johnfn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Advanced]

Good stuff first - the instruments all sounded great, your kick/snare/clap all sound legit and work well with the song, it's all very well mastered. Everything sounds good and legit.

Stuff I want you to work on - this song does not really go anywhere. The one melody at 1:20 is really just a simple repetition of the chord progression, it doesn't really say anything new or interesting. You can only really pull of something like that if you have chord progressions that are complex/interesting enough to stand on their own (think Boards of Canada). As is, a more interesting melody line would really help to improve this song.

ForeverBound responds:

Okay thank you for your review i'm gonna work on getting better melodies :D

[The Talking Voices]

Yo wassup.

I like the pads that fade in only to cut to another pad. In fact I was experimenting with that idea a while back, it's a fun one.

I think the build at 0:55 is a very traditional ArcaneSoulBuild (tm). I feel like when the lead comes in the pad should too so that you really feel the transition.

Sounding good, well mastered, good sounds. Melodies though. But you know that already... You should try using different lead sounds. Maybe piano? (You have probably already done this and I just don't remember.)

ArcaneSoul responds:

lol x3

Knew someone would complainaobut the lead xD
Just an F.Y.I, i am using possibly the hardest waveform to make sounds with. It is a REALLY dead sounding one. so sorry if it doesn't sound full xD

[Used Ta]

Love the beat. I feel like it could be a little more bassy but otherwise it's great.

My problem is with the lyrical delivery though, they seem to be a little exaggerated ("she looks gooood in a spray tan" is a good example of what I feel is a little off, although I hear it throughout the song).

I don't listen to too much hip-hop though, so who knows if my opinion is valid ;)

funnyman46 responds:

I agree, more bass would probably make it more jammin. More bass makes everything more jammin.

The exaggerated lyrics are more of a "meant to" thing. We like to have a lot of character in our songs, gives it a nice touch.

Thanks for listening as always though, man! Glad you loved the beat.

[Dirtface]

Wow, that baseline is incredibly good. The instrument choice compliments the melody really well. The stuttering vocals were a really good choice too. Love the occasional glitching all over the song. My only problem with this song was your lead melody (around 1:30, comes back later) which felt kind of uninspired.

...This is really good. Nice work!

[Live]

You made a post asking about why no one seemed to love this one. Although strictly speaking it was self advertisement (omg, how dare you!!!!!!!!!) I thought I would drop in and say a little bit about it anyways.

First of all I want to say that I review a little differently than most Newgrounds people. I put '2.5' as the average scoring audio, so giving you a 2 doesn't mean I abjectly hate this song, I just think its a bit below average. And I'm not going to be voting obnoxiously low either, so don't worry about that.

My main points for improvement:

* The entire song seems to really be based on the same chord progression, which sounds very dissonant. This is probably my biggest problem. The progression just isn't that interesting without some additional spice, be it melody or filters or whatever.
* I hear the FL preset kick, snare and hat. You should vary that up.
* This song really doesn't *go* anywhere. It could do with some more transitions or new instruments.

Those were my main thoughts. I know you can do good stuff though (I listened to some of your other songs) so don't be discouraged and don't give up. Keep it up!

DESHIEL responds:

Thanks man, your review is great and those two stars don't bother me, because you've validated them with this review ;)

[Without Little Regret]

I noticed you said that no one ever reviews your stuff on the audio advertisements portal, and I felt bad (used to be the same way for me) so I decided to drop by.

This is a pretty nice song. My biggest problem is probably the pads, which are really buzzy and kinda interfere with the buzziness of the melody. I usually expect the lead to be buzzy, the pads to be smooth. Otherwise there's a clash.

If I'm going to be *really* critical, I'd say that the piece doesn't really go anywhere in its 4 minutes. That's really not too hard to fix with more blatant transitions and instrument changes. One last bit of criticism: the melody towards the end needs a little more spice. That could be a little more tricky, but there are always some easy things to do. Bends and slides are always fun. Plus you could go into higher registers, where things sound more exciting.

Anyway, I enjoyed this. Keep it up. And also, since I found you in audio advertisements, do you think you could review me back if you got the chance? Thanks!

Karlssonffs responds:

Hey!

Yea the starter "pads" got a bit buzzy i agree, but i wanted to make some progressive "house" and try that out. I didnt want much change cause it would ruin the progressivness! ;D

Anyway thanx for you review m8! And I will check your music out!

[[Zombi] - Dead City]

The opening of this song really caught me. The bassline is really strong and a little groovy. Unique for trance! I have a soft spot for groovy stuff, as I tend to write a lot of it :D

That melody at 1:20 needs some tweaking - returning to the base note after every phrase probably wasn't the best idea. Also it's so loud that it dominates the rest of the song. Mastering is a good thing! :)

I like the chords at 1:40. But what if you brought them down an octave? I feel like something is missing in the midranges.

The bass at 1:55 just sounds so cool. How did you do that?

I like the idea at 2:40 but I'm thinking the instruments you used to render it are maybe not the best.

The melody at 3:08 is good too. I'm not usually a huge fan of detuned saws for such precise melody work though... but that's kind of a personal taste thing.

Anyway I enjoyed this song. I'd say that the biggest problem is mastering, so be sure to watch your levels and so forth. But yeah good stuff, keep it up! Also, I'd love if you could drop by and give one of my tracks a review maybe? Thanks!

LimeDisciple responds:

The bass at 1:55 wasnt a bass at all, it was an arpeggiator being ran through a filter that was automated so the frequency responce was going down as the riff played.

I'll go back and clean up a bit, but as far as the riffs and all I'll leave the way they are, just kinda my thing. Appreciate the review, and I'll check out your stuff.

[=(Funky)=]

Aww yeh. I really like the section at 4:00. NOT JUST BECAUSE IT'S MY MELODY but because I think you rendered it really well. The instrument choice is A++. Your solo at the end is good too but the instrument is weaker! You always hide your melodies :P

There are a few minor things but I think that will always be the case. Too bad about the glitching. ;_; Next time you start, I finish ;-)

ArcaneSoul responds:

YUS, PLZ

[=(A Giver of Happiness)=]

The opening melody with the piano is good. the delay length is exactly a quarter note, which is kinda strange. I don't like the bass piano line at 2:00 though. One melody protip is to not have a ton of notes all of the same length without any breaks. It is very hard to pull off correctly and it'll probably just end up sounding silly. I used to do that a lot lol. I hear it again at 7:00.

I agree with piggemz, the opening piano needs more body, it could be really good with a little tweaking.

I like the beat at 2:40. the sounds at 3:30 are great. sounds like an ice paradise. 4:30 is good too, the introduction of the strong (but subtle somehow) bass.

my favorite bit is def that stretch from 3:00-5:00. good percussion :3 good stuff, you handled the ambient genre pretty well.

[czer323 - All Jumbled Up]

8 years.

Missed a year. :(