midimachine's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hold]

nice guitar playing! surprised how well the heavier rock lead tone works in this genre, and i think using a harder drum sound as opposed to brushes helps a lot. that said, i think the drum programming needs a lot more dynamic variation, especially in the ride cymbal which really needs to ebb and flow with its accents. the delay effect is a little messy and i'd only enable it for specific notes like the wail at 1:02; it especially messes with your fast non-quarternary passages in the first solo. would love to hear more than 90 seconds of this, with some clean guitar in the rhythm section as well.

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

[House Down]

yo i love melodic 808 cowbells! lots of atmosphere and mood going on in this. surprised at how tight the lows ended up being for the most part. i can appreciate a minimal instrumentation but i wanted something in the background in the building sections just to help push the momentum of the track some more. i think the cowbell melody gets a bit messy when the beat kicks in at 0:44, sounds like two variations are accidentally playing at the same time. shakers seem a little loud and overall the mix isn't very wide so maybe pan some stuff around and smear the shakers with a short plate reverb. a creative idea and solid foundation for a beat!

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

[ur way]

hits hard! really like the slight saturation on the top kick. loving how the background melodic elements play off the guitar sample. the 808 open hat and dub laser are too loud, but otherwise the mix/master is really solid. just seems very basic in terms of structure so i'd like to hear more cutaways and dropouts, maybe filter sweeps on the guitar sample here and there too. like if you just had the stems for this beat and a MC on it you'd drop stuff out for the important bars. but for a simple beat this still slaps!

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

[Waves]

big chillwave fan here, so there's a lot to appreciate in this track. the sound design is mostly on point for the genre and the melodies are quite pleasant. i had to turn this down a LOT though - the mastering is just bafflingly loud, and every element is constantly fighting for front and center position. pull everything down, pan some instruments around differently, and scoop out some of the midrange frequencies on the bitcrushed leads. the ending also felt kind of pointless and dragged out too long. but in spite of the very major mix issues, i really did enjoy this!

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

[Misham Studio - Apollo Justice Remake]

a faithful remake, but kind of better in some ways! i really prefer the faster tempo in this version, and the smooth, trembling female vocal is just gorgeous for this track. i think the overall mix is a bit too bright and could use a nice soft plate reverb on the kit and the trumpet to blur the high-mids a little. and yea, even though they are meant to be an occasional accent the loud snaps are way too forward and dry. i would also spread them across the stereo image a little more if possible and bring the bass closer to the center - not totally mono - and also quieter. good stuff!

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

[Stratosphere]

i'm a fan of abrasive and aggressive sound design, and this delivers on that big time. took me a little while to find the tonal center, and the clashing bass notes at 0:42 still feel a bit too intense even after a couple listens, but it still feels like a lot of thought went into the sheer harmonic density in this. there's a lot of headroom in the track but it still feels overly compressed, and the rhythm doesn't have much energy despite being very loud and forward - i would put a punchier clean kick over the distorted 808 and pull the snare up, then bring everything else down before hitting the master limiter. could also roll the highs off just a little. but i really enjoyed this. make more!

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

[Then I'll Just Save Everybody Again]

strong contender for best touhou-style track in this bracket. some really great utilisation of the limited instrumental palette and interesting fades and builds. the instrumentation is definitely the weakest part of the track, and while some sounds are passable and even good, the washy reverb drums just don't have the punch and weight the piece deserves, and the constant back and forth slap bass is grating after a while. i know it's the style, but some of the key changes are very abrupt and need better linking chords to help transition nicely (if you're stuck for ideas, any diminished chord will probably work, at least as a placeholder). if nothing else, it definitely earns the 8 minute runtime!

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

[Fly Away]

sweet little tune with great 90's/00's PLUR vibe. the description said DnB but i still expected happy hardcore at the drop. not really much to fault with the mix/master, sub bass is a little loud in the main sections for my liking but that's about it. the main issue i have is that it's just too basic in it's production and composition: very stock drums and synths with little in the way of fills and cutaways. I-IV-vi-V chord progression throughout, and without a strong melodic theme in the main sections the track got pretty boring by the end. feels like the beginning of something great with a lot of potential!

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

[STARGIF (Audio)]

cool mix of natural and chiptuney instruments! the c418 influence comes in very strong but the instrumentation is quite unique. really appreciate that everything's been played in, even though it does get a bit messy sometimes. love the chords too. the release time on the NES triangle bass sound is too long so you get some funky dissonance where the notes overlap. would like there to be some reverb or delay to give the track some space, even if you sequence in the echoes like you would in a tracker for authenticity points - right now it just feels a little dry overall.

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