Soapbubble's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mario Kart 64 -- Title (Remix)]

Ah, memories

I do like this song, and it's a pretty good rendition of it.

The organ-sounding main synth is pretty good, and it fits very well with the dreamy feel of the intro. Very smooth and laidback, not intense. Which I found weird, considering how insanely intense the races usually were.

A good attempt at this track. I'm not too sure about the rhythmics, they sound a bit off and don't fit too well with the main melodic instrument. The outro is a bit odd, I can't remember exactly how the original went, but it's a really odd fade-out. It's also a bit short, you could maybe try to loop it or just extend it, because I can't see to much effort put into this, considering it's really more of a remake than a remix, keeping all the basic elements of the original.

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Birdinator99 responds:

I was aiming to keep this one simple and short, just to focus on my mixing/mastering practice. When I listened to the original, I thought, "Hey, I like this, but I would just do a few things differently," and that's pretty much how it went. Not really a remix then, huh.

I didn't notice how sudden the fadeout was when I made it, but I now see that you're right -- pretty awkward. Ah well, I'll work on it for next time!

Thanks for the honest review!

[[Fiji] Buzzsaw (Dj Sonik]

None too shabby

Great beats in an overall well-executed house track.

The intro is pretty good, has a nice buildup, gives an all right taste of what's to come. The track itself does however take some time before it really gets going, and the first half of the track feels like just one big buildup for the rest. When the beat really kicks in and the house nature of the track is revealed, it's a pretty sick track, with good melodies and heavy beats.

My main issue is the repetitiveness of the track in general. Apart from the huge shift between the first and second half, it really is a lot of the same, and I got tired of it after two playthroughs of the full track.

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DreamEater responds:

I guess i can understand where you are coming from bro; I'm in the middle of one of those artistic stages where I'm really trying to focus on build-ups and dynamics... so sorry if some things are still sketchy. (I like to think I'm getting a hell of a lot closer to my ultimate goal "sound-wise")

As far as this mix goes though, I can understand why so many people dislike the build-up; the build is very gradual, But i can only hope to improve at stuff like this in the future right? ^^;

Thanks so much for taking the time to review my work Soapbubble, I really appreciate it!
You rock dude! :P

~Dj Sonik

[Lamentation by the Sea]

Holy wow

I am amazed that we've gotten a couple of requests for tracks as good as this for this week in the RRC. This is absolutely beautiful.

The composition is crisp, it's amazing. The track is laid out for all to hear, it is very atmospheric, very real and serene, with a perfect combination of instruments that really set a mood and tell a story to you. Quite the epic track, very grand and majestic.

To me the track feels like it would fit towards the end of a movie, during the closing scenes right after a major event has unfolded, where everything starts to settle down.

Excellent volume control, amazing mastering, I'm just honestly stunned at how beautiful this track is, and how you manage to tell this story. The flute that plays the melody is amazing, could possibly have some vibrato added for some parts. The strings, however, violins, is what makes this track for me, they're absolutely perfect. That said, rhythmics do their job as well.

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descara responds:

Thanks a lot! I must admit I was a little lazy with the woodwind patches.

[Melting Ice]

Well

It's not necessarily a good loop, but it just seems like something you quickly slapped together.

The main issue for me is how off-key the rhythmic synths sound compared to the bassline. It really annoyed me, and I guess this could fit in some kind of surrealistic game, but from the title, I'm assuming you're going for a "winter wonderland"-kind of feel.

Lastly, it's quite repetitive, and even though it loops okay, you can hear it's just a 30-second piece over and over. With a loop you should lose track of where the loop originally begins and starts. It's also very important not to make it annoyingly repetitive, and the lack of variation here combined with the off-key bass/rhythm synths really ruined that for me.

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DahDoctow responds:

Yeah, I see your point. I'll try to make my next songs have alot more variety

[Facing Your Trials!]

Repetitive

Hard for me to review this considering how ltitle I like this MIDI sound, but I'll give it my best.

First off, sure enough it would fit to an RPG game, but you really need to switch out your synths. Even for MIDI this sounds very off, very fake, and really makes it hard for me to get that awe-like feeling i should get through absolutely epic RPG music. See if you can get your hands on a new soundset.

My biggest issue is that this feels quite repetitive. Though it varies a bit, it really just feels like more of the same throughout the entire track, and there's nothing very drastic that happens. it also fails to go out with a bang, which is something you should try to do in any track that is made to sound epic and majestic.

