samulis's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Steel and Claw (Updated)]

Finally, orchestral music!

First off, you hit the atmosphere on the head very well. Sounds evil alright. It would be worrisome if a cinematic piece didn't live up to its function. :P

My first reaction to the orchestral part, is why is it so empty, notably in the bass area? I don't hear tubas, I don't hear double basses chomping away, the closest I hear is bassoon and bass drum. Without solid bases, it feels too light. In general, it just feels like you were trying to get a full sound but just didn't have enough instruments to really make it happen. It ends up sounding like a chamber orchestra with quiet strings, loud percussion, and very loud woodwinds and all the brass players are at lunch break.

This is an evil song, we want blasting bass trombones 'n tubas and contrabasses chugging away. Where are the cellos too? It's so open in the mids and lows aside form a bassoon doing some stuff. Brass really are missing from this. If anything is more associated with evil, it's blasting brass (and piccolos but that's a different kind of evil). If the audience doesn't think someone REALLY ate waaay too many beans, there's no point calling it cinematic music. ;)

I'm also sad the timpani kinda vanished after that first part. Timpani doing some rhythms and rolls would be great- provide counterpoint to those cinematic taiko rim shots that people use too much (hint: use lots of triplets and shit like that!). Maybe a snare might be good at points too- give it a march feel. Some tam tam/gong would also be nice- big full gong hit instead of cymbals at points. Really gives a nice full resonant hit.

The mixing needs some touching up as I said before. Rule 1 of orchestral writing is balance between the left and right (i.e. high and low). Without cellos, trombones, tuba, and basses, there's a hole in your right flank, up front, and the bassoon is too singular to fill it and ends up sounding strangely out of place in the mix. If you wanted to get around this without adding those, you would need to add some more stuff on the right. Maybe put the violas/vlnII's over on the right. It's done in some settings and would provide the right interplay between the left and right.

The choir is strange to the left, at least to me. I would suggest trying to get a surround sound of them and also increase reverb to place them behind the orchestra. Refer to some examples of choir-orchestral music for mixing/mastering protocols (I recommend checking out the way Bosa mixes his choir... I think he does a really good job making them blend).

Reverb is good, but you might want to experiment with ways to get all instruments sounding in their right levels. Some instruments are too close sounding and others are too far sounding (e.g. timpani and oboe are too close, and timpani is strangely to the far left, while it'd probably be at least further back and more centered if not to the right, depending on the setup).

Tip about RAM issues: Export stems of the primary instruments when you are happy with it. Create a new file and load in the stems and then add MIDI tracks with the new instrument stuff below. Some programs also let you render the audio from a plugin in place of the MIDI when you are done with it.

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 3/10 (pretty generic cin. orch.)
Relevance- 26/30
Composition- 20/25
Instrumentation- 10/15
Mastering- 7/10
Emotion/Interest- 6/10

Total: 72/100 (NG: 3.5 stars)

[Deep]

Unless this involves mantis shrimp, I dunno man...

Dubstep + deep sea animals just isn't really working for me I'm afraid. I might be able to see it, but I just don't know.

My beef is with the repetition. I don't know if I said this to you before, but the foundation of a good arp/ostinato is that it evolves and changes over time, even slightly. One time in four has an anticipation of half a beat or something silly like that can make a big difference. When I write a snare cadence (pattern) for a piece, I have it go ABAC with each letter being a measure and representing a variation. Then that gets varied over a greater scheme. The same can be applied here.

Also, you can have a distinct and unique B section in another key or with a new key structure. That little arp would go away and something new would come in.

Perhaps the biggest thing I have about this track is that Antarctica II is a journey. As you scroll down the image, it evolves, it changes, it becomes wholly new things with each new layer of the ocean with new creatures. I really wanted to see that in your piece, but I just didn't get that vibe at all man, and it's MAKIN' ME MAAAD. D:<

Anyway... the mixing and mastering is pretty good. I might tone down the high wah-wah thing a little bit or pan it or do something so it isn't in my face the whole time. As I know nothing about dubstep bassery, I shall take it that the bass was good as everyone else seemed to think so.

