HybrisHybrid's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[{DA} Shi3t -teaser-]

Perfect except for clipping

What an asshole - that last guy said he voted 5/5 but you only have 1 vote on this song and the average is 3!. I'll vote 5 just because of that.

I'll verify that starting out at 1:53 you have some clipping issues, the level on the kick is too high and needs to be lowered, limited, compressed or all three. At 2:36 it sounds terrible, I mean the music is badass so its extremely disappointing. You got to fix that!

The buildup in this one is awesome, couldn't have been done much better. The leads are sick you got plenty of classic trance elements mixed with your own flavor.

It looses a lot of power at 3:58, I think only because that synth is too quiet. Its sounds like its supposed to break down a little bit but maybe too much.

This song would easily earn a 10/10 if not for the clipping - It hurt enough to earn you down to a 7 because it just ruined the song. Keep it up man and try to fix that shiz.

JonZero responds:

Hey thanks for all the tips. I knew something could of been done better and you nailed it. I'll go fix all that and re-upload the song. Thanks.

[AlxEllis - Lithium]

Funky base, progresses well but too slow and weak

I like the bassline and the synths in there work nicely, but overall it's very weak. The whole song progresses very well actually and has some cool variations inside.

I think this has a lot of potential with a few tweaks, not even changing the music, just the way it comes out. For example, the synths in the background (including the string synth) should be much louder, I could barely hear them. Compression on the main synths and better use of effects would be an alternative to just cranking up the volume. I'd also suggest adding some seasoning to the main synths, such as an automated filter, gates, delay, chorus (FYI when I say "main synths" I mean the one that comes in at 0:30 and the one the comes in at 0:44). Overall the song sounds like it would rather be hanging around the 150-165 bmp range and is, to put it bluntly, tediously slow. The bass wasn't exactly pounding either, same kind of touchup on the bass would improve it greatly. Lastly, the overall mix could used some aftertouch - my speakers barely want to whisper this track. A lot of compression and EQ would help here.

Not trying to be an asshole and push my ideas of a good track, its just my opinion. Obviously I enjoyed it enough to listen to it for 15 minutes as I wrote this review... Anyways, I hope you consider my advice (let me know if you do)... good luck!

AlxEllis responds:

Thanks for reviewing lol its cool i know your not being an asshole i can see you have taken some time to review this and yes i know what you mean about the synths now that i listen to it more thanks for reviewing :)

AlxEllis

[The Beauty of Rain and Snow]

Cleverly mixed

Listening with headphones FYI. This track is eerie, strange and best of all original. This is more the style I used to go for but failed in the face of a track like this.

The progression was just insane. Crystal clean sounds throughout the mix. The intro built up perfectly and the entire song expanded very well.

The drum, especially the kick is overpowering at some points (mostly :53 and 2:10) and the whole mix could use some better cover on the lower end of the spectrum which my headphones tend to exaggerate if anything. The ultra bright piano/bell sound was perfect for the part it played. I especially liked the synth that enters at :27 and ~1:31 (lead, not off beat bassish synth).

Really enjoyed this on, can't wait to hear it on the speakers hopefully it sounds as good as it did through the headphones! Downloaded and added to the collection, favorited and 5/5. I'll probably vote again when I hear it on speaker. Almost went 9/10 because of the kick...

SessileNomad responds:

wow awesme review, i dont think ive ever had one that eleborated as well as you did

thanks very much, and yeah i know my kick is overpowering at some parts, i actually hear some rattling at the intro, but lets not butcher my song, i would fix it, but i actually have no clue how to master,limit,eq, and all that jive, im too damn lazy to figure it out XD

[Edge of Faith]

Didn't like guitar/drums, overall great track

I was really like it up to the grungy guitar that came in. Never heard the original but the power chords just didn't match the mix. The guitar solo was good, may have even been better alone. Beautiful song without that.

The drums at 1:17 were... well boring. So generic sounding for such a unique track! They should have been much stronger at this point with that guitar coming in. Of course not everyone can't go out and record real drums, but they sounded to synthesized - no variations in the snare, only subtle velocity difference. The rest of the drums weren't too exciting but fit perfectly for the atmosphere and sounded great.

