Daru925's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Winter Palace]

R2R :D Good song!

Bentendo64 responds:

Thanks!

[.:Droppin' at 110 BPM (16 Bar Test):.]

I have a review but it is not about your song, it is about how you've been talking about music so far.
The way i see it, you are a little too technical right now.
I have the impression that music for you would just be like a recipe, add kick, add drop, hook and cook for 3:30 and voila.
And it shows in your tracks, it is repetitive and nothing really happens. And you get stuck.

I think it is ok for now, since you are learning the basic stuff f i remember correctly, but i suggest you already try adding an artistic layer in your workflow, more abstract stuff, and less tech.

One exercise/method you could try:
Instead of seeing things as drops, hooks main melodies volume changes filters, automations etc; could you imagine a simple story and illustrate it with your music?
It could be ANYTHING! Say you go make a coffe and there is no more,(bam drop) you are enraged (that would be me ahah) or an epic battle starting, where, who what happens... How would you tell all that in music?

Technical aspects becomes elements of the story, places, characters, emotions everything you want and it makes things easier... you will add music elements and effects because you want them in the track, and not just because it is dubstep, it needs a drop, wobble whatever...
Ideally, with this method, everything in your track has a purpose.

That's just ONE way of doing it of course.

Best of luck, i think you have made good progress already :)

BlueAlpha14 responds:

Keep in mind this is a test lol, if this particular track is repetitive it's because I extended it.
Yes indeed I am still learning basic stuff, currently I'm trying to get sound design down because I currently only have 3 dubstep sounds excluding presets and that will get tiring if I recycle them. However I'm gonna exercise a new idea and see if I can make it a full track.
It's funny how you mention story because I actually like to use symbolism when listening to music. Creating symbolism without sound is something I haven't tried, but I'll work on it. I see what you're getting at with me sounding technical and treating music as a computer program and not art. Thanks for the ideas!
~Alpha

[Bwaaah !]

Bambi 2017

LexRodent responds:

Bam fu*king bi !

[TAL Lit Phunk]

Interesting sound!
Has an AFX style, i like tal and lush 101 filters, but its a little repetitive and yeah... stock drums.
So only 3 stars ^^
Keep up the good work and R4R is broken anyway, dont count on it too much...

Qvarcos responds:

Thanks man, will work on it.

[Pulse]

Not a huge fan of the "main synth", and the mix sounds a little too dry, maybe add some echoes and reverbs to emphasize certain hits, but just momentarily.
A lot of details and rythm ideas though, there is definitely an ambient abtsract feeling to this.

Overall, either you went completely random and throw everything into the blender or had to spend quite some time putting everything together ala Autechre :D

Ember69 responds:

Thank you for the critique :-)

[Opening Theme 9]

Staring at windy grasslands

samulis responds:

Nice... like the imagery! :)

[You Broke It]

"I like to move it move it!"♫
Interesting experiments

ADR3-N responds:

Totally didn't notice that similarity. Glad you liked :)

[First Attempt at Dubstep]

I think that throwing premade loops or presets is easy, but blending them nicely to create a good track isn't.
Its VERY repetitive, timing is off, instruments dont blend together. It feels impersonal.
But hey, according to the useless self depreciating crap in the description you're starting out, right? Everyone has to start somewhere. I made those fl funtracks too, they were very similar^^

I like the blips and blops in the drum patterns.
Things you could do, try to tell some sort of story with your music. Could be anything. Every instrument then has a purpose and your song gets a structure.
There is nothing wrong in using presets, but to blend or tweak them correctly, you will need to understand a little what they are made of. Study presets, and why not try to create your own patches sometimes?

So keep practicing, this is the only shortcut. Good luck.

BlueAlpha14 responds:

I have to agree with the repetition part. I can shorten it and re-upload it if that would help. And I did notice the timing was off in the drop. Actually I'm not even sure thats considered a drop.
And yeah I am starting out. Trust me, you wouldn't want to listen to my other tracks. They were even worse. I'm saving them though so maybe I can improve.
And I don't know how to make my own patches. I don't own any instruments. If you how I can feel free to pm me.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to listen and write this review. I will try to work on it and maybe make a better version. I will study presets and take your other advice to consideration.
~Alpha

[Vintage Batman Song Cover]

Ka-POWWW! Antishark spray!
Very nice, damn each time i listen to your tracks, i wish i learned trombone^^
My only neatpicking, id like to hear the vocals a little more, they are a little too much in the background in my humble opinion^^
Until next track!

sorohanro responds:

Noted. I might remake the mix and push the voice 2-3 db up. Thanks for review.

[Undertale - Bonetrousle [Ghost Remix]]

The piano is clipping hard especially at the beginning, watch your levels.
Im not much a fan of machine gun piano (no velocity, no finesse), despite it is present in many piano tracks on newgrounds, for better or worse. Maybe its a thing, but for me its the trademark of lazy midi sequencing.

The melodies and details were interesting though and the chorus enjoyable with the bass piano having a strong impact. Well done

The little passage at 1:23 was a good idea but piano seems out of tune. Didnt work for me.

The chimes/bells announcing the end of the track and possibly the end of the game level are a very good idea. Feels like "Hurry up" finish the race or something.

Overall, the structure fits the video game genre and i think it would be a much better track if you refined the mix a little.

TheMusicalGhost responds:

Ah yes, the review I need. A perfect and very detailed one.

As I play this music again and again, I soon start to realize that you were right about that piano track at 1:23. This is why I never add my own variation to any of my remixes, I suck at it. I am not experience with remixing songs so hey, at least I tried. But since it didn't worked out for you, I'll just remove it and replace the melody instead.

I like the idea you were thinking about the bells I put near the end. It was supposed to make this song sound more holiday related, but I guess it didn't fit at all and I don't really know how to do it. So there, I put it for effect instead. Turns out to be better than I expected!

I'd never expect my remix to have a lot of bad stuff in. I'll start fixing the 'errors' of this track sooner or later. But then again, I am not experienced at all and I am still learning from time to time. I have a lot of ideas going in my mind and I just don't know how to put it in this track.

Based on your review, I already know that I messed up and I need to work more on the things that is 'unpleasant' to your ears. Anyways thank you so much for leaving an honest and detailed review. Now that I know what are the things I'd need to improve on, I'll know what to do next time.

I'll get this 'refined' as soon as possible.