Nav's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[<DjR> Elysium (Rawmin Remix)]

Review, coming from someone who knows the song

First of all, good recreation of the original. I was expecting the Elysium Plus line to kick in, and for it to go up a bit more... that could've actually been a cool little plus thingy to add in. The line is pretty much... exactly the same, except slower! Good job!

Now, issues. There was no real building or release of tension, keeping people waiting for the melody. Oh wait, you got the stuff in a weird order :P But still, there wasn't enough building and breaking. At least, not until 2:00. Then, you RE-introduce the melody (you should've waited till this part to reintroduce it) then the kick just kinda comes back in. No build up.

Maybe we could collab on this. I know trance workings, and I have a good happy hardcore piano. I also understand DJ structure, and how to do successful builds and breaks.

Overall, though, I love anything released by Evolution (Plus) records, so this is an instant 10/10, 5/5. You should maybe send it to Scott Brown: usually, the major hardcore producers are pretty nice guys who make music for fun. If you really extend this track and put some major work into it, maybe he'll put it on a B-side of some unimportant release or something! It does need major work, though. Nice job on getting the parts down, though! :)

Rawmin responds:

Wow, thanks for the epic review, lol! Gave me lots of stuff to think about! Indeed a collab would be fun!

[Carf - The Void Pt1 (Artc]

Artcore eh?

Well, lets see how it matches up to that old ruffneck tunage that I love so much. Intro is definitely fine. Intro break works, but would be better if layered or replaced with a sampled breakbeat IMO.

Alright. Kickdrum works. I can't say that it doesn't, but it doesn't fit the style I know. The way I see this genre, there's the attack of the kick, and then the booow (square-ized) tails of the kicks fill up the gaps.

Mid drop sounds more creepy, techno-ish, and modern that the ruffneck ones, which is good! Taking advantage of new technology rocks.

Annnnd into the hoovers and (fake) 303s. Remember, hoovers are better with pitchbend! It makes em freaking creepy.

Gotta say, even with all of my criticism, this would definitely fit in as one of the slower artcore songs I've heard. Good job!

9/10, 5/5

[ParagonX9 - Infiltration]

Damn.

Way too hard to be Hard NRG. I've got a few Hard NRG mixes, and they basically sound like hard trance at 150. This is definitely a touch harder. Maybe bordering on slow hardcore, since it's really got forward energy, and acid, which is necessary in freeform IE acidcore.

Anyway, I would DJ the hell out of your tracks, if only they were club-mixable. So, if you started making FULL songs, I'd start spinning em.

[p4c-Follow Me [PreliminaryMix]]

Ah deep house finally...

Listening now.

Intro is nice. Definitely mixable. Only issue is that that synth is louder than the kick. That can't happen. That synth must be quieter than the kick.

Second, in that intro part, I think you do a bit too much with the synth. However, a great groove is established before that.

At 2:00, you simply drop the momentum. There's no breakdown or anything to make it feel good, it just drops back to the kick. Maybe keep up the energy for a few more bars, then put in a breakdown in the middle, like most deep tunes have. At least that's what I feel you should do. Most tunes drop the kickdrum for a couple of bars at least once in the song.

Love that background synth at around 3:00, the one tapping in the background. Bass is great too. Overall coolness. Very minimal. Very chill. Could use a bit more percussion to spice it up, maybe some clicks 'n' cuts here or there to tech it out a bit.

My main issue is that it doesn't go anywhere. Most deep songs I know really build up to something. Listen to Stimming - Short Story. The whole tune is a chill groove, but it really builds to something near the end. Speaking of the end, it cuts off a bit fast here. Try extending that. A few bars without an instrument, remove another, and another, etc. until the kick is the only thing left. It really aides in mixing, as it's hard to lose elements of tunes that are strong throughout the tune.

