Saltbearer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Chant Of The Lone Wolf]

Epic indeed! Tried-and-true palette of instruments, nothing out of place. Cool subtleties giving richness to the atmosphere. Great dynamics and beautiful tone to the lead... though a lot of that is probably baked into a sample pack, right? Regardless, it comes off very organic.

A few thoughts:
- First impression of 1:25's widening noise thing was that it could've been louder and sharper-sounding. Maybe sidechain the rest under it to some degree, too, with very fast attack/release? Very quiet, hissy, high-frequency additive synth band with reverb could also complement it.
- 3:13, those note volume shifts seem pretty wild against the quick attacks. Might go for a lazier volume response.
- The distorted notes have a fairly distinctive vibrato shape, if you'd want to obscure that. The distortion may be a bit loud for my taste as well, though the strength is fine.

Welcome to the site, looking forward to hearing more from you!

FBole responds:

Thank you !

I usually work this way : 50% Virtual instruments 50% organic instruments. It allows for a more "homemade tone" and avoids the sounds to be too perfect when coming out of a sound bank.

- I agree with you on the widening at 1:25, I wanted to use no synths in this track and tried to make a very powerful blow on this section using only cymbals & taikos but it turned out pretty weak compared to what is expected. I will try your recommendation on future tracks !
- Agreed, my mistake here was to accept the discontinuity in volume because of hearing the track to much, one of the reasons why mixing your own tracks can be hard at times.
- Noted, I'll be aware of that.

Thank you again for your feedback!

[01a]

Cool glitches in the beginning, beautiful smooth lush pad, nice perc.

Don't like the synth at 0:28 - without the context of the game/rest of its OST, it strikes me as cheesy and out of place, but more than that, it's got some uncomfortably strong resonances around 670 Hz and it feels like it's buried/fighting with the mix. It's got a cool melody though. Seems like a clearer, thinner synth with its weight in the highs would suit it… in fact, why don't I just… *time passes…* oh oops I kinda got lost in sound land and overdesigned it and now it might not really be clear and thin and it's got some other sharpnesses that I don't like and I'm not sure that I'm happy with its weight placements in general or if it fits with the other instruments and it doesn't help that I'm working with a render and my ears hurt but I did a thing at all so here's that: https://instaud.io/3reL

0:46 transition seems a hair too sudden, due to cut tails or something. Feels like it could use a little: [instaud.io randomly dies for a few hours in-between these two uploads] … https://instaud.io/3rfA

and the ENTIRE SECOND HALF IS PURE HEAVEN okay SUBMIT

~ REPLY TO REPLY ~

DM? Eh, someone else might benefit.

Alt synth: Glad you liked it! It still sits oddly with me because I knew what I wanted it to be and failed to nail it, then realized that that wouldn't sit right anyway and failed in a different direction. The space it occupies is also different from yours, and I looped this enough while reviewing and editing that my brain recognizes yours as canon and rejects mine further.

… which means the resonance stopped hurting as much, the synth doesn't seem as unfitting/at odds with the mix, and it slid a little closer to "classic and groovy" from "cheesy". How's that for reliable criticism? 8) But to highlight what bothered me initially, here's 670 Hz spiked, then normal, then cut sharply: https://instaud.io/3rpf

The resonance shifts with the melody cuz harmonics 'n' stuff, and it would be a desirable element if controlled, so maybe separating and compressing a broader range around there would be a good idea.

Just making what you like: 👍 ← several of these. I don't care what the experienced people say, stumbling around in the dark and trying to tune in to your own frequency must leave you with some interesting signatures that others would guide you around. (So uh, want grains of salt to take with everything forever? I've got some.)

Crossfadey VGM: A thing which is cool and sense-makey.

Passive aggressive: ⁿᐧ

cthrn responds:

holy crap lmao
i dont even know what to say
i do agree with you though! that alt synth you made rocks hard
also just for context as to why the change is so sudden: in the game, this song is cut up into 3 parts, the part at the beginning thats like windy and glitchy, the part in the middle, and the "i gotta get up" part. they would loop in specific areas and fade into each other when you continue in the stage, i just put them all together in order for the sake of an album release.
i also literally know nothing about the science and shit behind music, i just make what i like to hear, so idk what the 670 Hz thing is about lmao
im super happy you enjoyed the song though! maybe some day, down the line, ill remake the song or something and keep all of your criticism in mind to make the song better!
also idk if that last sentence like, sounded passive aggressive or not, i feel like it can over text, but i actually genuinely mean it, im very happy you took the time to give constructive criticism!
edit: also, i cant remember if newgrounds lets you reply to replies, but if they dont, just dm me if you wanna reply with anything

---reply to your reply of my reply---
ahhh i get whatcha mean with the Hz thing now. idk, i kinda personally like it, ive always kinda dug crappy noise like that in music, but i can completely get where you're comin from
ill try messing with that later on

[WL - Delusive Bananas]

Nice textures to the pads here, *especially* the one in the beginning. Blending with the high-end reverb shine (and some bit reduction?) gives it a quality that reminds me of Oneohtrix Point Never's "Love in the Time of Lexapro" - go preview the beginning of that on Bleep, it's the title track of its release. The one for the loud parts is satisfyingly crisp, and sits well with that sharp, wibbly bass. Interesting choice of sample, proper utilization of "now it's time to get serious".

