midimachine's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A world full of fairy tales]

it's really cute! i think the fake general midi instrumentation actually helps the cute feeling a bit - even though the repeated piano notes sound really weird. it feels like there's a big gap in the instrumentation between where the drums sit and where the panflute sound is - i think just adding a single bass line and some soft, brushy percussion would fill that gap perfectly. the note the kick drum makes as it bottoms out of key with your song, i think it wants to be about 3 semitones lower to match your song, but you'll need to manually adjust the fine pitch to get it right. or just use a kick drum with a shorter decay. song ends up feeling way too long and empty even at 3 minutes. love the sweet little melody though.

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

insertNameHere0 responds:

Thanks for the review, I'll keep that in mind.

[Tokyo Trouble]

indie rock with rave piano stabs is a new one for me, but i think i like it! i like your bass tone a lot, and while the playing felt a little sloppy at parts, and especially in solo sections, it holds up when the drums are playing. the drums sound kinda weird and floppy, and they're pretty dynamically flat - especially the snare drum which is really busy but doesn't have any accents or ghosting at all. the electric guitars sound fine but lack width - sounds like a clean tone and fuzz tone on the same recording mixed together, maybe double track and spread them out a little? a lot of awkward cuts, nothing really fades out or holds, makes the transitions all feel extremely stunted. and the structure feels like a 3 minute song on loop instead of a 6 minute song. that said, i'm enjoying the vibe and there's a lot of potential for you in this style. make more!

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

[Resurrection 2]

evil circus trap is a bit of a vibe tbh! good to hear varied dynamics and interesting chromatics used. it's kinda weird that everything gets louder at the same time every time there's a change. the first time it's not a big issue, but the second time it doesn't feel like a satisfying drop because it just sounds the same as the first part, only louder. plus it starts distorting so maybe look into compression/limiting on the master channel. song is quite short and not a lot really happens musically, but i like that you're trying something new for yourself with this.

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

[Helios Rio]

enjoying the naturalistic vibe in this and having a very big chill to this. slow build, but worth it in the end. the structure is very basic and there's not really much in the way of fills or cutaways to grease the transitions, you kind of just drop elements in one at a time until the end. the changeup and melody at 2:14 is a nice break from the relative monotony of the piece. not that it's a bad monotony - the sound design and mixing are pretty great actually! would like to hear this developed and refined a bit more though. good stuff overall!

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

[Creation of a Hexagon]

hey, cool, famitracker! the instrument design here is pretty cool, nice little duty cycle modulations and interesting noise channel usage. would be cool to hear more percussive sounds in the pulse channels if you're not using DPCM. the track doesn't really develop very much after 0:28, and the composition gets very messy towards the end with every channel trying to do the same thing in the same pitch at the same volume. if you want the triangle to be the lead you can try lowering the volume of other instruments - while this lowers the dynamic resolution it doesn't sound like you need all 16 volume steps right now anyway.

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

glotch responds:

thanks for the feedback! i'll keep this all in mind going forward. this is yet another sign that I need more practice with volume mixing lol

[Sunrise]

lots of really nice melodies in this, feels very dreamy and sweet. would be good to have a break from the drums in the middle, once they start they don't stop and it gets tiring. i think the default fl studio club kit is an odd choice too, especially with how they've been filtered to be very brushy and thin - i'd start with something a little softer and more natural. i don't mind field recordings in some genres if they're way in the background just to add a little texture, so i think i'd like the bird sample if it was a lot quieter. but it's a sweet little tune and i hope you make more!

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

[Snowfall]

beautiful atmosphere in this - the folky melodic flair and the idiosyncratic instrumentation makes this piece feel so natural and yet so otherworldly. sounds like an LCR mix, and the width it creates also lends itself to that otherworldly feeling as well, although i think the choir being on the side channel throws the balance off a lot. the shakers also felt a little loud throughout, but particularly from 1:08 to 1:26. if this is an LCR mix you could try phaseshifting the mid channel very slightly before adding reverb to produce the illusion of depth and then use reverb to colour the space, if that makes sense. in any case i really enjoyed listening to this and want to hear a lot more!

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

[The Light]

there's a really great sense of dynamics in this, really dig how controlled and understated the intro and buildup sections are. sounds like you've left a lot of space for a vocal or some other kind of lead melody that isn't there, and the track feels kind of empty without it. there's also not much in the way of percussion and everything is very centered, would be cool to have a shaker or some other kind of stereo top loop to drive the energy forward - the main chord stack doesn't fill out that top end space on it's own so you have lots of room to work with cool transitions! try panning each tom drum differently to get a bit more movement in the stereo image. very solid foundation so far!

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

[Choking Evil Seeds ~ Waterfall Encounter]

not usually a fan of undertale remixes and i was on the fence on this until the ending section. i think the first 90 seconds or so suffers from sounding overly busy while not having a lot of impact - my instinct is to up the kick and snare and pull the choirs, hihats and shakers down. really enjoyed the ending though, that cheesy bright trumpet just works so well and i'm a sucker for the amen break. i would definitely lowpass the amens a little and maybe throw a subsynth or just bass boost them a little since they felt a bit anemic. had a lot of fun listening to this!

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

Fantasyck responds:

Come to think of it, I guess I could've stood to mess with the EQ a bit now that you point it out lol. Thanks for the detailed feedback - I always appreciate it when people are crystal-clear about what they think works well and what they think doesn't work well, and I'll absolutely try to keep it in mind the next time I try making a song in this style.

[Embyeee - Semper Fortis]

love this really cinematic and atmospheric approach to hybrid, even got the drill bass going. really great mixing, total control of the low end in heavy sections and lots of detail in the mids and highs. the stereo image on the hats and is a little plain, but i like the spread on the brass and synths. i think the final drop section isn't nearly as compelling as the the middle section, and the structure of the track feels overedited. the 2nd drop is good enough to bring back in again and your breakdowns are good enough to warrant an extra 8 bars of chill before the build at 1:45. really enjoyed this though!

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