Marks-a-lot's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Substitute - [IZK] & Ackute]

Excellence

That sounded pretty awesome. I could only hear the bass and drums and a little bit of the background stuff but that's just because some people are sleeping right now so gotsta keep the volume down. I'll be back again to listen in, maybe check out the final? Sounds awesome...can't wait to blast it!

5'd and Deed

Jenni-Harry4eva3 responds:

Thanks man. It'll sound much more awesome when you check back in for it. lol. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Bricks Can Fly]

Well...

You made another great song. I wasn't expecting all the sampled vox stuff but you used all the samples beautifully. Gates added a great rhythm and res leads worked to perfection, almost oldskool like. I loved every second. great job and keep it up.

cycerin responds:

Thanks :D I really feel that simple gated lead pushes this track along

[MH16: All I Want]

Great Song...

Your musical sense is honestly superb but I think if you could mix the instruments and drums better you could get some DL's instead of just listens and votes. Like I said the progressions and everything are awesome but the set doesn't really fit all that well. some FX and mixing could really bring things together. there needs to be similar elements to each one of your instruments that way your instruments become assimilated and sound more unison. that signature little trill thing you do is awesome though, gives it a nice chill oriental feel. great song, 5'd, now lets see if you can get me to dl a song of yours ;)

Keep up the good work, can't wait to hear the next one!
-Marlon Brando

FairSquare responds:

Thanks for the compliment ^^
And i'll really try to get a download from you and pay LOTS of attention to the drums, because i know you like that ;-)
Well, thanks for the awesome review Marlon. I really appreciate it!

[BellFucker's Lullaby]

I Enjoy This...

I thought I already wrote a review but I guess I haven't so better later than never. I like the hat work a lot in this one and all the sounds are awesome from the background leads to the little droplet sounding arp. I just wish it was longer...but that's nothing a loop can't fix, I can and have listened to this all day. Great song.

cycerin responds:

Thanks for reviewing an old track, mate. :)

[MH16: Get Away]

I don't know...

I think that you put a little to much on that bass and to little on your kit. the song just doesn't feel balanced, the bass is overpowering. Once everything is there it kind of works but I still think there is a lot more work to do. Try keeping that low pass filter on the bass the whole time (just get rid of the very high frequencies.) I am just giving you suggestions so don't feel obligated to do them. It's your song so you have to feel what is right. Even though the stuff I am saying could be helpful it might not be that accurate. I need to sit down and feel the song and turn those knobs to get what I need to get. I honestly think I like the first version better. I do however think that this song is a step in the right direction it simply hasn't taken enough steps yet. Btw I had a feeling this was your song, the trills/pull offs in the lead at 1:14 kind of gave it away. keep working on those sounds and how everything mixes together.

-Spike Spiegel

FairSquare responds:

I made the bass overpowering on purpose. Maybe i should give it a bit less power, but i still want it to be a bit overpowering :P
I'll try that thing with the filter you said and maybe tweak the bass a bit more. And change some more things :P
Thanks for the review, it really helps a lot! :D

[MH16: One Last Wish]

I like it a lot...

But I cant blast this because of the static. sounds like you need to turn down the volume a little bit, better to be quiet than poor quality. It sounds like the clippings are coming from the Bass (I can't tell if they are horns or contra or cellos) Besides that I really don't see anything wrong with this track. I love the progressions, I actually think I like the style of this one the most out of all your tracks so far. I think that if you stuck to classical orchestral percussion you could have gave the song more of a heavy beat. With me I always listen to my tracks till I can't take it anymore, I usually end up hating the song until like a week after I am finished. Great song though.

What programs did you use for this?

FairSquare responds:

Yeah, i hear it too. But i'm always scared to turn down the volume.. ah well, i'll just do that. And yes, you're right, the clippings come from the bass (Spiccicato strings).
Also, i don't really know what ''classical orchestral percussion'' exactly is, but i'll look it up on the interwebz. I mean, i have an idea of what it is, but i need more info about to actually use it in a good way :P

I used FL Studio, with the VSTs Edirol and Stormdrum.
Thanks for the review and the useful advice! :D

[Summer Piano Loop]

(:D

I like it! I think the arp is little loud in comparison to everything else, that's why the drums are getting drowned out. awesome progression though, very happy

Sonomabob responds:

I tried to get a balanced mastering and thats what came out. I will try to improve it next time.

Thx for the review!

[FNR - MH16: MayDay]

Not Bad...

It seems like this piece is more about the meaning than the music. I don't really like these kind of songs. The style definitely sounds like you. I can't wait till you get your hands on a full orchestra program or an actual live orchestra. You can clearly write great and empowering songs it is just the quality that undermines your greatness. A lot of this just sounds like midi instruments (nothing wrong with that.) really nice song though. How the hell is this at 4.70!!! lol that is insane...just tell me when this song gets zero bombed and I will come back and put my score on. Have a good one, glad your back!

FairSquare responds:

Haha, this song is going to get zerobombed for sure :P
And yeah, the quality is not really the best, but i can live with it... for now :P
Well, thanks for the review! :-)

[Idle Motionless]

I like this one a bit more than monsoon...

I think your progressions and riffs are great but it sounds like you are cramming to much stuff together on the drums and the beat is kind of getting lost. Sometimes simple beats are good, then again you prolly could cram like this if your leads and stuff are really dominant.

aliasf responds:

this is nothing serious beat...just to get people like "whoa you made that" so i can get some extra points on the grade hah

im still tryin to get a hang of fl...these last couple of beats i made have been on there

check this one out

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/234657

[Let's Dance [Collab - Hel]

I just woke up but I feel wide awake now =)

Very energizing and happy dance song you have here! Very nice piece. I'll start with the positive stuff. The progressions were awesome and definitely made it feel like a professional dance song (just based on the progression style.) The structure of the song was great. Parts didn't get to repetitive for a dance/trance song. Breaks were awesome, loved the LP filter break and the piano break. But the best part of the song is that I can feel emotions from the song, I'm sure this was a fun song to make and the song says it all. Some criticisms, not a real big fan of the snare used in this one. I don't know if you put a HP filter on the snare or something but there is no mids or lower frequencies on that snare. That alone could have added some umf! to the song. At times there is almost to much stuff going on. Since pretty much everything in here has some "fuzz" on it they don't really mix that well when there is like three of them going at the same time. It sounds like there are some sounds fighting to be heard, I'm not sure if it is because of a compressor that wasn't used correctly or if because one wasn't used at all. You probably could have just turned down the volume a little and you would have been fine, just fixed stuff with your mixer or master. I'll save you the rest because I want this to be a 50% good and 50% criticisms review. Really though guys great job and keep up the good work!

you want me to guess parts? I have never been a fan of embarrassing myself and without the pan flute Helth's part will be hard to find. HMmmm I guess I'll just say that Helth made the piano, the arp that came in around :50, and the string part at the end. And Syphon, well, I have never heard any of his stuff so it is kind of hard for me to tell what is his. I'll just say he made the rest... Anyway kudos to the both of you for making a truly energizing, inspiring, and blissful dance track.

5/5 and dl'd
-Liam Howlett

syphonmax responds:

lol I'll have to give you 2 points, unlucky XD

But hey thanks for the awesome review, we'll look into it, especially to make our next collab special. Not hinting at anything though :P

And yeah we put a lot of effort into this and all I can say is that it's probably one of the best songs I've ever made, not sure if HelthRMX agrees but hell we had loads of fun XD

Thanks dude, and I hope you listen to this all the damn time XD