syphonmax's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[DigohD - Whatever it Takes]

Not bad, however

The kick and bass are very well mixed in, and that's usually a very difficult thing to get right, so well done on that!

However, the song is good, but it's missing that "hit", that bit that makes you go WOW. And it's during your breakdown at 00:50 that it should build up to a very big climax. Right now it's missing that climactic edge, I mean if the song was around 2 or 3 minutes longer, it would work out, however it all ends when it just begins; and we usually expect something big at the end of something short. Nevertheless, if you were to make this longer, you'll have a fairly decent calming Progressive Trance track on your hands, at the moment it's hard to get into because it finishes far too early.

Remember it's Trance, don't be afraid to experiment! However, I won't be too harsh on you, because it is your first attempt and it's a very good one, keep trying out this fantastic genre! ;)

[Journey To Paradise (EP2 Demo)]

Compare

to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ91VP OgasQ

(without the space)

[[42] Power up]

You are improving for sure!

Typing this while extremely exhausted, so ignore any mistakes :P

The only thing that's quite not up to the mark, and what dragged down the score, is the mastering. The hats are too harsh, the kick is good, but I think it's too overpowered; I can barely hear the clap. I think another issue is that the chord progression you had ends too quickly, there was a good chance to spice up the song, but you didn't take it. Dude, it's your music EXPERIMENT!!!! You're only just starting to get the hang of it, I mean ok I played it safe at the start, but I found out that it was a big mistake, cos it was hard to change my patterns after being so used to the whole same structure. So it's best to throw in unexpected elements while you're still learning, rather than create 12 songs that sound pretty much the same (like I did).

Another problem is that nothing really stands out, until the piano that is, but a lot of it is very repetitive. The kick for example doesn't do much, and the hats or clap don't change at all, it all stays the same 4 x 4 beat over and over and over. Try adding two kicks at the end of a pattern or create more than one drum pattern, so then you can align them and have a variety of different patterns. And that WHOOOOOOOSH sound effect should be toned down a little bit, it gets a bit harsh.

That's all I can really think of right now. Keep up the good work man! You're getting there!! (:

lemon42 responds:

Thanks a lot for the really awesome review.
First of all I didn't expect any high scores from it, just submitting one of my real submissions, that I feel is done :P

So yeah, you're right, after hearing it on a good sound system I found the hi-hats to be really annoying after a while (even though they were meant to stand out, but yeah, they stand out a little too much). They sound fine on my computer's sound system though, I'll make sure to hook it up on the big one next time to see for any weird mastering mistakes I might make haha xD
You're also right about the clap.
But yeah, I'm still learning. And my stereo system doesn't help D:

About the chord progression, it was intended to be short, since this song was supposed to take the power really quickly. I'm working on other songs, I'll try to make a long intro on another one, never did one :P

The piano was unexpected yeah, to spice things up :)
I'm working on something really weird yet interesting at the moment, I feel it gets close to what the unexpected is.

I might remaster it and reupload it, if I get time :)
Thanks a lot again, reviews like this help me a lot.

- lemon42

[AXB - Dreaming Of You]

Good, but . . .

As every says, there's that little thing missing. Saying things like that doesn't help an artist at all. Here's what I, and I mean personally believe, is missing, whether or not people agree with it.

You need more strings in there, and also make them stand out more, don't be afraid to create different patterns, play around with everything at your disposal and use them to good effect. One big draw back is the repetitiveness, but that's easily fixable, change the piano pattern around a little, or add a section where only the instruments are heard, to give that special moment, where everything is like WOAH, and slowly build up to a climax that is just fantastic!

P.S. If you get chills running up your spine while making your song, then you know you've done something wonderful, because it's yours, and what I think this song lacks the most is emotion. Try to really pour your heart out into your songs; send out a message that makes the listener happy or sad, and then my friend, you have done it! This song could easily be 6 mins long, if you really, really, tug at the heart strings.

Anyway, that's my verdict, whether or not you choose to listen/read, whatever, that's completely up to you. I'm just a fellow artist looking to help others! (:

AuruxBlu responds:

Thanks for the review. When I made this song I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to take it. Looking back in retrospect I would have taken more time to extend the breakdown and breathe more life and emotion into it.

I can relate to you about the amazing feeling of experiencing chills when working on a song :) However, everyone's reviews have inspired me to rework this song! So expect a reworked version soon!

[~NK~ "Fear Me" (NGADm Entry)]

In the words of British slang . . .

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!

Don't ask why they use it, all I know is that it means something good or whatever.

This is seriously awesome O_O

I mean I'm not usually a big fan of dubstep I find them all very similar, but then I find something like this and I just can't resist the temptation of hitting the download button, taking the song with me in my travels or walks or whatever and playing them out loud on my speaker system or parties WOOT! My friend is training to be a DJ, rather damn good at it too, I'll see if I can get him to play this somewhere in a club or something! ;)

[~NK~ "Take Me Away"]

Awesome!

Wobble wobble wobble wobble wobble wobble wobble wobble wobble wobble . God! We teenagers here in the UK live of this shit! (One of my friends has even scored a recording contract in this genre of music!)

And I hope you will be the next one to score a contract and keep on producing. I may play this at the many stupid, random and idiotic house parties we have here!

Keep it up! ;)

[Kazmo - Äther]

Inspiration level increasing...

Seriously, I have been looking for inspiration for a long while now. Maybe it's my fault that I am having a writers block. This though, this has made me want to open up FL Studio and get right back to producing!

The only issue, as usual with Trance/dance/techno songs is that it got rather repetitive, but that doesn't take away the excellent quality in audio. I am seriously impressed with how professional this sounds, kudos good sir!

[When Light Conquers Darkness]

Ahhhhhhh

Brings back good memories, well done dude