Deemo-R's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[First Encounter]

Very nice, the creativity and diversity presented here from such a typical array of objects is impressive. I've always loved good sound design, and the ambiance presented here is very befitting of a horror-esque scene within a sci-fi universe.

Valon129 responds:

Thanks a lot for your review and the nice words.

And thanks a lot also for the following here and on my SoundCloud i appreciate it.

[Dreamworld]

I love this. It's a gorgeous, well-orchestrated, unique piece, which is something that's hard to create in a musical world that is (imo, anyway) possibly a bit over-saturated with the genre as of late. When the horns entered and brought the song to life at 0:31, there was nothing I could do EXCEPT press a 5-star rating. Absolutely stellar tone quality and attention to detail in the brass, and the whole sections involving the choir never struggled with it to fit it into the "aural spectrum". As for the rest of the instruments, they are astonishingly well-written as well. The piano solo between the two orchestral sections was notably fantastic. The sudden change of pace and color that it provided was perfect.

I see what you mean by not having the time to finish it in the way you would have liked (or at least, I'm guessing). When the climax rolls around, the swell doesn't really amount to a whole lot. It feels like the spirit of the piece is renewed, but it leaves just about as soon as it comes, and doesn't really give you a chance to sink into it. However, it's still very powerful as it is and only further serves to show how much talent you have as a composer.

Bosa responds:

you greatly honor me, and I truly appreciate this wonderful review! I really want to revisit this as soon as I can and give it a proper "reboot" as they say in Hollywood. I've been extremely preoccupied this past year so I've had zero time to create music (Air Force duties take priority). However, as soon as I can I will jump back into this despite how many years have passed.

[B7 - That 1 Pokemon Song]

Awesome stuff here! Very clean and sick riffs along with plentiful variations to keep it interesting throughout, and the overall quality of the guitar work is very good. The fade-out at the end is a bit sudden, but I know you're just going through incomplete files right now. I'd still enjoy hearing a fully-fleshed out version of this.

Burn7 responds:

Why thank you, kind individual.

I, too, agree and feel as though this song provides sufficient entertainment value to be considered "Worth my time".

Thank you,
Burn7

[Pumps and Bumps]

There just wasn't a dull moment with this gem. I loved it, and the Jake sample fits like a glove here :3

aaronmusslewhite responds:

haha thanks! :D glad you enjoyed it.

[Whispers of Tranquility]

I love the concept of it, and I certainly can imagine a quaint little town (one in the highlands is more or less the image I'm getting) with the vision of some mountainous backdrop. The "feeling" of a highland village is more or less present through the airy strings and flutes, which create a sort of floating feeling that gives the impression of a calm breeze. The melody is quite subtle in this one, but when you do hear it, it's very refreshing. There's a nice variety of sweet and rich instrumentation that gives it a charming progression throughout, as well.

As for suggestions, I have a number of opinions on this. When you first bring in the flute at 00:37, I think you should scale back on the choir (possibly the strings, too) levels, just to begin the descent into "tranquil" village a bit earlier. When the song starts, the music gives a sense of "above the peaceful town", and your instruments then begin to descend to the calm streets. This is another one of the instances I get the "highlands" feeling from your tune, as the instruments go from being cool and light to a bit warmer and quieter. To emphasize this, I would suggest bringing out the flute just a tiny bit more and having the choir start to descend earlier. I'd also like to hear a bit of the lower notes on the guitar during that part. Once the song has gotten to a softer volume, I actually believe it would benefit from the presence of a double bass (string). It's almost like the song's missing a "rich warmth" in the presence of the lower notes. It's just my opinion, but I think that would be nice accompaniment to the present instruments. Aside from that, I think the instruments could have even MORE dynamic motion. Even in calming music, there's much reward to be had from taking your instrument's dynamic range into consideration. :P

Nice work Neon! Still enjoying your stuff! :D

Neon-Bard responds:

Wow...I think this is perhaps the best review I've ever received! Thank you very much DMO! It seems I chose all the right instruments for this piece, and was able to achieve my goal of creating a peaceful village setting. In the end, that's all that really matters to me.

I really like the suggestions you've given here, especially about the dynamic portion. This is something that many others have mentioned before. I suppose it's time for me to realize that I have to listen to this specific piece of advice and run with it. Also, thanks for bringing up the notion of those lower notes, or rather the lack thereof in this song. I can see how the song needs that 'warmth' to it.

