Suspended-3rd-Chord's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Opality]

trippy, slightly generic, but not bad

nice synths in the start with the nice reverb/echo effect...I love the slow downtempo feel in this track. the lead synth in the intro was basic, but catchy. When you use the thin echoing synths, it does indeed remind me of the ocean. in fact, it reminds me of the ocean level in vectorman. I also like the shore sound you used at the end of the track...nautical! if you gradually add more reverb to the thin synths towards the end of the track, I think that would sound really cool...like drifting out further into the ocean.

the drums fit the track...but only because you were using light synths that didn't overpower the track. these samples surely wouldnt hold up in a loud, intensive techno clip-so I guess its okay here. but it sounded lame in the begginning of your track when theres was nothing else, try addding more bass levels to the bass and such, or just use different samples altogether, they're kinda basic they way they are now and need more punch.

but nice chill track here man. it sounds like a secret infiltration mission at night at the beach.

RougeChocobo responds:

yah the drums were a bit lame. Ill keep it in mind next time. thnx for the constructive critisism. i cant tell you how much it annoys me when people say ...17 W4s C001 !!!!

[-(WB)-Lava Reef Extinction]

nice new touch mate

its been a while since I heard this track, but it sounds like you changed up the original composition of the lava reef level track. if you did do this, then major props to you dude, it definetly gives it your personal touch. A lot of people who remix other peoples work just lay out the notes in a sequencer(usually imported from a midi file) and just add whatever synths and FX without changing any of the actual notes. IMO, this isnt entirely a full remix and sometimes doesnt take a good deal of effort. but thats just my own personal view. the saw synth kinda drowns everything out. and when it went solo, the sound of the saw was too screechy..I thought I heard another synth layered under the saw, but it was hardly other.

clarity wise, the drums need some work. it sounds like you are using factory presets without messing with them much..I can't hear the bass and snare, so those need to be louder. either that, or turn down the volume levels on some of the other synths. also add a hi hat and some cymbals to give the carry the track better.

nice track man! thanks for the nostalagia..

but you captured the feel of the original song and gave it your own personal flavor, so good job here. I think, you wisely choice your synths for this track. I do like the pan flute, however in this case it doesnt fit in real well with the other synths IMO. the saw

WritersBlock responds:

Cheers man, looks like you took some time to think out this review. Can I cover it all? Yes, I did work this out note for note instead of importing. It took me a while to work out the notes and rhythms, and you might notice I added my own riff in there near the end ;D
The saw is the lead of the track so I pushed it up so as not to get drowned out. The other parts are just there for harmony, and that's why they're soft by comparison.
The drums weren't presets, I filled them out myself, and for that reason, the kick tends to come out softer. I'm still working through getting the right sounds from the high hats and cymbals, but compared to earlier tracks, these drums are loads better.
Once again, cheers for reviewing.

[Electrick - Tranquillity]

Cool man

thats a interesting, mysterious pad that you started off with in the beginning, which could set up a good track for a lot of different styles. it revolves to a happy adventure type of feel. some of the melodies in the intro sound really nice, and you wisely selected the appropriate sounding synths for them, and laced them with nice effects. catchy bassline. you also choosed the perfect samples and EQed them very well making them suitable for this style of music...too bad it was the generic repeated drum kick, but in this genre, what are you gonna do? or does it really matter? when you hit the part with the sad piano bit, I think the trance part ended to abruptly and there needed to be a better connection piece. But the sadness part of the certainly added a lot more of interestingness. nice work with the second phase of the song. overall, pretty slick track. very catchy. this would be great music for the lasergun arena, atleast the high paced parts of the track.

Electrick responds:

Thanks man. I thought the piano was actually pretty neat. I guess I was too careful with is so it sounded more ambient then. Thanks for the review dude.'

Electrick

[Dewy Embers]

Glad to see you back with a new mix Gillenium

I love how you take simplistic and basic melodies and lay them over a beat, or a nice pad with some swirhling FX, and make everything sound so sweet. you are like the clapton of ambient/eletronica music. and it sounds real fresh and original too man. I can't even criticize you on anything here man. :)

the main synth in the beginning is real nice. it was just a two note melody, but you got an amazing tone on that bit. how do you do it? the intro didnt catch my attention much, but once the track and miscellaneous instruments worked it self in, it put me in a trance. the drums are pretty damn slick, like a young lost boy is running in the rain, under murky skies, in his teared up raincourt. the melody around 0:30 is downright touching...sounds so peaceful and has a major minor feel. the low frequency is tear inspiring. I guess removing the drums in certain parts give some recovery, chill time, i would have liked to see how the track progressed with without the short delays. i really dig the background ambient effects, they help make the track as good as it is. the fade in stuff in the second half of the track is killer too, it sounds like you took a lot of effort into tweaking out the right sounds. around 2:20, such a wonderful, beautiful pad. i also love the new FX you put on the drums after that bit. nice ending man, sweet, sweeet, sweeet man. amazing track.

