BlastBeats's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[OST: To The Next Frontier - 432 Hz]

R4R review following:
This whole minute of audio (I wouldn't mind it being longer :P), has the same tendency the whole time. Its start isn't introductory, and the end is somewhat abrupt. The beautiful thing in orchestas is that cadence, the different rhythms of the instruments, the layers and variation, which all make a song interesting. I recommend trying out using contrast more often, especially in classical music. Try varying the overall volume of the song. Humanise notes, let them not all be perfectly in sync, and let them play at different velocities.

To me this sounds like a Zelda like video game background song. It's there, and it's a bit flat. Try using some more different chords, to create an emotional tension.

It's really good, but for a classical song, it needs a bit more advanced applications of music theory and humanisation. This is what I found after comparing the song with its title. I know it's mainly personal interpretation and taste, but I hope this review helps.

Kazamy responds:

Hi! First of all, thank you for your review. It's very detailed, I really appreciate it n.n .

Well, I never learned composition or music theory anywhere x.x . I just started this year experimenting on FL Studio as a hobby, thats why my tracks are approximately one minute long. I know that my songs have falls and modest good chords.

About the similarity with a video game background music, I had in my mind that kind of music while making this song. Cinematography, game and anime soundtracks are my favorite type of music and the type of songs that I would like to make :D . I put this track on the classical category because I thought it was the category that best matched this time.

[Echoes in Eternity]

It so cool to see how you improve! I only think the hi-passes part is of too long a duration, and I don't like the snare sample.

The melody works very well with the chords, and it's in my head... It's catchy and the lead is pretty dominant. Simple but good sound design here!

Last thing is that the sidechain on the kick is too much compared to that on the snare. It makes the snare sound way less powerful.

GobSmacked responds:

thx for your review m8. :D

[Ghost Slayer [DUBSTEP]]

DIN! (at the end) Sounds like this is a cut from a larger project. Let me get a bit more serious:
I think that thunder sample in the beginning is a bit too much. It's quality is low compared to the rest of the song, and it's quite cheesy. After that you build up an amazing ambience untill 00:12. I loved the combination of those background synths and samples! Then there is a very loud voice trying to be creepy. Ok, his voice is low and everything, but I think you could do some more post processing to give him a ghost-ish voice (like putting reverb on it!). Also the lyrics are too much for the drop. You'd expect something heavier. The drop is neat, but its neatness can be ruined by the build up. I actually expected the drop at 00:27. I'll go in a bit more detail on some separate things.

HARMONICS: I think I heard like 2 different chords. That may get annoying over the long run. The melody was good, and everything was in tune. I'm not so sure about that 00:31 plucky pre-drop melody. It's too happy for such a serious drop.

DRUMS: The quality of your samples is great, but I think you're able to get more out of them. The kick needs a bit more punch, and the snare has too much of its highs. I'd have sidechained bass more by the kick and snare, but that's my thing, and it may not be yours. The drum patterns are standard, but ok. They could do with some more variation. Also I hear a ride, but no hi-hats. They might let you give a rhythmical vibe to the song.

DROP: I hear a short 2-4 bar piece being repeated with great variation. The drop arrangement is fab! The synths sound very familiar though. I may be wrong, but they sound like frequently used presets. Also they sound a bit lifeless. More bass, better stereo imaging, and compression can do the trick.

MIXING: The levels of some synths are too loud. The drums get overpowered by the bass at 00:15, and the vocals are too loud for example. I'm not an expert at mixing, so I won't get into the EQ, and compression side of things (you're way better at that than me). Something that bothered me a bit though, was the stereo imaging. Your transition samples are too stereo compared to your synths.

MASTERING: I can hear some wrong-time-variable-and-harsh-compression-combination at 0:49. I don't know if that's due to a compressor in the master, or elsewhere, but it's an artefact.

Don't think I hated the song. I'm in nit-picker-mode to help you improve. It's definitely enjoyable and worth more than the rating it currently has (which I think is this low due to it being not a complete song). I hope this will help you improve!

Have a smashing day!

Anitrik responds:

Wow thank you so much for this huge comment ! You're right on almost everthing you say ^^ This song was made as a "test", because when I hear it I can feel that something lacks, but I can't guess what it is and I struggle to improve it. I really love to have comments like this that because when I read it everything seems so simple and so obvious !

I have never worked on vocals and it's one of the first ( or maybe the first ) song that has vocals in it. I have to learn how to change the voice tone/aspect and so much stuff like that and I was surprised that nobody told me that my vocals are pretty poor before you. I was not sure about that storm/thunder sample too but I agree that it's not very neat. I took it from freesound.org and never had an idea of how to start the song in an other way. I'll think about it seriously ^^
About drums, I really appreciated your comment because it is one of the part I master the less, I mean I don't really spend much time on it as I don't really know how to make them great like in most Dubstep songs. But you gave a couple of great ideas, thanks for that !
About the drop you're right too, I took a growl preset that I modified so it sounds like I want, but maybe I made it too much like a common and overused growl.
And about that sound at 0:49, wow, I didn't even heard that before publishing the song aha ! Of course it doesn't fit, it's actually a sample, but I let it here by mistake, thanks you for that too !

And yes, this is just a preview of a bigger project and there is a lot of cool stuff/drop variations after that still need some work.

Thank you so much about your comment again, and you can be sure it'll make me have a smashing day aha ;)

[[DnB] - Muzzy - The Phantom [Monstercat Release]]

You sound desperate. This song is copyrighted, and isn't supposed to be here. I flagged, sorry, but this is just not ok...

