Kyron20's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Once Upon a Time]

This took an interesting turn. It's a very different style than I'm used to. The only thing I really have an issue with is the mixing. Some elements get buried in the mix and some elements stand out too much. A compressor can help this pretty quickly. Another thing that might help this is a bit more mastering, which I can probably help you with. One other thing that can help the mix is careful panning and reverb. Small amounts of reverb really help the sound put itself on a stage and the panning helps the placement. I can hear a bit of reverb, but I don't really hear panning, so that's one thing I recommend you do. Even just 5%-10% is enough to make it separate itself enough that it's easier to pick out of the mix. And that brings me to a tip about mixing/mastering. Usually I consider a mix good if I can pick out each instrument with ease, so as I said, panning can help with that. (The things that need the most work mixing wise are the lead and the piano in my opinion. They're a bit loud.)

One other complaint I have is that the Mario coin sound effect was a bit overused. There were some sections where it just felt like it played over and over again. However, this is mostly just preference. I just find it a bit distracting from the more musical elements of the song. Most times I'll use sound effects for transitions, but not much else. Again, this is just my opinion.

Other than that, you did a pretty good job on this. It's very different than what's usually considered video game music. I also think the melody has a bit of a Waterflame feel to it, which I found quite interesting and I thought it was a nice surprise. The orchestrated sections were very well done, and they added more variation to the song, which is always good to have. Overall, very nice work!

8/10

Miyolophone responds:

Yep, I tried to tone down the Mario coin/Game Boy startup sound, but apparently it wasn't enough... anyway, yes, glad you liked it! I'll add panning to my list of things to practice, up there with compression and general mastering techniques. I'm glad I'm getting good enough to receive some more specific feedback... I might take a little break from public releases to practice some of the more technical elements. When I've gotten those down, you will all have an opportunity to slam me on sound design...

Thanks for the review man c:

[Tobu & Itro - Sunburst (Zyzyx Remake)]

Overall a pretty solid remix. A few of the sounds could have used a bit more reverb just to fill in some empty space. The sound design could have had a bit more work put into it, but that's only in a few small places. The mixing was okay, but some of the synths that were less prominent in the original were quieter because they have a more shrill sound. They were brought out a bit too much in this one, and the shrillness of them stands out quite a bit. At some points (like the buildup and the drop) the lead could have been doubled an octave down. The lower frequencies are filled up and the higher ones are as well, but the mids could have used a bit more. The kick is also lacking in power a bit during the drop, so I'd recommend either cranking up the volume on it or compressing it more. Otherwise I can't complain about this track. Nice work!

DJ-Zyzyx responds:

Thanks Kyron :3

[Asau]

I just recently found your music, and I think a lot of it is pretty good. One thing I can't help but notice is that you criticize shorter reviews for being short and often times vague. You should keep in mind that not everyone has the time or the knowledge to write in-depth reviews. I would understand more if the reviews were negative, as they wouldn't be telling you what you did to get such a bad review, but these people are telling you that they love your music and that in their eyes it's perfect. Also remember that they are taking time out of their day to applaud you, so I wouldn't be so hasty to leave a negative reply.

Now, with that out of the way, it's time we get on to the review.

The beginning of the song is very atmospheric and calm, and it doesn't build up too quickly. I feel like it maintains the perfect pace for it to constantly have something new without overwhelming the listener with too many things at once. The only part I really have a problem with is the drop. The style changes quite quickly, especially at the pace the track was going at the beginning. Also, the drums seem a bit quiet and could be brought to the front of the mix more. The supersaws are a bit loud too, but that's just more of my personal preference. Otherwise, the drop is pretty good. At 3:30, there were a couple of instruments or harmonies that I thought got buried a bit, which isn't a mixing or mastering issue, but it's something a small volume boost could easily fix. Once again, this is mostly preference. Overall, this is a pretty solid track. Keep up the great work!

(One last thing to note; This is more of a melodic dubstep track than it is a house track. It has a house tempo, but everything about this says melodic dubstep. You might want to change it just so people don't get confused. Just a suggestion though...)

Onefin responds:

Hey, Kyron! Thanks for the in-depth review!

