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

[Unwavering Piano]

I'm pretty sure the demo allows you to EQ...

or did they take out that too now? it used to be you could do everything but save...well if you get the full version:

+Add reverb for depth
+Put some compression on this because its clipping all over the place
+Bass sounds weak, maybe try upping the bass and trebs on the actual control, not sure how to fix that. It might round out your tone a little.

Pretty good playing tho. You switch styles a lot but its all gravy. I like the intro and how the melodies start off heroic sounding, and then the track turns pretty solemn. Keep it up!

[Padded Cell]

its CRAZY

not really my spiel but this is certainly hardcore and contains lots of hi intensity parts so I guess you did the job. The 00:20 part is pretty cool it would work great as an alarm tone haha. I like the FX you put on your synths and that one that swells in and out. i like how the dynamics on the drums are all over the place too, haha.

I guess I have a few critiques. The part at 00:20 the clap is getting raped, I dont know if thats what you were going for by I personally would have liked a clap with more definition. and wheres the kick? I can hardly hear it, its supposed to be a focal point of energy so make sure you give it more presence, either by tagging on more bass to the EQ or just making it overall louder.As for the composition cant find much wrong, it could flow a little bit better but thats just me. Then again it is a mix up of songs so...

Keep up the good work! Hardcore this track is indeed!

DjZombAid responds:

Yer and this is only my second attempt at this style lol.. first attempt being an un-wanted one-night-stand child called 'Adrenaline Fueled Happiness'. Which i unfortunately can't delete now because someone has used it in one of their games *damnit*.

And yes about the mixing and all sorts of things, i'm making this and most of my other songs with these crappy handphones that don't have much bass at all and doesn't pick up on much. So, sorry if i miss out on stuff liek that but i can quite honestly say it's not my fault. 'Why don't you use your awesome 5.1 surround with bass to make your music with?' good question, thanks for asking ;D. Well when i make my music which is usually at ridiculous times in the morning, my mum is still in bed which means i have to use headphones or not make music at all.. i made my decision =D.

But yes i'll be sure to adress those things you mentioned during daylight hours =].

Thankyou for your above average review =D and for being the first and perhaps last ro review this song ;D.

Thanks again,

-Aidan.

[_-={Moonlit Cobble}=-_]

very soft, nice and quaint

I like this piece, its very calming. Reminds me of a dark cloud score. Could be used as a village theme, while the villagers roam about peacefully from home to home collecting information. Love the guitar movement, very effective chords. While the oboe and flutes grace the higher end. Starts off playful with the cello/contrabass and gets more peaceful as the tune evolves.

Even though this is a calming piece, I don't think it would hurt to raise the volume just a bit on the guitars.

Well great work guys :D

MaestroRage responds:

Awww, I love that game! <3 It's one of my favorites!
I liked putting the guitar in there too, but I didn't want it to be prominent at all. I wanted the main focus to be just on the oboe and the flute. This was their song to shine upon and show everyone how beautiful they can be. ^_^
I'm glad you liked it though! And way to go, Dark Cloud fan, gotta love it! Thanks for listening!
With love,
Lady Arsenic

[Milk{Take Me Away}]

An Excellent Track...

I'm not a fan of this genre but you've definetly opened my eyes with the wonders that you did with this track. It's one of the best trance tracks I've heard on NG and deserves to be up in the charts. It's truly great, it had me bobbng my head all the way through!

I really like that swirlhing pad texture you bring in at the start, and slowly fade in the drums with a nice EQ to start. The key melodies are a nice preface for more goodness to come, everything mixes well in the start. And I like I said, the intense mix had me bobbing my head once it came in. Lots of energy and emotions packed into this track indeed. I Like the arpchip in the second half too, you've really got a superb choice of synths in here. They sound pretty original from what I've heard, did you make or tweak them? As far as clarity I like the level of reverb on anything and the nice delaying effect on the keys. The pingpong delay effect on the synth in the interlude is really sweet. Kick, snare, clap, and hats are well rounded and brought out well so they dont get lost in the mix.

Can't find much wrong with it, but the part at 4:00 you might want to pan one of the saws more to give it more balance and definition. I also think the bassline could be a tad louder.

superb work here man. first trance track going into my favs!

Mrmilkcarton responds:

I can't say I can take full responsibility for the synthes. The way I like to build my synthes is to take a preset that has a general sound, then tweak them to my style and liking. Some of the VSTIs like nexus really limit me to doing that so to over come it I have to use some weird EQ settings and a few other mix tracks. So its a mix of original synthes like the bass and some not so original like a few of the pads. The lead sounded terrible without the mixing that was used though.

