SAMFISH's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[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 !

[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.

[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! :)

["Cloud Floor"]

Mixing. Everything sounds like it's in the same frequency. Slope some of the chord layers (assuming you actually layered the chords instead of just sticking them in doubled octaves). The piano at 0:44 is a nice touch though. For a trance song, it could do well to sound more spacey. Add some arcing pads over everything to add some shimmer and shine. 1:11 was a classic trick used in trance that will never get old. However, this brings me to my next point: the drums. I guess the kick is okay, although it could be bettered with a compressor (but that's just part of mixing). That snare sounds like a house snare rather than something I'd use in a trance song EVER. Like a light clap or a few hats. The hats you used were well mixed for trance music though. I also like these chord progressions. It just is too bass heavy which makes it sound more like "industrial" trance (if that's even a thing lol) and I can't picture flying through a maze of light, fluffy clouds (like the title).

Ryzmik responds:

Thank you very much for the review! I'm not so good at mixing and I have problems with choosing good drums samples. Also I'm learning to use some FX, like the compressor and the equalizers. One last thing: I'm very bad at putting names for my songs :P