vocaloutburst's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[Undertale Original] Timeline]

Yooo this track is honestly REALLY well put together!! The mixing and mastering is SO crisp and clean, the sound design is very creative and well-made, and I believe it's safe to say that you've added enough unique elements to the track to call it YOUR sound!

There were a few minor things that stuck out to me on my initial listen-through. First, the horn stabs at 0:12 sound pretty dry. It sounds like you added a bit of reverb to them but I suggest adding more decay time. Next, the tempo change transition at 1:16 was a dope idea, I think it could have been executed a little better though. I think the space needed to be filled a bit more, maybe with some more pads or a busier synth line, just something that feels like the track still building even though the tempo is slowing down. I think I'd apply the same notes to the second tempo back into the original tempo as well. It was pretty sudden and I wish more space was filled so it felt like a more natural transition. Lastly, the ending was probably my favorite part of the track, but it needs to not be so sudden! Bring it back down from that climax and try to give the listener a better feeling of release, probably near the same dynamics as the beginning of the song.

I know I listed a good bit of things that could possibly be improved, but honestly, the vast majority of those points don't take away from the entire vibe of the song too much. I think you've developed your sound really well and you should keep working on it so it stands out even more amongst other dubstep artists! Great work!!

[The Ruin of Tranquility]

I really like the soundscape in the intro, sounds very eerie and sets up the next part of the track pretty well! I do have to say that once the different melody lines started kicking in, my ear was starting to get a little confused. Once I took a look at the chords you had in the description, I started to get a better understanding of what you were trying to go for. My main gripe with this track, however, isn't really the chord progressions themselves, it's how the chords felt unsupported for the majority of it all.

Let's start with the section from 0:40 - 1:28. I think the sounds you used were really cool, but the melodies that were being played felt jumbled like they were contradicting each other and the chords that were trying to be outlined, and I didn't really feel any sort of anchor to help guide my ear through it all. Even when the subtle bass pad and the main glide synth came in, it still felt a little jumbled.

When the drums came in at 1:28, I think things started to come together a little better. I started hearing the chords a little clearer, but certain instruments' melodies were still contradicting the chords. Then, 1:44 happened and I finally felt grounded. The chords were clearly laid out, there was a more definitive bass line, and the drums kicked into full gear. I will say, once the piano melody came in, I started nitpicking. The chords sounded great but I felt like the voicings of the chords and the voice leading in the melody needed some work.

However, 2:47 is probably my favorite part of the song. The descending arpeggio line is SO nice, the chromatically descending bassline with those chord voicings felt really natural, and the overall atmosphere at that part was just so pleasing to listen to! I found myself purposely clicking back to that part of the song over and over because of how at ease I felt listening through it!

Overall, the sound design and mixing are pretty solid, it was really the chords in relation to the melody and countermelodies at certain parts that made me feel a little uneasy at times, but it was never a huge issue. Pretty cool idea, keep at it!!

[Marine Mayhem!]

how'd you get a copy of the new smash ultimate splatoon DLC track?

LunacyEcho responds:

sheldon for DLC !!!!

[Pivot]

WIP or not, this is SUCH a great mixture of many different ideas and styles! Best of luck to the both of you guys, seriously awesome stuff you guys come up with!!

stardew responds:

tysm! your track is wonderful as well. regardless of who makes it through, I'm really excited to see what you make in the future (:

[cute block]

This is super cool!!! I love everything about this tbh, the chords, the melody, the 8-bit nuances, it's video game ecstasy! My only "complaint" is the mixing. Those bass frequencies gotta be brought out a little more for sure, I wanna hear all that awesome bass stuff you got going on. Also, the drums could be brought up a little more too, especially the snare. Other than that, everything else seemed fine to me, I can most definitely hear this in a pixel indie game for sure! Nice stuff dude!!

[Social Isolation]

I hear a LOT of potential in this track, mainly because of the synths that you use. The sound design overall is really cool to listen to and keeps me pretty engaged throughout the whole song. However, my biggest concern is the mixing.

First, I think all of the drums can be louder, especially at the parts of the song where the rhythmic synth is playing. The levels of the drums sounds fine any other time, but for some reason that rhythmic synth pattern drowns out a lot of your drums. Second, the rhythmic synth is a bit loud. I like the chord progression you have going on for it, but anytime it isn't playing, there's a pretty big dynamic drop that might throw the listener off. Third, the bass needs to be louder too. I'd recommend layering a sub bass on top of that line you already have for it, maybe even change the line just a tad by bringing the last note of that line (C) down an octave.

I really like all the movement and effects you have going on for that rhythmic synth btw, brings a lot of variety in your song and really engages the listener to hear all its little nuances! I'd recommend maybe adding some other melody lines during the softer parts of the song so that it doesn't feel too empty there, but honestly it'd sound pretty cool either way. Really nice concept overall dude, keep experimenting!!

[Life Goes On]

sorry, not sorry, but I need this to be a real musical...I can wait...I'm a patient man

LunacyEcho responds:

if it does become a real musical can u write a song for it thx

also your song is super great too!! will leave a review in the next few days

[Episode 19 - The Butter Man & etc. (w/ meatcanyon)]

If you don't animate the butter man to this song, I will be extremely disappointed!

But seriously, thank you guys for the kind words!

Sincerely, Father of The Butter Man.

[can't make up my mind (loop)]

Nice stuff! I like the chord progression and the effects you added in here! The only thing I'd clean up a bit is the mix. The kick seems a bit too loud and punchy and I'd actually turn down and EQ the snare as well. Mess around with it and see what happens, but otherwise, it's pretty solid!

Xorberax responds:

Thank you for your good feedback. I'll make some tweaks :)

EDIT: I've made the suggested changes, thanks!

[Sharks - Adrenaline]

Geez, I'm getting whiplash from all this head bumping XD