Ceevro's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Guitar project]

Thoughts while listening: WAAAAAAY over-distorted lead. Not badly played, slight screw-ups on timing, but hell, I do that too. I think you may have your compression thresholds set wrong as well. I'm noticing clipping on the quiet-end, which shouldn't be there. Punk section is a reasonable chord progression, needs the lead back.

Thoughts after listening:

Keep in mind that I am massively biased towards live guitars, but I'm an acoustic player, so my admonitions here may well be fairly off.

Some improvements:
-Your lead is ridiculously distorted. The lead guitar should be the least distorted sound in the band. You gotta get those notes to ring clear so that the dynamics of your playing can come through.
-Also, remove the compression, and work with your volumes instead. You're seriously clipping any light sounds, which makes your notes come in late at times.
-Like you said, the track isn't finished, but you still have much work to do. Hopefully putting in some bass and vocals, right?

Some good things:
-You play quite solidly. Appreciation.
-Nice composition. Sensible lead, good chord progressions, appropriate percussion.

Overall, this need to be recorded again, unless you wired your raw feed directly into the computer, like I do it, and added your FX digitally. If you did it that way, you may be able to save the original lead recording by adjusting all your settings in your DAW. I find that the best way to record a guitar, even heavily distorted electric, is dry. No FX, no pedals, nothing. Just put the raw feed into your mixing program and record it right there. Most DAWs have guitar settings, amps, and FX built right-in, and you can change them even after the recording is done. Helps so very much with the mix!

Unfinished, so please forgive the low rating. I will gladly review the finished product when you get it done. Just lemme know!
2.5/5 R4R

-Ceevro

lantaren responds:

Thank you for taking the time to review this!
I've recently re-adjusted my amp settings so that the drive isn't ever more than half-full at any time.

I probably should re-record it - this is a mostly dry recording. I only fixed some timing errors and arrangement in general, but for the most part it was just line-in > record > arrange > export, very little work was done as far as mixing/mastering (at this point). Looking back, I agree with almost everything you've said. No amount of tweaking has really fixed anything though, unfortunately.

[In Your Time, Always]

Thoughts while listening:
Ooooo...theramin sounds! And actual vocals! Very relaxed sound, nice ambience...Don't like the low vocal on "I won't be shaken..." sounds stringy. Nice spicing on the "Take your time..." vocals. Tricky to mess with .wav files like that. I've tried myself, and they always screw up on me.

Thoughts after listening:

Well, I'm an atheist, so commenting on the content would be counter-productive...I have no intention of making enemies when we're all just musicians saying what's important to us. So I'll go on the technical side.

Some Improvements:
-I'm not big on the organ sound (first instrument heard). Sounds a bit too retro to fit in the futuristic/techno soundscape presented.
-Vocals were a bit shaky in the bass-range. Personally, I find this happens when I'm trying to go to low, too loud. I usually whisper bass vocals, and record with a Meteor Mic really close. That way, I can get the volume without sounding like a slowed-down Mickey Mouse.

Some Good Things:
-So refreshing to hear vocals! Damn, I've been reviewing tracks all day, and yours is the first one to include a vocal at all! And you sang them well.
-Loved the theramin-type lead you had going on there. People should play more theramin. Especially me. By which I mean I want to get a theramin. Don't know if that's what you used, but I liked the sound anyways.

Overall: Screw the people who don't give a proper review in the R4R thread. We're here to help eachother become better musicians, not take without giving first!

4/5 R4R

-Ceevro

-

SoulSecure responds:

That first synth is a rhodes. I use dated sounds all the time, mostly because I'm dated (beside the fact that rhodes/wurlitzers are extremely common in this genre). I really am not sure how you get a futuristic feel from this considering the instrument selection, but aight.

Vocals shaky on the bass range...? I go lower than that, easily. I sang them quietly and was allowing my voice to creak on purpose for a specific effect.

It was actually REALLY hard to do the chorus high, cuz my voice kept cracking and going off pitch due to singing so quietly (had to record several times). I also didn't want to use vibrato on the high vocals as I hadn't on the low take, but I couldn't help producing a vibrato a couple times, so I stuck with it.

