Lockyn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Endless Dreamer]

This is goddamn sexy.

Kreyowitz responds:

Well thanks, mang. It FEELS sexy.

[Lockyn - Aqua (Aztech Remix)]

I love it <3 you already heard my comments over Skype :D Great work!

Kreyowitz responds:

Thanks man, your stuff is ALWAYS inspiring, and i'm looking forward to any FUTURE collabs with you!

[Xtrullor & Panda Party - Sheol]

Oh my.

I'll just be over here, changing my pants...

[Out Of Twilight]

(Apologies for the very late review. Broken computer + moving into new apartment = QQ)

Oh mai goodness.

The little silence in the beginning - do you use FL Studio? ;D

I love the intro feel. You like dem major sevenths, and I like dem too. Great poppy drums, especially that snare! I would have given it slightly more reverb decay though so the snare has a nice longer tail but nice work nevertheless. Love the little bongo drums, very snappy. In general, the section up till :29 ish when it gets quiet is very concisely mixed and sounds great. Bass isn't too heavy and supports it nicely.

I love the chords around :35, really unique feel that reminds me of chrono trigger and such games for some reason! The rolling toms around :40 really help to push it into the next section, but I do think they're a bit loud and don't have enough reverb to fit in the mix as well as they should. The pitch down at :46 is awesome, I love it.

When the drums pick up again after that, the gentle arp really reminds me of Final Fantasy or other fantasy games. Great feel here. I can really imagine that reverse solar eclipse. You have a great structure to the song - when it drops off to that transition section before 1:30, I love those gentle plucks - and nice sudden square pad! I love how that is almost sounds like when the sunset is apparent, and finally disappears!

Great chords as always at 1:47, I like the gentle lead and the chord change up along with that triplet rhythm in the pulsing tom drum in the back behind the beat! That tom is bothering me a bit, it's almost a bit too loud and bouncy. I think if you had lowered the volume of it when your kick comes in on every beat it would have sounded better and not as crowded in the kick freqs.

Nice wrapup with the plucks! In general you've got a really unique and smooth track that transitions nicely between two different themes and I really enjoyed it. Good luck with your future works! I hope you continue this way :)

NGAUC Finals review: 8.5/10

Birdinator99 responds:

Apologies for the late reply! Let's get to it!

I use Mixcraft 6, but that little silence at the beginning was my fault, not the program's :) Forgot to fix it.

I agree about that snare reverb; needs a little more. Glad you liked the first section, though. Snappy!

I wasn't too happy with that tom when I put it in, but I thought that the filter fade at the end would save it, haha. Yeah, more 'verb, maybe.

I'm pleased that the instrumentation is doing something for you! It's always cool to remind people of certain games they've played -- happens more often than I would expect.

The bouncy tom does not play at the same time as the kick drum, however, maybe the tail end of it is overlapping a bit with the kick's frequencies. The kick, I find, is too loud in retrospect. Maybe it's so loud, it sounds like that tom is playing on top of it? Maybe. Could be the side-chaining bass, too. Ah, I'll figure it out.

Thanks for the kind words, although I disagree about the transition (ech). I'm not happy with my stuff structurally yet. More practice is needed, but in the meantime, I've got cool reviews like this to keep me going!

Cheers!

[Serenity]

(Apologies for the very late review. Broken computer + moving into new apartment = QQ)

My oh my.

The subtle pad fade in and the guitar plucks. Love the whistle and guitar work meshing together. Immediately I get a very worldly, soaring, majestic feel from the sound. I almost thought the whistle was a flute at first! (I play the flute.) Mix is balanced, a bit on the quiet side which is good in this case. The drums introduced around 0:42 didn't cut through the bass end on your guitar that well, especially with that new mid string pad in the way. I do understand you meant to use the drums just to keep the rhythm in check and give the track a bit more of a push in terms of energy, but I do think the drums could use a volume boost and more precise eqing.

I like the change up in the chord progression around 1:43, I'm glad you didn't keep using the same from before. It helps to keep the feel of the majestic parts when they come back in around 2:04. In general, your track has a solid structure, great melodic variation and instrumental variation, and solid atmospheric feel. You did a great job, especially with this genre/style.