Keep it dubby buddy,
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 8/10
Relevance- 8/30
Composition- 10/25
Instrumentation- 10/15
Mastering- 7/10
Emotion/Interest- 5/10

Total: 49/100 (NG: 2.5 stars)

[Solitude]

Interesting indeed.

Doesn't really fit with the image for me. I just don't see it, sorry mate. :/

One of the issues that I see in this that I see in a lot of entries so far is a lack of a real lyrical melodic idea. Give this a listen from AoE II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehZMQ9Q1Jko. Notice how after the intro section a flute comes in with the melody. Even as the piece evolves and other instruments take on ideas and ostinati, there's always some idea that comes in soon after or at least some variation to keep us from becoming bored with the repetition. After the first stretch of little ideas, the flute comes back at 1:38 to bring us back and we go through the stuff again with a slight variation. As observed by FD, it's a great skeleton, but needs more stuff. ;)

The mixing/mastering is also quite satisfactory. Balance could use work at times, but it's mostly good.

Good work so far, just keep working on it!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 8/10
Relevance- 11/30
Composition- 12/25
Instrumentation- 6/15
Mastering- 7/10
Emotion/Interest- 4/10

Total: 48/100 (NG: 2.5 stars)

[Nocturne nr.5 in C-sharp minor]

Wow, very beautiful, very fitting!

I was going to suggest something but then you did it. :P

I think maybe having some alternatives to the arpeggiation might be interesting. Repeated pedalled chords can really have a great sound at a quiet velocity. Maybe experiment around with other approaches that can provide greater textural diversity. I also would have liked a little trip up into the top register. It's such a cold, icy zone it would match well with the piece and provide contrast to the warmth of the arpeggios in the middle register.

I may have preferred this on a different piano with a bit more dynamic and bite to it. Would you be at all interested/willing to send me the MIDI? I'd like to try a few pianos if you don't mind. The climax just didn't quite get there for me.

Compositionally solid; you're getting up there next to SoundChris in outrageously high standards of compositional quality. Better watch out or you'll be spending a week adding gracenotes and fret noise to flamenco guitar patterns so they sound just right.

If you were really crazy you might consider turning it into a violin or cello concerto or something. ;)

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 7/10
Relevance- 29/30
Composition- 23/25
Instrumentation- 14/15 (N/A)
Mastering- 7/10
Emotion/Interest- 7/10

Total: 87/100 (NG: - stars)

newhansen responds:

Heya Samulis,

You wrote down things I didn't even considered or thought about. All of them are great ideas which I would add in future compositions without any doubt. Thanks for taking time to review the piece! The Midi file will be in your NG inbox ;)

[!-Duress-!]

Yeah, that's dubstep alright.

For me I really think it meshes well with the picture, unlike Real. I also think the dissonance is beneficial in this case. There's nothing like tensions to create a villainous mood. :)

Mixing/mastering is great. I'm no boss on that shizznit, but I think it's good enough for jazz.. err dubstep.

I don't really know much about dubstep to say if it needs more layers or whatnot. Sounds good to me. Might want to consider more contramelodic complexity or something like that... whatever that means.

So yeah...
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 8/10
Relevance- 28/30
Composition- 13/25
Instrumentation- 8/15
Mastering- 9/10
Emotion/Interest- 8/10

Total: 74/100 (NG: 3.5 stars)

[New Dawn]

The first thing I see is a great deal of inconsistency. You start off with this great mellow orchestral intro and promptly add fast and completely contrasting percussion (that high click thing... just no). Ambient and pop drums just don't mix dude. If you left out the drum kit and maybe had a little bit of orchestral percussion (gong/cymbals/timpani/orch chimes ESPECIALLY etc.) this would have been a great piece. Drums were definitely too hot anyway- they were cutting out the pads there was so much compression. IF you were to keep the drums, you'd have to transition them better too, they just kinda come in and out randomly. Fills in, fills out or whatnot.

Some nice low piano notes might also be nice.