As far as the bass not coming out thats a personal choice that will probably change through out my songs. I don't like the bass to seem like an overpowering substance of the song that way more attention is spent on the actual melody and lead. I've never been one for loud basses but maybe I'll have the next one stick out more.

Thank you for the review I'll certainly look into that panning and keep your suggestions in mind for my next songs.

[Solus- For Schala]

Good job Solus!

mmm...I love those keys in the start. such a great melody. a nice dark sound too. I loved it when the sax came in, it reminded me of FF8 "Time Compression" which is one of my favorite tracks of all time. and just when you think it couldnt get better you transition into that fabulous section at 1:09ish....just really loving that piano sound. Lower harmony moves really well, and each chord is effectively placed with some nice dynamics throughout. Flute is really nice too, though I think it could be a tad louder and use just a touch of more stereo reverb. Theyre all extended notes too, and yet it still sounds very nice. I always feel that I have to chop up the extended notes in my compositions because it gets boring, but in this instance it didnt, so good job. Trumpet is good, but I think you should have stayed with the woodwind theme and used an oboe. Melody is good on that too, tho. Harmonization in the end is really good too, but I think you should have the flute play extended notes along with the sax and piano. all in all, I'm dragging out this review out, outstanding work here solus, yet another person adding this track to their favs :D

SolusLunes responds:

With the sax/piano/flute harmonization just before the end...

the reason that sounds so good is because it's sparsely used. If it was for the entire song, it wouldn't sound nearly as awesome.

Also, yes, I could have used an oboe/clarinet/whathaveyou instead of the trumpet... but it just doesn't have the same majesty. :D

Glad you liked it though :D

[Our inner kid]

Wow.....i saw this on symphony of specters

where you were advertising it in the radio section. I like it a lot so I had to review this. It's a very soothing, beautiful piece, like TT said below. I to can see how the first section goes along with the theme of being a father. I can see it in a movie or video game while a father is peering into his son's room, just to check on him, only to see him gently lay asleep nice and snug under the covers. Like the choice use of xylphones ( or glockenspiel?) as they spark some young child themes, and it meshes very well with the slow harp arpeggiation in the background. Oboe moves very gracefully as well, the beginning is very excently composed. The strings come in very effectively, too, and the flute solo was another great addition. The chimes add some nice imagery, and I like how you ended on the solo extended string chord. The subtle percussion is an okay addition, as some more intricate rhythms arent really needed for this piece, but at the same time I dont think it does the track a whole lot of justice. To round everything out some lower strings might be a nice idea, but that too isnt necessary for a floaty peaceful track like this IMO.

clarity is very good too! sounds very nice and pleasing. The woodwinds could be placed a little more to the right or left tho, methinks.

Well, excellent track man! The track flows very well with the story, this should easily make the radio I think :D

Fuoco responds:

This is probably the best review I've ever recieved.

Your words make me so happy and bubbly inside! Apparently I managed to compose what I was aiming for, because I like what you picture with this song :D
The glockenspiel was indeed to spark a child theme, especially at 1:40 and forth.

The precussion was originally castanetes (as it is now) and another sound that wasn't on Garritan's library. So I ended up using two different castanetes, wich was not supposed to repeat over and over as it is at 1:15 and forth but wasn't bad either.

I agree with the lowering strings, some parts sounds like the rest of the instruments are drowning with the strings. But seems like Finale doesn't match too well with Garritan, so using a "p" dynamic was exactly like using "FF". I used the volume controls and somehow it ended up well too.

I don't know about placing sounds to the left or right. I've never messed with that function, but I will once I get to my computer and see how your idea turns out. I might edit it :D

Thanks for an awesome review! And thanks for your support!

[de/scent]

oohh yesss

another great, diverse sounding track. very good as always. You're music always gets used in the craziest flashes :)

I like the sounds in the intro, some dark, horror-esque parts that sound like somone moving up some creaking stairs, I like the short vocals in the intro. Interesting reecey texture, and I like the distorted synths. Overall, very great job establishing the atmosphere. it sounds like it may transition into a breakbeat, and while I think that would be sick the drums in here are downright tight too. The main beat is really nice, and I like the echoing thing in the center that reminds me of a malfunctioning clock. The interlude portion was a bit too long IMO but all in all I'm talking to much.