The synth the enters at 0:37 and 3:12 is awesome, I love it and it played well, especially when it first came in.

At around 4:40 some of the instruments sounded like they were clashing for amplitude, only lasted for a few seconds and wasn't too detrimental. Great ending to the piece. Giving this an 7 because I very much like it, but lost a few points from me because of what is mentioned in this review and the fact that its a cover of a video game song.

NemesisTheory responds:

well you can't please everyone, right? that's the cool thing about having an opinion. :P I personally think the guitars match just fine!

about the variations, that I can agree with, but like I said in a few reviews before, having it variate sort of took attention away from the foreground for some reason, whatever I did I couldn't get rid of that... sooooooo I'll have to see about getting some new rockish drum kits to help these out :P

also, demerits for it being a cover?
you ofcourse realise this is the videogame genre and it's 80% remix, 20% original, yes?
h well. :P

Thanks for the review!

[Breathe In Frozen Air]

Well written, needs some better effects/synths.

Off to a good start... The first synth is a very unique and clean arp that floats perfectly on the mix. Definitely my favorite of the track. The word that comes to mind for the bass is groggy. Wouldn't have been my pick for a bassline but it's texture actually worked well for this track. A lot of the other synths sound very basic, like unaltered MIDI presets.

I like how everything dropped at 1:07 and came in with something fresh. Only up to 1:30 I can already say this song has a very pleansant and diverse mixture of sounds. I like how they are coming together ~2:20. The drop at 2:30 was too unexpected and sounded thin. Maybe keep some percussion playing in the background (just a hihat, bass kick, etc.) or leaving another one of the synths in.

Some more effects could really bring this together more, especially reverb and compression. I get the feeling like you're focused on writing good music, but not so much on mastering it and making it sound as strong as it could. Overall I think it sounds like it has potential to be much stronger than it already is.

The ending came together well and in good time, but still dropped a little unexpectedly. I would suggest ending where you started, on the root (I'll assume you considered that, but I think it would have worked much better for this song). To reiterate, I think the song could have been even better, but musically was well constructed, enough that it still gets my five.

Nessbeatsfox responds:

Hey thanks a lot Hybris. To be honest, this was the first song I actually sat down and really tried to write when I got Fruity Loops. You're right, my main focus on this one was to write the song, not necessarily make it sound perfect (plus I'm still learning the program and just recently learned how to mess with the mixer). As far as the bass goes, I write a lot of rock/metal, and I guess I'm just used to a hard clean sounding bass. That's probably why I liked it.

I spent probably 45 minutes playing with the last 2 seconds of the song and finally just gave up and made it end the way it does. I really didn't know what to do with it. Thanks again for the review!

[Scribble Scrabble]

Not bad at all just sounds unfinished

Definitely needs work but I like where this one is going. I've been trying to use reason and as a long time FL user I'll give you credit because reason is much more difficult to use in my opinion.

Its a little repetitive and it hints at a lack of effort on your part. Definitely could use a bassline or some lower tones at the least. I think some some strings or some soft synths in the mix would help as well. I do like how it progresses and how the two synths flow together - you did a very good job with that and shows you have the ability to make this work.

I really think the drums is what killed it and you know this - so why not fix it? Go back mix up the drums and even add a few more instruments to it, it would be much better. This is definitely a good start.

AndWHEEEEE responds:

I doubt I will do anything with it. It was just something I mixed up quick to get some practice on my keyboard. Uploaded it to see what opinions I could get. Who knows though. Might save it for a rainy day and fix it. Thank you for the feedback. It helps me out alot. Reason isn't to hard to use. It just that there is a ton of shit it can do. But I have never used anything else so I can't compare it to anything. Thanks again.

[Plastique]

Like the main beat but weak overall

I like the sounds you used because they're reminiscent of gameboy synths but honestly, they're weak. I think they could actually work here, but maybe some effects/eq could beef them up a bit? I wanted to say the mastering sounded amateurish but I actually don't think thats the case, it just sounds like there is no mastering.

