McGorilla42's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[~SW~ Midwinter Daydream]

This is great, Skye! Love the piano intro and the flawless transition to the drop. :) I think I heard part of this before but not this extended version. There's a side of me that wants to hear a piano-only version of this because I love the the last two sections the most. Keep it up! :D

SkyeWint responds:

Hey McG! I'm glad you like the whole thing!

Sadly, I don't think a piano-only version will really work for this piece, haha. It's not exactly organized in a way that would support it! That said, I might try to figure out a way to replace the non-piano parts in the future. We'll see. :)

[-Badlands-]

This is great, Predator!! Even though you might be unhappy with the results, there's a lot you should be proud of in this track, especially to do with sound design and the amount of little details you've placed here and there. The bit at 2:00 was rad and I really liked those bass sounds. The mix is super clean and tight.

If I had any criticisms...Hmm...It feels like *something* is missing and I'm not totally sure what it is. I like spacious mixes, but everything feels a little too dry. Everything's also quite in the foreground with nothing gluing it together in the background. Do you use much delay and reverb in your mixes? I can hear a tiny bit, but I'm not sure. I think what I'm sensing is that your mix is good, but it isn't very "deep" in that everything is right up front. I hope that makes sense and I'm keen to chat about it more if you like!

All that being said, you've done an amazing job here! Always impressed with your stuff and I'm glad to see you getting better with each song :)

Preds responds:

This made my day, thank you! Yeah, a lot of little stuff is implemented in this track, a lot of panning effects too. Haha that is what I was aiming for, the clean and tight sounds.

I definitely use a lot of reverb in my songs, specially in this one. Reverb? Nah, kind of hate the reverb imo. Or at least in this track.

I totally agree, something's missing here. Also, you liked 2:00?? That was the part i am not so happy about...

Again, thanks man. Glad that you like my stuff!

[One Hero's Journey]

Oh, I LOVE this, Chrono! Reminds me so much of being a kid, stuck in a Gameboy on a long drive somewhere. Each theme is so distinct, yet the piece fits together effortlessly. I think that each theme could be easily extended to the point that this single piece could become an entire OST for a game. You've told the story of a long and exciting journey in the space of less than five minutes and that's mind-blowing to me (this piece feels way longer than it is. I mean that as a compliment).

You have to teach me sometime how to get these cool 8-bitty game sounds! This is genuinely one of my favourite tracks I've heard on NGADM in AGES. Amazing work :)

ChronoNomad responds:

Woo! Thanks a ton, McG! You've got me blushin' over here, man. xD

Yeah, this was my track for Pixel Day, still a relatively new annual holiday cooked up by RealFaction right here on Newgrounds. I've been making tracks since its inception, starting with Retrograde Meanderings in 2016; Anytown, RPG last year; and of course this one most recently. One Hero's Journey actually snagged 3rd place in the Audio contest back in January! So...BONUS! ^__^

It's interesting that you mention how each individual section could be more fleshed out into full-length tracks, such as for a video game OST. I've actually been thinking about that myself, as well as an orchestral version based largely upon the original. Even I don't know where the journey will take me...

As for all those awesome 8-bit instruments, there are many VST on offer if you want to reproduce that nostalgic sound. For this track I used several BiT BOX kits for the percussion; pooBoy2 (the VST even looks like a GameBoy!) for the two different basses; as well as the NES VST, Peach (by Tweakbench), and a couple instances of FAMISYNTH-II for the melody and harmony lines. Not to mention about a dozen Automation clips for tempo changes, volume control, and panning.

Whew! That's a lot of information, I know. But when someone asks, I make it a point to deliver. Thank you once again for dropping by, giving this a listen, and especially for the very thoughtful review! Really glad that you enjoy it so much. You've made me smile, and that's something the world could always use more of. :D

[To Feel Loved]

I sense some pretty modal stuff happening here, which I love (lydian/mixo?). This is a very beautiful piece of music. You're great at capturing a mood and I'm happy to see something happy from you too!