I definitely do get a vibe of the city though from the dark stuff. Feels like something bad is gunna happen soon! Is Joker going to go rob a bank tonight? D:

A not bad piece, just you really shot yourself in the foot with the drums. It was this close to suspenseful, moody, dark, etc. Think about emotion this way: Long notes = suspenseful/gentle. Short notes = energetic/frantic. By combining the two, you nullified both emotions and created an emotional rift in which the listener really has no idea what to think about the piece. I am sitting here after the fourth listen still trying to figure out what I think about it and I still don't know. It just feels strange. Dunno man.

I too know you can do better. :/

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 6/10
Relevance- 20/30
Composition- 14/25
Instrumentation- 7/15
Mastering- 5/10
Emotion/Interest- 2/10

Total: -54/100 (NG: 2.5 stars)

DESHIEL responds:

My only goal was to match the music to the art, to make it relevant. I didn't have any interest in making it an absolute earcandy business. It was just my take on the task that was was given to me.
Be it bad or not I didn't seek any victory with this entry, because I knew that I have two entries.

I wanted to work hard on my second entry tho, the AIM- CANCELED ENTRY that you can find here in my page. But I had so little time and too many other (not music related) duties to attend to that I simply abandoned it.

[JustnotEnough]

Unfortunately this piece is much like the snowman after he got melted... not a lot of consistency.

Look at ways you can better transition between parts. Remember that every instrument isn't just another line in a piano roll, it's an entire textural transformation of the piece. Where every pad and element appears is key to the feeling and integrity of the piece. Too many sudden changes and your audience will have no idea what is going on... not enough change and it will put them to sleep. It takes a long time and a lot of practice to find the right balance between variation and boredom, but I'm sure you'll get there in time.

At the start, I almost thought you were going to go for more of an ambient approach. That would have been great, baring the evil snowman thing. Maybe if there's a picture of a happy pine forest covered in snow and you instead matched this piece would have worked better for me, but it just doesn't line up with the image right. We're supposed to feel fear and terror and adrenaline rush and instead we feel like we're going to build a snowman, not blow one up with a flame thrower. :P

Some of the elements in the song are too loud for their context. For example when the bass comes in DURING the intro, it's like "BWAAHHHHH" when everything else is like "oohhh... ahhh..." Maybe try leaving the bass out until the start or try other volumes and textures to mix everything nicely. Remember dynamics always!

the part around 1:25 is confusing to the listener with all the different timbres. Also, the LFO should be lined up with the piece not slightly out of line, or else the tempo feels strange.

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 8/10
Relevance- 12/30
Composition- 12/25
Instrumentation- 8/15
Mastering- 6/10
Emotion/Interest- 4/10

Total: 50/100 (NG: 2..5 stars)

bolisa responds:

Thanks for your ratings!

Yeah, the bass isnt good i know. Next time i'll keep this in mind.

Thanks for your powefull advice!

[Darkest Hour]

Not bad... not great.

The composition is decent. The repetition is okay for maybe the first 30 seconds but after that it just gets annoying. There are hundreds of chords in existence, why not use a few! The lute-like instrument in the start could definitely use a more interesting arp or at least some variation every once in a while. The key to any good ostinati (loops) is variation! You MUST vary your ideas... even Philip Glass does!

Instrument-wise, it's fairly bare. I would have liked to hear more percussion... maybe some chimes/bells, hand drums, maybe tambourine. That would better help approach more of a medieval style than snare drum. I also missed some nice bass. I really suggest you check out the music for Age of Empires II, it reminds me a lot of this and was one of my inspirations for starting composing. :)

Mixing/mastering wise, it also needs some work. The reverb is a bit too wet and some instruments are poorly balanced. Experiment around more with different panning and effects to better spread and balance your ensemble. I understand you may be working with limited soundsets, but you can still do a helluva lot with limited resources, trust me.