Great track snayk! keep the creativity flowing! :)

[sad purple faces]

O.M.G

man i really like this piece...its so beautiful. Love the glitched drums + minimalistic melody in the background....its rare when you see a bunch of hectic drums actually have a relaxing effect. not overdone at all, you've got like a million samples, everything well spaced, chopped, spliced, reversed, whatnot whatever FX you put on there makes it for a very unique, effectively interesting loop. What plugin do you use for making your drums sound they way do? Very well put together, I like the little ambience that comes in and out in the background and the voice in the second half and how you chopped it up a bit before going back into the main mix. Really sets the tone. Love the ending, swell synths in here too.

if I was to give criticism, maybe a touch of reverb on some of the drum samples would work well with the track. I also think it would be cool if around the 1:45 mark you shift the pitch on the vocal note with the bass and give the track a different flow in energy. well, not much can be said, I absolutely love this clip. Always a pleasure listening to your original style man :)

snayk responds:

I used distortion and glitch effects on the drums.

There is reverb on the drums, but it's very subtle. I didn't want to overdo it because I really wanted that digital/electronic sound. Working with the vocal pitch is an interesting idea.

Thanks for the great review!

[~{HN}~The Twisted Symphony]

Magnicifent Tune

I like the traditional classical style you did with this number! It's a a wonderful little loop. I don't really know how to follow up a review from THE MAN himself, but here it goes!

I actually can see a bunch of royal British people eating dinner on a large table, a butler serving them tender lamb, while drinking fine wines and sipping tea with their pinkies raised, munching on a delicate buttered crumpet or two. IMO I think its perfect for a scene while the character's exploring about a castle gathering info about a grand event or regal ceremony in town. Very relaxing and easy to listen to, would be great music to study with as well.

Instrumentation was done great. Like the violas (or whatever string instrument it is) to start the piece, the flutes playing during the less layered parts, while the strings and horns move exceptionally well in the background. Panning seems done rather well and mixed up to reach adequate levels to simulate a realistic symphony, nicely. Composition is ace, melody is a great start to a tune with. The flute and strings (and strings and horns in the second part) harmonize and compliment each other quite well. I also like how the lower string voice moves in the background at 00:24, it sparks a sense of hastiness.

as for criticism, nothing much can be said reallly. all in all, it is short but developed good for the time it was built in. some drums wouldnt hurt in here, like a light timpani hit or roll when transitioning to sections with a cymbal used sparingly too (or this could be expanded with when you make this longer). To me that chord you end on could be a more resolving a chord (two notes down or three notes up would more fit the tonal presence you've established in this piece methinks); but I happen to say that to A LOT of people so feel free to ignore me here :D and it doesnt matter either if you make it longer, just feels a bit chopped off.

anyways, marvelous work TT, this will be a definite addition for my favs once you make the full version (and I don't even like this type of classical that much) !

Twistedtechnology responds:

freakin sweet. i made ur faves with a subgenre you dont even much care for XD I know how you feel about the unresolving note....and actually i left it there to see if you'd pick on me for it :P guess it worked ^^ all in good fun sir. i was thinking about throwing some percussion indeed. Definatly a cymbal here and there.

And omg ur view on the song was actually close to what i came up with. mine was a bunch of british people in one of those super fancy balls, all dancing in circles, with the one arm beind ther back and the other placed on the partners hand in front of them. close huh? XD Thanks a ton for the review. I greatly appreciate both of yall's opinions and any help that yall can spare. it means a ton.
~Twistedtechnology

[Thracian-Jazz]

mmmm hmmmm

wow this really is very good....
after seeing you on a lot of people's favorities, I had to check this out! I'm glad I did :)

I really like how you start this one, with the pounding bass and that other percussion on the side, I thought it was going to transition into a battle-esque theme. When the saxaphones came in it sounds really sharp, love those melodies and how the piano rolls along with it real nicely... Flute sounds really nice in there as well, and I like the trills it plays. What instrument is that specifically? Saxaphone solo is truly amazing and smooth too. I could see this as some type of detective theme in a foreign country... reminds me a bit of the jazz themes in the soundtrack from "The Talented Mr. Ripley" if you ever seen that movie.

not much more I can really say...like people said below, it really is flawlessly performed and recorded... Great themes, very nice sensibility with your chord progression structure and everything...this is real enjoyable one for my favorites! Great work sorohanro!

sorohanro responds:

this is (if you'll ask me) my best jazz/ etno-jazz tune for now, not only playing but also quality of sound
that flute is in fact Kaval -a very old folk flute from the Balkans, notably Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey, played by Marc Anghel (who plays usually folkclore)
the theme i wrote under influence of Theodosii Spassov (probably the greatest kaval player)
as for the saxophone parts and solo, those are played by Petre Scafaru
on trumpet and keyboards-me (Mihai Sorohan)
i'm glad you liked it
thanx for the nice review