AskSteve's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Place of a Skull]

I actually rather enjoyed that track. Definitely not what i had expected. That being said I can tell that you understand you're music theory and you understand composition well. I was thoroughly impressed where you took the track from beginning to end. While i may not really be able to provide proper feedback, due to never hearing something like this before, i can say that i really enjoyed it. Ambient noise is hard to work with. Great use of panning as well. a little constructive feedback i can give though thats not related to composition is make sure you eq that feedback noise you used from around 1:30 to 2:10 reaaaallllyyy well, or just get rid of it. That kind of noise can create a nasty headache. Again though, Great piece of music.

Phonometrologist responds:

Thank you for taking this on to review--I can't imagine it to be easy for someone that never listen to music like this. The feedback noise you're talking about really is feedback, but I purposely made it worse by adding a crunch modulator. It doesn't sound as bad without that plugin. This way it sounds more like tinnitus like what I experience from time to time lol but yes you are right that it can give a few people headaches upon listening to that sort of thing for a long time. It was precisely what I wanted to experiment with--sounds to make one uncomfortable. You've been quite kind with your words so I thank you. Even if you chose not to be, I am still grateful for you taking the time to listen and review.

[redemption]

I love what im hearing here. Clearly there's a lot of emotion in the song. Emotion in a track is what separates good music from great music. a little advice i could throw at you would be to kind of chill with your delay on your main lead sound. It's a really nice sound, but to much delay can make it have a kind of jarring effect. The kids playing is a great effect. that transition at 3:45 is great as well. i noticed that you really put a muffle on that bass before that transition almost making it impossible to hear without good speakers. I would say that if you were to gradually cut whatever you did to muffle that kick so it builds up and then have it slam like it does right at the transition point, it could sound real nice. The piano is great btw. Your mix down is about perfect. Great track John.

[Coquette]

Nice track. I love the fact that you sang on your own track. Very unique in this type of music. Some feedback i have would be to really cut back on the reverb and also eq the vocals so you can really hear them through out the whole track. Great buildup though. I'd love to hear the story behind the lyrics. overall a very glitch mob feel to it. Again nice track. Good luck.

steelside responds:

Ya the reverbs CRAZY on this track. I've been getting better at controlling it and EQing this correctly on newer songs.

As far as the story behind the lyrics...
It's about falling in love with a girl you really should have never had anything to do with in the first place. Despite it feeling like the greatest thing in the world, you know in the back of your mind you can't love her. But she makes you happy, so no matter how poisonous things might get, you can't let her go because when she's silent it kills you.

[The Winter's Wrath]

Nice track man! Look into mastering and getting an even mix. You have good sounds, but it's muddy. Without proper getting a proper mix, if you add a ton of reverb it's going to sound muddy and that's just how it works. If you haven't heard of pink noise, i would look into that. Super underrated way to get a even mix, and then you can go from there in terms of mastering. I like the way the track is headed though. Good job man.

[Nocturne - Swiggity Swooty]

Nice sounding track! A little feedback i have would be to change up the hi hat and little bit and maybe throw in a few different types of hat rather than that snappy closed hat. I like the pluck sound you got going there as well but be sure not to drown a pluck in reverb. As ZQMFB6 said your kick is super muddy. A big part of trap music is having a super clean sounding 808 that really fits in the track. I think if you were to look into how to produce a nice 808 using massive, and then process/eq it well this track could go from good to great. Super simple to do by the way. Again nice sounding track! good luck!

[[HMCX feat. Nate Monoxide] - U]

I think this track has a lot of potential but I would recommend reallly working on your wobbles down low. they sound really clippy and while that clipping isn't always bad it's not great in this instance. But besides that, if this is the direction you want your track to go, then go for it! Good luck.

[Laser Gun recreation]

I'd be interested to know what VST's you use for the growls and your lead synth. Well done.

Cethic responds:

All synths and growls were made with Native Instruments Massive and some eternal audio effects.

[Soundtrack to a Flatline]

According to w00tw00 you could use some work on side-chaining, eq'ing and etc.. that would be true if those elements existed within this track. unfortunately they don't. It's a good start though. keep it up bud.