McGorilla42's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[yours]

This is really great. It's written well, mixed well, has a bunch of areas of interest so it doesn't get boring despite the simple progression. Tiny creative decisions that last for just a moment and aren't repeated or made a huge deal out of, like that Db major -> Db minor (I think?) change, are what make this really special.

What are those little crackles on the edge of the sound field? They work really nicely, but I'm curious about them. Also, I'm listening to this on my crappy TV and it still sounds great, which means you did a fine job with the production. Great stuff! :)

midimachine responds:

the crackle is a couple of different samples of vinyl dirt/noise looped at different speeds. thanks for the kind words!

[Centurion]

This just kicks ass man. So chuggy, so much momentum and the drums and guitar just propel this all eally intensely.

2:15. Hell. Yes. Give me more of that pls.

Great job!

TSRBand responds:

Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!

[Miyazaki]

Mmm that wah effect and this whole piece really sexy. I really like the simple chord progression and melody, and especially atmosphere you create with the pad. I absolutely love the piano part that kicks in at around 1:00. Do you play too? I feel like this piece could be a lot longer and develop into something bigger and more interesting.

The one big gripe I have with this is the mix on the drums - the kick in particular sounds over-compressed, and muddy and dominates the track in a distracting way, compared to the hats which are nice and dark and sit in the same space as the rest of this moody piece. I think there's also some weird 400hz thing happening on the crash, but yeah the kick is the biggest issue with this. It's so close to being amazing, but the mix is holding it back in a big way.

One last thing -- there's a lot of noise apparent, especially when the piece drops into the piano/string section that I said I liked. Check your signal to noise ratio! :) If you're really desperate, you can go for a gate, but that's really not ideal for that kind of noise.

Great job! Would love to hear a re-mixed version of this! :)

Pandasticality responds:

Thanks for the tips and the review!'
- Pandasticality

[haha not finished]

haha stillbetterthananythingIcoulddo lol. But in all seriousness, this is cool too! It's a cute little loop.

[Chaos Distortion]

This is really cool. It's such a great coincidence that I clicked this track because I was listening to a song yesterday that had a bassline with that same crazy, wobbly modulation and I was wondering how it was created. Is it done manually with midi notation, or with automation or is it an instrument that you push a button and it spazzes out randomly by itself? Or something else?

Great track!

PS. The song I was referring to is Can o' Salt from Danny Baranowsky (Super Meat Boy).

Sequenced responds:

It's done via automating cutoffs and lfos in massive or serum. It's simple stuff really, they're not the most complicated sounds you could make.

[ELEMENT - Mastered Version]

Please keep learning, writing and making music. I know I always refer back to your age, but you're doing damn amazing stuff for someone who's only 14.

Ignoring your age, this is pretty good. The chorus drop is a bit of an extreme change in level, so maybe bring up the level of the verse slightly (I had a very similar problem with a recent track and it's really hard to get that drastic dynamic difference right without a buttload of compression, which I don't always like). The mix is pretty decent, but there's a little bit of muddiness and lack of separation between the elements in the chorus. I think it'd also be good to add a new melody in the chorus, and vary the verses with little bits of interest here and there to prevent it from becoming monotonous.

Either way, I'm still really impressed by what you're doing. Just make sure you keep learning and getting better!!! Can't wait to see what kind of stuff you're making in five years.

Squeegee4554 responds:

Thanks! I only have one question, how do i get more people to hear my music?

[A Bit Ape - The Robot Who Wanted To Be A Knight]

This is fantastic. I really love the old-school feel of it. I also enjoy the dynamics of the piece, especially as the piece drops into a quieter section in the bridge before kicking it up to the chorus again. I was listening to the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 soundtrack yesterday, from 1998, and this would totally fit into that game! I saw a comment on another song you did about not having enough detail on your lead synth tone, and leaving space for other instruments to shine through and it looks like you've taken all of that in and applied it really well in your last couple of tracks.

Great work :)

[Main theme remix mode 3 (Leap Jet Bear)]

This kicks butt. It's really cheesy, but perfect for a game, so I'm really digging it. Reminds me of playing Excite Truck on the Wii :D

Fretzone responds:

Thanks buddy :)

[Perceivement of the Hollow (Jimi Hendrix Project)]

You guys captured that Little Wing/Hendrix feel really nicely on this one, especially on the guitar. I've tried learning Little Wing a few times and getting that old-school RnB rhythm and articulation is really hard, so this is impressive. Love the backing vocals too -- funnily enough, it reminds me Cream's "I Feel Free". You must go to a pretty rad school for them to give you an assignment like this. Great job :)