mutty99's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Amazona NGUAC 2020]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

Bringing Trance in the final round is a bit risky, yet you did a pretty good job with it. I don’t understand why you panned most of the mix to the left… Also i think the rising vocal chop at the very beginning is too loud when it ends and the instruments roll starts; on the other hand, the sound design is really solid and bright. While the technical and structural aspects are more than spot on (apart from the left pan of the mix), this track lacks virtuosity. It is big, full or rich sounds and ambitious indeed, but develops too slowly as time passes; 7:00 minutes of trance require a lot of different stuff, but also a heterogeneous chord progression as well. I wish you could have experimented more with notes, and maybe created a more intriguing melody. Still, I’m really fond of the part at 2:39, great and powerful emotional flow. Overall, the track stands up for itself and it’s pleasant to listen to. What a way to go out!

Originality: 1.45/2
Composition: 1.5/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.47/2
Impact: 1.88/2
Total: 8.3/10

TerraNation responds:

Hey thanks for review, Risky indeed but trance something i been doing since i was 12 years old.
Yea notice that on my mastering process, Idid not upload mastering version so it wasent intentionally going left, "Vocal chop" Its acctully simpel fx chord from sylenth 1 i like to have alot of sounds going on beacuse make song more flow with energy. yea i could sure cut down few 1 or 2 min on the song. Trance is very easy to fail with alot elements trust me i like 5 different melody for this track and match them together is hard. But again for me take few extra weeks would have make song different for sure.

[Happy people want to dance]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

I remember how this track was when I first heard it; I think you’ve updated it changing a few things at some point, improving some aspects here and there.
The lack of originality of this submission (Since the same chord pattern repeats itself over and over) gets backed up by the structure, which is pretty good and well written. About the sounds you used, you’ve chosen nice synths and made a good use of the phaser function in the beginning and in the end of the song; they give all together a really pleasant Synthwav-ish sensation, to the point of relaxing the listener quite a bit. Like I already said, this piece could have been better if you’d made some variations in the chord progression; still, good job for making it this far in the competition!

Originality: 1.2/2
Composition: 1.6/2
Structure: 1.77/2
Tecnicity: 1.6/2
Impact: 1.63/2
Total: 7.8/10

retrize responds:

No, I didn't change anything

[Hand In Hand- NGUAC 2020 Final Round Submission]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

Welcome to the Final Round! You’re the first contestant I’m scoring.
Your piece is pretty interesting, not something you see on Newgrounds really often: I really like the direction you decided to go into with your concept, giving some Springteen/countryroad vibes. The guitar is well chosen and mixed, I wonder if it’s real of from a VST; either way, brilliant execution. I like that you updated your track in the meantime as well; beforehand your voice was a little detuned in the beginning, but now the intonation is correct, and that is going to benefit your score a lot!
The instrumentation is solid and blended properly as well, with various and originally blended drums, despite the mix having a little downside; in the chorus sections at 1:09 and 2:44, I think that the vocals are a tiny little downpowered. To be clearer, I struggled to hear the lyrics a bit. Everything else seems more than alright to me: the mastering and balance are spot on, the ending is very well done, and I overall had a good experience with your track. It’s nice to begin scoring with a good note ;)

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

ConnorHeather responds:

damn! what great feedback thank you! much appreciated! To answer your thoughts, it is real guitar, everything is recorded with live instruments, This one in particular uses no midi.

Again thank you i really appreciate the time you take to go in-depth about the 'how and why' behind the score!

[A Dream]

Wow.... this track is so sad. I've pictured my own concept.

The music could adapt well also in a sad death scene: anime style, mc and his soulmate, main douche villain kills soulmate, heart-ripping scene and final goodbyes. That kind of scene, yeah.
Imagine then this music followed by Sheol (Xtrullor feat. Panda Eyes), where the mc gets enveloped by uncontrollable rage. I get shivers only by thinking about it.
Powerful composition.

Everratic responds:

Thank you for the review! I'm glad it had that effect on you.

