EctiBot's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[You Know Nothing]

Brilliant!! Absolutely Brilliant! I LOVED the intro. excellent choice of synths, and I like how you didn't go for a standard chord progression there, but switched out the major chord you normally would expect at the end of the progression with a minor chord. ( I suck at talking about musical stuff, so that probably didn't make any sense XP).
Anyways, I really liked your melody work during the buildup as well :). I've always had a weakness for that kind of lead so I really enjoyed it up. You do a great job of building up to the drop.

The drop was pretty okay, but I felt like it lacked a proper subbass. Either the sub is extremely low, or there's no sub at all. I can't really tell because of the subby kick. Other than that the drop is pretty groovey :).

I did feel like you could have varied the second break a bit more. it sounds exactly the same as the first one at the start. I really liked what you did around 2:48. It helps to vary it a bit :).

The outro was done in a very smart and smooth way. I really liked how you did a transition directly from the drop to the outro melody :).
Overall a pretty solid track. My only complaint is the lack of a sub that is easily noticeable.

4/5 stars

[Review Request club]

Voltus responds:

well just put a subwoofer on your monitoring system and there you have it. there's actually quite a bit of subfrequency in this one. thanks for the review!!!

[Unshackling the Necromancer]

Lol this is just so far beyond me.....
Excellent piece Jay :D!
You do an awesome job with dynamics and variation of sound in this piece :).
I've always been a fan of tracks that kinda tell a story, and I feel like this does just that in an excellent way. You were able to convey the story of the Necromancer perfectly in the transitions, melodies, instruments, dynamics etc. A truly great piece.
Around 1:30 I felt like a lot of the notes clashed with eachother. Kinda sounds like some parts of Grieg's compositions. While it does sound messy, it still really captures the increase of action in the story, and I really don't think there's a need to change it. Depends if you value portraying the story more than making the track enjoyable for most people possible. Personally i value the first more, but that's just me :).

Overall a great track with wonderfull ideas and composition :D.
5 stars.

Jay-Turner responds:

Thanks for your review :) I'm glad you appreciate the dissonance haha. I think for me, the biggest problem with the piece is that it feels 'muddy'. But I'm really glad that you like the musicality of it!

You're right about the importance of the story. I think rather than making the piece, a piece by itself. I really wanted it to convey a feeling, and the feeling for me was not of pleasant melodies. The only motif I truly included is one that can be heard 0:24, I then repeated this at the end of the song on the lute. This is because the melody is meant to convey the emotional significance if something in the past for the Necromancer, something that isn't perhaps as evil and sinister.

I'm happy that you see what I was trying to do anyway :) Thanks.

[Dancing Sun]

I've been meaning to review this for some time actually. Never got around to it, but I'll do it now X3.
To me it seems like you have some real talent with making this kind of music. I love how you play with the melody and how you perfectly use the percussion to make the listener dance.
This track has it's faults though.

The main problem for me with this track was that it didn't really have any proper structure. There was no intro or drop. Everything just sounded like one, long break. When making dance you never want start of with everything you have, if you know what I mean. Try starting the track with ever a soft lead, or with just the chord progression. Then you can either modulate in the lead or just put it in directly if you want. After the intro there should be a break. The break can really consist of anything as long as it fits with the rest of the track. The most important thing with a break is that it sounds soft. It shouldn't be as powerful as the drop. Stronger than the intro, but weaker than the drop. This will help making the drop sound bigger than it actually is, and it's this effect that makes people jump up and dance. Just remember, the drop should always be the most powerful sounding part of a track, if you're not making big room or electro house that is.

Second problem with the song, was the part that started at 1:30. I didn't really get why you put that in. The melody that plays over the piano lead is in a totally different key than the rest of the song. Making a song in too different keys is never a good idea tbh, if you're not going for a real messy style that very few people actually enjoy. I just thought that part sounded horrible. To me it sounds like you might just have to move the entire melody one note up, and it should fix it.

The third problem, is that the song is way to repetetive. The melody is mainly the same throughout the entire track with some minor changes now and then. That's why it's important to have structure in your songs. A problem that I often struggled with when I started making dance, is that I made a melody that I think sounded awesome and thought that was all I needed for my track. It's not rly. I would say that for a full dance track, you would at least need 3 different melodies. 1 for the breaks, one for the intro, and one for the drop. This keeps the interest of the listener up.

The mixing is not bad, but could have been better. The kicks and clap clashes at times. Try turning down some of the low's of the clap, and turn down some of the high's of the kick.
Also, the mastering is a bit loud. Try turning down your levels a bit. the sound won't sound so muddy if you do that. It might also be because you're using maximus or something to boost your volume.

So overall I think you have great potential for dance. I actually think you might be more of a House producer actually, so you might want to try to make house music in the future.
The track has it's faults, but for your first attempt, this is pretty good actually :). My first was ALOT worse XD.
Just keep at it, and you'll get pro at it in no time ;)
-Ectisity

Exilious responds:

Wait. Are you reviewing THIS, or the revision? I revised this song, but whatever. I'll take any criticism I can get.

Ok. Yeah, this song wasn't all that great to be honest with you. XD

I really wish I could've done a better job with it, even in the revision. But, what's done is done.

I REALLY appreciate the big tip you gave me on transitions and intros. I always had a hard time trying to implement a proper transition or intro, but now I don't have to! Thanks for the great piece of advice, it'll definitely come in handy! :D

Yeah, there was variation in the melody. I actually did have one, but I didn't know where to put it, so it ended up not being used. :(

I'm not very good when it comes to mixing. Well, I'm better than I remember, but I always had an issue with my volume control. I know the essentials such as:

-The kick must be the loudest sound in the song.
-The clap must be lower than kick, but still noticeable.
-Hi and Open hats must be kept to a minimum volume, for the high end frequencies can become very annoying.
-Never have the melody too loud, or too low.

