johnfn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Party Monster]

This is cool and all but MAKE THE DRUMS LOUDER!!

I really like your composition style. It's hard not to like!

Spadezer responds:

Sweet! Thanks.
Although the whole track needs to be louder. Fruit Liops doesn't seem to want to export correctly.

[Zen.R.G - Indestructable (Instrumental/Dance) [TIME 2 RAVE ALBUM]]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Yo Zen-R-G! This is a pretty neat track. The drops are super cool, and I can tell you spent a lot of time on the sound design. What I didn't like so much was the composition. In the drops, you play a bunch of chords, but the chords mostly don't fit together so well, and so they come off a bit random. This takes a bit away from the drops, which could otherwise be cooler. Also, the melodies could be improved - they didn't really stand out to me.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 3/4
Composition: 1+/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5/10

[Tap Tap Swing]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Oh man, this song is totally goofy but also pretty fun! I have to admit, the sound choices in this song are mostly pretty terrible, as I'm sure you already know. Those horns just... they sound almost nothing like horns at all. And the piano sounds a bit odd as well. And yet, I can tell that you were having a lot of fun while making this piece, which is always a good thing. The composition could use a little bit of work too; the melodies seem a bit random at times. Still, I like the modulation towards the end and I think that overall this piece shows potential!

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 3/4
Composition: 2/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5.5/10

Yeelp responds:

Thanks! It was indeed fun to work on! Yeah, the VSTs I used for the horns were bad but I couldn't seem to find any better VSTs that wouldn't cost me a fortune. I did consider recording each part myself but I also didn't have a good enough mic or setup to get that to work either.

[The castle (Original mix)]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Yo, nice track! An eight minute track is pretty impressive. I also like the chord progression that you've selected here. Unfortunately, some parts of this track just aren't working for me. The biggest thing is definitely the arrangement. This song is incredibly repetitive - it repeats the same ideas over and over again, and doesn't really vary them up at all, which tires out the listener really quickly. It could also really use some breaks that switch up the instruments you're using. (I know you have some breaks, but I want some more drastic ones, like maybe using pads or pianos or something!)

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: 1/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5/10

UserSigon responds:

Sorry but I can't take you seriously for a lot of reasons one can figure out from your review.
But I'm not blaming you, it's my fault for posting a kind of track you don't see on NG.
Edit: not being an ass because you voted low lol

[Unity Paradox - Hyper]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

So, I have to commend you on two different things. First the melody you use is pretty good! I mean, the instrument is pretty goofy, but the melody isn't bad at all, and it's definitely really really happy! :D The second thing that I really like is that crazy buildup to the drop/chrous that has the pitched up snares. That's super cool, and I really enjoyed it every time you did it. However, the biggest problem with this track, and it is a very serious problem indeed, is that it is just TOO DARN REPETITIVE! If you would have only had that main melody like 3-4 times throughout the song, it would have been great! As is, the melody wears out its welcome really quickly.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 1/4
Composition: 3/4
Overall (this is not an average): 6/10

Unity-Paradox responds:

Thanks! I'm glad to know what you thought of my song, it's great feedback, and it really helps. I'm definitely going to be taking in all of this advice to the best of my ability, and I look forward to competing next year :D

(just saying tho, you may wanna add me to the pm list if you haven't already because I am VERRRRY forgetful XD)

[Pressure]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

This is a pretty cool track! You certainly delivered on your promise of MASSIVE BASS. The mixing here is pretty good in general, which is always a good thing. What's not so much of a good thing is how repetitive this track is! It definitely repeats some of the same ideas so much that I start to get tired of them. With a bit more variation on both overall sound in different sections as well as variation of melody and chord progression, I bet you could easily improve this song!

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3+/4
Arrangement: 1/4
Composition: 1/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5.5/10

Ultimatepalmtree3 responds:

Thank you! I appreciate this :)

[Secrets of Silence V2]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Yo, nice job remixing your first ever song! I can only imagine this is quite the improvement. The chord progression, while fairly standard stuff, is always pleasant to listen to. You also did a good job with the buildup in the beginning. However, this song rapidly starts feeling very, very repetitive, because you never really move OFF that one chord progression, and a lot of the instruments just keep doing the same thing throughout the entire song. I'd definitely suggest to vary up this song more - that could make it much better.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 1+/4
Composition: 1+/4
Overall (this is not an average): 5/10

[Techeats (NGUAC tryout)]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Yo, so this song is pretty neat. I think that your mixing is generally excellent, and the sound design is also pretty cool. The melodic section with the plucks and chords is really neat. Where it suffers is that it feels like you just copied a 1 minute song 4 times in a row. This starts to become REALLY obvious once I've heard the same exact section 4 times in a row with no variation, and it just comes off as lazy. There's no shame to submitting a shorter piece! Alternatively, varying the repeats could help a lot. Still, without the repeats, this song is kinda neat.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 4/4
Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: 2/4
Overall (this is not an average): 6/10

[Cyan Horizon]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

There are parts of this song which I really enjoy. For instance, you seem to do really well with drums. I'm not quite sure what you're using for those, but whatever it is, keep it up! However, there are also some problems with this song. The worst of all is that the melodies seem to be very random and directionless. I'd suggest reading some of my tips for how to write better melodies! Since this piece is so focused on melodies, I have to say that that had a large impact on the score. What I did like is the sections when you introduced the strings - those sound really nice and you did well with them. Perhaps focus more on those in the future.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: 1/4
Overall (this is not an average): 4/10

Tetrahedrix responds:

Well said, much appreciated I actually suck at drums so I'm currently using XLN Addictive Drums 2 for drums, and so I sometimes try my hand at my own beat; but mostly end up utilizing drum beat presets and tweaking the hell out of them to get the groove I want I do wish I was better at making beats. I do tend to make random melodies and so having been making my own music for 6 years now I am need of improving my melody flow. I've been as of late focusing on my transitioning and general balancing, improving my mixing and mastering capabilities. I do like the strings, most of the track is synths, while the main lead is a tweaked preset from XLN Addictive Keys. The drums are an AD 2 Metal Set. Thanks for the feedback, will do on seeing how to better represent the melodies in a more focused flow.

[Unkown Street [Dub version] 。]

=== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review ===

Gotta say, right off the bat I'm really impressed by the scratches and other misc sound effects that you're doing. The song has a very chill vibe, which I enjoy. You transition between a lot of interesting sections, and I feel like they work well together, with the exception of 4:30, which is just really dissonant and not super enjoyable. Overall, though, I really enjoy the vibe of this song - it's something worth cultivating. With a bit more work on the sound design and mixing, I think this song could be really solid.

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
Mixing: 3/4
Arrangement: 3/4
Composition: 3/4
Overall (this is not an average): 6.5/10

Tarenlee responds:

That's a great comment, thank you.