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

[Oceans Within]

Christopher Columbus

I think this an excellent composition. Does indeed portray what you described it as-reminds me of a pirate themed track.

I think you could've opened the first 10 seconds with a subtle timpani in addition to the 1 violin note. Good voice leading in the intro, I think you could have made it a tad longer, like atleast 2 more bars. youve got a nice melody on the brass, the second time time around you couldve made the last note on the melody one step higher up. Really cool clarinet melody(I think it could be louder). Is there a synth bass in here too when the drumkit is playing? I think the volume could be raised on that too.

Drums are nice! the main melody flows very nicely with the rest of the track, you could change the high string note every so often. Loving the easy feeling melodies around 2:00, and the opening back into a more serious tone, complimented with nice snare rolls. Great job of building intensity with the drums throughout the track, I think you did an excellent job at this.

One aspect that kinda decreases the epicness in this track is the amount of slow paced breakdowns (if I'm using the right word hear)...i dont think there was ever a consistent minute of continually pounding drums and those great melodical ideas. not necessarily a flaw though.

One step I think you should or need to take is losing the midish sound-in this day in age there is no excuse! :P just download a program like FL Studio (the demo would be fine), get some free soundfonts or VSTs, and you're piece will sound much more realistic. Otherwise superb composition!

Nermio responds:

Hey thanks!
I actually did use some soundfonts with cubase SX1 and I used the "sfz" VSTi to sequence them and no these sounds may not have been the best today but finding good soundfonts is not that easy at all, especially not brass, like trumpets (yes there was something that was supposed to be a trumpet) and so.

And there was no synth bass, maybe I should have had one in there.

Before I reformatted my pc last time I had a VST called SFP, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. It was very nice, sequenced the soundfonts very good and I kind of miss it a bit. Do anyone know where it is? Thanks!

And Thanks for the review!!! I'll take all these things in account the next time!

[Nav- Kirby's Mirror (idnb rmx)]

Better than Paragon X9 IMO

really captivating cover you got goin on here. I havent heard the original but from hearing past Kerby music I'm gonna guess that you put alot of work into this to make it have its own personal DnB flavor. btw, what makes this "intelligent"?

I love the floaty melodies that flutter from ear to ear, some nice light pads, and a nice lair of air been the subass and other synths @_@ I especially love that organish melody around 1:35ish...great job mixing the drum beat multiple times throughout the sequence, and all those kick ass FX mixes...i like the ride cymbals in combination with the hi-hats...Slowdown section is cool too, I like how it gradually progresses with more effects and sounds, and flows right into the main patterns

I think the best part of this track is definetly the mastering production. Not only was it clear as a cloudless sky, you used a combination of interesting, obscure effects on a fantastic selection of synths, which I believe you make from scratch? The panning is supercrazy and minddazzling. sounds straight up professional. Beautiful phasing/flangerish stuff, love when you do the crushing on the drums and the other little mixes that give it an "intelligent" sound!

cant even give a damn critique, lol. This was well sequenced and all. I guess it doesnt get a full 10/10 because it doesnt have any super-striking melodies, and the melody that you start with could use a tad more variation-but it still kicks ass

Kickass ass track navij, are you still offering help services? cuz man it would be great to learn a few of your techniques!

Nav responds:

Ok, first off :D

It is called intelligent because that is the name of the genre. Its another genre similar to trip-hop and atmospheric jungle, but... it has the chords, I think. If you want to hear my inspiration, listen to "Who are you? (Original 12" Mix)" by Omni Trio. That's pretty much what I did with the track.

About the mastering... Thanks! I actually post-mastered this, running it through Izotope Ozone to get a REALLY clear sound, and accentuate the sub-bass.

The synths are actually really varied. For the chords, I used a 70-80s string VST. For the atmospheric thing playing at the same time as the chords, I used a VST called "String Theory" and messed until I got something cool. For the wobble, I used a Theremin emulator. The rest were made by me in 3xOsc. Each synth has effects on it too, so don't think I just took the VSTs straight on.

