johnfn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mischievous Algirdas]

Okay that was totally bizarre. The first half feels off for me. I think it's the instrument choice. Maybe if you reimagined it with different instruments it could be a lot better. It sounds a lot to me like a demented carnival ride or something, so maybe making it more orchestral could improve it?

The second half though I really like, it's really pretty. If it was just the second half I'd give you a 8 or 9/10. My only gripe is that the piano feels mechanical. If you play with the velocity a little bit it may sound better. Anyway that's a nitpick, the second half is great.

KrrMaim responds:

Thanks for listening! This is actually a "dark electronic" sound that I was going for. Also based off of a full orchestral song that i've done :D

I have a strange reverb set up on the pianos at the end so to get that effect I had to push the velocity hard on the key strokes. Good ear though :]
compromise ;_;

[=(Freestyle)=]

The chords and beat that you open with are fantastic. I was a little iffy when it disappeared, but the build back to it at 1:40... PERFECT. (You really love those distortions and slides.)

Streamline the breaks a little. Example, that break at 1:10 is nice but the melody is a little off. You may be able to do without the chime at all and just let the pads do the work?

A good melody is right under the surface at 3:50 - just trim a few notes and I think it will be awesome.

Anyway yeah, this is great. Was thinking about 8/10 and then bumped it up because that build up at 1:40 is TOO GOOD. Lol normally on NG when people have buildups they write the build up first and then it's like "whoops nothing interesting to put here" but your song is the other way around.

ArcaneSoul responds:

3:50 is the pads your hearing -.- lol

Really? I actually rather liked that chippy melody but meh i geuss it could of done without them. And if you havn't known anything about me,

ArcaneSoul = Pads and autogun lol.

Thx for the review and yes the builds, so awesome.

[Blood Sucker]

This sounds great. That piano melody *is* really nice, and the chord progression is appropriately haunting. Too bad it only really started going right at the end. I'd love to hear the finished piece!

[-Rusty Courier-]

This is a great song, and it's difficult to deny that it's full of joy and happiness. Your instrumentation is flawless and the production is pretty much perfect. But I'm going to dock a point because you keep using that same baseline / chord progression. I would really love to see you push yourself and explore new ground.

[Music For The Masses]

You are very good at this music making thing.

This is a good song, and the vocal melody is really well done. My major complaint is the pokey synths towards the second half of the song - they don't seem to contribute much.

I usually have some distaste towards dubstep, mainly because dubstep songs aren't particularly melodic. I think you sidestepped that complaint nicely.

My only other nag is that the beat felt pretty thin with that massive bass.

Anyway, great song.

[Joyful Labyrinth]

This is a nice song. I definitely get the sense of wandering around and feeing vaguely happy. haha.

A few suggestions:

Move that baseline part (the lower, repetitive part) of the acid sytrus into an actual bass instrument (since it's bass). Keep the rest on the acid.

Try doing a pitch bend on the acid. It sounds really cool.

Keep it up!

Xsalvaz responds:

Why thank you very much! Yeah, that actually never crossed my mind. When I created it, it was all acid, and I separated it making so the bass could kick in when I was laying out the song. Thanks for the review! ~Xsalvaz

[<Until Sunrise>]

First things first. 170 hours on a single song is incredible. That kind of dedication is truly respectable. Your work on this song really shows. It's immensely textured and intricate.

Your transitions are really nice and closing in on pro quality.

Your instruments generally sound great.

Now that I've said lots of nice stuff, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

While I listen to this song, one impression that I get is that the song is moving by so fast that I can't even listen fast enough to catch up. It's disorienting. And what I *think* it is is that you really don't have any bass in this song. Okay, you have a little every now and then, but you really need a constant baseline going - it will give the listener something to be grounded to while that melody flies all over the place.

Another thing that you need is a breakdown. Maybe... MANY breakdowns. lol :) You have a really quick one at 2:55. Lengthen it. Add much more. Your music is incredibly fast paced and listening to it right now feels like a workout, haha. Breakdowns give the listener a rest. :)

There is a little collision between the melody and the the piano at 2:23. I think if you moved the piano up an octave or two it'd be good.

Holy crap your high range is EXPLODING at 2:50. Be careful about your range.

Pan your sounds when you have many things going at once. A really common one I hear is piano and synth. Pan them a little to the side and it will sound a lot nicer.

You show a lot of potential as a songwriter! I'd like to challenge you to write a shorter, slower piece. It might do good things for you :)

[Weil - M.T]

HOLY CRAP THIS IS SO HEAVY UGHHH I'M STRAINING UNDER THE WEIGHT...

Heh, I don't usually listen to heavy techno, so you'll have to forgive me... I like the chord progression you were using - it's nice! my main criticism is that when the really heavy bass comes everything gets really really muddy, especially on the low end. Do you have some crazy amount of reverb on your kick or something?

I'd also maybe like some sort of detuned saw doing some cool melody or something.

By the way, along with what EternalEndeavor said, this song is quite repetitive. I personally prefer shorter songs that are less repetitive - as a listener, I can always just put them on loop if I like them, plus as a songwriter you get to optimize your melodies and things over less time, so you can make them better!

Anyway, keep at it! (And don't take the "low" review personally - I try to review so that 5 is average.)

DarkMauri responds:

Thanks for the review. Well. ive tried to optimise the bass because it was so loud depending on which earphones you was using. The kick is done with another 3 kicks together and changing things. And for the track i wanted to do it quite repetitive because i like chilling with my own track. :p ). i know i have a long way till i manage better the eq and the compresors and everything. Thanks for the review and check out my other tracks.