SAMFISH's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ascension]

Ooh this is pretty damn cool. There's just a ton of clipping though. Nice use of sidechain. Love the chords.

BrokinPaper responds:

Thanks. I had to rush it to make it in time for the deadline (started this last night). Probably going to remove it after the judging is over so that I can refine it. There's elements that I definitely want to change. Plan on saving this for an album.

[Incertae (cut)]

Tbh, if you're using serum, there's basically no need for the other ones you used like 3X OSC. Obviously, if there's specific sounds though, like when I'll occassionally use Sakura for harps or something. Everything in this even the growls just sounds barely filtered at all. Throw a compressor on those growls, besides, they sound alot like you just took presets or something. They don't really fit. But really, throw a compressor. They clip everything out. The strings were actually really nice. That violin in the beginning was quite pretty. Also those chords sound like borderline sawtooth waves. Like you didn't add detune, or layer them at all. Reverb sounds very mono (as opposed to stereo). Otherwise, you have yourself a pretty nice track. Nice ideas.

vidu3k333 responds:

Reason why I use 3xOsc because I feel more comfortable (all of my previous songs has a heavy use of it.) I did use a compressor, maybe I should crank it up a little. Thanks for your review! :D

[LazyTown - We Are Number One (Dubstep Remix)]

noice man! if you have to close out a meme's shelf life, this is how you do it

[Emergence]

Pretty dope. Just generic, and the wubs are sometimes misplaced. Of course who am I to judge. Nice work. Keep it up.

Mielsen47 responds:

I agree with you that it is generic :) ,but that has to change in the future !
Thanks a lot for your review and I am glad that you like it <3 !

[Sharks - Never Let You Go]

Yesssssss!!! Thank you Sharks! I've been waiting for this, bro! That drop made me have to pause the song and come back with new pants lol. I'd use a snare with less of a tail in the drop. Otherwise, this is soooo good. I love the lead and the gated chords in the drop! Then the dubstep drop was like Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Boiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!
Dat sidechain forced me to pause it once again and get another pair of pants. Tempo change = awesome. I'm feeling some mega Teminite style here. Even that singing is kinda like the Teminite + PsoGnar "Rally the Troops" EP. Is that you singing? You got a nice voice. If it's not, then props to whoever did. I didn't really like the use of the LP filtered growls in the riser at 3:38 or so. I maybe would have used a HP instead or just not used them period. However, I really liked this track and it's fun to see you branching out from your usual more purely dubstep style.

[~:Distance:~]

Like it a lot. You're right about the drop. It's not very impactful. Although I do think it would sound good on a geometry dash level. You could consider using more of a percussive snare or even a clap in the drop and really make the basses and kick really pop. Or you could make an interesting rhythm using a gate on the sidechained chords. I'm not sure. Either way, there is potential in this song.

[Imaginaire]

Yeah... it is kinda weird how Newgrounds doesn't have a "Future Bass" option. It's a pretty well-known genre. Those chords need to be thicker and accompanied by a bassline (not a growl - don't mix those two up lol). Did you get those growls from the Virtual Riot sample pack? Idk. I personally think that those types of growls don't fit this type of melodic song. Ever heard "Never Let Me Go" by Virtual Riot? Those growls are subtle and used more to fill otherwise empty space. I'd recommend that type of growl for something like this. Otherwise, this piece may not even NEED growls at all. Back to the whords for one second... Layer them, equalize them, compress them, and change around the stereo quality of each of the layers. They really need to pop out in this song. Then add some sort of bassline to it. Not a growl or a sub, but a bassline. You can even just use some built-in serum presets - they're basic, but even they'll get the job done. Right now the whole thing is sounding shallow. Top it off with a unique lead voice and an arpeggio of some sort. This will already give it more of a base to rest on while you work with the smaller details after. Overall, this is a pretty nice track.

NGBaronAwesomeness responds:

Responding by sentence number.
1. i agree
2. i agree
3, ok
4. no they're from cymatics but i changed them a bit
5. i disagree but that's your opinion
6. yes, i love that song. as a matter of fact, i could just change 1 or 2 things about this song and then call it a remix of "never let me go"
but i was thinking more "stay for a while" by virtual riot than "never let me go"
7.yeah i guess next time i should resist the urge to put as many growls
8. ok
9.you mean chords right?
10. ok, ok, ok, ok
11. thought they popped out more than usual already
12. ok
13.ok
14. ok
15. ok, but idk how an arpeggio would work
16. ok
17. thanks

[Bells of Time]

I love it. The lead sounds really Teminite-ey - which I love, because I freaking love Teminite. I have a few criticisms though. One of them I am going to present in question format: what software are you using? It's not Audiotool or somthing, right? This entire track is mono - even the reverb on the bells. Get a stereo shaper or something, because it sounds like everything is happening right in the listener's face. Secondly, I have to mention the clipping on the bells. Either the resonance is too high (which I doubt as the bells themselves sounds perfect imao), or you just need to throw a compressor or a limiter on there of some kind. Nice work!

Brostro responds:

Thanks for letting me know about the clipping... i didn't realise it xd. Also i'm using FL Studio 12.

[Seized!]

Quite nice! Your ideas are great. Sounds very John Williams-ish. My only real complaint is the mixing of the instruments (balancing the orchestra). What software are you using? If you want a nice, free, but quality orchestral plugin, try out Edirol Orchestral! It's got pretty great quality sampled instruments and their respective sections. If you've got the dough, I'd recommend something by Native Instruments in the Kontakt series or something like the Hans Zimmer collection (that is if you have an easy $2,000 - $4,000 sitting around). Otherwise, everything is sounding quite nice.
:D

CartoonChill responds:

I'm using Garageband (top tier software, am I right?). If you've listened to my latest original composition (The Chase), you can hear an improvement. Actually, I just uploaded a new piece of music, but technically isn't an original piece. I am working on something big right now that I hope to be done by the end of the week. I'd love to use Edirol Orchestra, but unfortunately it's not compatible with Mac. And no, I don't have $2,000 - $4,000 sitting around. And anyways, I would spend it on more art & animation related equipment. But thanks for the response!

[Dreams of Flight]

Do you use a program like the Hans Zimmer collection? Native Instruments programs like Kontakt? Really like this. I strive to reach this level one day. For now... here I am! :D

Danman87 responds:

Not using any of the Hans Zimmer collections. For this piece I mostly used Eastwest's samples, including their Hollywood Strings and Brass libraries, as well as Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Choirs, among a few others. All the woodwinds are live recorded though! :)