[Bathe In Molten Steel]

Thoughts while listening:

Hmm...not my usual genre...but damn, that's a dark sound! Reminds me of a sci-fi chase scene. This would be quite in-place in Total Recall. Change at 1:00 was ear-catching. Major/Minor chord change at 1:37 was nicely done. Almost sounded like you were going to go happy there on me for a second...but NOPE! 2:41 just keeps pushing the intensity! This whole thing just feels like battle! Loving the deep, basey undertones. They just give it such a grand rumble. Love the melodody at 5:20...really brings it home. And 'SPOSIONS! Perhaps you should just approach Michael Bay, stick this CD in his hand, and stare at him until he gives you a large sum of money for it.

Thoughts after listening:

Didn't expect that! No sir! The thing is that producing real rough attitude is tried by so very many, but pulled-off by so very few. The issue is one of actually having the balls to attack the music like it needs, I think, and so most people just don't push it far enough. They get lazy, put out a loop, and expect a great review for three minutes of repition. You do not have that problem. I could listen to this several times, and find something new in it each time. A long time ago, I choreographed fight-scenes for stage productions. I would have LOVED to have had a piece like this to choreograph to! I did find a single weakness in the mix that I should mention: The bassey-part that I loved so much in the background really didn't stick out on my speakers. Now, that could be a fault with my speakers, but from where I sit, the bass could have been a tad more pronounced.

4.5/5 R4R

-Ceevro

[(F) _One Last Distinction_]

Thoughts while listening:

19 minutes! What? I hope I don't get interrupted. OK...one minute in...and very slight changes...kinda hypnotic...it's a long song, so you have the time to build, I guess. I recognize the sound of Saturn there...so we've got sounds recorded by radio telescopes. Always a creepy ambience. I can recall spending an hour listening to Jupiter with my brother once. Wonderful to hear that kind of power. Simple build at 330...just what it needs. At 5 mins now...enjoying the ambience. Very hypnotic in quality. 630...begins to sound like something Phill Glass would do. 7 minutes...majour change...and yet so subtle. 9 minutes...just chillin' here...recalling how small I am. This is wonderfully rich, and simple. I'm loving how you really give me time to just sit with and absorb the chords as they come. It's the exact opposite of what jazz players do. 13 minutes. Feels darker now. I don't know if I'm more sitting in the arctic, or floating in the void of space. Dark background sounds at 14 minutes. Like a super-rapid pulsar, or something. Radio telescope sounds to close out, I'm guessing. There is an awful lot going on here, but I don't know that it's you that really gets the credit, to be fair.

Thoughts after listening:

This was rich, powerful, moving. Quite the soundscape. My only problem with it is that I have listened to hours of space sounds, and I'm not sure just how much credit you should really get for this use of them. Where is the line between copying and art, I guess? Now, to your credit, the end result is incredibly moving, so you'll get little complaint from me as a listener. I could sit back and stare into the sky all day with this in a set of headphones. My issue is as a composer, this is minimalistic in the extreme, and perhaps I feel some envy at how simple it truly is to make. But there's the rub, right? I could paint for days and not have the impact of three lines done by Picasso, no matter how much effort went into each. Perhaps the truth is that skill counts more than effort. If effort made one rich, every rickshaw driver in India would be a billionaire.

Overall, this was a fantastic listening experience, and I thank you for it.

4.5/5 R4R

-Ceevro

Fubaka responds:

You are free to give me as much credit as you think I deserve.

Ambient is a fickle beast, and if you feed it too much, it grows stale and confusing. Apart from the space sounds used, however, everything in the song was my own creation.

Thank you for your thoughts. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I will take your implications near the end as a great compliment. However, I'm sure you will agree that the people who originally provided the space sounds deserve more credit by far than I do.

I will addend one last thought though, in accordance with your painting metaphor. Picasso may be able to make moving art with just 3 lines, but he needed the paint in the first place to do it. The space sounds are my paint in this instance. Without them, I couldn't have made this song, but had I not used the paint, it would still just be paint, lovely as it may be.

