TeHLoY's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Improv (6-5-2011)]

Really calming.

Wow... for someone to improvise a song like this... It takes real practice and talent.

I love the chord progression, the song is really progressive. You use interesting chords, combined in both the melody and the supporting notes.. The use of repetition for the melody only reinforces the progression, making it much more calming, as there isn't a distracting melody that pulls the listener from the main chords.

May I ask, what piano do you use for this? A soundfont, the default patch that comes with your piano, a recorded acoustic or a VSTi?

[Impossible to Convey]

Wow.

Can't believe all you audiophiles can actually hear differences. My headphones now feel extremely inferior (though they're pretty good actually)

Really, you're on your way to doing professional work, premoeffect. I don't think I need to review this again, I've already reviewed the earlier version of this song.

Now, shoot for the stars! Go bring all this professional music creation to reality and be successful!

PrEmoEffect responds:

Haha, they can't be as crappy as my $5 dollar ear buds. Anyways, yeah, thank you so much for the 2nd review. You really didn't have to.

I'll aim for the Sun... and if I miss, maybe I'll land on Cephei 8938.

[Ascension - Balderdact]

O_0

The beginning pads were great, it just threw me into the song.

Perhaps a crash cymbal at the start of every couple measures will work, it somehow marks the beginning of the beats.

Somehow, the melodies, though simple, have a lot of potential. I think the synth used for it just isn't good enough. Something massive, like a bunch of detuned saws playing together would work, especially if you layer it with itself playing an octave lower and higher. And some heavy reverb would help a lot.

The pads do seem to take away from the whole song though, I'd cut away some of its frequencies as it seems to interfere with the song.

And I gotta say, that sweep is kind of cool. =P

A bit too fast for trance though, yet too soft for techno. I'd call it somewhere in between.

balderdact responds:

Again thanks for all the tips. they really help me out! :D
And yeah I see what you mean by how this song has a lot of potential. I was trying to make a 'hybrid' song, but I guess it didn't go THAT great hahaha. I'll see if I can make my next song using what you described in your review here ;]

[Gonna take you down! -Extend-]

Yes!

One of my favorite tracks from you, finally extended!
I was always complaining it was too short...

[~ Highland Trance ~ [CAT]]

Swear I've heard this before.

http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=eUr5tNKdeNI
At 1.22
Seems like you really like this video. You've been using the instruments from this in your later songs. And even expanded that melody.
Sounds basshuntery in a way.
This could have some better progression, I feel. Pads in this song (perhaps identical to the one in that video) would make it sound better.

Catstuffer responds:

Haha! Seems you really know your music! Yes, I painstakingly tried to recreate the melody that had started at 1:22 of that vid and expand on it. I've never been good with pads, I find that I never know how long to hold them out before changing chords. If its too fast, it sounds choppy, and too slow sounds lazy.

Thanks again for all your reviews!

[~ Dirty Overture ~ [CAT]]

Wooooooobbbbblllleeeee!!!!

Amazed.
The wubz... They just sound... really rhythmic. And I like both synths that plays at the beginning adds on later.

Can't say much here. I think I'm going to listen to this many times.

Catstuffer responds:

Thanks! I was pretty happy myself with this one for my first go at dubstep. I still have mixed thinking on the genre as a whole... I think some artists are absolutely amazing at mixing Dubstep, and that I always enjoy, but other times Dubstep just doesn't hold my attention. I can't listen to it for too long.

Thanks for reviewing TeHLoY!

[~ The Forgotten Trance ~ [CAT]]

Catchy, as usual.

Just like any of your other songs.
Cheap, easy chord progression, nice melody that goes with it, and great build up of instruments. I think this would fit under the dance genre.
The pluck sound sounds great too. Sidechaining the bass sounds great too.

Catstuffer responds:

Hey, can you explain to me what exactly sidechaining is? Is that just when it fades in instead of having a fast attack?

Thanks for another review! :)

[~ Its the Pulse ~ [CAT]]

Woah.

I'm really amazed by this. Chills down my spine.

I seriously love the beginning melody. The piano one in the breakdown was also epic. Really great stuff. You also managed to make a great beat in this song. Really catchy and flows well. It really is a pulse.

The song really progressed well throughout. The energy in this song really fluctuated, building up and breaking down. And yet even at the most quiet parts, the beat just kept going.

I think the synths you use are a bit overused... Nexus? I swear I hear them in most of your songs...

I think mixing is really well done here. The same can't really be said for mastering though, it seems like the volume is overloaded. Maybe you shouldn't really try to make it so loud, I'd rather listen to a low-volume song that sounds great rather than a heavily pumped up maximized song. Perhaps you should change that.

This is really a different style from your old style. It's great to see many improvements in your music over the years. Great job!

And the final criticism for this song: It's too short! Please give us at least 3-8 minutes of enjoyment, 2 minutes isn't really enough. XD

Catstuffer responds:

Thanks soo much for your critical review! :D

Yea, I do indeed over use nexus, but I'm trying to change up my synths enough that they do not sound the same from song to song. I'll continue to work on that, but sometimes I just really like a sound ya know?

I agree with you on the volume. I had the amster at 100% which is no good. You reviewed ~ Comprehension ~ and you likely noticed the volume was more leveled. I like to export with about 85-90% volume, but I think I forgot on this one, oh well, always room for improvement!

It's cool that you can see a progression over the years.

Here is my issue with length, I either a) get really bored with what I'm making and want to try something else, or b) I just get so stumped on what should be coming next, that I wrap it up. I've got a more powerful, peaceful mix in the works, and I'm really hoping I can get to the 4 minute mark.

Thanks so much for your review!

[~ Comprehension ~ [CAT]]

Cool!

Hmm, great song here.

I like the melodies you put here. The catchy bassy sound, and the extra melodies that add up later. Maybe the 8 bit and strings were a bit weird, but I believe it's experimentation. =3 I think this song can be a bit faster paced, it's a bit too slow for trance. Some extra arpeggios in the background won't hurt either.

The song built up really well. Honestly, it was a bit too slow for my liking, but was still great. I don't really have much to say about mixing, it's almost perfect.

Yep. A 10 for your effort. =D

Catstuffer responds:

Thanks, yes, this song was experimental, I really wasn;t going for melody as much as effect, mix, and just some clowning around :P

Thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate your comments! Thanks for the advice :D

[Skye - Balderdact]

Neat....

This is a really cool song. Great trance progression, but turns out to be a bit of eurodance in the middle. XD

The beginning... I really like it. I like the plucky noise, and the FX (though overused throughout the song) is great. String pads are great too.

The main synth could be improved. Perhaps adding a couple more saw oscillators playing an octave higher or lower in addition to the synth will help give it more body, for now it sounds rather plain. It should take over a wider frequency range. And add a chorus and a stronger reverb and it'll sound great.

It's a great beat afterwards, but a bit cheesy, maybe it's just the simple bass and simple chord progression.

I find the the clap sound a bit weird, it has too fast decay. Maybe adding some longer reverb to the clap (though that makes it sound really muffled) or using a gated snare sample would work.

The breakdown is really sudden. I think if you showed a slight sign of breaking down shortly before it does, it will really help this transition work better. The sudden needle drop sound and silence doesn't really help either.

2.27 was great. You've done a great job on getting back onto the beat, it's a great build up.

Overall, this song's great. Mixing is great, apart from the main synth being rather soft and having little body to it, the song's good. You could have created better transitions between buildups and breakdowns, and perhaps a less common chord progression, but it's already really good.

balderdact responds:

Thanks for the tips!
Really appreciate it :D