SI-7's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fallout]

The sound design is okay. A good few of your sounds are a bit boring, and could be far more interesting. Also, I don't quite think that the base starting at 1:00 meshes the best with the rest of the song, but that may well just be me.

The structure and flow of the song is pretty nice. The intro and outro are wonderful, and the transitions are fantastic. The one part that stands out like a sore thumb to me, however, is 1:28-2:07. Even though the transitions are good, that part doesn't feel like it flows with the rest of the song.

I feel as though the percussion could benefit from some sidechaining, particularly the snare around :56. Otherwise, the percussion seems very nice.

You should be proud of the composition, even accounting for the middle segment, it's by far your strongest point in this song. You also didn't do that badly with sound design, even with using an unfamiliar synth.

Very nice to see another song from you, it's been a while. Welcome back.

SirHadoken responds:

Heya man, sorry I'm a month late to the response here. I read this and processed it and just altogether forgot to acknowledge it.

I definitely agree with the sounds being boring; I don't really know how to do sound design. I've been trying to figure it out for ages but plugins and sound manipulation don't make sense to me no matter what I try. I actually intended to get rid of that bass and forgot it was there.

I actually figured people would think negatively of the transitions because of how abrupt they are; I'm glad to hear quite exactly the opposite. The transitions were the only part of the composition that I wasn't too proud of, Composition feels to me like it's pretty much the only strong suits I have when it comes to music, and I either have to learn how to deal with it or learn how to change it.

Thanks again for the detailed review, it's always greatly appreciated. <3

[Arise and Fight]

Absolutely love this, it sounds almost like something out of Dragon Age. Would you mind sharing where you got those gorgeous vocals in the intro?

AceMantra responds:

Thank you for your kind words. I've never heard any of the music from Dragon Age but I'll take your word for it. ;)
The vocals used in the intro is called "Ethera 2.0" by Zero-G.

Cheers!

[Electronic Enthusiasm]

The percussion from 0:24 to 1:10 is a bit too loud to begin with, and could probably use an automation track to fade it in. The hihat needs to be brought down some so it's not painful to listen to. Your mixing and composition is pretty good for starting out, but you definitely have some mastering problems to fix.

Post-change edit: Mastering problems have been fixed.

LuMa-Clutchet responds:

Ok thanks for the feedback I Just changed it. tell me if you think its better now

[Battle Theme Updated]

Composition seems pretty solid, besides the sudden transitions, and mastering is mostly fine. I do think the sound design could use a fair bit of work though, as everything you're using seems a bit rough around the edges.

MajorMusic responds:

The rough around the edges stuff is probably just a result of using a free DAW.

[Terror Nullius]

I also miss your old attempts to create trailer music, because they led to something as amazing as this.

zybor responds:

Thanks friend

[XenoXenon - Beyond Our Thoughts]

Wonderful atmosphere you have throughout this. The ending felt unsatisfying, though, as it doesn't really feel like any part of it is a conclusion.

XenoXenon responds:

Ok :) thanks for feedback

[Prototype [virtual singer]]

Instrumentation could be a bit better, and the vocals would sound better if they sounded more analogous, I think. Regardless, this has an excellent concept behind it.

BenTibbetts responds:

Agreed. I could have spent more time on the instrumentation. Not sure what I could have done about the voice except use different software (or perhaps experiment with inputting alternate spelling / nonsense syllables).

[Noc Provia]

Can't wait for when you've gotten used to it, it'll sound wonderful.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I can't wait either! So much more alive than the other pianos I've used. Thanks for listening :)

[C O M P A S S I O N]

Not gonna lie, your percussion is fooling me into thinking it's clipping even though it's mastered really cleanly. It loops super cleanly this time, too, but by far my favorite part is 4:10. That transition was super smooth and that melody felt just off-beat enough to feel like its own separate part, while still being a part of the track.

As a side note, I think you might've mastered this one a bit quietly, unlike your other songs I actually had to turn my volume up to be able to hear it properly.

zybor responds:

This was intended as a glitchhop track, but fixed into triphop, I forgot to remove the off beat parts.

Thank you for your review :)

[Miniature Fantasy (Original Vinyl Mix)]

Gonna have to insist that the guy below me sends me the original version, the instrument quality and style for the intro and outro are way to different from the middle part for me.

Stroberider responds:

This track was originally meant to be mixed, which explains the intros and outros being the way they are. Thanks for the good score and review!