*Personally* wasn't really into the tone of the distorted lead here to begin with, or the strength of its sidechain response. Starting to feel like it fits into the arrangement now, but could still stand to be a bit richer.

Also think this could afford to be extended. The 1-2-1-2 structure leaves me wanting a more definite climax… something like 1-3-2-1-3-4 in terms of relative energy, with the current 2s as 3s, the new 2 being a transition section to ease back to 1, and the 4 building on its 3. I guess the distorted lead adds a small step up in energy, but the periods of its inclusion don't really constitute distinct new sections. Maybe the 4 would have flashes of some soft, wide pad on the 16ths, to fill out whatever space is available. Maybe some prominent high-end percussion.

One last suggestion: to give the final mix some really quick, easy polish at a low cost, just rub a banana peel on it.

SUNSCREECH responds:

ooh thanks for that longass and helpful review :)

[I Tried For Years]

Warm, pretty, depth to the field… certainly something you can get lost in! Bright synths sound magical. Wonderful harmonies all around. Like what's being cut from/emphasized in the guitar, though it may be a *tad* extreme toward the lows. The off-scale, birdlike creaks do a nice job enhancing the track's overall organic quality. On my first listen, I was kinda ready for just one more gentle element to be introduced around ⅔ of the way through, to *really* sell it. Doesn't seem quite so necessary now that I've given it several loops, though. (… and I could still stand a few more!)

Also gonna be checking out that EP. For now, I think this has eased me into the idea of sleeping at an appropriate hour. eeexcellent…

larrynachos responds:

I tried adding other elements, but tbh it oversaturates the sound.

I'm really glad you liked it! Thank you so much for the review!

[TYoT : Making Angels Cry]

Oh HELL yes, love this atmosphere, love that wide low-bit buzzing and the rest of the sound design. Everything here occupies a finely carved-out space, right where it belongs, where it can stretch and breathe. Interesting beatwork, scenery gets rearranged plenty without feeling like it's losing focus. YA DID US GOOD YA DID

Anchorwind responds:

:) Glad I could brighten your day.

[TYoT : Past, Present, Future]

Varied, original, fine production, mixture of harsh and chill textures, small details, widely-panned elements. All the markings of a me-likey. Nothing jumps out as something to criticize. Definitely following for this. 8)

Anchorwind responds:

Welcome Aboard. Brace yourself.

[Undo! Undo!]

Like how much fresh jungley stuff I've been encountering lately. Nice slicin' here. The bright, steady vocoded "undo" and moderate-tempo beat just *click* together, and the metallic reverberations on the distorted voices fit right in. Satisfying scratches at the minute, approve o' them good ol' pitch-shifting chord stabs and swirling ambience in the second half as well.

Drums are heavy in the lows and dull in their upper ends - surely stylistic and totally subjective, but the ratio feels *slightly* over the top to me.

Funny thing, just this past evening, I actually had a dream where I was working on similar music and I ended up mashing undo after a massive screw up! I think I had cleared out a project vs. opening an actual fresh one (I don't think that's even a thing you can do with SunVox, thankfully) and started a new track in it, and I was about to confirm an overwrite when I realized it... so I just undid the whole new one instead of using Save As?! Whatever, I looked on the bright side, recalling *another* mistake that I wasn't fortunate enough to be able to undo, involving an accidental project merge. That one really happened with my (soon to be second-) latest track, though… wasn't a huge deal, just ten minutes individually deleting about 200 modules I effectively duplicated. still would've been nice to just freakin' UNDO

cthrn responds:

I've been trying to think of something to reply with for like 10 minutes and I don't even know where to begin lmao

1) Thank you very much for the compliments~ I'm super happy you enjoyed my track

2) "the ratio feels *slightly* over the top to me" This is absolutely true. I don't know why, but that has been my absolute favorite thing do to in music lately lmfao. I love exaggerating the fuck out of all the ends and honestly I'm just an unstoppable force at this point

3) I love having dreams about making music so much,,
I recently had a dream that I made an album, the genre was like a mix between jungle and gabber, and all the songs were super passive aggressive lmfao.
Each song was about a person I disliked, and I just got all my anger out by making songs about how much I hated them, without actually saying who they were lmao

[Blizzard (Remastered)]

It's an improvement! Definitely a bit fuller, and more dynamic. Strings at 4:09 sound less awkward. Better selection for the jingle for sure - still repeats a little flatly per-section outside of the intro, but it matters less because the sound of it is richer and less stilted, and the timbre/shape gets switched up a few times. "I finally got one thing to sound like I wanted!" - Ain't that a great feelin' though? Motivating.

