midimachine's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[HaunT (Progressive house)]

there's some interesting musical ideas in this that don't really come together well. i like the funeral march vibe with the minor key and the sombre sounding strings. not a fan of how loud everything is and how the entire mix completely blows out when it "drops". it doesn't really drop though because the kick is in the background, constantly pounding away on every 16th step. if you want to make a progressive house track this needs to be a lot less busy in every respect. if you want to make a busy and complex EDM track, turn everything down and be more deliberate about where you place the kick and snare drums within the beat.

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

[Entrañas eternas]

i really like the way the synth textures swirl in this track. a lot of very simple and effective sound design here. i felt that the melodies weren't as effective as the sounds they were played on. the chords progression were cool but often played against the sidechained bass sound which was droning on a wrong or ineffective note, which created a less compelling harmonic structure. the 909 snare is an interesting choice; i think it's too strong and bright for the track, but that could be because you left it dry. it would be good to have more soft percussive elements in this - i like the whitenoise sweep and the occasional reverb-soaked clap though. not a bad song, but i think if you revise that bass part so that it's following the rest of your instruments properly it would be a lot more interesting.

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

MOTOTTREX responds:

Hey I explicitly asked for no review in the track!

[Plastik Weihnachten - Mojo]

really cool sound design. sounds like a bitcrusher or ringmod + a lowpass filter and a lot of reverb. would be good to write something substantial around it and not just leave it as it is. i like how the fuzz of the noise floor bubbles up after each chime when the track is fading in and out - like you could introduce a similar noise elsewhere in the track to make it sound like something's actually happening here and it's not just a minimum-effort sound design test for nearly 3 minutes.

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

[Toby Fox - Megalovania (Meta Remix)]

haha that sure is a lot of undertale sounds wowee. i found this incredibly irritating to listen to mostly, the sections where it's constantly doing that (first drop & ending) would be a lot less annoying if the sounds were in the background. pushing the drums a bit harder is a great angle when remixing this song but the kick you're using doesn't punch hard enough imo. generally the supersaw leads are a little too loud and aren't providing enough room for the rhythmic elements to push the energy through. cute idea to use sans as an offbeat donk kinda thing. didn't enjoy this very much apart from the mid section but i appreciate the effort.

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

[Okaasan]

lots of atmosphere underneath the anime sample. would be cool to have something a bit more spacious with less talking. the sample chops would be great if it weren't for all the awful popping and clicking - sounds like your sample cuts aren't zero-crossed. if you can't remove the pops and clicks try to sync them up with the transients of other instruments. the drum sounds are mostly good, i would try a thicker sounding closed hihat though. when you use dialogue samples in a breakdown, don't let them keep talking over the drop - either cut the vocal off or push the drop back until the sample is finished. i really wanted to like this, hopefully you can fix the issue making your sample cuts so noisy.

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

LPSounds responds:

[laughs] In fact, I left the voices on the beat because it feel more "Original".

Very thanks

[lurkin]

really like the gamelan-ish main instrument! i think it might need to pitched up very slightly, like 10-25 cents, because it feels flat next to the string sample (which will most likely be perfectly tuned). the bass sound is cool but it's definitely too loud, you generally want the kick to be the loudest peak in the track, and with the bass as loud as it is the breakdown-ish sections are the same volume as everything else - which makes the parts that are supposed to be exciting feel relatively stale. feels a little unfinished, but it seems like you have a pretty good feel for structure and pacing so far. keep making beats!

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

[(Hard Techno)Radioactivity]

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!

[Out of My Head]

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

Muzak4LikE 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!)

[A Hero Needs A Hero]

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