MaestroRage's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Call of The Wind]

Neat

hey speedmetal!

I never thought i'd see a classical from you. It's quite strange to see really! Anyways onto the song.

Deflektor (I believe) mentioned something about the samples, I agree with him. Their quality diminishes the power of the piece.

Some ideas.

The buildup to the brass is nice, but I felt the brass came in too abruptly.

Also when the brass does jump in, perhaps some deep cellos in the background to fill in the lower spectrum?

To end the piece, I would suggest a trailing note, fading out you know, the ending was a tad abrupt as well.

Anyways, for your first classical piece, I must say i'm damn impressed. You have inspired me to try my hand at metal now ;). I hope you will be there to hear it when it's out.

Keep up the good work speed, keep them coming!

speedmetalmessiah responds:

Wow man thanks for the awesome review. I'll work on getting the smaples to sound better for my next classical piece. I'll also try and ease into everything a bit smoother next time. I should have mixed the bass end of things better but at least now I won't make that mistake again.

Thanks a lot for the tips I'll definately take them into my next orchestral.

I'll be looking forward to your metal tune and if you ever need a guitarist just let me know I'd be more than happy to help you out.

["Welcome"]

Impressive

Hey Roy00.

I didn't get a very "welcome" feeling to this song. More like a "welcome to hell!" kind of thing. There were many overtones of a dark and sorrowed feeling, yet there were traces of happiness, especially in the middle with the quick strings and brass. More noble, more almighty kind of feeling.

One of my first suggestions above anything else, is finding better samples. This song's melody flows very well, it's structure pretty good, however the quality of the samples bleeds the life it would have otherwise out of it.

The song also loops pretty well.

That piano ending, I did not find in the greatest of taste. I felt that it let the song just kinda die out. I would suggest perhaps a fade out?

have you considered timpini? I think this song is a very noble oriented one, and though you do have some timpini going on at some points, I feel having them around more would be a welcome addition.

I also believe you should use the reverb effect, give it a more realitistic feel, especially on those choirs. I find reverbing choirs to hell and back gives a very neat effect.

Anyways, thats all I can think up of for now, i'd like to invite you to listen to some of my pieces, and tell me what you think of them. Thank you. Here is my 5 bomb for you! Keep them coming!

Roy00 responds:

Oh yeah thanks for the comment by the way! yeah sorry about all the "flaws" in this song.... LOL! its just that im using finale 2003 and playing everything through a demo version of 2007. so im not used to the crappy sounds '03 has. but im getting better! thank you by the way. i'll continue listening to your music. Bye!

[_Yumbo-Yak_Hymn of Hip-hop]

Neat

Hey man, I really think you're onto something here! When I heard that opening I thought (man that sounds famaliar!), then i read your description and it said that you used the ffx song, and it struck home.

I think a hip hop version is definately a welcome break from the original, however I also think you should mix it up some more. That constant hi hat throughout the whole song lost its power after a while you know. Those soundeffects you had going on there was also a pretty neat idea.

I also think that kick should have been louder, also reverbed up the ying yang, for that surreal feeling the ffx song has.

Anyways, great stuff, the ending was redone, so good work with that. I think the song has potential but still more diversity would have been a great addition.

Keep them coming Yumbo-Yak, good stuff.

Yumbo-Yak responds:

This song has alot of room for improvement.
I'll revamp it later and make a worthy version to be displayed on newgrounds,
thanx for the review.

[Sunset Forest]

Neat

Hey Ocelot.

I liked the melody of the song, it flows well, it has a relatively good story to tell, but like mentioned before hand you have whole notes playing in the background all the time and that can become a little tiresome to listen to.

I didn't like the ending at all with that hi-hat segment. Letting it trail and fade out would have been a better move.

Some ideas.

First off, I think you should get better samples. If you had great samples this songs power would increase nearly three fold. I'd like to invite you to listen to some of my own pieces, you will notice that melody wise they may not be better then this piece, but merely because of the quality of the samples they take on a whole life. Of course i'm not telling you that great samples is the bane to all good music. You could have a real orchestra and still suck if the song just doesn't have structure or melody.

To make your instruments sound more real, I would recommend you apply a reverb effect on them. Reverb is an effect that makes it sound like the instrument is being played in a large hall (or small room depending on the parameters you set).