I used multiple panning LFOs on all of the synths I made to make it sound a bit more interesting. The first mix of this song was really boring, and the panning helped, so I left it in :)

Yeah, about the melodies. I didn't really have much to work with here... http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/
nintendo/gba/mirror_opening.mid is the midi, that's all I had to work with o.o It took a lot of time simply to think of stuff to do with it. Another problem was that the melody was in 3/4, and the song was in 4/4, so I needed to convert it. You'll hear some of the 3/4 come out in the breakdown, so listen closely >:)

Sure man, I'll help you out! Send me an:
AIM: Navij11
MSN: [e-mail]
GTalk: [e-mail]

Thanks for the review! :)

[Time Travel]

Great!

Quite enjoyable atmospheric intro with a nice opening beat. Reminds me of standing over a large cliff above the ocean in a foggy environment.

The intro into the main phase of the song could have used a bit more impact..the melodical structure increases quite well throughout the course of the song, I like the background arpsynth around 1:50(could be a tad louder). I especially like the section around 3:35, tasty......

good work! good work!

Twistedtechnology responds:

I only post my tasty treats XD anything i find untasty doesnt get posetd LOL

I wish others shared my tastes XD thanks for the review!

[Insanity In A Glass House]

aggravating but cool harmonies

and a kickass title...lead melodies could definetly drive me insane but I personally like it.

Interesting, queer opening melodies on that thin snyth....I especially like the backing organ melody...the thin melodies work really well too, too add more epicness I would include a bold saw in here with some intense drums (say right after the 2:00 part), I think that would help quite a bit...Another good melody around 1:20, and another nice harmonization riff...lots of variety in here, but you could try expanding on the melodies more. Glad you included bass in here, I think it could use a more bassy tone tho-sounds a bit boring when it plays by itself..

now there are countless ways of ending sounds by messing them up, but including sharp loud noise isnt one of them-thought that was quite unnecessary and you could have put more effort in wrapping up your track.

and replace those lame drum samples I wont be the only one to tell you :P try panning your hi-hat a little more to the left or right, and the snare sample could be raised a tad.

Aside for sounding a little too much presetish(which makes some sections cheesy) freaky mix, keep up the good work.

SoulofDeath responds:

Thanks for the review, very in depth and descriptive, i will have to take some of those critiques into thought. maybe add those into "Insanity In A Brick House" which will be coming soon

[~ Dry Sunset ~]

An end to poverty!

Gorgeous ethnic african music! This reminds of music they show in those "save Darfur" type of documentaries. Your track is very powerful and relaxing in its current state.

Great beat, well panned, and nice to see you using congas as the percussion. The choral pads have great chords and carry an amazing melody, a very hopeful inspiring one. Excellent job at putting together the voices, the lead melody is dead on inspirational over the top.

When you decide to finish this, I would addon a faster melody, add more to the beat, like a consistent 8th note shaker riff, and an Udu would be a pleasure to see. Great work!

kelwynshade responds:

I'm happy to hear you liked it. I actually have quite a few different plans to push the power of this song. This is truly only the introductory phase. It's one of those songs that I want to perfect before releasing the full title. Already it hits the heart pretty hard, and I want it to explode. Keep an ear out, hopefully I get around to finishing it sometime soon.

[~*) When Embers Talk (*~]

Mellowed Out

Really nice music. Melodies are dim, sifts in quite well with the strings, that move gently. Sounds really great when the beat kicks in, the woodwind section sounds really great-reminds me of an arabian dungeon of sorts. Cool laid back beat, the block samples are very nice, not sure if I'm diggin the toms so much-I would replace with more bassy samples. The choir in the middle is brilliant, fits the style perfectly. Kinda sounds like you overdid the reverb on the drums tho, and there is some minor clipping on the higher end notes, you might wanna put a little more compression on them.

