Stroberider's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Change of Heart (FEB NAC 2019)]

SUPER CHEESY! I love it! This perfectly fits every rule and aspect of this February NAC, and I honestly couldn't find anything wrong with it, except maybe the autotune effect on the vocals at times, but even that fits perfectly for this. Very impressive instrumentation, Czy! You definitely have my vote! 5/5

Czyszy responds:

Thank you, sir. Yeah, I do sometimes play around with my vocals by flexpicthing them slightly to get a softer voice.

[Chilled 1 (SI-7 Redux)]

Well, I'll be damned! This a very well fleshed-out remix of what is originally a loop creatively turned into an actual song. Very well done, SI-7!

I absolutely love how you turned this into an entirely different elaborate track with added percussion, sweeping effects, filtering, and built up kicks. The re-work of the secondary melody is pure genius!

The loop you seemed to get to work works amazingly well with the reverb blending from the end to the beginning! I can say, this is pretty damn flawless despite it being so short!

Overall 5/5

SI-7 responds:

Thank you for the kind words! I kind of disagree with you about the flawless part though, the sound design could have definitely been better. I really need to expand my collection of percussion samples.

[API - Paradise on E (Remixception) [NGAP 2019]]

Such a great tune to choose for a remix... and one that is remixed from a remix.

Your levels are perfect and beautifully mastered. The right amount of bass, beats, melody and harmony makes this track very easy to listen and dance to.

The beat could use a little more percussion, claps, hi-hats or something to make it more powerful to get this tune picked up from sounding a little less flat.

Each synth was implemented very well with its placement in sound design and complimentary flow with supportive bass and harmony.

The choppy reverbed effects give this a nice change up from API's version breaking up the similarity and adding your own mix to the original.

Great job on keeping a lot of the original sounds, yet turning it into your own!

Overall 4/5

Phant0mFox responds:

Thank you for the feedback!

[Ocean Extractors - FlashBurn (ACruelEpoch Remix) {NAC 2019}]

The melody is pretty spot-on to the original. The mainline is a lot more pronounced than the original and has more of a drive, however, if that synth is supposed to sound that distorted, I do not like it at all. It makes it sound too broken and poorly mastered.

That bassline with the kick is way too over-powering than the rest of the track and sort of cancels everything else out. It may need to be sidechained, so as not to over-drive everything else being played alongside it.

It seems like this track could keep going, but just sort of ends. It's not a bad track, but not really that great. Nothing is really that memorable or powerful that sticks out IMO. There's more room for improvement than praise. I know you can honestly do better. I will say though, this had a pretty kickin' intro!

Overall 3.5/5

JUDASmakesMUSIC responds:

Thanks for the feedback. Yea idk i kinda lost steam when writing and producing this, and i think it really shows. Still, thanks for the criticisms. Hopefully my next track will be better.

[ParagonX9 - Chaoz Fantasy (Splatterhead Remix)]

SD, I am very impressed to hear someone actually recreate such a diamond, intricate track and beautifully orchestrated too and not pick a more simple track/loop that the original artist produced.

The intro builds very smoothly into the mainline almost sounding like a totally new track. The choir was a nice idea but when executed with everything else playing along side it, it simply gets pushed back, way back into background noise with no great significance or justice to the track. I would have only implemented it during more quiet parts like the bridge or intro and outro.

The meter is quite interesting as you have picked very key points to speed it up and slow it down signifying the more energetic parts and the more emotionally impacting parts with the harmony.

Your notes are spot on to the original, and the middle electric guitar sounding synth melody was a very nice changed addition to this already gorgeous tune. Very nice flow to the end of the track. The dubstep basslines sound very updated and add a little hip flavor to the track, however it also equally detracts from the track by breaking up the tempo and aural resonance of beauty that this track builds up almost muting it too much that it becomes distracting than adding new flavor.

The ending is absolutely gorgeous! The piano choice is definitely the best thing you've appended to this tune.

