johnfn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Burn, Yearn, Learn, Turn]

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

Wow, this piece is really something else. The glitching sound effects and the vocoded vocals create a very unique soundscape - I can’t peg this song to anything else that sounds remotely similar, except maybe some old Nine Inch Nails work. At 1:40, the arps sound a bit off tune, and I hear other, similar problems throughout the track, which kinda dampens my enjoyment a little unfortunately. Still though - this track is fascinating as heck. Score: 8

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 2/4
* Arrangement: 3/4
* Mixing: 3+/4

[Reaper's Song]

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

This piece has a very cool, dark vibe - it fits the title perfectly, and it sounds very evil! (I think it could also be a Halloween song :-)) On the other hand, the sound design needs work, and the instruments, e.g. the saw bass at 3:07, are sometimes too loud or too quiet (too loud, in the case of the bass) in the mix, which makes the song feel unbalanced. This is a good and interesting attempt - keep at it! Score: 5.5

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 2/4
* Arrangement: 3/4
* Mixing: 2/4

Lone-X responds:

I appreciate the review! I've checked your guides as well and will try them out!

Peace and love,
Lone X

[Death of a Prodigy]

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

This piece definitely has a lot of emotion to it. You have a really good sense of arrangement - you add and remove energy almost effortlessly, and it works really well. It definitely has a really strong and somber feel to it which perfectly matches the title. I’m also impressed by how you do so much with so few elements - just strings, and a tiny bit of piano and horns. On the other hand, I find that sometimes the melody can be a little undirected, and since the piece is already so subtle as it is, the piece loses a some interest. The piece is pretty darn good, though. Score: 8

P.S. I noticed you said this in a response to someone’s review: "if I add too much stuff my computer can't handle it, and Kontakt starts dropping samples when exporting.” That’s not a limitation! You can bounce down your tracks to waveforms, and then you (obviously) don’t need Kontakt for that instrument any more, so you can add MORE instruments! :D

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 3/4
* Arrangement: 3/4
* Mixing: 4/4

larrynachos responds:

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed this piece :) As much as I love keeping things simple, you're right. It can lose some interest.

I've tried the method you suggested before, but even just exporting ONE instrument can be a challenge (my computer SUCKS). I just need more ram lol.

[The Space In Your Eyes (Master)]

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

OMG. This is AMAZING. Wow! WOW! This is a friggin great psych rock song. It’s got all the trippy elements of psych rock, and then it actually goes even further by being super varied, having a ton of different, equally compelling sections. Your vocals are awesome - they are really reminiscent of Tame Impala, a great band - and the mix is pretty darn good as well. This was my favorite audition piece. Score: 10

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 4/4
* Arrangement: 4/4
* Mixing: 4/4

fearing responds:

Hi John!

First of all thank you for your review and taking your time to listen and write this out. I'm really really happy that you enjoyed it, let alone say it's your favourite. That's amazing!
Also, I was happy to read your comparison to Tame Impala, I've been listening to them a lot lately, so that's a huge compliment.

Cheers again buddy, your reviews are great.

Jevon

[Kite (Original Overhaul Mix)]

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

Dang! Melodic trance is always really fun, and this just checks all the boxes. The mix is fantastic. It’s very very well arranged and varied - there are many sections that work very well together, and the breakdowns are just as interesting and well thought out as the climaxes (which is very rare to see in edm!). If I were to complain, I’d say that the main melody at 2:16 could be better - but thats just because the rest of this song is so lovely that I had very high expectations! You did great here. Score: 9

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 3/4
* Arrangement: 4/4
* Mixing: 4/4

D-Chain responds:

Thanks a bunch johnfn!! much appreciated!

[The City's Ghosts (Original)]

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

WOW. Let me say that again: WOW. Let's get this out of the way quickly - the mixing here is terrible - it's often muddled in climaxes, and it's even clipping at points. But omg - the vocals are out of this world, the composition is amazing, the arrangement is perfect. The rapidfire delivery of vocals at points is just perfect (I strongly disagree with the previous reviewers here), and I love how the piano and strings back it up. The composition and arrangement are so good, in fact, that I *still* gave this a ridiculously high score, even though the mixing is so obviously flawed. I won't be so kind in future rounds - so be sure to clean up your mix. (Hint: Less elements are easier to mix. Also, make those vocals louder in genera, but make sure they never clip! I have 2 guides to mixing in my link below, and I'd highly recommend you to check them out :-)) One of my favorite audition pieces. Score: 9.5

Mini-scores (Note: See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)

* Mixing: 1/4
* Composition: 4+/4
* Arrangement: 4/4

Jabicho responds:

Thank you so much, johnfn!
I was very happy to read your review, and I appreciate a lot the help you gave us with the mixing, we're gonna work hard on it, and improve it for our next piece :D
I'll check out your mixing guides too :)
Thanks again, for your help, your words, the score and mini scores, the review, everything, it means a lot

[Children of Gravity]

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

Holy crap! This is easily the most ambitious piece of the round (though I'd keep an eye out for Birdinator and TylerSchrader). It goes ALL OVER THE PLACE, from a 2 minute orchestral opening that reminds me a lot of some of the old SimCity music to INSANE HEAVY METAL RIFFING to chill breakdowns, but it all sounds very coherent. The transitions never jarred me or took me by (unpleasant) surprise. So that is all very impressive. However, the ambition of this piece is also the biggest flaw. Since the piece is so long, there are points where the mix deteriorates (though, admittedly, for 90%+ of the song, the mix is solid). The biggest problem, though, is the composition: the melodies seem to be pretty random, and I probably would have difficulty remembering one after the song was over. Still, though, this piece is pretty darn impressive. Score: 8.0

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 2/4
* Arrangement: 3/4
* Mixing: 3/4

Crueldeity responds:

Wow thank you sir! I will try to work on melody cohesion more as my work progresses. I do thank you for the incredible depth of review for my song. This type of feedback is very helpful for really honing my sound. Thanks Johnfn! \m/

[Horizons]

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

Wow, this piece! You are an awesome singer and an awesome guitarist, and I am really impressed by the professional quality of the mix and playing. Though for some reason I am having trouble getting into this piece as much as I would expect. The arrangement, the transitions - all of the pieces are very well done, it's just that the composition is not exactly as good as I'd expect. It's still very good, though, mind you! So keep it up - can't wait to hear more from you in the future.

Mini-scores (Note: See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Mixing: 4/4
* Composition: 3/4
* Arrangement: 4/4

[Space Dreams]

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

Wow! The mix here is just…wow! It’s so good! You did a really friggin good job. When that first drop kicked in I was really taken aback. The kick is so loud and everything. :D The sound design is pretty good, as well, but what is really missing here is a really solid melody or riff that I can really latch onto. Most of the song doesn’t have a melody at all (outside from the plucks I suppose), and I feel like the melody in the ‘chorus’ could be stronger. So, a pretty darn well mixed song, but it needs a little more to stand out. Score: 7

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 2/4
* Arrangement: 3/4
* Mixing: 4+/4

[Chasing the Wind]

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

Oh gosh, the melodies are so nice!!! The sound design is holding you back here, i think - that one thing that sounds like an accordion is just terrible sounding (i think Steampianist is the only person in the history of the world to make edirol sound good). but ugh! it's such a happy nice piece! If this piece wasn’t so short (and looped), it may have even scored higher. But I mean, dang. This song makes me happy. One of my favorites of the audition round. 9.5

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 4+/4
* Arrangement: 3/4
* Mixing: 4/4