ShikaGS responds:

fking hell i just want to make a level in geometry dash with it >:C there are so many coopyrighted songs in this site !!! almost everything is copyrighted ! if i upload that song but not the monstercat release will u keep it plz ?

[Nebula]

The basses are so overpowering that the drums sound a bit flat. I also hear some distortion on the lead. To me it sounds almost like clipping, or low time variables in a compressor. The track is loud all the time, which makes it a bit intensive to listen to. Also the drops feel like they have less power than they would have had with more silent breakdowns or in/outros. The high end overall is maybe a bit too loud. Some parts hurt my ears a bit (but that may be a problem with my headphones).

Just wanted to point that out. I didn't really find any criticism in the review section, so here you have it. Since I had hard times criticising this, I think this song is awesome. There is a good flow in the drops, and the basses sound great too. All in all, great job!

Ravitex responds:

I'll keep everything you said in mind when I produce.
Thanks for the feedback!

[Ricochet]

The intro sample is too loud, the lead starting around 0:51 is pretty cheesy (and it hurts my ears), the song is quite repetitive somehow, and it's too short... because I WANT MORE! The ambiance that you've got going on is so cool. It's inspiring to listen to the chords evolving, while the drums and the bass don't seem to be bothered by the behaviour of the chords, while minding their own business. This contrast works really well, and creates a soundscape I could listen to for days.

I feel like me being a videogame drum and bass producer too (occasionally), who tries to create such soundscapes, makes me go crazy a bit here :P. I'm glad I came a long this song.

PSiMetronome responds:

Thank you for writing such a detailed review! I'll make sure to watch my volume on the samples, but I appreciate your love for the style I was going for. Thanks again for the constructive feedback!

[her name was Susie!]

This one's quite repetitive, and overall it's too loud in my opinion. The drum mixing can be improved on too. Add some sidechaining to the drums, and I'd bounce the rest of the day listening to this :D

I can't get this out of my head though, lol. Nice work!

demon1000 responds:

thanks man!

[Pardon Me]

Man, this track is awesome! I love the synths, and how the post processing brings a flow into the track. I think improvements can be made on the drums. They're too loud, and sound like an overused 70s disco loop. Also your transitions can be made a bit smoother (the transition after the drop). Overall the song may sound a bit empty, so next time maybe add some more instruments... maybe... I don't know. I'm in nitpicker mode, since I want this to be a helpful review. I just really like what you did here. In particular I love the background ambience noises.

Stay awesome,
BlastBeats (R4R)

TIMETRAVL responds:

allright, thank you for feedback.
i kinda wanted some cheesy oldschool drums lel:)

[-Insanity-]

There are better songs to be featured, but there've been worse songs getting a feature. Somehow I think geometry dash is involved with this... Nevertheless, I like what you did. The track can have some more variation, and improved mixing. What I really wanted to point out is the part in the end from 1:02. This seems to be a sample to me, which may not be yours. If that is copyrighted, you're skrewed, and this submission has be flagged. I'm not a mod, but you just should know about that.

Enzo07 responds:

It's my song and it's not copyrighted :P but thanks for the review

[Final Showdown]

The idea of this track is pretty ok, but the execution... The lead is painful to listen to. It is a simple saw/pulse combination, which I consider too sharp for this song. The piano and the drums give a soothing drum and bass feel to the track, but the lead does not make any sense. Put some effort in designing a fitting lead.
In addition, I do not hear any post processing, except for the piano, which has only a small amount of it. Some reverb and/or delay would help you improve your quality. The release of the kick sidechaining the other instruments is way too long. That, or that is a mastering issue.
Composition wise, this song is repetitive, and there are some off notes. Your variations in the melody are neat, though. The drums are the same the whole time. I would not mind some variation there.
The mix is bad. The lead overpowers every instrument, and the drums blast everything that isn't percussion away. The kick could use some more definition, the snare is dull, and there's some very repetitive percussive sound in the background shifting in the track's stereo image the whole time. Use your eq's, compressors, panning, and what not to obtain a better mix. Another thing is that I cannot hear a sub, or even a defined bass.
The mastering is not well executed either. It sounds like you squeezed your song through a single band compressor without playing with the options. The overall volume is excessively loud, and it sounds like the time variables have their default values.

Overall, I think this track is bad, but I hear potential. It gave me the impression that you spent a little time on the production. Putting more time in single tracks will improve your quality, and rating. You really need that.

I do not get the feature. You are new, and there have been tons of better releases in the past few days on newgrounds. In my opinion this track didn't deserve the feature.

Please do not consider me a hater. I know how it is to start with music production. I started a year ago. Many things I mentioned above are things I learned while doing research, or by getting reviews. I wrote this to help. This job/hobby takes a lot of time and practice, and I really hope this will help you to get on track (no pun intended) more rapidly. My first song, which is also a drum and bass track, got many helpful reviews for beginners. Be sure to check that out, if you want to learn more!

Good luck, and welcome to the community!
BlastBeats

PS: I checked out your first song, and that one is way more impressive!

GobSmacked responds:

Jeez. I amso thankfull for your review. I am glad you care that much about and thanks. I know I got really lazy on tis one and i just felt like its pretty okish. I never expected it to get attention in any way. Also its not my genre. It started as a small 8-Bit proejct and i just started liking the melody a bit. But I am still very thankfull for this amazing review.... I really do appreciate it when someone is sending me critic. OK so... I try to kind of follow your "Instructions and tipps" to improve. Thanks alot, - Gobsmacked!