Retouching old stuff is always difficult, in my experience. If you're doing it in the first place, chances are it's something that's stuck with you the whole time, both as something you love and something you feel is unsatisfying. It's been in your head, telling you that *it* is and should be exactly what it sounds like it is in its current state, rather than a living idea with greater potential. It can be hard to choose to sacrifice old charm for newfound beauty, and if you don't know going in how to achieve exactly what you want, making improvements at all can seem like it would be a fool's errand. But art is only "done" when all authors have settled for the last time, and there will always be room to improve it further still.

So, next tier of criticism:

The FM synth at 4:18 is rather simple, messy in the low end, not enough to fill out its section, and kind of unfitting with the overall palette. Given the more organic qualities of the other instruments, a straight-up harpsichord might work, with some understated sixteenth notes thrown in because I think that's what people do with harpsichords, and maybe some layered sound design in the low end with the same sort of impact you get from slamming down a low note on a piano. If it's intentionally set apart as less organic, I'm not sure what to offer, specifically...

It would probably help to know exactly how the boss fight you're picturing goes, and for what sort of game. It doesn't seem like an "epic" battle so much as tense and calculated, like you're being fought off effortlessly, even gracefully, and while you're not overwhelmed, even one misstep would be a disaster.

The whole thing sounds a bit incohesive from section to section, though it would make more sense if each one were a different attack phase. My usual cheap trick to tie things together is to just let instruments and melodies bleed across borders, but these seem somewhat deliberately separated. Maybe some ambient buildups/bridges would work.

… uhhh ear fatigue is setting in and my brain is getting tired, so I need to just dump thoughts less articulately.

Bass drum. Automate the high end for some less-flat reverby clicking? Replace its low end with a slightly longer bass at the start of each measure?

2:14, jingles perhaps too loud.

Offbeat section-capping impacts kind of hollow now. Scooped-out bass? Stereo width conflicts?

I remember it seeming like some spots had too much activity in some low-mid frequency range on my first listen, maybe even like there was overcompressed reverb or something. Ear fatigue is making it hard to distinguish though.

~

Well, again, keep doin' sound stuff ("just for five minutes" any time you go a while without an urge). Obviously, you are free to keep iterating on this, but don't get hung up on perfecting it at this point in time - it'll still be around to pick up, assuming you KEEP SAFE BACKUPS and nothing unusual happens. Suitable arrangement of letters for one last line to close this thing off!

annie4star responds:

Thanks for the response! I was actually thinking of changing that one pad because it was jarring. I was thinking something similar to bells, though a harpsichord is available with Miroslav.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around high end vs low end, but I can tweak it over time. I don't have the most optimal headphones at the moment, but they're serviceable.

[Takeoff (ft.fractilx) [BIG BEAT]]

Kinda half-and-half on this one, between yee and haw. Acidity, beat, and general atmosphere each get their own raised thumbs, easily. Love the fluffy kneadable parts, squispy/schomfy wide friends, 0:58 smlapulousness, andmmmmmbass. You bet I love the strong classic BEMANI vibe - which somehow doesn't seem to be easy to come by... still trying to pin down all of the particular qualities that make tracks seem more BEMANI-like.

On my first listen, my ears wanted a smidge less fogularity, and a touch more upper-mid stabbity to the perc, but because sensory processing is fun and manageable, my ears have adjusted to the space over multiple listens. This renders all criticism of all music invalid. do you want me to eat peas

DynamiteGrizzly responds:

Sure, why not?

Thanks for the BEMANI comment. I'll admit I was trying to ape LASER CRUSTER just a lil' bit on this one.

[WL - Data Tension]

Relentlessly hammering several layers of sounds + airiness + pleasant harmonies is a winning combination.

• It doesn't feel like the reverb is adding weight in the right places though... needs EQing/pushing out to the sides/toning down, something, and then the synths hiding underneath it would need some other form of fluffing.

• The breakouts from the overpowering distorted synth parts are sitting in an awkward spot. Maybe give them an extra measure to exhale with at least a couple beats without percussion, or just a clear tail, or make the transition even more of an abrupt cut with or without a lead-in.

• Could generally go for s'more fine tweaks, like mixing up the snare velocities in the middle section.

Faving for the "winning combination" though - I really want more of this general vibe around. Particularly like how the notes of the vocal sample(?) fit in at its wildest. I'm about to finish something with some shared qualities. 8)

SUNSCREECH responds:

Thanks for the helpful review !

I've got one thing to say tho.
I used the reverb mainly in a sound design perspective, and not only as a mastering tool. But you're damn right with the rest
Also if you want more of this vibe, check my other stuff, especially rare hemisphere.

Thanks again,
WL