EctiBot's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Flasher]

Review 4 Review
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Very nice track this.
Really gives off an adventurous mood that makes it fits perfectly for an adventure game. The mixing is done very well, and the different instruments blend nicely into each other.

There are however some thing I want to point out. From about 0:28 and out it sounds like I'm just listening to a 8 secound loop repeat itself for 3 minutes. While Video Game music do tend to consist of loops, you should still be vary of dynamics. have some parts where you solo the bass and drums maybe, or cut out the lead for a couple of bars. You do have the right idea as you are varying your drum patterns like at 1:36, but I would like to see some greater variations. Game music is music that a player is supposed to be able to listen to for al ong time without getting tired of it.

Your melodies are good, but I felt like the lead melody didn't realy stick with me that well. It's nothing wrong with that melody in itself, but i would really encourage you to spend more time on it. Vary the note length, add multiple layers of melodies etc. I don't believe there exists a definite "correct" way to create melodies, but I do believe that melodies is something a musician should be very aware of when making music.

Overall a good track that does what it set out to do, but I believe it has more potential than this.

Desuone88 responds:

Thx for that review but trully saying im not a musician i use FL studio so its not really software were used by musicians i just make simple melodies really simple like you see i dont have musical ed and etc i even cant read notes i just try with that and some people tell me i should show myself with my music. I dont want call myself muiscian i just person who make music. But most of that wht you saying in review you have right i should use more variations in my music i hope i can do this in my next track. Anyway thx for you review and advices.

[AIM - Theme for the Keeper of the Reef]

A.I.M Judging Review
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Really liked the atmospheric feel of this. The ocean samples are great, and very well recorded and mixed into the song. The entire song does a great job in creating a atmosphere and it really helps that the mixing is great. I wish there was a bit more rever on the lead synth to make it sound even more atmospheric.
This really is a minimalistic track done right. Shows that it's possible to make something without thousands of layers, but still having it sound great.Really don't have anything to deduct here.

Maverickmode responds:

Thanks a lot for the review! I was actually thinking I wanted a little more reverb on that synth too, but the mix ended up getting a little too muddy and it started to drown out everything else. I wanted everything to be mixed evenly so no part seemed more "important" to the ear than any other, even though that lead synth was essentially supposed to function as a background. So, in essence I ended up having to compromise between getting the mix I wanted and having the synth sound the way I wanted. Oh, and the reason I turned the reverb completely off during the atmospheric sections with the low tambourine was that I wanted the synth to function more as a melody instrument there and stick out, rather than blending in with everything else.

[AIM - The Spooky Witch Of Creepy Cottage]

A.I.M Judging Review
Really love it when people put the effort to make a lyrical track like this.
The vocals could have been a bit better mixed and leveled as it's difficult ot hear the words at times.
Could be because of the recording equipment rather than the mixing though.
The spooky sine in the background could have been a bit louder in my opinion.
Overall a really good and creative track with great lyrics, and fits the art perfectly. Only the vocal quality that deducts points.

Biggyzoom responds:

Hi there, thank you very much for the review. Seeing as the entry deadline isn't until the 24th, would an edit/remix be in according to the rules?

[{AIM} Ascend to Madness]

A.I.M Judging Review
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Love the guitars! A great and powerful sound. I feltl ike the lead guitar could have a been a tad bit louder, but otherwise the mixing is great. The drums are a bit out of time compared to the guitars at times. Also wished that the kick was a bit more powerful. The track clips at times, which is a bit annoying.
Otherwise a great track, with great chord progression, great melodies, good sound design and decent mixing. Fits the art very weel.

larrynachos responds:

Late reply but thanks dude :) Glad I got runner up in AIM

[AIM - Stay with me [exp]]

A.I.M Judging Review
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First of all, The piano sounds really poor. Needs better mixing work. Really like some of the melodies, like the one at 0:32. The drop at 1:03 is a bit lackluster. The kick is poorly mixed, and I really missed a bass section.
I wished tou would have varied up the song a bit at 1:55. The melody becomes really repetetive after a while.
Overall I feltl ike the track lacked a lot of layers to make it more interesting. It surely isn't bad, but the mixing and elements present in the track is a bit lackluster.

Demonic-Overmind responds:

oh, yes, I actually thought that the piano doesn't require mixing work but I understood that I was totally wrong(the piano is not at all mixed, not even EQed :p), will mix piano melodies better next time, also I was going to add a varied melody at 1:55 at the drop but I couldn't really get one going. about the layers and stuff, I rushed the song on that part pretty badly!
btw, realfaction said that the track was bass heavy, and you're saying that you missed bass in it, whom should I listen to? xD
I'll definitely consider these points while making next track.