[Toybox Groove (v2)]

Thoughts while listening:

Joy To The World! The descending notes in the lead line are a little too close. Love the percs at 46. Nice jazzy percussion going on here...I also love the note-bends. Not many people here use them, because they are difficult to program. Cute ending.

Thought after listening:

Well, Christmas has come, I take it! And here's me listening in the Spring.

Some Suggestions;

-The hip-hop mix-up was actually very well done. I just really wanna hear some real voices in there.
-The descending four notes at the end of the motif are identical to Joy To The World. It sounds like the kind of thing that screenwriters do when they're too cheap to purchase the rights to the real song. Now, either this was your goal, in which case fill your boots, or you wanted to capture the feeling of the piece, but make it original, in which case I would suggest rewriting that little bit of the motif. Your call.
-The sound should be bigger when you go hip-hop on it. Gotta drop that bass to really give it that POW!

Some good things:

-You did definitely achieve the feeling of Christmas Shopping. Especially the ending bit, where I slow down and fall over.
-You have excellent technical mixing skills. String-bends, speed-changes, the works. That is extremely hard to do well, digitally.
-LOVED the percussion on this one. Lots of dynamics, great change-ups, could really feel the effort and love that went into it!

Overall, this is a solid piece that might just need a little tweaking to make it pop. Drop dat bass, throw a rap in, expand this! The build can be made so very huge here, so blow it out of the water!

3.5/5 R4R

-Ceevro

[Trepidation]

Thoughts while listening:

Not sure I'm big on the initial faux-bass sound, but it does have a certain ambience. Reminds me of the type of music in the old Sega game, Streets Of Rage 2. Kinda feels a little understated. OK, finally we get a lead line at 2 minutes. Aaaaand it's gone by 2:30.

Thoughts after listening:

Well, you've created the title mood, so that's good. I'm not sold on the composition, if I am to be honest, and here's why;
-In a 3:30 second song, there were 3 minutes of, well, repitition. It sounds like you wrote a loop that you liked, and cut/paste it for several minutes, then tried to add slight changes to make it work for the whole time.
-The lead did not work, melodically. I know that you're going for a tension-building sound, but there's a difference between tension and plain wrong notes. It feels like it wasn't planned out, or practiced. It's far too short, and it doesn't go anywhere. There's no resolution. The song definitely needs a lead, and it needs to be the reason for the tension-build-up you have created in the background.
-The original bassline is cool, but it just goes on too long without alteration. A key change or bridge or chorus/verse structure would help a lot here.

Some good things:

-You have a very good background mood. This project is not wasted effort, and could be developed much further.
-Your mixing is quite well-done. Nothing is overdone or lost in the mix.
-The instrumentation actually works well in the song, despite my initial misgivings. That only shows my own bias towards live instrumentation.

Overall, this song is a decent start, but I don't feel that it is a fully finished project. Spend some more time developing a coherant lead, and perhaps look at your structuring. This song currently has only one section, and it could really use some change-ups to bring the original feeling you're trying to express home. Contrast makes the picture clearer.

Hope this helps. 3/5 R4R

-Ceevro

cheezz responds:

The fact that you and I were in the middle of dispute when you wrote this makes me doubt it's entirely objective. I find it a little odd that someone would submit a review at such a time.

[Skeleton ship]

Thoughts while listening:

SHADES of Tim Burton! Not many people are composing in 3/4 lately. The build-in at about 30 seconds is wonderful! Love the tuba sound in the waaaaay low! You know, I can tell that you're using synths, but I don't care! I'm having a ball listening to this! Great mood change at 1:30, and then yet ANOTHER at 1:45! WOW! This is so flawlessly composed that it should be in a film! ...You're not writing an actual score, are you?

Thoughts after listening:

Yeah. It was OK.

Just kidding! This was brilliant! Like, the only thing that would make it better would be an actual orchestra! And even then, it's still perfectly fine. Lots of great scene changes, lots of attitude and precarious tension notes. Everything changed constantly, but it all felt like it truly belonged in the piece. Azhthar, my friend, I salute you!