Gillenium responds:

Very very nice review! Thanks for taking the time to write it. "Electronic Clapton" is one description I've never heard before :) But yes, I'm finally getting into the groove of my new software and hardware. Having a midi-controller is really great. I can just turn on the "record" feature and mess around. The melody of this song came from just messing around. I like that freedom.

[Panic Button (Preview - 2min)]

meh, nothing too new...

overall the track wasn't TOO original from the stuff I've listened to so far..I guess the guitars give the track some more originality. and this could pretty much be classified as techno.

the saw synth blends in nicely with the drums...good beat you've worked out here. I like the guitar riff, but I do not like FL slayer. most people dont. the first guitar track sounds alright for a rhythm sound, but try using something different for your lead guitar, atleast thats just my opinnion. I don't like the distortion sound really. atleast you restrained from using the default FL slayer guitar LOL.

nothing much to suggest other than you suggested already. mess with the equal levels a bit, give the bassline some more punch. its nice that youve already panned both guitars. but try to center them a little more, just a teeeny weeeny bit. might give the track a more fuller sound. the volume is a bit too loud, try putting a compressor on it or lowering some of the volume a bit...also, either my speakers may be dying but the track slowly fades, but not all the way out..its not like the track ended, so theres no need to put the fade effects in here...again, may just be my hardware. and unlike you said, I think the intro blends in alright with the guitar.

not too shabby!

Tom-Fanboy responds:

Yeah I'm tweeking the guitars still (if i get some money coming I'll be able switch to real guitar). It think I almost have them where i want.

I think I might give a more explosive jump from the techno saw into the guitar.

Yeah I'm going over tutorials to learn about compressors right now. Also the final version will have more diversity than this, I'm debating a 3rd guitar.

[Fluid Dream]

yay, 100 reviews for me

hey you've got some pretty nice sounds going on here. the only problem is that some of themes are too drawn out, and there is really any connections between the riffs. the track started off with some really nice atmospheric pad sounds, setting up the track with a nice intro. I do like the panned drum beat...but here's were the problem comes. you stopped the pads, and the drum beat was probably drawn out to bit. the subtle synth sounded nice too, but again, too repetive and drawn on. you should have kept the opening pads going on and placed the melodies on top. the bass bit would have been a nice piece for the bridge/chorus to add the song. the second bass bit, is too repetive IMO. once the next phase of the track starts, there is no transition really. it also had an abrupt ending. throughout the song, you could have added a bit more pieces to grab attention more. also, add some better transition riffs to make the track gel together smoother, right now it sounds like your placing random riffs- one after another.

clarity was good indeed, nice use of FX in here.

keep producing music man, not bad for your first upload.

[Drum jam - iros]

definetly better quality then a lot of drum

I thought I'd leave a review since you asked for someone to critique it and no one has yet. I'm definetly far from an expert at recording techniques but I met as well leave my knowledge, just incase if you don't already.

clarity wise, it sounded pretty slick, I've heard a lot worse recordings regarding drums. needless to say, its more feasible and less expensive to record eletric instruments, and even solo acoustic instruments are vocals. for drums, you may have to buy multiple mics, and position them correctly to get the sound you want, and to make you sure you get all the drum pieces in the mix. even in some cases you have to get special walls to dampen the sound or eliminate vibrations to make your drumset sound more authentic. anyway, it doesnt sound to bad here. if you want to go for a more bassier sound, record lower towards the bass, and if you want a more trebly sound, record higher up. what my friend personally does is record one piece of his equipment at a time, like he'll record his snare first, bass, hi-hats, and so forth. I'm not exactly sure how it works or how he does it. there also is a program on the web that sharpens up your drums sounds-cant remember what its called but I believe I have the exectutable somewhere on my computer. I'm sure google would give you some good results as well.