Overall, outstanding job, SD! 4.5/5

SplatterDash responds:

Hey, Dreamscaper! Thank you very much for taking the time to be a judge for the NAC, and I really appreciate the feedback you gave me.

The choir has honestly been my main trouble for this song, since I had sidechaining on them from the kick, which meant they had to be loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to go over the melody, carried by a piano and bells. I kinda failed in both regards, since the melody didn't want to come out (hence I added the guitar at 1:09) and the choir was still too soft. Hopefully I can play around with it if I do something like this again.

The bassline for the dubstep portions was also a little troubling, because it didn't want to come out when nothing else was playing and the main focus was on it. I probably should have went all in on it and then went back to the melody, though, since it does, as I listen to it again, break up the stuff that's going on just to be there and open, but also not there.

Mixing is my weaker spot, so I can probably play around with different things to bring out stuff at the right time and volume. Still, though, I feel like I could definitely learn a lot from your critique. Thank you for both reviewing and, again, being a judge of NAC :D

[Adventure Of A Lifetime (Club Mix)]

Johnny-boy! This is very well produced, broski!

The build-up to the mainline and vocals are very well paced and pushes out the climax of the track continuing through the bridge and follow-up crystal clear sampled vocals. Very nice subtle touch up on the effects on the vocals. The perfect amount of buildup on the instrumental intro and outro makes this a DJ's dream come true.

For this remix almost sounding flawless, the little errors that I did find seemed to stand out a bit like the timing getting a little off tempo during the 2:50-2:54 & 5:27-5:30 marks and certain sounds start to fight over each other to be heard like the vocals and the mainline clashing a few times. Other than those minor issues, this a damn good remix, Johnny!

I'm not a huge fan of the original song nor House for that matter. However, I can tell a lot of effort and well spent time was put into this diamond of a track. Incredible work, dude!

JohnnyFrizz responds:

My friend!! Thank you for the awesome review! Indeed a lot of work went into this one and I'm really thankful for your appreciation :)

Those vocals were a bitch to warp, specially since the original tempo is at 112BPM and this is at 132, so I definitely hear those off tempo bits you mentioned, not much else I can do at this point tho lol

And YES! Mid range mixing is my Achilles heel, I'm still figuring it out, hopefully one day I'll get it on point to produce industry standard tracks.

Thanks again brother

[LTM² - Miniature Fantasy]

Wow! That's pretty damn close! Awesome remake, bro! Though, it would have been really nice to hear you throw in something a little different with your own style than the original, but it's definitely spot on, buddy! I like how you switched up the rhythm with the main synth @ 01:32 and you sped up the overall track to get things moving! Great emulation!!!!... VERY IMPRESSED!!! 5ive STARS ALL THE WAY!!!!!!

ListenToMyMusic responds:

Yeah, I may just make a remix too, getting as close to the original as possible was my main goal in this one.

[TrAnCeD Chronamut Mastery]

Got Me Movin

Nice arp sequencing and trancey harmony! I absolutely love how original sounding this is yet strangely familiar. This track sort of provokes fun memories that I wish I could relive in the clubs I danced and DJed in back in Dallas, TX. The only dislike is the ending and how it kinda broke the momentum by slowing down at an unexpected moment after building up to a Hard Trance break that just went right back to the same repetition of 4-8 bars. Nonetheless, sweet track! Congrats again to both you and Shawn for creating such a nice sounding groove! Keep these tracks pumpin!

wii1 responds:

Yeah, I'll fix the song later. I think I might just turn this into the Final Version instead.

[AD - DnB CTSG Entry v2]

Loops Perfectly!

