nightsurfermusic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[G71TCH]

It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the best.

It was very repetitive. That same 303-ish arp in the background, the whole song, was starting to hurt after a while. Add some variety around that, and the song would end up being a lot more interesting. You used a lot of accidental notes and out of key notes, which you may have been going for, but for me, it made more of a jarring section in the song. It sounded too out of place.

Like I said, it isn't bad. But with stock drum samples and off key notes, it could have been better.
3/5 stars
3/5 Rating

Kw

TBC-x1x2x3 responds:

Thanks for the feedback. I will work on these things on my next songs :)
I agree on the out of key notes. Some parts are a bit too much.

[Glim]

I feel bad, KB, I've lost touch with NG and a lot of the artists, and you're included...

This was instantly a favorite for me. I've always liked your work, but I like the style you've gotten into. There isn't anything I really have in complaint about the song. The percussion is fantastic, nice and light, no clipping, excellent mastering. The bass is quiet and pleasant. The higher pitched sounds have a wonderful reverb to them, and it only adds to the ambience of the whole piece.

Anything else I can say has already been said. :D

Awesome work man, I really have to keep track of you again. If this is a good judge of the whole album, I'm definitely buying!

-Kaizerwolf

Kingbastard responds:

Cheers, much appreciated;)

[OG - Viewer Aeries]

To be honest, it reminds me a lot of Skyrim's themes, mostly from wildreness exploration.

To start, You do not have any... well, violent clashing of instruments. Everything flows well together, nothing sounds out of place. You've got your main lines playing, which, to be honest, in itself would be a fantastic song still. But you've added a lot of ambience by adding (what appears to me as) a background wind/water effect, other sounds and pads that sort of ebb and flow around the whole piece.

And the fact that you've made a 7 minute song out of simple and smooth pads is amazing in itself. I've tried these things myself, and I can never get more than a few minutes without losing track or thinking the sounds are too boring. Would you mind telling me where you got a few of your pads? I'm always looking to expand on what I've got.

I'm really surprised I've never listened to your work before. I'm almost kicking myself for not doing so!

Wonderful song, by far.
-Kw

Ogt2 responds:

Hey man, thanks a lot for your awesome review.
I'm not familiar with any of the Skyrim themes, but now that you mentioned it I should probably check it out for myself (might find some inspiration there! ;D)

The plug-in I'm using for the pad is U-He's ZebraCM, which you can probably download by searching for it on Google. I always use that plug-in for pads and whatnot that I include in ambient songs (lots of useful functions that can make a great ambient instrument).
The background ambience you mentioned isn't wind/water, but it's actually pink noise. The fact that the pink noise is in the background really makes it sound like wind/water. I also added a volume variation to it, which is one of the many functions ZebraCM offers you. Great stuff really, you should definitely try it out for yourself! :D

Making a 7 minute song out of only simple pads and pink noise is a challenging task which requires a lot of patience. Not only the 7 minutes of recording can get a little hectic and boring after a while, but there's the whole part of trying to find a good start to your song and an end as well, the mastering after the recording and the instrument creation before. It can be really nerve racking if you're starting with music but as you get more experienced it comes pretty naturally (though I do have about 100 failed ambient songs in my computer xD).

As you're recording the ambient song you should always keep an eye on the current length of the song. In most music applications I believe you can switch between measures and length, and as ambient songs don't (always) require measures then I usually keep it on length mode while I'm recording. If after two minutes you think your song is starting to sound monotone and boring you should try adding some variations to it (like the darker part of the song around 4-5 mins), as you can notice the start of the song is a little more brighter, happier, but as time goes by it progressively becomes darker.
One last thing I like doing in ambient songs is adding some little "easter eggs" (like really quiet footsteps at the end of a song, or in this song the really bright pad at 2:35).
If you use enough variations then you'll get a great song (if you make any be sure to send me some links, I'll be glad to check out what you can come up with! ;D)

So yeah, if you're making an ambient song like that you should definitely keep those few things in mind. I'll send you a PM with a few links to plug-ins and also my YouTube channel (I usually post a sh*tload of songs there haha ;D)
Anyways, that's about all I have to say about the creation of ambient songs (if there's anything else you want to know just send me a PM, I'll see if I can help you out)

Cheers

[My Quiet Place (Updated)]

OH.

HOLY CRAAAAAAAP.

Gravey this is why I love you. Seems we have both remixed a song of ours. :P

This is wonderfully done. I have absolutely nothing to complain about with this. The original is great, but.. god damn, man! You've done an excellent job reworking it! The sounds are so much more crisp, the mixing is fantastically done, the percussion is to die for. The glitches aren't my thing, but I can't complain about them, they fit wonderfully into the piece. The guitar section for the first breakdown is really well done too, sounds like a super video game.

I've been thinking about going back and re-doing some of my older stuff.

This is great hearing this song again. And it's great to hear you again! I'm sad that we've lost touch, but it's good to know how much you've improved on your music. :D

10/10
5/5
I wish I could go higher.
-Kw <3

Gravey responds:

Thanks!

You need to get your FL 8 running again. So we can collaborate on more music like this.

