of panning and velocity! Not many pay that much attention to the little details, and I'm certainly glad you did. That said, there are some parts where some of the instruments are really hard-panned to one side (timpani to the left, for example), which could use some work.

The quality of the instruments isn't really that high, which is quite a shame, and not all the instruments go too well together. It's not a huge problem, but you may want to look for some higher quality samples for your future projects. Your music deserves it!

There are also a few awkward transitions. Apart from that, the intro sounds like a build-up to some amazing climax, which sadly doesn't come untill later in the song. Try to make your transitions as smooth as possible.

Lastly, there's the rather unexpecting and slightly disappointing ending. Of course, this is still a work in progress, so I'm sure you can think of something clever for that :p

All in all, I quite enjoyed your music! So here's an 8/10 and 4/5 for you ;)

Special-Ed responds:

(/*[]*)/ thank you!

Know anywhere to get good quality instruments free? Keeping in mind I don't know the first thing about samples...

[Im still alive (NY11) (8b]

Very inconsistent...

Well, you promised me "its very kind on the ears this time", but to be honest, I find this very hard to listen to. The song is unpredictable as heck and has no consistency whatsoever. This is probably going to sound downright cruel, but it sounds like you simply used one random chord after the other, combined with melodies which are just as random. Sure, there's no dissonance, but there isn't any structure either.

Apart from that, and this is me being nitpicky, this isn't true 8-bit. When you say that your song is 8-bit, at least try to make it follow the limits 8-bit music has. It may sound 8-bit, but in reality, it's not. Apart from that, it would've been nice if you actually elaborated your choice for the title "Im still alive". Sure, I'm still alive as well, but apart from the world possibly ending in 2012, what's it got to do with New Year?

Hope I haven't ruined your day with my commentary. I'm just being as honest I can be. Perhaps it's just not my taste, but keeping various factors (general rules of music theory) in mind, it's just not that good in my opion... All in all, 5/10 and 3/5 for the effort.

Despite the 'heavy' review, I wish you a happy New Year ;)

Calamaistr responds:

1: im sorry to read that you cannot hear the structure and melodies and percieve them as random, i can only say about this that youre simply not used to the form of the instrumentation wich to some people 'needs time to get used to', even i sometimes need to sit through a loop or two on certain tracks in this instrumentation before i hear the composition again and until that moment it sounds like a chaos or clutter of sound without direction, however that is also the beauty of this. eventually you hear the absolute order in the chaos when the chords and melodies are ..individually noticed and its worth it.

2: it is true 8bit as i made this with two 8 bit librarys, one being magical8bit the other being famiconchip. if you mean how the background sounds like a harpiscord its because i balanced two seperate instruments on the same patterns to create a unique sound.

you dont ruin my day when you fail to grasp the music, just my time writing a review of its size for it, you couldve just said 'i cant hear the melodies and harmonies, sorry' and it wouldve been enough.

thanks for reviewing anyway, youre the first in a month or so that does.
and happy newyear back.

[In the Future!]

Great!

Like the others have said, try changing the chord progression a bit next time. Or, if that doesn't work for you, try adding different melodies here and there instead. The piece tends to get a bit repetitive after a while, even though it's quite catchy. That said, the key switch at 2:33 was a good idea, and I think you implemented it at the right time. I think you should have, however, added some more variation earlier on. Again, nothing that hasn't already been said, but it's just to show how important variation is in music.

I really like the build up here though, even though it is slightly generic and goes on for a bit too long. Glad you didn't use an overpowering bass drum like a lot of other electronic songs. The mastering is well done here, though when you combine two melodies at 03:25, it gets a bit too heavy for my taste. I know this is the 'big climax', but I think you made it a bit too overwhelming, especially with the crash cymbals.

As mentioned earlier, a catchy song, made with a catchy chord progression and catchy melody. Be sure to alternate it with something else in the future though ;)

All in all, I think you did well, though there's always room for improvement :P So 8/10 and 4/5 for you.

Keep up the good work!

Everratic responds:

Thankyou. I think I will add a piano part in the middle of the song.

[Sancta Romam]

Great!