I think we have a winner AD! This is a very nice improvement and has a nice steady flow of rhythm and bass. Ok, so here is the breakdown of what I personally liked and the small dislikes... ;-)

Likes:
1. Maintains a steady DnB vibe of rhythm and FX on the bassline(s) and doesn't lose it's composure of movement
2. Loops seamlessly and doesn't knowingly drone on and on making me lose interest
3. Sounds are EQed quite well along with the mastering
4. The driving bassline "ping-ponging" back and forth with the snare is what fabricates and sustains the strength in this track

Dislikes:
1. Needs more of a catchier and more memorable bassline than the constant droning one by alternating it up a bit with another supporting harmony of bass (personal opinion)
2. Missing a climax... would help to have a part in it that makes you say "Damn! That was badass!" or a part that gets your ass moving even more than it did starting out. Everyone who listens to DnB would know what this is.
3. If this isn't just a sample, it's way too short.

Overall, this was pretty damn impressive AD since you mostly create Hip-Hop tracks! 5ived it raising it to 4.43/5.00 (+ 0.066) :-D

~Byron

AeraDynamic responds:

Boojah! Nice Review :D I like I like! I know what you want to point out, so lets just let me explain everything nice n easy ;)

1. Bassline is dificult for me to modulate..... VERY difficult..... NEARLY impossible atm with my current knowledge about Basslines so I just left it like that. Its still grooves just like it is now and I am happy with it so far xP

2. Climax, I know what you mean. But this is just a short thing I made for a Contest and the lenght restriction is about 16 bars so its just a small loop. But I like it so much I am thinking about expanding it to a full Track. With badass Moments indeed! But lets talk about the Climax here - Point out your fav Part in this Track: (PM me later for this ^^)

>> http://www.you tube.com/watch?v=a7MjLSzD0nw <<

Mine is at 1:27 when the Bassline gets nuts xD Kickass Tune, I <3 that Guy for all of his Tracks. Spor rules my Day after work...

I started to look for an alternate Method to produce DnB without needing to modulate a Bassline so it rules the Song like it should. I came to the Conclusion that a Mixture of Drum 'n Bass and Ambient works great. IF YOU EXECUTE IT RIGHT of course. I saw People trying to mix that Genres and the ended up in a major fail :O It want to go just like oldskool Jungle with less Bass and more Melody and Harmony. Sure a soft Bass will be included but it just plays in the BG and has no complex modulation at all. It just suports the Main Beat and the Atmosphere. Listen to the new "Solar" Remix by Boney-Man here on NG and you will see what I mean. I like the Parts without the Bassline more then the others and its just that Track that got me into the DnA Idea.

When we collab I guess you must take the Bass Part ;)
Thanky for the Review

[AD - Extinction]

Almost Film-like

I really like the Doom 3 samples you used! It gives this track a sort of film-like quality sound to it and the rise and fall of cellos gives this track a feeling of angst. It's not really my style, but it sounds good nonetheless!

The Good...
1. Great build-up of sliding and crashing percussion with a groovin beat combined with the prestigious sound of orchestration gives this track a serious but cool sound.
2. The quality is really clear and adds to the atmosphere of the level of suspense.
3. Anything styled with video game samples I can appreciate because it's not as easy as people say it can be.

The Bad...
1. The synth you used for the pad-like sound that breaks into like a solo at around 00:49 secs sounds a little old sounding and too processed and MIDI sounding.
2. It's a little too repetitive and the repetition that is used is a type of sound that starts to drone in and out not really capturing my interest in sound for too long. Maybe if you switched it up a bit with other parts like a synth bass solo that rips through the middle part and makes the listener go "Wow, that's bad-ass!!!" because it sounds so different backed with like a filtered sequence of chords that sound like string instruments vocodored with sounds from the game. That might be a little more entertaining.

Overall, not a bad little track Tobias!

AeraDynamic responds:

Hey! Thank you! I really appreciate your Review cause you can say more about the Synth then anyone else here. It was the first time I used a Synth in my Tracks and I will use more for sure cause they really help me out getting away from the classic Violin way. Ectually the Beat was not build for vocals otherwise I would say its repetitive therefore but I wanted to keep it entertaining as itself and I am very satisfied about the final... Sure I used a present Synth but I just don't know how to make my own for now. But I guess you didn't noticed cause u use Reason anyway XD

Thank you!