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midimachine

432 Audio Reviews

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brave choice entering actual techno into a NG comp, but i like the main groove in this a lot! the extra synth elements are very hit and miss though. a lot of the extra sequences are too loud seem to just play at a different tempo and don't resolve in a sensible way, so 1:05 all the way until 5:47 is nigh on unlistenable for me. would be good to sidechain your rumble layer under the kick some more to help it really pump, and wouldn't be a bad idea to just drop the volume of all the synths a little so that the extra percussion and filter layers can still breathe. appreciate the dj-friendly structure but it's best to build up a bit more gradually, have something of a breakdown and 2nd buildup, and then outro on the kick so that djs have a strong downbeat to cue the next track off of. half of the track is quite bad cause of those sequences, but the other half without them was pretty good. make more!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

lllElectroMusiclll responds:

Thanks!

polarising! i definitely enjoyed the quieter parts in this the most. you say you didn't have time to make anything beautiful but these sections sound like they have a lot of effort put into them, in spite of the random bursts of crazy instrumentation. the rest feels like you were trying to be funny or obtuse for the sake of it, or is just 2 disparate musical parts slapped together and not really refined any further. it is what it is, though. appreciate using the bass guitar part as a cohesive leitmotif, and the blown out drum kit does provide some consistency. hope you get inspired soon!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

Koogai responds:

Thanks for the review! I'm happy it sounds like I put thought into some of the song lol, a lot of it is basically my process for finding something that sounds nice, but instead of refining a single idea, just making a bunch of random ones sound as cohesive as possible (since i didn't have much of a choice). And you're right a lot of it was just "wouldnt it be funny if" sound combinations :P

definitely different! cool hat retriggers and old school dub snare delays. gigantic explosion kick is cool. decently compelling theme. the GM synth brass and piano combo is definitely on the cheesy side of things. the vocal sample sounds like it's still in the back of your throat, you can be more confident with it - pitch it up, chop it around and add some reverb and suddenly it's pro future bass. short little loop with not much else to say. windows stop sound at the end is a nice touch, not sure how intentional that was though. finish a full track!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

kinupsi responds:

hi, midi...thx 4 your kind words, but i cant understand why i should compose a whole track?! It is what it should be, a loop ;) Everything else is intended, too: subtle voice, window sounds..etc ...but anyway: thx ;) (only your voting is kind of harsh: 1 and a half stars is like trashing and downvoting!)

great voice! really adds so much emotional weight to the piece. great dynamics and melodies. would like a wider stereo image in the climactic parts just to fill out the space and make it feel bigger there. would be good to drop to just the long harmonic vocals in a couple places to help keep the melodic lines interesting. there are some clashing vocal lines at 0:44 and again at 1:08, might be worth revisiting those and starting the top line on a higher note and coming down to create some contrary motion. i think the airy vocals are nice but could use a de-esser on the top around 8 to 9KHz, maybe even just a little dip in the EQ there to smooth it out. taikos and their reverb feel heavily compressed at 3:30 - comp before the reverb if you can, or try a lower ratio & slower release time. really cool piece though, make more!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

really nice smooth intro, beautiful soft piano + smokey upright bass = heaven. the piano parts here feel so human and playful, and the slow melodic bassline perfectly underpins everything from a harmonic standpoint. the drums, however, are comedically sloppy - and there's two different drum sets playing sloppy at the same time! take a cue from lofi hip hop, quantize the downbeats a little! they don't have to be robotically in time, but at least have 1, 2, and 4 in the pocket. keep your drum layers consistently in time with themselves too. i don't know if you recorded the other parts to a click, but the drums are so bad they sound like they're making the other instruments play out of time. disappointing overall, but i really do hope you make more!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

kantieno responds:

Thanks for the feedback! In restructuring the song for a more lofi vibe, I ended up being very unsure of whether/how I wanted to retain the feel of the original drums while adding in new drums to get a beat with more punch. By the end I definitely had some trouble deciding whether or not it fit at all, so it is nice to have some fresh perspective! That's something I will work on for sure.

Either way I'm glad to hear that you thought the piano and bass worked well together! Thanks again for the feedback!

cool instrumentation! love the juxtaposition of chunky, chorused trip hop guitars with the trap drums. reminds me of angel by massive attack in a big way. i think all the guitars can come down a little in volume, the mix feels just a little crowded right now. the high guitar part needs some more tone shaping i think, maybe just a delay or a bit of fuzz (remember to gate it if you introduce distortion to preserve the mutes properly), and the trap hihat is way too loud. love the guitar harmony that comes in at 1:07, wish that was used to cap of every 4 bars or something instead of just playing a few times towards the end. the main guitar line comes in a little late and feels sloppy once the drums come in - but i think it's just that the whole line needs to be moved back a small amount. enjoyed this, wish it was a full track!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

i find everything about this incredibly odd. weird rhythm, kooky chords, wacky sound design. actually it's just the bass and the highpassed chord thing that feels wacky tbf. but yea, i don't feel a sense of springtime in this at all, it's more like chugging ayuhuasca. little in the way of variety for drum patterns, would be nice to have some fills in transitions at least instead of the same 4 bar pattern. flute melody is cool but the underlying detuned bass and chords don't mesh with it at all. the ending is pleasant comparatively but i think the second last chord (i think it's an A half-diminished chord?) is a really questionable choice.

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

very tense sounding. i like how the downbeat gets shifted when the thick bass from the intro returns. appreciate the attempt at using dissonance to create a thick and spooky sound. doesn't feel particularly thought out for some reason, like it's just three random patterns stuck together in different ways. brave choice to not use any percussion, and the rhythm of the track is almost energetic enough to not need it, but being sat on the same 1-bar loop for over a minute made me want something else on top. just doesn't feel finished at all.

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

love when dnb tracks take elements from different styles together - hearing some ragga and liquid in the midst of the future bass goodness here. epiano solo is really nice touch. the sound design is definitely on the basic side, and i think the stock FL sounds used don't really fit the vibe on their own and need a little layering or replacement. really appreciate the anti-drop in the first part but the ultra-smooth kick made it too anticlimactic. second drop feels much nicer. not a whole lot else to critique, the structure is perfect, there's a lot of attention to detail and the main theme, while initially a bit goofy, is actually a dope little nod to flamenco that really grew on me. this track is a LOT more than the sum of its parts, and i can't help but imagine what it could be if those parts were stronger individually. make more!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

JuLn responds:

I really appreciate this detailed and constructive review, thanks for your work as a judge!

lots to like about this! great chords, nice drops, tight reverb control, sweet sound design. really love the variety of tones that you've got in this. my main issue is that the kick and snare are struggling to push through despite the aggressive sidechaining - i think all of your synths and basses have to come down in volume during the drops before you hit the master limiter, right now it just lacks energy a little. the high pitched arps at 2:03 are generally too loud anyway. that "blossom" vocoder sample feels dry and muddy compared to the other instruments and sfx - i'd roll of the lows on that, pump a bit of whitenoise in the carrier signal, and lay off chorus/unison/detune effects until after the vocoding happens. would be good to have a proper dj-friendly wind down on the ending instead of the radio-edit too. apart from those minor issues the mixing is very clean, and my only real concern is the master. fantastic work!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

used to put a lot of music on here and then i stopped but maybe i will start doing that again one day hehe

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