I don't criticize people for taking time out of their day for leaving short reviews. I am completely, totally thankful for every single review I get without having to ask. But I DO have a problem when I post my track in the R4R thread, asking for a review, and get something really short and vague. If that person gave me a one-liner, should he deserve any real criticism on his track? All he's done is effortlessly shoved my track out of the way in favor of his. It's essentially the equivalent of saying "Oh, your track is nice HERE'S SOMETHING I MADE [link] TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK AND THAT YOU LOVE IT". And that, in my opinion, is kinda disgusting.

The style changes too quickly? I wrote a build to get it to flow better - faster and louder drums, more pumped-up melodic lines, bigger and fatter chords, etc. The beginning was the more chill part, but the build before the drop was intended to lead into it. Maybe it didn't work quite like I had hoped? What could I do to fix it?

I tried to bring the drums forward, but I had to be wary of mud and clipping. I didn't want to make things TOO loud, otherwise bad stuff would happen. There's already clipping in the piece, too, if you noticed. And the supersaws are probably loud because I was told to make them louder :P

Melodic dubstep? I mean, I guess there are wubs, but I don't think bongos are a part of melodic dubstep :/ eh, I'll consider it.

Thanks once again for the review! I ALWAYS appreciate responses when they aren't done selfishly! :D

[SharkBite - Tip-Toe Funk]

First off, the mixing is... strange. There are some parts where the kick is very prominent and some where it's barely audible. The kick should punch through the mix the most. It should fill the low end on the beat and the bass should fill the rest. Speaking of low end, I didn't hear a lot of bass. Maybe it's my headphones, but even though the low end is a bit weak, I'm still able to hear bass. Either there was no bass (I assume this was the case) or the bass was turned down way to much. I usually mix things in a certain order, (although this is partially preference) which is kick, then bass, then melody and snare. This order is familiar to most people that listen to music.

Secondly, this song is fairly repetitive. I can't tell if loops were used or not, but it sounds as if they were. As I said in my previous review, you should make it sound like there were no loops used whatsoever, even if you are using them. In my opinion, they sound unprofessional. Now, that's not to say using them is bad, but imagine a song made using only loops. Think of how boring that song would be. If you use loops a ton and in cliche and uncreative ways, it makes every section that uses the loops boring.

Another thing I've talked about before is filling in empty spaces. This song has a lot of room for other melodies and instruments to be introduced, yet it wasn't done. That in combination with the bass being basically nonexistent makes this song feel empty.

One last thing that I have to point out to you is that new wave is somewhat dated. This song sounds like it was taken straight from the 80s. I mean, if you want to make older sounding music, there's nothing wrong with that. I have two problems with it though. My first is that it sounds generic. It sounds much like a lot of older music. It wasn't transformed or made unique. I have to admit, I have a problem with it as well, but I'm trying to fix it. My second problem with this is that not a lot of people like this kind of music. That's not to say you shouldn't make it, I just thought I'd point it out. I can't take off any stars for it, because it doesn't make the song bad really.

I'd give this song a 3/10. It sounds very repetitive and empty. Also, some of the sounds (like the supersaw) could have been EQ'd a bit better. I said this before on a previous song, but you have more songs in just over a month than I have in 10. That says something about the production quality. Now, I'd love to make songs as quickly as you do, but the production value would go down by a lot. I think you should spend a couple more hours on your songs, just making sure it's not repetitive and the mixing/mastering is as good as it can be.

TheSharkBite responds:

Yeah... It came out that way... But I didn't use loops! I have proof of that... It's just difficult to make an interesting song if theres too much variation. Thanks for the review

[First Flight]

This piece is amazing! There's so much in this piece that describes the story perfectly. The music goes perfectly with the story. I wish it would have been longer, but I can't complain. This piece shows that you don't need a ton of instruments playing at once to create an amazing song. Keep up the great work!

Ylmir responds:

Thanks a lot ! :)
Actually, I love writing music that follows a story like this one. :p

[No No No (Cover) [TheFatRat]]

First of all, I think with a bit of research you could have found some of the same samples as TheFatRat, but that's just me. For example, the vibraslap and snare. It's a cover though, so I won't take off anything for that. The cover was pretty spot on except the drop felt way too weak. Maybe if it had more hard-hitting drums and more bass it would have sounded more powerful. Otherwise I can't complain. It's a pretty solid cover. Keep up the good work!

