midimachine's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Refract]

oh man, this is really good and i'm glad you could make it back!

once again demonstrating both rhythmic and melodic flair but this time not overdoing it imo (i think not having lyrics to sing along to helps? pop music philosophy is weird man!)

one minor sound design thing i have to mention is the snare that accompanies the crunchy secondary kick (e.g. 0:10, 0:54) - it's just too airy, light and WET with reverb so i don't think it complements the kick at all. actually i think there are a lot of reverbs in this that need gating underneath the kick/chord combo, there's this strong and stilted energy coming out through the chorus and the reverb bleed kinda smooths it out too much - you wanna save that reverb for parts that *need* their spaces filled (e.g. like you did at 1:54)

the power metal chiptune section is hilarious, and i like how you cap it off with cutesy dnb/dubstep feels after - although the big distorted electroclash chords feel kinda messy in that section imo. the ending reminds me of one of the tracks from drukqs, it's really cute and poignant actually hehe

anyway, this is some really good work from you. although it's not quite as immediately engaging or memorable as your first round piece it's still a *banger* :v

garlagan responds:

fuk yea midi thanks for the amazing feedback!
drukqs is amazing btw!

[Osman - "The Mountain And The Sky"]

damn, i think i would've made something like this for this round if i didn't hate music right now :v

i think the drums are a little primitive in terms of their mixing - a little dry on the programming side too. the piano sound is a bit muddy, a bit like FL keys but a little better (still weighs the mix down a little imo). the sub bass is generally a little too savage (i.e. loud), especially in the middle breakdown section. i think the rest of the instruments could do with a bit more stereo imaging too (other than the reverb). overall the mix is fairly servicable, though.

where this shines is in the emotion and atmosphere, which i think is perfectly conveyed through the sound design and "orchestration" - the main melody is really lovely too. it's probably better that there isn't really that sharp of a contrast in that respect. certainly could be tightened up structurally as it doesn't quite earn its near-6 minute runtime, but i think carving out the breakdowns and buildups a bit more would definitely emphasize the emotional payoff of the drops.

anyway this resonated with me on both an aesthetic and emotional level, and not many things on NG do that for me!

[Discord Server On Saturn]

this is real cooooool, big shpongle vibes in that intro

i think overall this is too heavily mastered for what it wants to be (i.e. smooth illbient jams). i like that there's still a lot of dynamics in this but some of the synths are popping out too much imo (e.g. gated synth @0:53 once the filter opens up later, saw chords @ 2:31). also not really digging the acoustic drum sounds, and while they sit too low in the mix to have any real impact (not a gooooood thing imo) the actual sounds themselves don't really fit the vibe. especially that snare w/ the big round electro kick, it's kinda weird! something snappier with stronger transients would probably fit a bit better imo.

the mixing is mostly pretty good. apart from the aforementioned saw chord the latter section is really great - especially digging the flurrying little arps dancing in the background and the syncopated bells (*maybe* LP filter those before they hit the reverb because they come out a little bit hissy on the reverb tail). and i mean apart from the drums from 0:45 to 1:45 the sound design here is pretty damn sick!

i like how the piece takes you on a journey, seems to be a bit of a theme in your work haha
i think some stronger use of leitmotifs throughout would be good to give things a better thematic cohesiveness - the transitions are fairly smooth though so idk if this is just me wanting something that doesn't really need to be there? the sections do feel kinda disparate to me, though.

wowwwww i wrote a lot more about this than i thought i would. i think that means i like it! :v

Onefin responds:

thanks for dropping by midi

i... don't master anything i make :P mostly cuz I don't know how

drum design is one of my weak spots, and i'm a freaking percussionist. i wish i actually knew crap about mixing good drum sounds but i generally don't which is why i end up using loops sometimes

i tried to make leitmotifs but a piece like this doesn't really support strong melodies whoops :P

[Kids]

SPITFISH is a good free de-esser
this is a good free song
ggwp

McGorilla42 responds:

Thanks for that recommendation, midi! I decided to ask my parents to buy me the Waves Gold Bundle for my birthday while it was on special because I am an impoverished musician who can't afford his own plugins and it includes a de-esser! :)

gg no re

[Dust Sweeper]

the drums are so boooomy and don't have enough dynamic variation
vocals are kinda dark and don't sit high enough in the mix imo
i really like the composition though - this could be a dream theater demo maybe? :v

LunacyEcho responds:

=> drums =>

Haha, johnfn said the same thing! Problem is, I'm using a Logic preset here, and I still haven't found a way to adjust the reverb (or other similar settings) on the drumset, but I'll be sure to keep looking.

=> vocals =>

Aw man, if you think the vocals would sound better if they were more high-pitched, do I have a remake of this song for you: https://instaud.io/15I7

=> composition =>

Ooh, Dream Theater was definitely one of the biggest influences of this track. Great to see it's reminiscent of them!