What program are you using? If I were to guess i'd say Finale?

Anyways, you do have talent, so keep them coming! You'll get there if you keep pushing.

Ocelot3000 responds:

Firstly, let me just say thank you for writing such a detailed review, It is deeply appreciated. I am aware that the sound quality for the piece is below my usual standards so I was expecting this comment to appear sooner-or-later. When I first wrote this piece over a year ago, I didn't have access to high-quality samples.
I can in all honestly say that I don't use Finale, instead I use software with a built in multi-effects processor, reverb controls and a realistic sound simulator, the reverb was just not set to a very high level.
I would like to point out that I was rushed to finish this piece (Hence the ending) and I DO plan to redo the entire piece again when I have the time so your comments will be taken into account.
P.S. I also hade the same comment made by 'Ventoche' about the long background notes, don't worry the will be changed.
Thanks a great deal
*Ocelot3000*

[Drown in the fountain of youth]

Neat

Well lets begin the review shall we?

Lets start off with the beats. You're percussional beats are pretty good, very solid, laid down and keeps the song in pace.

You've got two guitars working in this song, one is a more cleaner version, and one is very distorted. For future reference, I would very carefully consider that distortion guitar. That cleaner one you have soloing, and then accompanied with other similar guitars worked well.

That really distorted guitar sounds real, and maybe that is why it doesn't work that well. When you have synthesized sounds with a real instrument the synths will sound MUCH cleaner, as well the synths were probably either produced artificially or recorded in a studio with much more gear then the average person. So your recording of your guitar in short will sound extremely low quality compared to the synths.

How to solve this? Many people used DKFH VST (Drummer Kit From Hell), which is a percussional program with really high samples geared towards metal tracks. As well as try not to mix in synth guitars with real ones, as the two will generally not mix that well.

Other then that the song itself is solid, it's merely the presentation that could use some work. Keep experimenting, you'll get there if you keep pushing. Keep them coming!

Stealth-Emergence responds:

Wow man awesome! thanks for your review! erm well all the guitars on this were real, I think one problem i've got is that the chords just sound really bad whenever i come to record however i seem to adjust the nobs, and the solo's seem to come out a bit cleaner, I'm working on this now! struggling a little to keep the distortion from pulling the quality down

Thanks again for your review, and man your tunes were awesome!

Peace Out!

Stealth

[With You]

Impressive

first off, I don't know if the guy below me will ever read this, but what the hell are you listening to a song with the description "A MELLOW GUITAR SONG" and then expect it to be metal.

Anyways, some real criticism.

The guitar melody was awesome, simple, soft, sweet, short, and subdued (alot of S...)

I would have said add more instruments to it, but by itself this song is pretty awesome to. Have you considered reverb? I know I heard some in there, but I felt a heavier dose, with a slight echo would have made it more... peaceful?

Anyways, I really liked it, 5 bomb for you! Keep them coming, you've really got some talent behind you.

ShadowJim responds:

Thank you.

To tell you the truth, I actually wrote the melody when my high e-string was broken. Was oddly inspiring experiment.

It was one of the first songs I did in Guitar Pro, and I really was never satisfied with the sound I got, either. I considered making another version (different guitar? different program?), but I'm hoping someday I'll be able to actually play and record it on my own classical guitar. Don't have the talent, now, alas.

Arigatou gozaimasu! *bows*

[Opus for Violincello]

Damn impressive

This is now also one of my new favs. Truly everything just speaks wonderfully to each other. I hear this kind of song in a great garden.

I gotta say at the ending I felt the song was really starting to pick up! I was in a state of complete bliss and then you had to ruin my fun and ruin it!

There was a small segment here that made me think of star wars, heh, not your fault, i'm just crazy like that.

Out of curiousity which instrument did you start off with to compose the quartet? If I were to guess I would say the middle octaved violin, the high pitched violin, then the plucked strings, followed by the cello.

Here comes the end again... damn... it ended.

The song loops very very well. I was in denial the first time the song ended and so I was hoping you had some kind of break, but it was not meant to be :'(.

I have no advice in making it better, only a 5 bomb, and a props to you. Keep them coming!