Miyolophone responds:

Thank you! Not much to say in response, other than that the low-energy drop was a conscious, if poor, choice. I agree with everything you said.

[Reactionary]

First of all, the snares sound off. It's like they were recorded in a different room than everything else (the sample) or had a strange reverb added to them (either that or they have a strange filter on them). They were also way louder than the kick, which is supposed to stand out the most. Also, it took a while to start up. There was a lot of empty ambience in the beginning that could have been removed. It was also a bit distracting during the beginning, so my recommendation is to have a much shorter ambience section in the beginning, and from there on out have the ambience be barely audible. I find that this gives me the best results at adding atmosphere to my songs.

EtzerGD responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Now that I think about it the ambient did go on for a little too long, however I wanted it to build up somehow and I thought it might be too abrupt without it. thanks <3

[Janji - Heroes Tonight (Zyzyx Remake)]

I would have liked to hear a bit more than piano. Also, there's a lot of clipping in this. Something you could also do is add a lot more bass during the drop. There's not really a lot of bass throughout the song, and it would make the drop feel more energetic.

DJ-Zyzyx responds:

Yeah ik this remix sucks xd I actually deleted it from sc so I could work on it more lol

[Exile]

This is pretty good! It could use a bit more mixing and mastering just to bring up the volume. Remember, compression is your friend, as long as it's used sparingly. You did well making sure it didn't clip, because I didn't hear any clipping issues. Another thing that could use some work are the lows. I really don't hear very many, but that may be because my headphones aren't the strongest in the low frequencies. If your headphones boost the lows, do the opposite I do and boost a bit more than you think is necessary. Nobody's mixing is going to be perfect for everyone, as almost nobody (if anybody) has completely flat-response headphones. Another thing you could work on is adding some swells, whether that's with the instruments' volume increasing and lowering or if it's with risers. Even just some white noise will do. Some atmosphere could help, for example, in Earthsplitter by Xtrullor (inspirations make the best examples). He adds some rain ambiance throughout the piece, which is almost not audible but adds quite a bit to it. Also, one thing you could do to add more realism is to add some reverb to the instruments. I like to turn the size all of the way up, turn the wetness up about 3/4 of the way, turn the low cut up to about 55-60% and then add small amounts of decay. It really creates the feel that there's an orchestra around you. At least, that works best for me. Well, that's all the advice I can really give... Everything else was pretty good! I can't wait to see you improve when you get better libraries! You've shown that you don't need a ton of plugins to be good at making music :)

Miyolophone responds:

Thank you Kyron! Yeah, I'll work on the mixing more, obviously. I actually have been playing around with the reverb some (though only subtly, like the brass at 3:00) but almost nothing about electronic music is subtle, I guess, so in the future I won't be afraid to really mess with the sound quality. It's funny, I never even noticed the rain in Earthsplitter... so maybe subtlety does have it's place... anyway, I agree it could use some more atmosphere, I'll work on it. I like all this feedback I'm getting from everyone, by the way; until now it's mostly been "wow, you sure did the orchestra!" and this is way more helpful.

Anyway, thanks again for the advice and praise! ^_^

[Pheidippides]

This piece is pretty nice. One thing that I have to criticize is the clipping. I heard a bit of it when the piano at about 0:32. Just make sure you're lowering instead of raising the volume and it will help you get a clearer mix. Another thing to do is use limiters. They should only be used when necessary as they can mess with some frequencies and make it not sound as good as it normally would (although I rarely hear a difference sound-wise, limiter or not). Another thing that you could improve on is changing the melody. I thought it was kind of hard (at least for me) to listen to the same melody for a whole 8 minutes. Maybe throw in a few harmonies and add some more variations to the melody.

Also, I don't think it's a bad thing to sound like EnV. His music has a pretty nice feel to it, which I quite like. It's not like your're copying him, so don't worry about it when your tracks sound like his :)

MollusK-Music responds:

Much appreciated for the tips and criticisms! I've been working a lot on some of those very things, so hopefully you'll stick around to hear some technique revisions.

Cheers c: