mutty99's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Wertw - Universe Travellers]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

Incredible sound design, this is amazing! The balance is top notch, and the chord progression, even if in some parts it could have been a bit less forced (i'm referring to the sections at 0:57-1:23 and 1:51-2:18), it's well composed, with a good usage of sidechain, and heccka solid. The build-ups are my favourite parts of the track, made me say "Superbe!", that kind of sentence; like also how you variated a bit the melody at 2:47, putting some sfx to surprise the listener. 3:14 is just :D
You have all the credentials to become a famous artist, hope that NGUAC will help you boost your status and get recognized for your works. Great job, and good luck for the finals!

Originality: 1.7/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 2/2
Impact: 2/2
Total: 9.7/10

[Sentimentality]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

I like the instrumentation, it reminds me of Emyprean by Etzer. The chimes and the lead are quite nice, but too compressed as well: you could have balanced better them by lowering the low band on the chimes, and raising a tiny bit the high band on the lead. The drums, even if they're a bit too dry, are really nice and flow properly; the section at 2:39, after the "Go!" drop shout, doesn't contain much of them, and it's a tad bit too empty and less impactful than i expected it to be. Luckily, at 2:51 a richer roll comes in to finish the piece. Not a bad submission, with a little bit of tweaking it could've become even better. Glad you choose to experiment new styles out of your "comfort zone", it helps a lot to become a better artist :)

Originality: 2/2
Composition: 1.9/2
Structure: 1.4/2
Tecnicity: 1.4/2
Impact: 1.5/2
Total: 8.2/10

[Incise ~ Starburst]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

I like that you wrote in detail the chord progression for the sake of not being repetitive, and the tempo + key details. The mix is overall pretty nice to listen to, even if a bit too cluttered (especially at 1:00-2:00); the trance saws cover too much the rest of the instruments, making the drums downpowered as a result. Some compression reducing the medium band and a little more sidechain on the saws could have helped. Now, i need to give you huge props for taking a huge risk almost nobody did in this competition: Key Modulation (3:33). Even if the transition could have been better executed, the transposition is correct; if modulation is misused, it can give a negative influence to the track, so it could also become a sort of double edged weapon. This is not the case: great job for trying to surpass your limits, this is the right spirit! Just spend more time on tweaking the mix, and you can achieve even better results!

Originality: 2/2
Composition: 1.8/2
Structure: 1.6/2
Tecnicity: 1.45/2
Impact: 1.65/2
Total: 8.5/10

[Last drink]

Which is the name of the sound/electronic instrument you used in the first 3 seconds?

GrizzlyCogs responds:

Hey ! It is just a square wave synth with a lot of reverb and delay on it :)

[Remembering the Fallen]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

This submission stands out from all the others in this year's edition: it was the only one who made me sincerely moved while and after listening. The concept is carried on with a stable and focused flow, with a various and properly harmonized orchestration and structure; the balance is spot on as well, with a clear context and lore behind the piece itself. Briefly, the emotional impact of this track is beyond description, and you had a really original idea: if you keep composing stuff like this (maybe with a higher volume overall when mastering the track), you're going to get REALLY far in this community. Well done.

Originality: 2/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.7/2
Impact: 2/2
Total: 9.7/10

potato-stick responds:

Thank you so much for the kind words and feedback on my piece! I wanted to raise the overall volume, but unfortunately it began to introduce clipping issues so I had to settle with it being lower than ideal. Mastering and mixing are some of the things that I need to more fully understand, so that might be the next step for me to take my music to a higher level.

[NaNo - Happy pluck]

(This review will be translated in Spanish, the contestant's language)

-Revisión oficial de la ronda final de NGUAC 2020-

El concepto y la orquestación no están mal, pero hay múltiples aspectos que podrías haber manejado de manera más efectiva. Para empezar, el volumen total es un poco demasiado alto: un limitador podría haberlo reducido unos pocos decibeles. Acerca de las gotas, parecen un poco secas; hay algo de reverberación en el solista, pero muy menos en la batería. Evite poner toda la reverberación en un instrumento: poner una pequeña cantidad de reverberación en casi todos los instrumentos beneficia mucho a tu música. A pesar de las críticas, el uso de sidechain fue apropiado, y fue una pista Happy Hardcore bastante buena (en lugar de Synthwave). ¡Buen trabajo!

Originalidad: 1.53/2
Composiciòn: 1.67/2
Estructura: 1.7/2
Tecnicidad: 1.4/2
Efecto: 1.5/2
Total: 7.8/10

[Raindrops]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

I like the variety of the instruments you chose. The piano in the first 20 seconds is a nice touch, with an original transition in the end; later on, it becomes really compressed on the lower band, covering too much the other instruments and making the mix a bit unbalanced. The rest of the mix sounds compressed on medium-low frequences as well, like putting a fliter in the master channel of the project; maybe if you sidechained the strings a little, the drums could have been a little more impactful, making the mix feel less compressed as a whole. While this track is not that technical strong, the composition is pretty solid and the melody is interesting and original; nice job!

Originality: 1.65/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 1.5/2
Tecnicity: 1.25/2
Impact: 1.6/2
Total: 8/10

[Ahurac - ID 2 (NGUAC Final Round Entry)]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

The chiptune sounds are spot on as I was expecting them to be; I like the record player noise sample as well, however I think it should have stayed only at the beginning. From what I hear, you made it play for the entire track instead, and that makes a bit difference in terms of quality and enjoyment of the music itself; if that last statement was wrong, then there is a bit of noise in the drop that interferes with the song’s flow. The chord progression, despite being too repetitive, is quite captivating and flows well. I really love the arpeggiated square at 1:14, it’s something I enjoy listening to in electronic music. This submission is good and with solid, vibrant sounds, even if it was a bit short: good job, and best of luck for your future compositions!

Originality: 1.4/2
Composition: 1.6/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.31/2
Impact: 1.69/2
Total: 8/10

Ahurac responds:

Thank you so much again for this review ^^ it was so fun for me to enter this year's NGUAC :)