Lastly, you need to do some works on the rhythmics section. You should at least have MORE of them in the mix, because they're barely audible/noticable as is, and they really do play a vital part in a track like this.

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CheckeredZebra responds:

Will do :3

This is one of my first times doing a huge track like this, so this kind of advice is much appreciated. Unfortunately, through this software, I -cannot- change out the soundset. It's a notation software :c I'm getting closer t o getting "Logic Pro" which is a FAR FAR FAR superior composition tool. (sound wise, at least)

And hm....failing to make itself very drastic. I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks for this, it gives me some food for thought :3

[Sea of Destiny]

Quite epic

I don't know about the "pirate" feel. This is way too majestic and epic to be a tune for pirates. It sounds more like a ship of heroic sailors making it's way through troubled waters, IMO.

Really, really well written piece here, the composition is near flawless. The instruments you've used work alongside eachother well, especially love how you handled the strings, and the rhythmics section. Rhythmics sound not so complex, but rather grand.

The track is well varied and has, as mentioned, this overall majestic and epic feel, like the track itself is telling a tale.

Great intro and great ending to a great piece. I can only give this piece a 10, anything below is, IMO, not high enough.

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TheBellmaker responds:

Thanks for the review, I'm very glad that you enjoyed the song! I think that the majestic feel is the essence of classical music, and I hope to write more in the future :D

[~SW~ Keeper of the Dead]

Eeri

This really does everything an ambient track should do, and even more.

I think what really does it for me in this piece, is the vocal samples you've used throughout the entire track. They're incomprehensible, they're not loud, and they overlap eachother to make it sound like someone in the walls are talking about you, whispering about you behind your back.

The intro builds up well, good use of the xylophone, that single tone really creeps me out. In addition you have the samples of wind, and the synth/string on top of that again. There's also the heartbeat, which strengthens the feeling of fear. I'm not too sure about the strings around 0.50. They don't seem to fit in with the overall feel of the song, and reminds me more of the music from Fable, kind of toying, not so serious, while trying to be somewhat scary.

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SkyeWint responds:

Hello. Thanks for the kind words, the single tone of the bell was meant to be blowing in the background, simply "there". I think it worked the best, aside from the wind. The pizzicato around 0:50 is a tad weak, I admit, but I'm not sure about the not-serious-ness of them. Even if they're toying though, what do you mean by that? Are they toying with the creepy atmosphere, with you? Are they just playing around, period?

Glad you enjoyed it overall though, thank you for the review.

[What is This!]

Quite interesting

I was, honestly, at first quite skeptical to this. It just sounded like an attempt at going for something glitched, a bit experimental, that really just sounded like noise. After a while though, I really got a feel for this track.

That said, it still is a tad random. There's a thin line when it comes to experimental tracks between something new and intersting and something that just sounds plain random and off.

I must say I like the glitchy elements a lot, like the part playing at 2.16, very glitched and randomized, which feels pretty good. The piano joining in afterwards is a really nice touch, bringing the track a bit closer to the ground. THe main synth is also really neat, with some notes that are a bit off, really works out IMO. Also love the track "reset" if I can call it that in the middle of the song.

Ending was okay, a bit of a letdown after such a nice track, but it didn't harm the song much.

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xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks Soapbubble! This is a bit more experimental than most of my other songs, but I'm glad you understood it for what it was, and could feel the groove. And yet, it is very random.

Thanks for pointing out the weak points, I realise that the synth can get quite annoying after a while, but hey, you learn something new everyday :) I'm just hoping I'll be able to improve my craft to professional standard :)

Thanks very much for the review!

[Actualized]

Not bad

A pretty upbeat and cheerful little dance track, but it lacks in some areas.

The synth you used alongside the beat really emphasizes that upbeat feeling I get from the track. As does the melody, it's not too complicated, and rather playful with some of the runs you've got with these rather random notes. I feel they add to the cheerful and playful feel.

However, the track just feels a bit shallow. Sure enough you have rhythmics and some ambient synths backing up, but you're giving the melodic synth a lot more room than it actually needs, and it just feels a bit naked.

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sumguy720 responds:

Understood!
I really wish there was something concrete I could do to fill it out. I guess maybe the mids are lacking a bit too much. Mixing is so difficult!
Thanks for the review, I'm really gonna try to up the quality in the future.