The reason I didn't give you a five was mainly because I feel that you could have done a lot more with the second chorus. It has a very similar feel to the first one with some slight changes in the mid string pad and the melodies, and I think if you had maybe even added some cool abrupt stops in the second iteration of the chord progression it would have given it such a nice change. What I mean is, after the chord progression goes through once and it starts again, each bar will play the drums and the synths through for three beats of the bar and the last one will stop on a drum, leaving the melody to push into the next bar on the fourth beat. I don't know if you exactly get it from here, but some thought into variation would have made this a five for me.

Great work, and keep it up. Cheers :)

NGAUC Finals review: 8/10

bassfiddlejones responds:

Thank you for the review! I appreciate the critique.

[The Cosmic Prelude]

(Apologies for the very late review. Broken computer + moving into new apartment = QQ)

Ohoho.

First thing I notice is the mix. Nice and balanced, volume is normalized properly. Great job keeping your stereo image in check, nothing blaring in one ear or anything like that. The intro bass has a nice phaser panning effect to it. :06, love that almost muted sounding pad synth. Strings echoing this pad sound was a nice touch on the high end, the bit of delay helped to bring it out despite not being too loud.

Chord progression wise, it is very reminiscent of many other things I have heard, in a good way, because honestly it is this type and style of sound that represents what you are trying to create. "Majestic" is probably the best way to describe the track throughout.

0: 46, 1:35 ish, there is are sudden chord changes and I was so glad it did. I know this type of piece is not meant for a lot of variation in that aspect because that is what keeps its slow, grandeur feel, but I honestly I feel like you could have put a bit of your own flair into it. Of course, you want to keep this atmosphere there, but I honestly did take off most of the points because I feel there could have been a more original touch to this somehow.

For what this piece is and the feeling you created while I was listening, it did quite well. I do hope you revisit this and approach it from a more original angle while trying to keep that majestic feel. Cheers and good luck with your future works :)

NGAUC Finals review: 6.5/10

Bardash responds:

Life got rather busy so I am sorry for this late response. Thank you for you comments. They are greatly appreciated.

[Systematic Indecision]

OHOHOHOHO. yesssssssssss.

I like this a lot.

Love the intro ambiance with that voice sample. Honestly I think the sample could have been a bit shorter, but considering the genre and the style it's supposed to be listened, it's perfectly fine. Nice vocal panning with the sample right before the beat drop at :44.

At the drop, the droning bass is at a perfect supporting volume and the drums are solid. The little stops you have in your drum pattern are nice, but I would have liked a compressed open hihat/splash to fill the holes so it doesn't stop the flow of the drums and provide a little variation in pattern.

Love the phaser effects in the background throughout this part. The siren jitter synth at 1:10 - amazing. Great effect that contributes to the insane energy of dnb. Transition into the quiet part with the gentle plucks was smooth, the 1:32 jitter synth with the gentle plucks was such a jarring contrast it sent chills down my spine. Great placement there.

1:42, back to the beat and more drum variations! awesome. The little stops on this part were better because you used the kick as the stop sound. The phaser sounds continue, really nice touch, and the fading high pitched sound helps to fill out the high parts, nice effect. Reverb on the reverse cymbal around 2:52 was perfect. Little vocal echoes are subtle and nice.

Bass swell around 3:14 was sick. I noticed you used this offtune hit sound, almost like something vibrating - that is amazing. I love the placement. You used it earlier around the first quiet part, after the first drop and in the transition to the second. Great variation and sample usage.

Around 4:12 to 4:21, I like the gently changing stringlike synths in the back, they are a great complement to the chaotic elements surrounding it. Transition back to the original drum patterns with the offbeat light snares was a nice tone down to the end. Sick ending with the jitter synth abruptly cut off.

All in all dude, you blew me away. This track is downright amazing work. I just have little nitpicks for you that I listed, but your mixdown was spot on and your track is so unique, especially for dnb. You've got a great thing going - you earned a follower and a favorite. Good luck in the competition! Cheers.

9/10
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NGAUC Knock-out Round Review

Waidmann responds:

thank you friend.

[Everlasting Rain]

Ooh.