This is a very dark themed track, I enjoyed listening to it quite much! I could see this in a Disney movie, the main memories stand out and would be quite distinguishable.

kelwynshade responds:

I appreciate the comments. There are some points that need a bit of adjustment. The crash needs some work due to pushing the clipping like crazy and like you said, some high notes just need a small decrease on their effects that push the sound.

Thanks, and take care.

[Dance for The Nocturnal]

untz untz untz

this one is kickin'

Good production of gradually fading in the intro, really nice opening melody, has a cool feel to, especially the last few notes on it. The second synth that comes is really damn sharp. The melody on top of its sounds nice to, but it could use more variation in rhythm to make the overall mix more catchy. But the second section around 1:30 sounds right on top, Beat works quite suitably with the rhythm synths, could use a variation everything now and then. But the drums and overall mix were quite well mastered to bring out a very swell sound.

nice work bro!

Twistedtechnology responds:

thanks! Glad you enjoye it XD I was experimenting with the peak controller with this song, so thats why i didnt have a whole lot of variation this time :P

Anyway, thanks for stopping by with the review man!!!

Peace

~Twistedtechnology

[-=LJC=- 8-bitty Ditty]

Moar like 10 Bit

cuz u get 10 stars m i riet? and rule 10 LOL AM I RITE

this is incredibly happy-really catchy poppy beat, and super cheerful melody over the top. Brings me memories of playing Atari even though I've never played one. Really good though, sounds totally authentic-dont have much else to say. Maybe a slow lead melody would sound chill in here, cant say much, i dont know a thing about 8bit. But you sure as hell have inspired me to make an 8bit track for this contest, so thanks man!

LJCoffee responds:

I'm glad that you found some inspiration here - I'm looking forward to hearing your MAC submission!

[Heroe Worship]

another great one

pretty slick opening, different bits of percussion, the vocals were interesting-no melody at all but it works. I especially like that effect you have on your voice around 0:50-and the vocals after are excellent. and gradually inclining melody right off that section. Really Love the instrumental part, nice tremolo guitar riffs, and you open up with a whole new style in the second phase-absolutely brilliant. Is that you on the vocals again?

Really moody, and the instrumental sections are great, and I love when people include long instrumental breaks in a song...thats a real nice clean rhythm guitar riff, the sax sounds really sweet, vocals have a perfect fit...sounds like there some bells or mallet percussion in the outro, beautiful arpeggios really, I think the volume could be raised a bit and maybe add a touch more of reverb- perfect ending reallly...i would love to hear like a guitar versus sax n brass solo duel from you!

from just comparing the intro and the end, they sound completely different, yet its amazing how the different phrases in this song transition so well.

excelenceeeeeeeeeeeee once again ped! put out an album now!!!!

snoballandthmonyshot responds:

freakin thanks for the review bro
;ped

[Circe]

O_o

wow this is quite interesting and something you dont hear a whole lot of on NG. some experimental rhythms in the start, it doesnt sound too much of a clutter. Nice glimmering synths, it becomes really visual, i imagine an old water shed open up to the light. but it starts to get too cluttered when you introduce the dissonant parts...but thats some spooky ass shit dude. It starts getting a little better around 1:10, but then just sounds too sloppy again...I know you said you were using different times, but I was hoping to have a good minute in the end when the time signatures match up and you get a steady base to finish the track. I like it at the same time for the originality, but it would be nice to feel some groove you know?

really unique ideas tho! coolio...all tho this type of music is not generally marketable to most people, I can definetly appreciate these experimental type of tracks because its what inspires fresh, new ideas.

Twoism responds:

Yeah, the only part I'm truely satisfied with in this song is from 0.49-0.59 really. I like the chords there and the throat singing thing seems perfect there. But yeah, I can't remember for the life of me what chords I played as this was a year or two ago and on an older pc.

I think it needs some imagery to go with it really.

Thanks for the lengthy feedback man I really appreciate it, to take the time out to tell me what you think.