-Gravey-

[[dB] Kaizerwolf]

There you go! :D

I can honestly say I haven't reviewed any song on the portal in a long time, so pardon me if it seems a bit weird.. :P

I like it, plain and simple. Minimal percussion, which is something I like in an ambient piece. The guitar is actually really well done, most artists (like myself D:) are terrible with doing anything relating to guitar sounds. It is a really calming song, and although you reuse samples, and possibly melodies, I can't really tell! It never gets boring.

It was worth the wait, my friend. No hard feelings. I don't get angry about much, and certainly not a late gift. :)
10/10
5/5
Favorite

Well done.
-Kw

Decibel responds:

Haha, I'm not so good with guitar either dude, I just happened to make this sound serene and stuff.

I'm glad you like it! :D

[Exoskeleton on the Inside]

Cool.

This is actually pretty interesting. I like how the song is constantly changing, as soon as I'm about to get bored with a section, something comes in or fades out. You're really challenging the boundaries of musical theory here, at least that's how it seems to me. A lot of the melodies work well together, although they might not be in the same keys and such. My only complaint is that it's a bit too harsh on the ears at some points, but like, around 35 seconds, that sounds really well done.

Overall, not bad!
8/10
4/5

Keep it up. :D

VTAEP responds:

Well thanks man! Check out my other stuff too, it's all the same kind of stuff. Just lots of changes, and weirdness. Needless to say, it isn't all good of course, there is a fair amount of bad. But, there is some stuff that is very well done, so you can be the judge! Thanks again for the words.

[[JL] Tetris Theme Remix]

In the tide of other tetris remixess...

This one isn't awful. It's got a few detrimental parts to it though;

1. The bass. It is way too overpowering, the percussion is drowned out and the melodies are somewhat distorted by it.

2. Lead synth at 1:23. It hurts my ears a lot. It's just got a keening quality to it that just doesn't sound right.

Now, this isn't a bad remix. In fact, I've heard plenty of Tetris mixes that are just plain awful. With a little work though, this one could have some potential. You've got good percussion, which is a very good foundation for a remix like this.

Overall, not bad, but it could use some work.
7/10
4/5
4.11 / 5.00 (- 0.22)

-From Kw with <3

JohnLeprechaun responds:

Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely keep those in mind.

[Krowe - Juggernaut]

The fuuuuck.... ):

This song... makes my dubstep entry sound like SHIT. Legit.

Alrighty. Let's get this review train rolling.

Percussion: Nice nice. I hear nothing that sounds like xKore, you've gone and made it your own. The percussion is very clear, everything flows well and I don't hear any clipping. Well done!

Bass: Wobblin' like a weeble. Nice work here. The bass is very well done, the sound is not overpowering, it leaves room for treble sounds.

Other Sounds/Synths: Good job here! The other trance elements added to the song are very nicely done. The melodies work swimmingly with the sounds you've chosen.

Mastering: Also an A+! The mix is clear and concise, nothing overlaps or overpowers. I don't hear any master clipping, everything flows well.

Overall, awesome job. Puts my dubstep to shame. Definitely well deserved...

10/10
5/5
Favorite
Download

It deserves a spot on my exlusive dubstep playlist for my iPod. Very well done, I'll be looking for more!

From Kw with <3

KroweMusic responds:

Thank you so much for the detailed review! I love getting these!

And don't be so hard on yourself! I hate it when people say they're stuff is shit compared to mine! Buck up man ^_^

I'm honored to be on your dubstep playlist, sire. *bows*

Thanks for checking it out :)

[<MWA> Yellow]

Great scott!

MJATTIE. :DDDDDD

Good sir, you have made dubstep. The type of dubstep that I enjoy! Let us get started then.

1. Bassline: It's not terribly prevalent, but man does it work well here. The ambience of this song would really be ruined by too heavy a bass, so I think what you've got is wonderful. The wobbling that I do here is also nicely done.

2. Percussion: Good job here. It's not too heavy, and I don't hear any clipping. My one little nagging would be the snare drum, it seems very low and flat to me. Still, it works well in this song, so you don't need to alter anything in my opinion.

3. Synths and such: Excellent! You've really mastered ambient sounds and things, it all flows really nicely. There are the background synths to keep a beat going, and it works really well. The strings you've added in are heavenly as well!

4. Mastering: Overall clear quality. I don't detect any clipping or masking of sounds. Everything works well together.

Good sir, you have made an excellent song here! I'll have to look for more of this.

10/10
5/5
4.60 / 5.00 (+ 0.058)

Nice work. Keep it up!
-Kw with <3

mjattie responds:

KAIZzzz! HOW ARE U XD

Soo back to business:

1) I think I should've made the bass a bit more present though, it's not hurting enough with earphones on (a)

2) The snare has no high frequencies, but I liked the "originality" of that xd

3) Thanks!!!11 xd

4) I masterd it in logic, so maybe going to do that more often (a) (Logic has some great meters and mastering stuff)

Thanks, search for james blake (his EP's are really awesome and his new untitled album is nice too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRb3R G-zx4 (download it or buy it xd)