But what you said about Maximus is correct. I do use Maximus for my volume. Is that bad? Should I not do that? Oh gosh. That's ALL I've been doing. I use Maximus because it allows me to give my kicks a little more bass. Maybe I should only use it for certain sounds, I guess? I hope I'm right about that.

And I've always wanted to produce a house track. I just never knew where to start. Do you honestly think I'd be good in that genre? I like house music a lot. I just don't where to begin.

All in all, thank for the kind words and amazing CC. I really appreciate everything you said here, and will DEFINITELY take it all to heart.

Thanks a bundle Ectisity! :D

[Swan Lullaby]

Love this :D. Really reminds me of when I was a little kid. It's simillar to the music in the games I would play when I was little :). Really liked your choice of instruments in this one :D. All of them blends perfectly together, and I really liked the transitions. Some of them are a bit abrupt, as johnfn said, but I think it gives this song it's own charm :). I really enjoyed listening to this, and you just continued to surprise throughout which really kept the interest up :D.
Another great piece this :).

-Ectisity

Chemiqals responds:

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I definitely wanted the transitions to be a little abrupt to give a feeling of mystery and surprise as to what would happen next. The only one I wasn't 100% on was the transition at 2:39. I feel like it works as a sort of book end with the transition that came before it, but I'm sure it could be improved somehow! Anyway, thanks again! =)

[Gary Goat - Bazaar]

This rad :O. Really liked the beat. I actually loved it :D. I liked how you used arabic instruments to set a mood. A problem with this track is first of all that this is either for twerking or from someone to rap over. Either you gottasee someone twerking to it, or you need someone to rap over it. It's basically just a backing track/instrumental. Thus I got bored halfway through :/. The melody never changes. You did a nice job covering up that fact b varying the beat in an excellent way, but it just wasn't enough for me.
Another thing is that I felt like the instruments didn't mix so well with the drums and percussion.
The percussion sound pretty other wordly, while the percussions sounds very flat if you know what I mean. The sounds are great, but they didn't sound that well together. I would have added some reverb on the percussion as well. Maybe not the bass drum, but at least the snaps and snares.

Another thing I have to mention is that I feel like I've already hear the melody. It's a pretty normal melody in Indian music I think. Even think I heard that melody in the alladin disney movies, though I can't really prove it so I won't base my rating on that.

Basically, I thought the track was good, but it isn't anything special by it's own. It really is more of a Hip-Hop instrumental. It might just all be because of my own preferences, but I'm afraid I persoanlly can't count this as a completed track :/. Sorry if I'm beeing a little bit harsh, but I just feel like Abort and Soar part 2 was much better than this. I was hoping you would go for something like that throughout the competition.
3 Stars.
-Ectisity

TetratonMusic responds:

Hey! Thanks a ton for the review, it's really helpful. I can agree with you on the fact that the melody is a tad bit too repetitive, but at the point I was at with the song, it was hard for me to think of any major change while still keeping the arabic-themed key that I was in. Obviously, it could've been done, but at the time, I was having some serious musical blockage. Other than that, I personally think the percussion blends well together. The melody itself wasn't taken from anything in particular, it was just designed to sound fairly stereotypical, which makes sense why you think you've heard it before.

All in all, thanks a ton for the review; I'll keep a lot of your pointers in mind for the next track... After all, this was my first attempt at this type of song!

[Stefan KC - Forever Free]

Loved the Intro lead :D. As usual, I love your use of synths and the melodies you're going for and how you build a bright mood :D. Great work :D!

HappyHype responds:

Thanks for the review :DD glad u like it :D

[IDubYou!]

This has a lot of good ideas in it. Really liked the drop around 0:30 :). I liked your choice of synths and I luved the percussion :D.
The problem with it though is that it sounds like one huge drop. it's cool for 30 seconds, but then I kinda get sick of it and wanna hear a break. You used the same 3-4 synths throughout the song without switching them up much. A dubstep drop only sounds good if it comes together with a great break in my opnion. I'm afraid this didn't have any breaks at all.
Ofc, I know there exists dubstep like this without any proper breaks, but then they at least add a lot of backgrounds ambiance or vocals to keep up the interest.

That's why I'm afraid I can't give this more than 2.5. This has a lot of potential, but it needs to be excecuted better in my opinion. Just keep at it, and I'm sure you'll make awesome dubstep in not too long :).
-Ectisity

PrognoiseBIG responds:

Your Review is very very helpfull =) Thanks alot Ectisity ! *^_^* .. Excuse me if i was to fast on the MsG ! Ill stay tuned 2 your channel !

[Driving Electro]

Really nice and sweet tune this :). It had me caught from the beggining to the end. Really liked your choice of synths in this one. They fit together perfectly and really fits the theme of the song. I really liked how none of them seems to tire out my ears. They are really enjoyable to listen to, and I feel like I could listen to this for hours which make it really fit well to a video game.

I really liked the melodies as well. You did a good job of varying them up to keep up the interest. This didn't feel repetetive at all even though you had the same melody playing in the background the whole time. That's just what you want from a video game tune in my opinion :D.
The mixing was also very nicely done. I hear some minimal frequency clash near the beginning, but that's nothing to worry about.

Overall I really liked this track. It really is a brilliant video game tune, and could Imagine playing something like Terraria for hours while listening to this XD.
Great job :D. Keep it up ;).
-Ectisity

VictorMih responds:

Very thorough review, thanks a lot for your kind words and hope to impress you further with more works :).