Thanks a lot for the review~!

[AIM - Inheritance]

A.I.M judging Review
Interesting piece. Like the atmospheric vibe you got going in this, but at times I felt like you were a bit too obsessed with making the track atmospheric. When the piano plays, there's a lot of thing going on in the background, and while some of it sounds good, some of it is just plain irritating to listen to.
I really liked the sounding of the piano. Never really heard that sound before, but I love it.
The mixing is good, though I feel like the atmospheric elements in the background does clash with the piano at times.
This really reminds me of something C418 would make, and would be great for games like minecraft. Still it think it needs a bit more work so that the listener can listen to it for a long duration of time.
I felt like this could have portrayed the art better as neither the title or anything in the track gives me a hint on what aspect of the art you were trying to depict.

HoraceGreenley responds:

I appreciate the well detailed feedback. Thank you.

[AIM - Space Dash]

A.I.M Judging Review
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Great 16-bit esque track this!
Really like the synths you use, and the arrangement is done in an interesting.
The mixing is decent, though it sounds to me like the lead saw gets compressed in a strange way at times. Almost sounds like its frequencies are clashing with some of the other instruments.
I really liked the melody, but I didn't love it. Kinda lacks that factor that make it instantly stick to my brain. Think it was a good idea to cut down on the length of the track. That way it doesn't become to samey.

demon1000 responds:

Ah i see... Thanks!

[AIM - Chaotic Fight]

A.I.M Judging Review
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An instant good and powerful beginning, which I can always dig. As has been mentioned several times before, the general sound quality of your instruments are really poor.The sound leveling and mixing is all over the place, and the instruments intertwine with eachother quite a lot. The Fl slayer guitar is really bad, as Fl slayer is always a bad idea.
The song itself is actually pretty good imo. The melodies are great, the arrangement is creative and varied and you build tension in a good way. The piano melody at 2:47 was kinda bland and uninteresting though.
The drum progression are kinda uncreative and samey. I would have switched them up a bit too keep up the interest.
The length didn't really bother me that much. Sure you repeat the same melody and patterns a couple of times, but I feel like that degree of repetition is ok in a track like this.

The biggest problem with this track lies with the instrument quality. If not for that I probably would have given you a higher score, but as of now, it deducts from the overall production.

TheMusicalGhost responds:

Thanks for the review. I should've known not to use FL Slayer since it sounded bad, but sadly I didn't find any other instrument that would've been an alternate to the guitar :(

[AIM The Legend of Uncle Dave]

A.I.M Judging Review
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Can always appreciate good guitar work, and this one is really high up there. It gave me the nostalgic adventure feel without being something that I'd mark as unoriginal.
I felt like it was a bit repetetive at times, and you go back to the main melody a bit too much. Really glad you played this yourself and didn't use guitar samples. Those times when the guitars a bit off timewise gives the song a more humane feel, which I love. Also have to say that it requires great skill to play something like this, so kudos to you!
Though the track sounds great by itself, I feltl ike you could have added a bit to the dynamics by adding some other instruments as well. As it is now it kinda lacks the dynamic feel of an adventure.

Daveisgr81 responds:

Thanks for the positive review - very kind!

I'll see if I can arrange the piece for a larger ensemble and use the variety of instruments to give it more musical depth... I'm glad you responded to the timing issues positively too. It was a problem cause by my computer's inability to process a huge number of audio tracks at once - a human feeling created by a computer problem, how ironic!

Thanks again!
Dave

[AIM - Spectrum-X]

A.I.M Judging Review
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Love the melody work in this :). Isn't too complicated, but gives of a great feel regardless. The mixing is done really well, and the drums sound great. Tbh, I felt like the piano at 0:55 was poorly mixed into the song. Piano can certainly work in tracks like this, but they need to mixed very well, and have the right reverb settings and EQ. Otherwise I think the track was really enjoyable.
Could maybe have portrayed the aaction feel in the art a bit better, but I still think it fits.
I can hear that you have a bass going on in the background at times, but I wish this was a bit louder, because as it is now it kinda disappears, and I can't really hear it if I'm not concentrating on it.
Except from the piano, the rest of the sound design is really good.

Teckmo-X responds:

Yeah I had received notice that the piano part wasn't a good fit before but I want to try and experiment with something else in my songs. It was more of an idle song to be honest. The bass was a bit low as I didn't want to much override on the synths. Still looking for improvements as I go along. Thank you for the time and patience for your review.