Think of your mix in three levels: Foreground, Middleground, and Background. The foreground is the melody. Generally try to have something going on in the foreground 3/4ths of the time or so, but make sure to leave some time for the audience to appreciate the other components. The foreground is melodic, evolving, and likely lyrical. Regrettably many beginning composers do not add a true foreground to their piece, as it takes time to really understand how it functions. The middleground is your texture- arpeggios, countermelodies, and responses. The middle ground exists to "converse" with the foreground and create a feeling of accompaniment to an otherwise lonely song. The background is your chords and bassline and anything extraneous- ambiences, pads, etc. Mix accordingly so the foreground is in the front- clearest (i.e. least reverb), loudest, maybe closer to the center (maybe). Keep other things clear.

Maybe take some time to check out some medieval/renaissance music (most music we refer to as "medieval" is in fact renaissance). Stuff like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XvVtszPyTs (noting that that is dance music, there's still other music that's less on the happy side too).

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 5/10
Relevance- 21/30
Composition- 15/25
Instrumentation- 7/15
Mastering- 4/10
Emotion/Interest- 5/10

Total: 57/100 (NG: 3 stars)

[Final Battle]

Yeaaahh!!!

The leadup is a bit too long for my tastes... maybe have some guitar solo going on top up high with some vibrato to provide some melodic fabric for us. After that, there isn't really any lead instrument... it's just background instruments until like 1:52 until the guitar does something that is at least close to a melody, but lacks variation or evolution- it's just an ostinato. Variation is the key to effective ostinati. I kept waiting for some wild ass guitar solo but it never came! I am dissapoint!

When we come back in after the short pause, I was hoping we'd have a new thing going on with rhythm guitar, but it went back to the original, which isn't bad, but it would be a good time to have a unique section here, maybe your B so we really get hit with something interesting at that point after the long and relatively boring introduction (when compared to the body of the song, yeah, it's boring, but that is how intros work- they make us want to hear the rest of the song).

The mix is good, but I would experiment with eqing up the lows and also mid highs (3k-6k+) of the drums maybe a bit and add a little more verb to them so they match better with the guitars. You want everything to match up nicely so they all fit together as if they were all the same stuff. This move would let them cut through a bit better. Experiment with EQ and compression to make sure the drums really cut nicely. Drums drive the music, guitars play the music. ;)

I saw another entry using this artwork. Very interesting to see various views.

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 7/10
Relevance- 29/30
Composition- 16/25
Instrumentation- 8/15
Mastering- 9/10
Emotion/Interest- 8/10

Total: 77/100 (NG: 4 stars)

[Crime FighterZ]

Hi to you too, Dutton. ;)

Despite the simplicity, I really like this song. The main thing I really enjoy is the production quality and the variation of sounds and feels I'm met with as a listener. It has a really clean feel and a great groove to it. I could daaance to dis shizznit, yo!

Maybe something to consider is more stuff in the "middle ground" of the instrumentation- some arps going up and down while the main melody is going and other textural elements like pads and countermelodies... synth strings? some sort of arp pad? Just fill in the spectral areas missing.

Another thing I'd really like to see is a contrasting B section. We have this great main melody, how about something else in the piece to really offer some nice contrast that uses a different progression, melody, and feel? It would really keep the listener going instead of just the same prog over and over again.

Overall a really neat and enjoyable piece. Got my foot tapping for sure!

=========
My ratings:
Originality- 8/10
Relevance- 24/30
Composition- 20/25
Instrumentation- 12/15
Mastering- 8/10
Emotion/Interest- 9/10

Total: 81/100 (NG: 4 stars)

DuttonsaysHi responds:

Hi!

Well that's good to know! You pretty much caught on to my main focus on the variation of sounds and production value. So thanks!

Yeah I totally agree! I had some much trouble coming up with a way to extend it and add new sections without it feeling disjointed but what you just said with with using arps and pads to add a little extra flavour gave me a bunch of new ideas of what I could have done. If only I figured it out sooner Dx.

Ah changing the key mid-song, that's actually something I've been doing in a lot of my songs recently but for some reason I evaded it when it came to making this.

I'll know what to do and avoid next time. Thanks for the review! I appreciate you taking your time to really analyse the song and give me feedback accordingly :D