Every time I listen to one of your pieces I can see a picture quite clearly. It's almost like poetry. but...musical poetry! That may have been one of the cheesiest sentences I've ever written, but I mean it! :)

Great stuff, LSD

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I used a few different keys here, but I actually haven't analyzed which ones xD
I think I used somewhat unusual modulations at a couple of points, which probably contributes to the modal feel. The first four chords are A, B, E, G# Minor. I guess that would make the start lydian indeed! After that there's already a keychange.

It's nice to hear my music evokes some imagery! Out of the three pieces you listened to, this is the one I care about the most, which is also why it's better. Your ratings are actually pretty right on point, as they reflect what I feel about the pieces you listened to as well xD

Thank you for listening and reviewing!

[Drunk Guitar]

Oh, Audacity...I have fond memories of that DAW, if you can even call it that. That is a very interesting and weird VST you've found. It's actually quite believable and has pretty convincing articulations that an actual guitarist would use -- not sure if you or the plugin does that, but it sounds cool! Either way, you did a great job with playing your midi controller like a guitar! Nothing stood out as being "unplayable" :D

Very interesting piece overall. This would actually make a great backdrop to a scene in an old western film or game!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Yeah, it just shows how lazy a recording this was, haha xD
I actually recorded a second improv with the VST too, this time more balanced, in Cubase. But since I already uploaded one, I decided to not upload it here. If you're interested in the VST though, here's another demo I guess: https://instaud.io/1L57

I think it's really fun indeed. It's expressive in the weirdest of ways :D
Since it's so cheap, I just decided why not?

I'm surprised that it sounds playable to you, since I know you play the guitar! It probably helps that the controller is so small, and that I could listen to the instrument at the same time :)

I get the western feel out of this too! Thanks for the nice words ^____^

P.S. "not sure if you or the plugin does that" - It plays like that out of the box

[Näcken]

This is beautiful :) The chord that comes in 1:00 is so rich and a little crunchy and changes the mood. It's a short piece but it tells a story and gave me feelings of something drawing to an end (perhaps I'm imagining the end of a Zelda game or something, although that wasn't your intention).

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I think the chord at 1:00 is more or less the same as the chord from the start, but it gives a different feel since it's a bit lower (might have a different bass note too? I don't have headphones with me now, and I don't remember haha).

I think the length is alright, considering it fits the poem. I could make this a lot better with my new violin VST though. But I'll set my sights on future works instead :D
Thanks again!

[~SW~ 8 Bars]

I love the idea you and your friend had with sharing a progression and writing a song with it -- I'd enjoy doing the same with you some time!

Really cool track! That bass is juicy and fat and gritty and a tiny bit ugly (I mean that in a good way!) and I dig it. I also enjoy what you did with synth and getting it to sound guitar-y.

Great job, Skye! :D

SkyeWint responds:

Woo distorted bass! :D

Also, just put some overdrive and vibrato on a mod wheel for the synth so that it would distort like a guitar at will.

[-Last Day on Earth-]

This is rad, Predator! The mix and sounds you've used are all great! However, I feel like if you added a pad a bit sooner, it'd take this from sounding good to being amazing and really fat and huge, especially if you had something a bit more centred. Everything is panned really nicely and there's a great feeling of spaciousness, but it feels a bit lonely in the middle. Even your bass feels too spacious and not central. That snare could also be bit fatter and louder, I think.

Overall, you did a kickass job on this! I'm always impressed by what you're doing and can tell you're improving all the time and that's great :) Keep it up!

Preds responds:

Aww thank you so much! I'll work on the "snare power" and pads next time!

Lately I've been playing with new styles, tweaks and mixing, learning new stuff, improving a lot on the way!

Thanks again!

[-Wingless-]

Amazing as always, Waterflame! I wouldn't exactly call this orchestral, but it's a killer, fun, bouncy track and I really enjoyed every moment of it!

[-Ervo's Theme- [Ervo's Adventure OST]]

This is great! I wish the beat came in a bit sooner because it's so damn good once it drops. I know people hate being compared to others, but you remind me of Waterflame and Waterflame is fantastic so hopefully that comes across as the compliment it's intended to be!

Awesome work, Master Predator! :)

Preds responds:

My man! Thanks for the awesome words.

In the videogame version, the beat comes sooner, I made this variation here to extend a bit the song!