I like that effect on the intro guitar pluck, although it makes it feel just slightly behind the beat. It kinda detracts from the flow of the track until the transition into the electric guitar around :31, so I'd take a look at the timing of your delay and how loud it is. I like the variation in your chord progression, it changes a lot and you do well with the transitions.

Your drum patterns are really varied which I like a lot. The little ride cymbal roll around 1:16 was a nice little touch! The quiet section afterwards with the guitar solo is a sick transition into my favorite section - around 1:45. Love the triplet/syncopated part here with the guitar chords, it gives it a much more driving, intense feel. However, I wish you had used stronger ride cymbals and more syncopated kick patterns (remember metal drum set double kicks!), would have made this section stand out a lot more in a good way.

Transition back into the first chorus around 2:18, sounds similar except for an additional layered lead guitar which is the usual fair but I enjoyed it nevertheless. Good simple ending wrapped it up nicely.

Reasons why I didn't give it a 5: Mixing and timings. Some of the synths, like the guitar pluck with delay in the beginning, just didn't fit with your beat. They were slightly behind or ahead and dragged the flow of the track down and it really detracted from my initial listen through of your track. Mixing wise, your track is very one dimensional right now. It would really help to use a stereo enhancer or splitter plugin on your guitar chords and split them to both left and right, offsetting the timing on one side by a couple milliseconds - fills the track up with the sound, giving the track a bigger, more whole feel. Your drums were a bit too soft in general - up the volume and give them a little reverb. Mixing needs time and patience - it really is what makes a track sound professional.

Keep it up. I enjoyed it! Cheers.

6.5/10
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NGAUC Knock-out Round Review

rainheart666787 responds:

Thanks for the honest review! I have read this a few times and do agree with everything here. Mixing is not my forte but I am taking some mixing lessons online to help me in the future. Thank you again, its feedback like this that makes me strive to be better.

[War Machine]

Damn.

You've got some pretty sick sampling. I love the intro sample, it's got a really unique progression and the lo-fi feel of everything meshes really well. The offtime drum hits around :30 and some other places are a sick touch, helps to slow down the feel of the track to a really laidback groove. The crackling stereo sound is a really nice effect, gives it almost like a old radio/old mic feel. Love the atmosphere you've created man.

The subbass hits you use hit a bit too hard compared to the rest of your track - it almost makes my headphones vibrate. Might want to tone that down. The use of the vocal scratches as a transition to the vox hook is pretty nice. I feel like if you brought out the scratches even more, and gave them a bit of a polish master-wise, it would give it a really nice black-to-white transition from lo-fi to hi-fi between sections.

The chord sample doesn't quite mesh too well with your vox hook. I would have tried something else - the dissonance isn't bad, but definitely could have been arranged better here. When you later the voice scratches with the vox hook in the section before 3:00, it's a pretty nice effect but I would have liked more variation in scratching and glitching - it gets a bit repetitive.

The sounds you use at 3:00 for the descending chord progression is a pretty abrupt change up. I like it. I'm getting a really strong Nujabes feel from your style of sampling. Keep it up man and you'll go places.

Now the reasons I didn't give it a 5: mixdown and original elements. I love sampling even though I don't use it, and Nujabes and Fat Jon etc etc are some of the best artists around (RIP Nujabes). Your mix, even if it's lo-fi, doesn't mean you skimp on EQing and balancing. You have to carefully consider how you want to contrast your original elements (the scratches?) with the lo-fi sampled elements, which you did a decent job at, but it wasn't at the point where I felt that jarring contrast that gives Nujabes-esque beats their out-of-time, chill laidback feel. Original elements: you know what I mean. You gotta have your own content in it, even if it's all samples manipulation. I'm not saying you didn't - but you sure didn't make it obvious. Try hard to incorporate your own production into your sample arrangement and manipulation and you'll have a much more unique product.

All in all, nice work. I really enjoyed it and I hope you keep it up. Good luck in the comp - you've got one of the most unique submissions along with the guy who submitted trap. :) Cheers!

7/10
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NGAUC Knock-out Round Review

[Spring Surge]

Well then.