Now, my main problem: The mixing. First of all, you need a lot more highs. It feels really flat, It could use some sparkle. However, the hat risks becoming abrasive, so maybe EQ that down a touch and EQ the master up. Also, as I mentioned earlier, that lead synth-thing is too loud. It overtakes the kick. The mix could also use more bass. Kick doesn't feel like it has bass at all. It should be a short transient bass/mid/treble attack, with a slight bass decay to give it some continuous bass. Lemme reference another house tune then get back to ya.

Some good tunes to A/B with:
Stimming - Short Story
(It builds to something in the end)

Two Armadillos - Snowflakes
(It really shows how a buildup can remain chill while still having energy. It's also quite pretty =))

Alex Douche - Invasion
(Uses an extremely similar lead in good balance. Great mixing reference, as is Snowflakes)

If you need any of those tracks, hit me up on AIM (NavAudio) or MSN ([e-mail]).

Overall, though, I enjoyed it. I might consider spinning a later mix in a deep house set! :D

9/10, 5/5

PS: How'd ya do that synth at 2:35 that comes in? I've been looking for a synth like that since I heard something similar in a breaks track (Slyde - Frequency (NAPT Remix)).

p4c responds:

haha yeah after the 2 minute mark i was like "crap i need to make this longer homecoming is today and the dj wants to use it" so i jst kinda rebuilt it up again haha. it did end up working out pretty well though haha the crowd was roarin :D so in terms of mixing, ill be obsessing over that now, and probably ill come up with a better progression to get it like you talk about.

ill be sure to check out those, i can probably find them but ill get to you later if i cant. and ill pm u about the synth. for anyone else that's curious, here it is:

in reason, i used a Malstrom with resonant noise and sine as the oscillators. i made it spread a little bit for depth purposes, then i gave them low decay and sustain, a moderately small release, and then hooked them up to a strong compressor to get the snappy sound. i then hooked that up to a slight delay line for 3 steps. and finally, reverb is at the end of the line.

in other words, u need a sine wave and noise [probably highpassing is good] with a short decay and sustain.

thanks for the great in depth info!

[p4c-Midnight]

Kay...

So, this is the genre I DJ when I'm not DJing hardcore. I think... Wait, no it's not. That'd be deep house. YOU DIRTBAG LIAR. The intro seemed like deep house. Who knows, it might turn out to be that anyway.

So let's see here then.

Guitar is a bit simple. Generally I'd expect a guitar to play chords, and to fill the soundscape a lot more. The guitar sounds really dry now. Try some longer warm reverbs to streeettttttccchhhhh out the sound, and create layers of itself upon itself for a warm, inviting, filling sound.

I really like the noise here. Used quite well. Panning there is cool, but the panning on the guitar was too harsh.

Kick does have too much low and a touch too many mids. Try lowering both a touch, then doing some tight compression with a medium/short attack to get the little "pop" kick that stuff of this genre seems to have.

Make it longer! Do it. I might DJ it if the rest of the song is more like the intro. Think Trentemoller here (the o has a slash through it in his name).

The buildups don't build up enough tension really... try the ascending noise trick... Going up, and up and up! Then add more reverb, and MORE reverb, and MORE REVERB until it's SMOTHERED in reverb!!! Then drop it all for a nice clean epic climax buildup! Or at least, that's how they do it normally.

Anyway, cool tune. I'm liking the vibes here. Mixing is tight as far as it goes. I can't hear any strange clipping and distortion.

Btw don't lowpass that guitar.

9/10, 5/5

I don't have a new song up yet, but I might in a few days. I'll PM to let ya know.

p4c responds:

well then ill have to think of a better way to do it :D

haha yeah initially this was going a deep house route but then i needed to make a song to throw at my friend for a rave so i tried to convert this to that. but then i hated the supersaw strategy and went this route. haha it was a meandering path but i think it came out interesting

im kind of split about lowpassing the guitar--i like its prevalence as almost part of the high percussion but at the same time it seemed almost a little but painful and crackly so i might just snuff out the really high parts. though i intended it as more a background feel for the song rahter than the forefront so i didnt make it too complicated, but maybe reverb would be good, now that you mention it :D

i have ideas for how the progression would go, but i have another song as a priority first so after that ill come back :D please do pm me, it shall be leet skeet. peace

[p4c-I'llBeLovin[LostSoul rmx]]

Cool.