Took a while to get the beat going but worth the wait. I like the toms used early on and they set my ears up for the main beat well. I like how it breaks down aroudn 2:30 and I like how it comes back in, minus the new synth you added in there. For the part where the beat comes in at about 3:11 I'd like to hear something more melodic that ties the track together, not some extra static.

The sounds are unique and its got a good forward pull throughout but overall the track is repetetive almost to the point where I lose interest. It works without the presence of a strong melody, but could still use one. I don't think it needs something completely new or different, but at the very least some more subtle variations would help throughout.

The beginning theme worked good as a beginning... but not so well as an end. Felt like you planted a seed and let this badass beat grow for 4 minutes... but then it up and decided it wanted to shrivel up into seed that it came from - just didn't work for me on this track.

Hope I don't sound too harsh, just offering my opinion. Overall I really liked the beat but there where those things I mentioned that I didn't like so take it or leave it. I'll give you a 4/5.

ericdrebin responds:

Thank you. I really appreciate your candid and in-depth critique. I'm so glad that you not only decided to review this track, but also that you reviewed it so well.

I was at a loss with this piece. I knew it wanted to go somewhere, but I couldn't figure out how to get it there. It took me about a week of messing around to come up with the song up to the breakdown at 2:30, but I couldn't figure out where to go from there. So I just slapped some cliches together to wrap it up.

But thanks again for the review. I'm definately gonna go back and rework some of the parts to try and male a stronger track outta this.

[Castle Augundus ~~ Part 2 [V2]]

5/5 DL

You're not the first to use reverb like that but I don't think i've ever heard it on classical music. It sounds very clean and very original and fit the texture of the song perfectly. There were some parts where the reverb was just a notch overdone but practically harmless to the song (and all i have is earphones that tend to paint the correct picture).

The song provided the feeling of stumbling apon a dark mysterious castle - I'll assume by the title of the song this was somewhere close to your aim. Even if not I really like the overall mysterious atmosphere of the song that came out from both the melodies and instruments playing them, as well as the effects. The song even loops well.

The drum line could have been stronger in my opinion, but still worked for the feel of the song. The hihat was one of the few things that seemed to have too much, or a bad type of reverb.

Overall 5/5 10/10 dl and plenty of listens in the future - hope to hear this in a good flash one day.

Zero123Music responds:

I am still a N00b with FL

I am rubbish with drums and effects.

I tried my best and with the 10 you gave me I am pretty glad

Thankyou

[Dance With Me (Harx Remix)]

Remix eh

Can't say much to a remix - I've never heard the original so its hard to judge how much work you actually did on it - but regardless the song sounds great, nice bass and I like the synth lines and overall structure/buildup. 5/5 and dl.

MLeth responds:

Hehe, I pretty much redid the whole song. The only thing from the original is the vocals so.. :D
Thanks alot!

[bold understanding of regret]

Interesting

The sounds inside this song themselves are badass. I felt a good vibe listening to this one and there was a lot of energy pushing this song forward. The rhythm you maintained was crisp and unique although only a little bit jumbled.

It sounds tired in a way and I don't know if I like that. There are several loops that come in and out but there are no outstanding variations. From 1:44 to 2:20 you gave yourself a chance to really build the energy back up, but you choose not to. It fit well for the groove of the song, being an ambient track, but my ears wanted something to ease me back into the rhythm or to just hear something new at that point.

I can give you props because the song is well balanced. The synths sound great as well as the drums, nothing too muffled and I can understand each part separately as I listen. I like how the piano is split between the left and right channel, you should do that more with everything else - but just the way you did without over doing it - the two channels speak back and forth evenly.

Overall sounds great and it was interesting - Respect and 8/10.

snayk responds:

Thanks for the review.

I understand what you're saying about the song being tired, though I'd rather call it repetitive because the word is more objective -- but my point -- I basically wrote the song up to 1:17 three weeks ago. I added the alternate melody yesterday along with that constant screeching violin instrument. That probably has something to do with the lack of diversity; I wasn't in a constant creative state of mind like I often am when I write songs.

I typically enjoy my songs more when they were put together from 0-100% in one sitting/day, but I still like this one quite a bit.

Thanks again. I'm glad you liked it.