Many thanks for listening and taking the time to write such a detailed review. It helps a lot! :)

[Early Morning Sunlight]

It was a pretty relaxing little tune, I'll say! I was actually wondering if you were going to bring in some percussion after establishing the main melody, and lo and behold, there it was. My ears are a bit fatigued at the moment, but it seems like everything is balanced fine. My suggestion is to draw back the percussion a bit, though, especially that tambourine, hi-hat, and snare. In this sort of piece, you don't want them taking the leading role, but rather just drive it from behind, like a feeling the back of your head. Drums can be heard pretty well even when they're turned down a bit, so don't be afraid to experiment a bit with that ;D

I've also been told that if you choose to use crash cymbals, they should always be turned even lower than your snare. Loud crashes in the mix make the whole kit sound small in comparison, so turn them down quite a bit.

Enjoyed the vibes! :D

Neon-Bard responds:

I'm glad to know that everything seems balanced. Well...everything except for the percussion. Percussion tends to be my Achilles' heel, but in light of that, it's always something I can work on!

I really appreciate the review, thanks a million! :D

[You Told Me]

Geez, what is up with all of these recent 0/1-star ratings I keep seeing -.-;

Definitely not an accurate rating for this. I like it a lot; it's got a very pensive vibe going in the intro, with the nice, distant chords juxtaposed to the crisp bass. The drum part is very interesting, but the mix on it needs work. I know how hard it is with the drums, though. Those things can be cruel to work with, but it's crucial to attaining the perfect sound. ;)

For the drums, the snare needs to have more punch and not sound so far away. It sounds almost as though you're listening to it in a school auditorium (which I'm not sure what your recording environment was, so I can't say much about that). The bass drum should also have a bit more presence, but in this context, it should seem like more of a feeling than a part (if that isn't the worst description I've ever made...). Think of it like the thumping of a person's heart, or the feeling you get when the bass drum resonates in your chest. That sort of sound will most likely sound better in this song. The cymbals sound less than desirable, too. I can't tell if it's the way the set's mic'd or the mix, but they don't seem to create the proper sound...

I generally just suggest to listen to professionally mastered material and try to break down similarities in what they do with mixing the parts. Experimentation is the way I personally do it, but it's not the preferable way of going about it.

Either way, great musicianship in this! There's a lot of potential in this sound you've got going!

kingdarkeyes responds:

You're very right about the drums. The cymbals are very...eh..."crunchy", and the snare and bass do need more presence. The problem is mainly that we have to record in a room that's not very well-equipped in the studio acoustics department, and we have very lo-fi gear. Not to mention this is the first song I've ever had to "produce" (if you can call it that haha). But hey, it sounds like you know a thing or two about it, so I'll probably be shooting you a PM at some point for tips, if that's cool. Thanks for taking the time to comment, and thanks for the feedback. It's much appreciated!

[As The Phoenix Rises]

I love that you've put so much of yourself into this piece, it really gives it a special sort of feeling that you don't see every day (or hear). To me, this seems very much along the lines of a film score, with a lot of cinematic imagery floating around within it. I think the parts are very well written. One thing that I'd suggest is to really let yourself be free with the dynamic motion of these parts; it does wonderful things that nobody usually expects they are capable of. Push and pull, rise and fall, every part should be going somewhere. When I last performed with an orchestra, the conductor could easily pull aside any section for hours at a time to relay a single section to them. You could practically write a documentary on each of the instruments' parts, there was so much the composer would do.

I really hope to hear more stuff like this from you in the future! ;D

Neon-Bard responds:

You know, I'm beside myself after reading this review. It makes the song that much more meaningful. To know that somebody else appreciates it for what it is and what it means personally is fantastic. It's pretty cool that you mention that it has a 'film score' feeling to it!

This really struck a 'chord' with me (see what I did there?....yeah it's awful I know...):

"One thing that I'd suggest is to really let yourself be free with the dynamic motion of these parts; it does wonderful things that nobody usually expects they are capable of. Push and pull, rise and fall, every part should be going somewhere."

I'll definitely be keeping this in mind for everything else I make. Btw, it must be awesome to play with an orchestra...I don't play any classical instruments myself so I can only imagine what that must feel like.

I will be making more stuff like this for sure, it's great to know you'll be keeping an eye out for it. :D