Thanks for the comment, midi, and good luck in the competition! :)

[Endowment]

i really wanna like this one more but the drum mixing and sound selection in the electronic sections is kinda weak and sucks a lot of the life out of the energetic drum composition. there's also a lot of noodling and dead space - i keep losing interest mid way through each of these sections because the sound design isn't really all that exciting and the main themes aren't compelling enough to make up for it

the orchestral parts are really good and are well mixed within themselves (they feel very disconnected from the other sections mix-wise imo), honestly i think you could've produced a much stronger work without the divergence into pendulum worship electronic sections.

the way that snare roll sample cuts out without zero crossing is horrendous though, step it up yo :P

EctiBot responds:

I think I've never agreed with a review as much as I did with this one XD. I was planning on fixing the small issues like sample cuts, coherence throughout the track, but I had to travel and didn't bring my pc. I was originally uploading this to get feedback on what I should improve, but it ended up being my final submission.

[After the Rain]

damn that first key change was doooooope - breakdown came in a bit early imo but the 2nd drop is so niiiiice. really good vox, watch those plosives tho! i like the kick and snare sounds, the hihat is nice too but i really need moooooore percs. like other than the cool glitchy noises n stuff. shakers, rides, toms etc. - i appreciate the space it gives to let the hyperanimated synth filters breathe but there are sections and transitions which seem like they should be climactic but feel kinda empty!

eventually it got a little too noodly and i lost interest ~2:30 lol
that's not to say that the rest was bad, it just kinda felt like more of the same? like there wasn't really a climactic energy going into that last section for me, second key change feels kinda abrupt and i wasn't really diggin the last few solos. this piece likes to switch gears a lot, so there are probably a couple of 16 bar sections after the breakdown you could take right out to make the structure tighter and make the changes more *meaningful*. it probably wouldn't even matter which parts you took out tbh.

ending lead is really nice! that lead + epiano for chords + highpassed vox like from 2:51 (in the right key tho) = perfect ending for this track imo.

anyway the mix is hella tight apart from the vocal plosives and the melodies and chord progressions are really great on their own and i'm only really disappointed by the kinda lacking drum work and unfocused structure in the 2nd half. gooooood shit!

johnfn responds:

ty for the kool review midi

i thought someone was going to complain about those plosives. uh i dont have a good excuse i left them in because they make a neat sort of rhythmic tick on my laptop speakers with the drums lol

i basically agree with most of your complaints we just ran out of time lol o well

[Slowing Down]

fuuuuck your mixing has improved so much the last few years. i really want the vocals to sit a bit louder in the mix and maybe hit the compressor a bit harder though

i *really* don't like the off kilter rhythmic shifts in the middle of the choruses - it doesn't really complement the rest of the track in any way and seems like a total afterthought. in this kind of a track i feel like pulling the downbeat into the last step of the previous bar (e.g. 0m56s) is acceptable if you do it once in a section. it also makes sense in that last chorus because it's already been preceded by a skipping effect out of the breakdown. but it's jarring if it keeps happening and if it happens on beats that aren't the downbeat. the chorus is the most important part of your song and you shouldn't ruin it by immediately subverting it!

BUT yeaaaa. i love the festival breakdown. shit's dope. the crowd chant is A+, actually there's fantastic use of different sized reverbs throughout the track. this whole track is fuckin' amazing and i'm so sad that the choruses do that janky rhythmic thing cause otherwise i could listen to this for DAYS.

garlagan responds:

niice. appreciate the feedback midi!
fucking with downbeats is too fun to be consciously avoiding it tho

[Shadow Steps]

this is neat! the heavy amens give this track a bit of a different feel to a lot of neuro i've listened to but i really like em. actually this track is really good at riding that edge between moody and just too fucking heavy. the second roller gave me hella current value vibes. so nice.

i do think the intro and rollers could be a lot shorter (like, 16/24 bars off of each i think) - i mean it's dj friendly and that's fine but i think it pays to "radio edit" your tracks a bit for NGADM's sake.
drums don't cut through over the reese enough - especially the kick. i think the reese just rips a bit too hard haha

good shit!

DEM0NW0LF responds:

Thanks midi ! Part of the challenge in making this one was trying to nail a good 64 bar drop (well, two of them) so cutting the length down wouldn't feel right, you know ?

Anyway, I'm glad you like it !

[Kytoon - Magnifying Glass]

woulda liked a less dark piano sound (maybe a rhodes for that smooooooth tone?)
there are some points where there's like one too many melodies playing at once (e.g. ~0m49s)
also woulda been good to pull back on the drums and go with some smoother, softer percs @ 0m59 until 1m17 when that piano melody comes back in, just to carve some more overall dynamics in and emphasize the differences between the sections.

overall this track is dope and makes me feel *good*, perfect length too. solid.

GhostLawyer responds:

Thanks man! Fair points, especially about the flurry of melodies during the main sections. A notorious problem of mine.