Don't worry about your obsession with low notes on the piano: I have the same thing with high notes on the piano ;)

There's a bit of clipping here and there, so you might want to lower the volume of the entire mix a bit next time. Not a huge problem, but it's more pleasant to listen to a piece without the 'crackling' in between. Apart from that, mastering is fine as far as I can tell. The guitar (?) at 00:08 is a bit unexpected though. Perhaps it would've been better to let that blend in more with the rest of the piece, like you did with the piano at 00:20, which was a great implementation.

The piece has very 'grand' feeling to it, perfect for an ancient Roman setting. You don't hear music like this on Newgrounds very often, so I'm glad you decided to write it. I like how it also has a mysterious feel to it, which perfectly fits the 'sanctuary' part. Melodies and harmony are good and go well together, so a job well done there.

The arpeggios played by the piano go on for a bit too long, to be honest. Perhaps you should've alternated it with regular chords instead? That's just me being nitpicky though, so it's not a huge problem :P

All in all, 8/10 and 4/5 ;)

Keep up the good work!

samulis responds:

Thanks man,

I still don't know why I picked the guitar anyway... it's not even remotely Roman. I just think it sounds good. As for the piano, I might actually go back and change that right now... it does get annoying indeed, and I think some chords would be nice.

And ya, that clipping is a bit annoying. I already did some major reduction, but it still pokes through.

Thanks for the review,
-Samulis

[[Tsets] - Serene Rain Drops]

Great!

I like how 'light' the music is. Don't really have another word to describe it, so I hope you get what I mean with that. Thought Christmas is not the first thing that would come to mind when listening to this (for me, that is), after reading the description, it all started to make much more sense.

I always find it extremely difficult to master piano pieces, though you pretty much nailed it here. The sine wave (I think?) lead goes really well with the piano, and nicely adds to the 'lightness' or 'airiness' of the song. One thing that is really, really bugging me though... are the bass drums. They're too notable and kind of harsh on the ears. It's a small error, yet one with a huge impact. Might be worth to 'fix' that :P I also think there's a bit too much compression here and there, but that might also be due to the drums.

The melodies and harmony sound really good, in my opinion. Not much I can say about, other than that I like it. Sorry! I can imagine this being used in some (short) movie for 'emtional' scenes or something like that. It stands perfectly fine on its own though.

All in all, 8/10 and 4/5 for you! Merry Christmas ;)

TsetsukenMusic responds:

I think I understand what you mean by 'light', Thank you! it took a while to get it down, I had to play it out on my actual keyboard then lay it on the piano roll. I don't do that often but I should start doing it more. The sine wave is my favorite :3

I made some changes to it, I took out the hard kicks in the beginning and the end. Also changed the main drumline kick from a hit to more of a driving bass. plus an extra hihat:P

anyways what do you think?

Thank you again, Merry Christmas as well!! :D

[*-Techno-*]

Not bad!

Reminds me a bit of the music I used to write a while back :P

Anyway, in terms of mastering, all the sounds go well together. I couldn't detect any clipping, which is good. No overkill of effects, which is nice for a change.

Now, about the music itself. It's not really 'listening music', and would be better used in a short movie or game. You tend to use the same motif through a large part of the song. That is not a bad thing per se, so long as there is something to alternate it with, which is currently lacking a bit. If you added more variety in between, I think it would've been better. I do like the change at 1:40 though. If you added more parts like that, it would be a huge improvement to the overall piece.

The ending is a bit strange though. I'm not sure what you wanted to do with that? I think it would have been better if you left out the final drum part, and just ended it with that fading delay of the synth.

Also, put some more effort into your description man! xD You should look at it as your own personal business card.

Anyhow, all in all I quite like it, so here's a 7/10 and 4/5 for you ;)

Solisio responds:

I really appreciate the comment. This is definitely the most CONSTRUCTIVE response that I've received on my music, and I thank you. I've been creating music for a while now, and I'm trying to tweak my musical imperfections, which happens to be a lot of tweaking. I really agree with what you said about it being repetitive, and that happens mostly out of fear that I might ruin the entire piece. Anyway, I'm kind of rambling. Thank you so much!