Listening. Nice intro. I can see it in a music video. Like the fade in from white. Expecting hiphop, but it went into relaxing rhodes house instead! WTF?! Lol, I think I like this better than hiphop.

Lessee, comments, comments. Voice sounds somewhat chorused during the chorus, and I don't really like that effect... feels a tough to wobbly.

Ah, there's my hiphop... 1:40. I don't like hiphop, but it's alright in this setting.

Ok normal piano? What the hell? :P I like. Cool soloing. Only problem is that it's panned far to the right, which offsets the balance a touch. You could solve that by panning the vox slightly left, to balance it out. Or you could just center the solo.

One last negative comment before the positives: Mixing sounds a touch off to me. Could use a bit more bass, and maybe a bit less treble for a touch of warmth.

Now, positives. I really like the bare bones section at 0:30. I'm really partial to well played rhodes, even if they are panned oddly.

The bass, even though it's really simple, is also nice, and I love that pitchbend on it! Fits perfectly. Used well to create tension and release.

I can't say I've heard the original, so I can't compare in that respect, but it seems that you used a lot of the source. Sounds quite professional, like a pop remix of it. I approve.

Just a note: If it's signed to Warner, don't expect me to buy it! :P

Anyway, I hope this review helps. Mind checking out my most recent track: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/174208

Thanks! :D

9/10, because we're not perfect, are we? and 5/5

p4c responds:

haha you know it! the house is where its at :D

yeah, the chorus isn't chorus'd, carey's original already had an effect like that and i jst split it into two channels and panned them to extreme sides to make room for the main vox, so teh wobblyness mgiht just be her voice hehe. or maybe not.

ive also had trouble balancing panning since i don't use headfones or monitors or anything so i can probably fix that if i sat down with one of those :) but yeah, ill take the mixing advice into consideration.

finally, don't worry--its signed to the universal music group haha

thanks so much for the thorough review! stuiff like this really helps, il see ur stuff in a sec.

[DJ Derrick--Trance-Hop]

O.O

Sweet.

Ok, now for some actual info.

This is like trance basically... with a hiphop backbeat. That's all the hiphop influence here... I'd say trance.

Ok, now you want Tips too?! Fine :P

Instruments: Nice sound. There's this arp that I noticed around 1:40 that I thought was a bit simple sounding for this thing. The bass is very nice, phat and round. Lead synth at 2:07 is a bit loud, seems to be stealin' the basic lead's thunder, if ya know what I mean. If you don't, then I mean it's too loud, and has a touch too many mids.

Percussion: Freakin' sweet. Gotta love dem 909 claps. Kick could use a bit of hiphop fuck-ery if you know what I mean, in the sense that it could use a bass booooooooooooooooooo... like the commercial hiphop songs have. Aka, a 909 kick lowpassed underneath.

Arrangement: Is good. And basic. And short. I say extend it. Make it DJ-able. That build leading into the second 'main part' is quite nice. It starts and ends kinda abruptly, though. Definitely not DJ-able if someone wanted to. So maybe you could. Then again, I can't see where this would EVER fit into a DJ set, unless it was like a Trance-Fusion set, with interludes. I saw that once in a happy hardcore set, some of the songs had like... house-y or hiphop-ey middles and happy hardcore outsides...

Anyway, pretty kewl. Few issues.

9/10, 5/5

Yodamanjaro responds:

Yeah, good point about it being mixable. Vocals will soon follow. :)

Thanks for the review man.

[Abyssal Industry]

REVIEW TIEM LOL

Ok... lemme make some comments then. Haven't done a review in a while, so might as well start here.

First of all, the good parts: background ambiance is fucking awesome. The intro is definitely amazing. Really creepy, and definitely threatening. I like.

However, the main part needs some work. Let's focus on each element individually.

