square-spirit's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Bastion (RX3 Remix)]

Good song! here are my thoughts:
one thing i didn't like of your song was how everything seemed to have a high pass filter attached to it, this makes many of your synths sound thin, for example during the breakdown section (starting at about 0:45) the cymbals, the main square lead, and the noise rise at about 1:25 feel thin, and the bass feels too high. it makes the song seem like it's missing a foundation and it lacks fullness which is really necessary during the breakdown. of course your song doesn't sound professional quality, part of the reason why has to do with that.

good parts included the piano intro, which was quite excellent in building a mood, and the bass drop (2:30) which surprised me (in a good way!), though i do agree that the hardcore dubstep is a bit out of place in this song.

[Escaping Earth]

Nice work on the synths, they are diverse and interesting.

You need bigger drums. You have some beats entering at about 0:30 but that doesn't cut it. I mean, a big kick and snare that drives the piece would really work wonders. sometimes in the big moments of your song there is a lack of something in the low register, which makes the song feel like it's missing some sort of a foundation. a kick drum can fill that void.

Overall pretty good, actually

[Plague Doctor]

Well put together.

Specific thoughts:
At some point in the song you should hand over control from the main aggressive saw synth. 3 minutes of the same synth and at the same rhythm playing the same set of chords is rather tiring. Introduce a new melody and instrument; alternatively, use something you already have, the slides on the buzzy square bass are really great and i'm surprised you didn't bring that bass out more.

be careful with mixing. in quiet parts that main synth is slightly overpowering. In climax sections you bring in the drums, bass, etc. and the main synth is somewhat drowned out.

keep making music!

[Full Moon]

Not bad!
something specific...
Do not build your music around chords and chord progressions. Build it around melodies. In the beginning the big saw plays blocked chords. Then at the breakdown the bubbly sine synth plays broken chords. Additionally the saw synth uses the same rhythm for each chord, and similarly the sine synth plays the broken chords with the same rhythm, so there is no rhythmic differentiation between chords either. So it turns out pretty unmemorable. Chords are only the supporting framework; the melody should do most of the work. So start with a melody.

Also I very much agree with what the below user said about 3:10.

good luck

jjrocks2002 responds:

Thanks for the advice!

[Can you say,Bring dabass?]

great beat, but gets repetitive. the plucking at :50 is cool. at some parts the sound got very static-y (ex. 1:00), more than others. work on your transitions, especially at 2:50 that was pretty abrupt. entertaining.

Jahn33 responds:

Thanks! Glad i could... Entertain you

[Geist]

the bass is pretty boring and flat, at least in the beginning. nice drums. the cd scratching sounds are a nice touch. but you have to be careful and don't go overboard with the glitches, otherwise it becomes uncomfortable to listen. 1:00 breakdown was great. melody does get boring after a while.

TheyCallMeCaudex responds:

Thanks for the feedback. I guess the bass is a little flat in the beginning. I'm still learning the synthesizer. I'm glad you liked the scratching, and I'll keep that in mind not to go overboard.

[Sinking]

very good. the drums are a bit rough, especially when you have many kick drums in a row.
the melody seems stuck in the middle voice. maybe you could have the melody played by the bass sometimes.
i like the buildups. nothing was sudden and there were smooth transitions.
2:50 was awesome. additionally, the quick background notes near the end (4:30) were great. they could have been used throughout the song.
overall, excellent.

[Aelias - Creatures [Cut]]

this is really cool. fitting as background music. the drums come in a little suddenly at :34. didn't listen to the full version yet, but it's probably good.

[Hypersound]

nice job!
i don't know, i felt that it could have built up faster, because the beginning (1 minute and 30 seconds long) seemed to drag. since the song is about "hurtling through space and stars" then you should get to the active middle part faster. similar idea for the recapitulation of the beginning at 2:00.

speaking of the middle part, that was great. you really captured the feeling. you really have a talent for the big sounds. keep it up

[Searching]

Hey, first review.
Nicely made synths. I like all of them!
However, the first half of the song doesn't seem to go anywhere. You could have completed the first 2 minutes of the song in about 30 seconds. The chord progression is also quite strange.
After the 3rd minute or so, you make some great changes with the chords, and it really makes me want to dance. It feels like it should resolve to a B major, but it never does.
6 minutes is quite long for a song. Cut things out? Try not to make the whole song as trancelike as the climax.
It's a great piece of art, please keep making trance!

TerraNation responds:

thanks for the review,
well length sometimes is very important when it comes to trance especily this kind of trance.
Short versions will never be accepted as a release i have already try that.
Mastering version might be even 7min beacuse of the intro needs to be longer. Newgrounds usely dont like these kinda songs to many kids who dont know what trance is :)