ShadowJim responds:

I'm glad I'm not crazy. I thought it sounded like Star Wars, too! lol. Couldn't be helped; that's just how the song came out.

Actually, I started with the pizzicato viola. I almost always start with the acompaniment, oddly enough. Then I added the cello, then high violin. I wasn't sure if I would add another instrument, but I knew I needed a bass at that on chord (sometimes a song just talks to you, such as this one).

I do have an idea or two for lengthening the piece, but I'm afraid I'm a slow composer. I hope to, though.

Thanks a lot for the review and kind words, MeastroRage!

[Khuskan - Prelude in Pi]

My first 10 across the boards...

You sir have single handidly made me want to do more math! I will START PAYING ATTENTION IN CALCULAS!!!

Then i'll compose a song of an even functions derivative!!!!

Still, how you managed to pull that out of your ass so soon makes me green with so much envy I look like the giant guy on the pea cans!

As for your statement saying there are other songs that deserve a 5, this is true, but this I believe should be up on the top, AND SO I SHALL MAKE THIS SO WITH A 5 BOMB!

Thanks for your vote, MaestroRage! You voted 5 for Khuskan - Prelude in Pi, keeping its score at 5.00.

Too awesome for my ears, I need to learn the piano so I can play this.

Khuskan responds:

Well the idea itself wasn't too tricky - I was going to base notes to Pi, but then I realised that, although artistic, it wouldn't be at all MUSICALLY interesting, so I set out on phrases.

Maths is systematic, logical and not open to conjecture, so I used a harsh d minor key to give it a sort of evil, yet slightly mellow when slow, bite.

I only truely composed 10 parts (11 if you count the one which I accidently made because I thought I had 9 and isn't included in the track). The most of the time was spent arranging it to Pi, which took me ages to get right. I'd go through arranging it, only to run it through with the numbers and to come back with some weird mix. Fortunatly, this is left in the hands of the performer so as a composer I don't have to dirty my hands with the direct layout :D

If you ever do learn piano, the score can be found here:

wehatetheworld.com/prelude score.pdf

Just cut and paste that, including the space between 'prelude' and 'score' and it should load (or replace it with a %20, your choice)

[Apocalypse On The Horizon 2]

Neat!

Hey stealth, wanted to drop by and see what was up.

The song has a very driving force to it, it's almost bordering on jazz and rock to me. A strange mix thats for sure.

It's been said enough times by everybody, the guitar is a little too distorted, and though it's not a triangle it sounds like some fiercely abused plucked guitar that sounds off.

I like the brass, thats the part that made me think of jazz.

Regardless the song was enjoyable to listen to, my only qualm would be those plucked strings, and the level of distortion on the guitar, otherwise this is excellent stuff!

I'd like you to check out some of my pieces sometime stealth, Keep them coming stealth, I hear alot of potential in you!

Stealth-Emergence responds:

Thank You! I know man there are some major issues going on with my sound quality, and believe me I am trying really hard at the moment to get to the root of these issues, as for the plucked thing which you refer to, yeah i know what the issue is there, it's an instrument i used on my synth, which lingered a little too long, and due to the sound that particlar instrument i chose makes, it can make that irritating triangle type noise, One day I shall re-do this track though, at the moment I'm just making new tunes, but one day my man it will happen, and we shall all rejoice lol yay! :)

Thanks for your review! Much appreciated! I'll come by and check out some of your stuff A.S.A.P.

Peace Out Man!

Stealth

[ChiRoN- Silver Serenade]

Neat

Hmm, the song is quite neat, i'll give it that. Here a few suggestions.

That cello beginning chord progression was well planned, progressions like that are perfect for building a solid foundation, and since you used cello it gives you more freedom to use other higher pitched instruments.

The melody was a tad unstable in my opinion, and by this I mean it was a bit unpredictable. When the cello section just cut out, that made me think this.

Otherwise the violin melody is quite stable, it has a pretty happy feeling to it. Like lazy clouds floating by.

For your first classical I must say i'm impressed. It's better then my first (which I will never share with you btw >_>), so yes kudo's! I give you a 5/5 to show my support. Keep them coming ChiRoN, you'll get there if you keep pushing!

BMC-Audio responds:

thanks for the sweet review! i still love your music, and i just made a new classical, so i hope it does as good if not better than this one.