Reese: Sounds pretty... extremely basic. Just a saw filtered 'n' stuff. Nothing really interesting going on modulation/filter-wise with that. Tip: Use high and low and band-pass filters to good effect. Mod mod mod, resample, mod more. Also, the line is all over the map. Reeses should stay pretty stable note-wise. Keep it simple. Just pitchbend a lot and modulate the hell out of it. Reeses aren't melodic instruments. It's ok to have a loop used, and just modulating that loop.

Drums: I gotta say, I liked the effects on the drums. Panning was cool, filtering was interesting, but they really lacked punch. The kick and snare really need to stick out... but they all felt pushed to the back among the loud other percussion. Try layering them with single hits, which should overshadow the reese. Some artists will even lightly side-chain for more dramatic effects.

Bass: NEEDS MOAR. MOAR BASS. My floor was not shaking. It has to be shaking. Visit some old skool tunes. Origin Unknown - Valley of the Shadows. Q Project - Champion Sound (Alliance Remix). Both of those tunes are fucking boring. However, they are the BASSis of dnb as we know it. They founded it all, they were what all this modern bullshit is built up off of. At 1:15, I can hear a sub down there, but you really gotta bring it out man! VIBRATE THAT FLOOR!!! So what if the reese is barely heard?! Listen to: Unknown Error - Sucker Punch. Turn the volume up ALL THE FUCKING WAY. And listen. See what you hear. It still sounds freaking awesome. Know why? Bass. Bass bass bass.

Arrangement: This section is really just an afterthought, but mostly dnb has a 64 bar intro, 64 bar drop 1, 32 bar bridge, 64 bar drop 2, and a 32 bar outro. I understand why you wouldn't use that, though, since this would be for madness. However, that's the recommended structure for most songs intended to be played out. Just consider it.

Overall, though, the blend is nice, and the song feels quite hectic. You're definitely on the right track. I can hear some awesome elements in there!

So, since I dropped ya a review, could you hand me one in return? Nav - Drifting Higher [NG Cut]... http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/174208. Thanks :)

5/5. 8/10.

S3C responds:

Hey, Nav, thanks for the tremondously helpful review! One of the best if not THEE most informative review I've ever recieved.

extremely basic ;_;...yeah I know. But there is definetly lots of modulation going on, and I DID actually pitchbend the fuck out of it haha :P I'll try that combination of filters, i used low pass and notch in this one, as for the resampling, i know youve suggested to do it in the past, but I just detune the saw and throw effects and automate it...ill definetly hit you up for more info in this area.

layering the drums is something i planned to usually do, but not this time around lol.

i gotta agree with the bass critique, ive had people tell me that before. I use headphones, and thats all I got unfortunately, so I cant feel the boom in that section. and shut the fuck about modern "bullshit", its not modern bullshit, it means TIMES ARE CHANGING nothing stays in its pure roots forever.

as far as the arrangment, i have indeed used that template to make dnb in the past, just as an outline to spread out my ideas. I usually dont like to follow standard structures, but its definetly something ill always consider (and see why its necessary for club play)

I'm really glad to hear you think I'm going somewhere man, its means a lot to me coming for you :D With a review of this magnitude, how could I refuse returning one? Of course I will when I get the chance! Thanks again dude. These specific suggestions will really give me a clearer vision of what I need to work on!

[Deathwish (Quarl Remix)]

Hahaha

Crazy! I was totally not expecting that :P

And yes, I am here to tell you how the drums suck XD. Kick needs more sub, sounds like a weak thump, and snare sounds like a 909 snare. Try some layering for more depth and texture in the drums.

Reese is cool as hell, freaking awesome on that end.

Thanks for doing this, brought a smile to my face :)

10/10 becuz u rock

Quarl responds:

I do layer the drums, but I put an emphasis on the "909" cause I like the way it sounds. I actually started using it because trogdar used it in our collab and I liked it. You have reason, search for the tresor snare. That's what I've been using lately.

Also, I'm glad you enjoyed it :3

[Italo Disco (The Android)]

lol

lol