one thing you could do is a put a light compressor on the track, or atleast on the snare, it causes some minimal clipping. the EQ levels could be brought up a little bit too. or maybe its just the drumset, in this case. the bass drum could have been bassier, the snare sounded a little to tinny, which can be fixed by tightening the actual snare and maybe raising the mids in the equalization a bit. nothing too drastic needs to be done tho, it might just be the drumsets fault for being too cheap. also, varied reverb levels could also add a little more interesting tone.

now on to the actual composition of this clip. since there is no guitars, bass, synths, vocals, or other instruments going along with the drums, the drum solo is generally boring, and needs more variety. it also gets a bit sloppy and off time at certain parts, especially when you kinda construct a beat with the kick and snare. you're snare rolls seem kinda sloppy to me as well. I see you added some nice rolls on the hi hats. in the first bit, you could have added a bit more intensity to the hi hats, like ascending hi hat riffs where you slowly open up the pedal. if you have a double bass kick, you could have incorporated some sixteen note fills and such. also, I don't see any toms in the track, that would have definetly added more spice. I do like the alternating ride/crash and hi-hats tho near the middle part of the track. around 1:30-to 1:35 was the best part in my opinion. I also like the bass work you do near the later half of the track. the track did not have a very good ending IMO, it kinda seemed halfed ass and anticlamatic..try building up the end your to your songs with a nice tom riff, or use open hi hats and crash cymbals to make the piece more exciting. now I know this is a shitload of stuff, so dont worry about all this right now...no biggie man, you'll definetly improve in the future. its ust something for you to look off of.
again, the drum solo wouldnt be to blase if you had some people to jam with.

you have some drum talent man, but keep working on your skills an rudiments and practice with a metronome. good luck in the future and keep drumming, the world needs more drummers :P also dont worry about the 6, I 5 everyone since you'll get 0 bombed anyway.

[TS-Blue and White]

nice blend of sounds utilized here

I like how you started off the track with the cloud riff...then a sleepy bassline comes in, complemented by a nice musicbox percussive riff. the nice melodies on the side sound really cool here. I also love the fading in reverb effects you use in the start. very nice riffs in the start. however, the riffs really don't match and flow together well, in the intro the musicbox sounding instrument isnt really in time. the drum riff tho is pretty nice and relaxing.

I can definetly feel the wintery element in this track when the chorus piano enters. but it entered in a little bit too suddenly for my liking.

this track definetly needs better transitiong all around. again, very cool melodies and licks in here, but it just doesnt gel together to well in parts, and sounds cluttered as the track progresses.

still, it had an interesting, unusual feel to it...i still do like the track in a weird way, and gets my 5.

[(nal1200)CoL: Hostile Takeover]

not bad techno at all

wise choice of sytrus synths in here...the FX in the beginning were pretty unique...nice use of panning. the melody in the beginning is pretty slick and catchy. it has the that metrosexual head bop type of feel to it, haha. The rhythm synth gives a nice euphoric type of feel. I like the lead saw synths in the chorus section as well, and how they kinda ascend and feel like the get gradually get a bit louder. the celtic synth fits the background really nice. as far as the drums go, they could use a bit more punch, the clap could be a bit louder. right now they sound mostly like raw samples..as far as the beat goes, it was a bit too repetive and basic, but atleast it wasnt the boring 4/4 bass snare bass snare repeated throught the track.

this clip wasn't generic, but nothing completely new from the techno genre standpoint. still a nice fresh track man, keep up the good work.

[Tales of A Forgotten Time]

interesting all the way through

I couldn't stop listening to this track, there's some really neat sounding melodies and progressions to this track. once again, nice intro. it was very visual too, its gives that forest type of feel, with little strands of light seeping in through the cracks in the trees. the strings move really nice they start off very serious, get a bit more relaxing once the harp/strings riff hits. the little woodwind bits sound nice as well. but really great strings bit...The harp sounds absolutely great as well...very moving melodies..I like the flute bit around 1:30, it contains a nice dreamy feel in the melody. wish the track could have been longer, but it would still work great for a lot of projects and flashes.

everything in here sounds very realistic as well. the string ensemble sounds perfect, the harp has a really nice thick tone, great amounts of reverb used and nice EQ levels. 10 for clarity here mate.

i've already listened to this track 3 times and will do many times in the future. great work man!

Twistedtechnology responds:

Im so glad you enjoy this piece so much! I worked really hard on it to make sure everythign sounded just right, and that all the melodies played ther part in portraying the feeling of the song. I like the scenery you got from this!!! I would have made it longer, but the file size was almost at the max from what i remember o.O

Thanks for the review mate!
~Twistedtechnology