Jakesnke17's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Not Worth It (Thirteen Swells)]

Totally Ambient

Very chilled out and relaxed....and I do agree...this could use like one more heavily filtered synth on top of everything else....like...a good melody to kinda piece everything together. But what you have here, is a nice very ominous soundscape that....is the general definition of ambience. :)

As far as mixing...it seems like everything is in check.

...and I can totally dig this. But...just saying, you might want to have one more layer. In any case, good work man. Look forward to hearing more.

treyhaur responds:

Oh how I truly wish I could have found a melody for this. ut after trying for far longer than I wanted to, I ran out of creative steam and settled with what I had. I may work on this one a bit more but I'm going to just leave it alone for now.

Thanks for the review!

Trey

[-Cadence-]

This is cool.

Now....the only reason I give this is an 8 is because of the samples...but, honestly when I think about it...the samples aren't a huge issue especially in drumline cadences...but, I wrote a cadence (or part of one) as well. I'm just saying the samples don't make a huge difference...it's more of a luxury than a necessity.

Here's something I wrote: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3253668/DM%20 Cadence%20WIP.mp3

I'd just recommend looking into better samples....you might generate more ideas, who knows. In any case, I definitely like this...and I'd like to hear more. Good work. :)

Par0xysM responds:

Thank you very much for the review!

[Are You Tired?]

Best work so far.

There's definitely a lot to love here...the piano (with a touch of reverb), the glitchy patterns of drum breaks, or the guitar...which seems to always act as the lead...sometimes switching out for piano. But, it's not necessarily the instrumentation that gives the song it's "edge". The quality of the the instruments are awesome....seems like perfect mixing to me.

To me, I would've turned down just a bit...just a smidgen. But, that's nitpicking again...I really like what's presented here and this is why (so far from what I've heard from you) this is your best work yet. Awesome job, man. :)

InvisibleObserver responds:

Thanks Jake. Hopefully I'll see you in a compo soon... Schools conflicting with the schedule of OHC. :(

[(CHS) Last Hope]

Choirs rock.

This is really cool.

Definitely sounds like it could be in a video game. I'm diggin' those choirs though....really give that epic "RPG" feel to it. I'd raise the high end of the staccato (violins?). I'm not sure which instrument that is, but...that's just nit-picking...this is great. Good work man.

ChaosDragon004 responds:

Hey, thanks alot bro. I'll be sure to take a further look into this song and see if I can fix that problem. Hey, I wonder if there is a way to upload this song just as a replacement. That way I dont erase all the feedback that was given to me? If not I'll just have to put a revamped version on later when I remaster all of my older songs. Thanks again bro.

[Cornet Tune]

I do like the cornet.

The title got me interested to post something here...just so you know. :)

Anyway, this is very short and simple...but, it's good for what it is. Cool improvisation...my only problem is that I think the high end of the recording could be turned down a little bit in the mixer. Seems a bit harsh on the ears. Otherwise, good work dude. Keep it up. :D

AccountableMasses responds:

thanks. due to my recording mic (cheap headset from wally world) had to turn it up in FL8 in order to hear it. will keep that in mind for future tracks.

[~Ghost Ship {iSnap}]

For a first attempt, not bad.

I use FL Studio pretty frequently...almost everyday. haha

Anyway, listening to this song...I can say, that...you seem to have a some "ok" knowledge of what you're doing. I can see you're using the piano roll for the ummm, glass sound? Anyway, got a nice bass, you might want to EQ that track in the Mixer. But you'll learn all of that in time. Just practice man, I'm sure you'll get it. Good luck. :D

LostAcacia responds:

Thanks for the Review!
The bass i used was just strings >.<
looked up your stuff and its pretty good ;)

[Even Heroes Die]

Great beginning, a few more touchups...

The beginning was really cool, almost ambient...definitely like the instrumentation. The lead (violin?) sounds a bit odd, you might want to increase the high end in EQ. The glockenspiel is an odd choice but it seems to work well. :D

Overall I like this piece greatly, there are a few parts that stick out...but, it can all be fixed with changing a few volume levels...and EQing the tracks a bit more. Good job man, look forward to hearing more from you.

AlmostTechnicolor responds:

Yeah man, I actually only spent about 45 minutes on this song from start to finish so I didn't do too much touch up work xD thanks for the suggestions though, you're right about it needing EQ'd. :) Glad to see someone knows what they're talking about.

[Sword Fight]

Very epic.

I read one of the comments...stating Beowulf...and I was interested. :)

Wickedly good arrangement...my only problem is some of the samples, but...that's not your fault...the production here is great. The violin with accented notes, the horns laying down...almost like a pad. All adds up to a good composition. Good work, my friend.

nsmadsen responds:

I agree Jake. I think some of it is just having spent more time with my samples and producing. But it's always good to go back to older pieces and find what you'd change or tweak now. Shows progress! Thanks for the review.

[Underwater Exploration]

Wow...very cool.

The marimba, with the keys...some subtle vocals, very cool. :D

Everything blends so nicely, the atmosphere is great. I get where you're coming from when you think DKC...because it does have that feel. You add new instruments violin and flute, production on this is great. Awesome work man. :)

nsmadsen responds:

Cool- glad you liked it!

[Artifice and Inquisition]

This is funky.

Much like someone else who wrote here...I can't say I'm a huge fan of the orchestra hits but, this is inventive and very creative. How the sounds somehow mesh together, and just the vast amount of sounds. This must have been a complex project for sure. While I might have a problem with one part (orchestra hits) the rest of the mix surely makes up for it. I wonder what the voice clips you used came from. Very cool, IO. :)

InvisibleObserver responds:

A few are me, some are Reagan, some are some BBC documentary announcer (unsure who), there 2 different anonymous women from clips off youtube making semi-musical noises.

Samples all worked out really nicely, and some weird new phrases came out that I didn't intend for.