[Sleeping in an Empty Room]

-Official NGUAC 2020 KO Round Review-

Interesting track, i like the piano sound you chose. In the first 23 seconds the pad could have been introduced more gradually in volume before the drum section starts at 0:24. About them, the kick and hi hats are spot on, but i found the snare strangely compressed, to the point where it feels drained out and off place. It may be not that big of a deal, but i ensure you it impacts a lot the first half of the track. The synth pad at 1:12 is good as well, even if it could have been juuust a little lower in bass frequences and volume. I liked the second half of the track better, especially at 1:36 when the drums come in. Putting distortion on them was a good choice, since it changed the pace for the better.
Overall, i enjoyed your track quite a bit, and i found the concept and melody both interesting and well-thought: just a little bit more tweaking here and there, and its potential would have grown even more. Good job!

Originality: 2/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1/2
Impact: 1.5/2

Total: 8.5/10

BeeFef responds:

Thanks for the review. So, there wasn't actually a pad at the beginning. I think you were just hearing the reverb on the piano. The reverb starts right away, so maybe I could've just brought the mix of the reverb up over the intro. For the snare, do you mean compressed in terms of volume/dynamics or in quality? If it's the latter, then the sharp lowpass filter you hear is intentional. I processed it to give it that Skype call sound and make it sound digitally lo-fi. I understand that some people may not like it, but I think it's kinda cool when used in the right way(s). At 1:12, maybe a gain automation on the sub bass would be good. And yes, I will continue to work on this track, as I heard more issues with the mixing/mastering on this and still have yet to release this track other than on NG.

[Nebulous - Dusklight (NGUAC 2020 | R2)]

Love the vocals, great job!!!

ShockblastDeluxe responds:

Thanks!

[Dream Voyager]

Will just say that you got the concept right ;)

LordAndiso responds:

Thank you :D

[Flying Free]

This is fire.

KevinMueller responds:

Thanks :)

[Ahurac - ID (NGUAC 2020 Knock-Out Round Entry)]

-Official NGUAC 2020 KO Round Review-

First track i'm scoring on this round.
I love songs that use 8-bit sounds properly, and that's one of them. Great sounds choice.
The first 37 seconds are well polished and really solid, i like the intro with the triangle wave bass. At 0:38, i think the low frequences could have been more marked; that section feels a little less strong than the others. The drop at 1:12 is great, with correct usage of the sidechain, and the transition is not too abrupt: maybe the chord progression could have variated a bit more, but it's also fine the way it is.
The concept is solid, and you overall did a good job, it almost reminds me of Colbreakz's style. Keep it up!

Originality: 1.8/2
Composition: 1.7/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.5/2
Impact: 2/2

Total: 9/10

Ahurac responds:

Woaaaaw OwO thank youuuuuu! And I'll be taking notes of all this feedback so I can improve my track when I'll finish it ^^

[Glass-cutter]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Tryouts Review-

I like how this track, despite being referred as Hip Hop - Modern, has those synthwav-ish deep sounds, which give a nice atmosphere. Despite the great usage of pads, the mix is a bit unbalanced: for example, in the section at 0:16 the bass volume is a little too high, and at 1:07 that Tom/Percussion you used has a strange distortion, and it covers too much the other instruments and effects. There is a lack of room too, maybe stereo-panning one or two instruments could help the piece flow better (By stereo-pan, i mean duplicating the sound of an instrument and putting one channel 100% panned to the left, the other 100% panned to the right. It's a helpful technique, i suggest trying it out). Apart from those technical details, the song is pretty solid and with a stable structure. Just a little more polishing, and it'd have been even better.

Originality: 1/2
Composition: 1.5/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 0.5/2
Impact: 1.5/2

Total: 6.5/10

Stargame responds:

Thank you so much for the honest review! It's nice to hear a structured review and hear specifics on what can be improved. On the note of the tom/distorted kick, what do you think could have helped the other instruments to stand out? Sidechaining, less bass, less distortion, cuts to the midrange, etc.?