DjAbbic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[JAKEX - A New Era]

The structure is very nice, but the high frequencies are very cluttered. Also, the high pitch-sliding synth sounds too high/harsh/raw, it kinda pierces my ear.

Pretty much, you got a good thing going on here that requires a bit of mixing and tweaks to that one instrument. The buildup is great and as I said earlier, the structure of the drop sounds cool but the EQ issues really detract from it.

Good luck! This has a lot of potential.

jakex09 responds:

Yea i just learned the basics of mastering and i'm very rudimentary with sound design atm. Just now figuring the whole thing out lol.

[Australia]

I really like the intro, the way that arp synth fades in is perfect,that detuned square sounds great and the melody is awesome.

The drop is nice too, but the chords being played in the background don't seem to work for me. Perhaps they might sound better if shifted 1 octave up/high eq boost?

But I'm just nitpicking, this was a great song, keep it up!

[A Hero has Arrived[DeshRMX]]

This was actually where I found it, but I guess I somehow forgot to review this one.

It adds everything that was missing imo, which makes this epic :D All the punchier drums were exactly what I imagined when I was listening to the original.

I'm curious though, how did you notice my review on the original so quickly?

DESHIEL responds:

I was waiting day and night for somebody like u 8D

[A Hero Has Arrived]

Wow this is great. The only thing it's currently lacking is stronger percussion I think, and perhaps the transition at 0:22 could use work (although I like it as it is) . Everything else sounds great so far. Keep it up!

[Apophis (WiP)]

That buildup is epic, I hope you keep it. I feel like some occasional stuttering of the lead might sound cool, but that's just me. Also, maybe you could have a high pitched synth with portamento enabled (kinda like that synth at the very end) playing when the rest of the percussion comes in.

Just a couple ideas to play around with. Good luck with this one :D

D-Chain responds:

The portamento high lead synth sounds like a great idea! gonna put it it in lol thanks!

[SWeissen P - One Day]

Wow, that melody in the break was incredible. Great job on this one! I might have to remix it one day :D.

Keep it up!

[Impulse]

Like others have said, the synths in this are perfect and the mix is impressively clean (although some volume tweaking might be required).

Now, to the percussion. I know you're not satisfied with them, but I'll comment anyway. They are probably a bit too weak for the 'hype' and 'intense' style you were going for. However, that might not your fault.

Percussion in genres like this rely heavily on the quality of the samples that you use. If you start with a bad sample, you will end up with bad percussion.

So, keeping that in mind, perhaps it's not your skills with the drums that is the problem, but instead it is the quality of the drum samples you are using.

Everything else is perfect. Whether the result of the percussion is due to the quality of the samples or your mixing skills is up to you to decide, since you know what they were like at the start and what you've done with them.

P.S. I thoroughly enjoyed this, don't get me wrong. It's just that I feel that this could be better, and you are the only one who can make it so :) Keep it up, your rate of learning is very impressive.

Lethal-Input responds:

Thanks man. I'm pretty sure the problem are the samples AND my lack lack of mixing skills. Well this is the first song where I actually feel like I used the mixer decently, so i'm glad it seemed to pay off since others have also said that the mix sounds clear (except for maybe the percussion). Thanks for the feedback

[Vibrating Angels]

Noticed that you mentioned this was complextro, so I decided to check it out :p

Nice, soothing intro. I like the synths you've used in here.

Damn, 1:30 was powerful. I really like the high arp in the background, it really added a lot to the 'wow' factor, so nice touch. I really like the build-up as well, especially the pitch drop near the end.

I recognize a few of the loops in the drop which you've chopped up, and you've done a good job combining them. Unfortunately, the problem with loops is that they are usually already processed and all that jazz, which makes it difficult to mix them well.

Actually, perhaps it is your kick that is being a bit problematic in the mix. I feel like it might be taking up too much low end. Instead of bumping up the lows on the kick, perhaps you could add a sub so that the presence of bass is still there, but without the muddiness the kick is currently producing.

Try messing around with sub basses and whatnot, perhaps you'll find what you're looking for :)

In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish, so you deserve props for that. The mix may be problematic but the structure and synthwork is definitely spot-on. Keep it up!

Souldran responds:

That's most likely it, I think. Mrgh. I wish my subwoofer was still working...

Thanks! Really my first try with something this detail-oriented. I'll see if I can get a cleaner mix on the next track I work on (whenever that might be), I think I'm just gonna let this one simmer for a while.

Thanks again!

[The Hexagon! (Original)]

:O. This is quite different from the stuff I remember from you. The quality is still here though, damn fine as always. 1:30-2.00 is incredible. However at 2:00 I feel like the change in tempo was a bit odd and sudden. I also think you chose the wrong type of clap for this, but that's just me.

Like Aeron, I don't really like big room much, but this is superb. Perhaps it's the quality and attention to detail that you carried over from the progressive house/trance days, but I really dig this.

Keep it up! :D

D-Chain responds:

Hey abbic thanks for your review!
yup.. you might remember me as a melodic proghouse and trance publisher at newgrounds but those days are days of the past. i still do melodic breakdowns as you noticed.
__
i can totally feel what you mean at the 2:00min mark but there was no other way for me to do it..
it had to be done otherwise i would be stuck in the same tempo for the rest of the song.
the clap is probably the weakest sample in this song lol so i agree with you.

however i still do some proghouse and or trancey stuff.. its all in here the only difference is the layout and sounds AND im still using a basic 4/4, 3/4 or 2/4 time signature in all my tracks lol