midimachine's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[In Saturn's Ring]

hrmmmm

interesting composition. intro sounds like it was recorded with a microphone in a different room to all the instruments.

1m12s-ish: i like the dueling guitars and filtering herein. the piece consistently builds interest from this point. little voicey synths and dischordant organs remind me a lot of kwwrr.

sounds like the kickdrum is slightly off center. it starts panning a lot in the outro... very odd but it makes for an interesting listen since it's not painful like hard panned low frequencies can be...

DonaldFletcher responds:

Thanks for the great review. The original version of this had a rougher kick (a 909 drum sample if I remember correctly) that I kept more in the center. For this runthrough I managed to get a better, cleaner one going, so I was able to leave it at least a little off center to help balance out the bass guitar and piano as well as the other drums, plus do its own thing when appropriate. I was actually a little iffy on that, so I ran an EQ over it just in case anyone had the bass up too high on their headphones!

I'm glad you noticed what I was doing with that intro - I pulled an old trick out of my ass for that one. That process actually runs through the whole song but it sounds best there due to the soloed guitar and otherwise minimal instruments. That guitar got the most attention in this regard. I wanted to give the listener the impression that they were standing in a room with the live instruments playing on a stage in front, with the processed sounds coming from speakers sitting 90 degrees to either side. Lots of work, but I think it paid off.

And I'm really happy you liked the 1:12 part. That was probably the most fun to write out of everything in this track. I'm looking for an excuse to do that again. Maybe two tracks from now!

[Snakewalk]

bouncey

i like the way the strings set the scene and then get swept up by the rhythm. sweet beat.

No-SideBoy responds:

Thnx 4 ur comment.

[Lucaspiration]

hrmmmm

i think that main warbley bass could use some subtle blood overdrive. or maybe not a not so subtle blood overdrive with the wet mix turned down a lot. its just a little bit too smooth and needs a bit of a harder edge imo.

Pissomatik responds:

Actually, I was trying to do the opposite. But, that gives my an idea where to go with it. I still need a good smooth low bass though. Like pretty much subwoofer and nothing else. Hey, if anybody has the subwoofer.fst file for FL Studio please send it my way. They killed it in later versions and I'm having trouble tweaking the knobs just right. Thanks for the review and to whomever might have that fst.

[Give Me Cowbell]

heh

i think this has already been stated but having made the cowbell the theme of the piece it could do with a lot more dynamic and rhythmic variation. it's still a cool little motif to have in there.

you talk down the quality of the mix when it's nothing to really be apologetic for. the reverb and everything is kept well under control and doesnt get drilled by master compression until that high piano comes in at 2m17s. if that went down a lot in volume it would improve that section of the mix by a lot.

quite enjoyable. do extend this in future.

[-| Welcome to Cyberdrome |-]

fuck yeah

I think a variation in the chord progression would've been a welcome addition, along with some more in the way of sick synth like the one starting at 1m18s but even so this is just great to listen to.

It's like listening to modernized video game music. The heaviness gives it a more mature edge though. Very nice!

[Mustang]

a little gimmicky

the first half of this song is very uninteresting beyond the mustang reese bass sound. the dry use of cheesy fl default drum sounds do the track no favours either and make this sound more like dance music than industrial.

having said that, the concept is quite cool and there are several nice basslines in the second half of the song. for a 6 hour mess-about this is a good result.

pookicker responds:

I appreciate your candor. I wanted originality with the sample and got what I wanted as it progressed. I had originally labeled this in this trance section on the suggestion of a friend. Others here suggested industrial... I'll just throw it in misc. Thanks for the review.

[Corneria (Synthmetal remix)]

bitch yes

the 909 kit is very raw and not arranged the best but everything else is badass.

you should do some originals in this style. i did my tune "Nos Adeo Perago Vos!" with a friend and its so so like this. rock on, dude.

MashedByMachines responds:

Yeah I know, I´m no good at drums :/
I have made some original tunes in this style, for example "Manufacturing unit 101" or "Return to arcade" Check it out if you want :)
Thanks for your review

[Uncontrollable]

who needs a clavinet? ;)

intentionally or not, you've made an amazing tonal comparison between an old instrument and a relatively new one. that alone warrants a good score :)

masterjiji responds:

:) glad you think so

[The Beginning of Chaos]

nice nice nice

interesting choice of arpeggios i must say! reminds me of the japanese minor scale :O

Hard to say what this reminds me of exactly. I'd say something like Dark Cloud 2 or even Ratchet and Clank sans the electronica noodling.

I think the only flaw in this is how it loops... I think a quick brass swell into that first arpeggio or something would help the transition a lot. Even so, that author is a fool! :P

S3C responds:

Yo MM!

Haha, Dark Cloud 2 and Ratchet and Clank? From my memory, cant say it sounds along the lines of those games' OST, due to their cartoony (atleast R&C), light natures. This was pretty much inspired by GoW, I'm afraid I might have made it sound too similar or unpurposely jacked a theme from one of the pieces :(

I think the arpeggios would have to be more pentatonicy to be japanese, this is moreso harmonic minorish with chromatic riffs and modulations ;) (sorry to be pedantic lol)

Yeah, the brass swell would be a good implementation either way- the purpose of this short bit is moreso just an introductory scene moreso than a continuos loop. But for sure, I'll make sure to throw if there was a need for a loopable version of this.

Thanks for the review!

[Run-Free[RadiumX]]

hehe

i feel as though i'm back in 1997. this wouldn't be out of place on a vengaboys cd...

oh wow... theres some acid bassline that's off key, very ugly.

did you boost the bass on EVERYTHING?! might sound good on crappy speakers but add in a sub and it's all a bit too much.