This is quite the happy piece. Starts off with a fairly simple chord progression; I like your synths, they mesh with your style of music quite well. I like that quiet arpeggiator in the background, although I would have liked it much more if it were louder, I feel like it's a bit buried in your mix right now.

At :50 when the snare kicks in after the fairly common drum pattern transition, the layered lead pluck has a nice gentle melody that complements your happy chords quite well. The transition into the next lead sound after is a bit subtle - I like the lead here much more, and I feel like it should have been a bit louder. It seems like it's the same volume as the rest of the instruments you're using.

At 1:30, when you have the bridge into the next half of the song, I really feel a bit of variation in the bass would have greatly improved this section. Perhaps just some note changes, or rhythm change - overall though, nice build up into the section especially with the layered plucks before 1:50!

Here I like the single chord pattern along with the changing plucks (I feel like there's a music term for this arrangement...), great work with the variation. The transition into the faster drum patterns at 2:49 ish was pretty subtle, nice job. The instruments don't have too much variation from before, still the same chord pattern and similar rhythms and melodies until the climactic section at 3:10.

Here, I honestly enjoyed this part the most besides the glissando ending. The drums you used weren't the best, or perhaps you didn't spend to much time on them - but I feel like they could be brought out more in general. You usually want your percussion a little louder than the rest of your synths. Nice touch bringing back the original form of the melody with all the layered synths.

The glissando ending... took me by surprise. I liked it a lot honestly. Probably my favorite part of the track. The little stutter roll with all the sounds right before as the pace of the track increased was great.

Now the main reasons I didn't give this a 4 or a 5 were two things: originality and mixing. The chord progression pretty much stayed the same throughout, and it is a pretty commonly used progression... you did manage to keep me interested throughout the track so you did well with it anyways. The melodies seemed a bit incoherent sometimes, kinda like they were doodling around... I have this same problem with melodies. Sometimes I'm not sure when to wrap them up and call it a day, so I understand. If you go too far with a melody it gets hard to remember and feels awkward. Mixing wise, I really wish you had panned some samples and sounds left or right or at least gave it a bit of stereo treatment. Everything seemed pretty much dead center, which is fine for this style since there's no heavy synths or drums to fill up headroom, but I feel this track would be MASSIVELY improved with just some careful stereo manipulation, moving certain sounds across the stereo spectrum. It gives a track life; makes it feel more real and whole.

All in all, you made my day happier. A bit too happy, in fact. Keep at it and good luck! Cheers.

6.5/10
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NGAUC Knock-out Round Review

LunacyEcho responds:

Thanks for the massive review, Lockyn! I've admired your work for a while and it's an honor to have you review my stuff.

=> quiet arpeggios =>

I kind of wanted to keep those quieter so that the main melody wouldn't me overpowered.

=> overpowered main melody at 1:12 =>

Derp derp.

=> 1:30 bass =>

Sigh... I don't like coming up with basslines. :D I guess I put more stock into the sound of the bass rather than the melody it plays.

=> subtle transition =>

Great! Two of the things I've been trying to work on improving lately are transitions and structure. Good to see this one worked in your eyes. (ears?)

=> drums =>

The electronic drum set (as opposed to the more acoustic drum set playing for the first 3:07) wasn't really focused on too much. I was working on this up until around fifteen minutes before the deadline, and the ending drums were some of the things I was working on last. :D

=> glissando ending =>

You know, that thing has been getting way more positive feedback than I expected. I enjoyed making the stutter roll too. It's one of my favorite musical flourishes.

=> originality =>

The i-iv-i-v progression is REALLY common, as I'm sure you know. I used it because I wasn't trying for originality of chord progression - it's a catchy progression and its wide usage is probably a testament to that. I think the mood of the track fit the i-iv-i-v progression a lot better than it would some more original progression that I could've thought up. (although I don't blame you for docking points - after listening to a ton of music, it must get annoying :P )

=> mixing =>

ahhhhhhhhhhhh that was the thing i was going to do but then forgot because i ran out of time nooooo

Normally, the last things I do are automations and stereo treatment, since it's hard to change the structure and feel of the song once I add those. I didn't have time to add instrument panning. :( Then again, that might be for the best, since I've been doing that lately and it has not been going well.

Thank you so much for the giant review! I really enjoyed it.