5/5 (first one I've given) R4R

-Ceevro

Azhthar responds:

Hey! Thanks for the nice review. Didn´t get that positive feedback since a while ;) Glad you like it. Yep, an actual orchestra which plays my tracks is not that easy to find sometimes...Maybe I should think about hosting one in my cellar ;) It would great actually.

[Divine Procrastination]

Thoughts while listening:

Can't say I'm a big fan of the increasing tempo thing...sounds like someone cranking the speed dial on a previously recorded track. I'd recommend a slow intro with a break into the final tempo of the song. The notes are also lacking dynamic...sounds too mechanical when all the piano notes are played with the exact same attack...try shifting volumes to give it the punch it needs when the song calls for it, and the softness that it needs when it's softer.

Thoughts after listening:

Honestly not sold on this one. It feels incomplete. Don't get me wrong, it's a great piano/drum line, but it feels like it requires more orchestration. Which is tricky in this case, because piano is traditionally an orchestra instrument, while the drumkit is more associated with modern rock-type music. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing - you've just gotta decide which direction you want to take it: Classical or Rock. Toss in some strings and brass, or electric guitar and bass, and either way you've got a much more complete piece.

As well, I'd favour scrapping the slow tempo increase. That's a nightmare for most compositions, in terms of listenability. I can see that you wish to make it more intense as time goes on, and that's a good thing, but tempo increases almost never work. I'd personally go for complete tempo changes. As far as I'm aware, there's only one song with a slow tempo increase to ever make it on the BIllboard Chart, and that was 'Those Were The Days.' Everything else has either kept the tempo steady, or changed it abruptly.

Finally, the volumes for the chords and the lead-lines were not in sync. Could just be the speakers I'm listening on, but the chords were much quieter than the arpeggios...doesn't hurt to check your mix, am I right?

R4R

-Ceevro

Blacklawn responds:

I get the problems you've mentioned, but you're absolutely wrong about "all notes having the exact same attack". That's not the case, at all.
Also, about the "classical/rock" thing: it's an experimental track. I usually don't care about genres, and I'm not the first to mix DnB drums with piano, either.

[Theory of Mopho]

Thoughts while listening:

Solid intro...the 'My Ninja' ad with the bouncing boobs seems to be perfectly synced...off-topic, but hypnotizing me nonetheless. You've got a great feel going on here, lots of great changes. Love the re-engagement at 1:21. I think I'm recognizing what's missing here, though...I'll get to that after the full listen. Love the sawtooth at the end.

Thoughts after listening:

OK, you got some skillz. Serious skillz. Keep this up, and you'll make a name for yourself in no time. Now, here's what I figured was missing: A coherant lead-line. You're making a mistake that a great many technology-based composers make, and one I'm guilty of myself: All stage and no actors!

Here's the thing: What you've got here is a professional-level back-track. You need to have something for it to back. A vocal, or a lead-instrument, or both. Something to carry a melody on the wave that is the beat. So the question you should ask yourself while moving forward with this is, "If I were to sing something to this track, what would it be?" Answer that, and you've found your lead melody. Another way of putting it would be, "If someone were to request my tune, but didn't know the name, what would they hum to the DJ so he would recognize it?"

This is goo stuff, don't get me wrong. You've definitely created the mood you're after.

-Ceevro

[Paradisium]

Thoughts while listening:

Decent wind effect. Doesn't sound cheesy, which is a plus. Piano volume is too high, relative to the rest of the track. Reminds me of Phillip Glass...wait for the changes to happen...they're subtle...I'm thinking that this needs to be longer than 4 mins...we'll see what you do with it to resolve...I love the delay effect on the piano...makes it sound so tappy...

Thoughts after listening:

Great little tune. Again, piano volume was too high off the get-go. You might try easing it in...up the volume as the piano enters. I also feel that while this is minimalist, you have something that you could really milk for a while. Why not push the envelope and make it 20 mins long...add subtle stuff, pull subtle stuff...see how long you can keep this up? I love the mood of the piece, and would like to see it sustained a little longer. There's a lot of potential here, and it's a great tune already!

-Ceevro, R4R

NyxTheShield responds:

I have never exprimented with something so long (Like Philip Glass, i love him hahaha <3) , i would like to give it a shot, maybe something interesting will come out.