Midnights-Ocean's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Jungle Adventure]

Love the organ work. I also like all the retro game sound palettes. Very nice progression. Sounds like it would fit very well in a retro themed game. Like maybe the battle music for an RPG. Melodies are nice but stay interesting. The vocal sample at the end was a bit of a surprise but I like it. Personally I would have added it just a little in the first half on the tune as well. Just so it’s representation in the tune was more balanced over time. : )

LostChronology responds:

Thanks for the review and glad that you liked it! :)

[Echo My Bunny, Man. (Demo/Rough Pass)]

I dig the humanized time <:3. New instruments sound BOSS bro. Great song title. XD I love everything but the sax. Might just be me, but the sax gives it a real cheesy feel. Otherwise I really dig this sketch. Very cool combination of elements. Nice melodies. Has a floaty chill vibe while remaining upbeat. Like a dreamy day at the beach. : ) Mix is good for what it is. I look forward to seeing where this goes.

pitbulljones responds:

Yes bro! Glad to hear you're liking the new tones, very happy to have a fuller sound on hand.

I can appreciate you're not digging the sax, I needed something to tail the vocal stab of into, I did try a couple of things such as strings, piano etc. Maybe another guitar layer will work, start layering into distortion or some back verb tone. I quite like it, maybe need tonal adjustments or a different melody line....i don't know lol.

Liking the atmosphere you're getting from this. I'm trying to go for an 80's indie style, so this could develop a few different ways.

Thanks

pbj

[Ola Horn Boy!]

Hey hey hey, front paged. Very nice mah man! Ooo swirly and creamy textures. Melodies are a little generic but remind me of good old memories, so I like it. Very accessible. Horns can be hard to work with. A hit or miss instrument. These sound very nice though. Great bass sound. Clean but full. Every element is very well behaved yet tonally rich. I might be missing something but I can’t really think of anything to complain about, other than why are you not making more money off of this stuff. Listened on speakers, forgiving phones and expensive not forgiving phones, all sound great. It’s a midrange heavy piece for sure but it’s well controlled. Maybe the piano gets a little overwhelmed by the mix when full orchestration comes in. Don’t know what you have going for reverbs but at the end of the tune, there's a lovely long tail, which is great. It makes me ask though, is that long verb running throughout the dense sections where all instruments are playing at once? If so, you might be able to make a little more room for the piano by automating the verb's wet channel in those areas. Either bringing the volume down or automating an EQ to scoop or low shelf the verb. Just a thought. Wish I could get all my mid heavy pieces to behave this well lol. I really liked this one.

Cheers. : )

pitbulljones responds:

Yes bro! Thank you for the extensive review :)

Humbly agree on the genericness and lack of progression. It's no excuse but this was a fuckaround that kinda gelled quickly, so I thought I would commit it. HORNS ARE BASTARDS. Allday, everyday and twice on Sundays. And it is for that very reason I use them as much as possible. I'd like to think I know my way through a section ha.

Bass is me, finally own a bass after years of winging a 6 string via octave and eq. It makes such a difference to music, having something fill out the rhythm section. It will be on everything going forward.

If you knew why I can't make money from music you would be a rich man too. I guess a combination of style/lack of, infrequency of posting and no longer going all out in promoting stuff. I barely comment here, let alone investing time in promo kits, blog placement, portfolio whoring. There's many better than I, such as yourself, it's nice to be seen from time to time.

Oh yeah there's big reverbs, an addiction to valhalla is my bane. I thinned the mix as best I could, though all that mid range creates a hard to work mix.

I have a new midi controller which maps in cubase, i'm gonna be doing some serious automation passes and dynamic mixing which will only improve.

Love you bro, keep being awesome

[Wake Them Up]

Fantastic. I love it.

[CCR Blues Groove (demo)]

Listening on cheap USB mini speakers: Wow this sounds great already! You got a lovely creamy type of distortion on that guitar. It's hard to get it just right and I think you got it pretty well. Just a bit of rattle while staying tight and not too biting on the ears. Very good.

Listening on cheap phones now: Mix sounds pretty damn good. The cheap phones have a more laid back treble while sporting a boosted bass response. Those clean panning fade in guitar notes are really sweet and give a nice contrast to the distorted guitar. They are not extremely forward in the mix but I can still follow the panning and decay of each note pretty comfortably. Kit is tight and sits well. Very nice melodic changes. Bass tones are well tempered in the mix. Not overly loud but lush warm and solidly satisfying.

Just in writing this I've looped this demo several dozen times. It's very pleasant to the ears.

On expensive phones now: Any mixing critique I'd give would be really minor. Like just a decibel or 2, plus or minus. The more expensive phones being more flat and "open" makes me want to boost the bottom end of the kick. Just give it a touch more beef. Yeah sorry, I just don't have any significant criticism lol. This is very good. Every element is sitting pretty comfortably and what it has to say is quite pleasant. <:3 I like it lots bro.

pitbulljones responds:

great review, again sorry for my tardiness.

This is actively being worked on, sorting vocals out and developing the b section along with additional guitar. I have high hopes for this and have belief that the final mix will be epic. Thank you for your feedback, it's all being taken on bored.

[A messy one]

ooo I really like the vibes on this one. Great hat work. Nice bass line. 0:52 that guitar riff is sweet. 1:16 has a rather angular moment where the background guitar pad is playing a melody that sounds a bit odd over the bass line and lead riff. Personally I don't mind stuff like that, I think it makes things interesting but some people might balk at the tonal tension there.

pitbulljones responds:

apologies for my tardiness.

1:12 you're bloody right. it's the wrong bass note, how did I miss that ?

working with my singer so improvements to come

[Wee demo]

I like the chord progression a lot. It's sounds moody and desperate but when I expect the 4th section to add more similar tension, you switch to this really mellow chord and I love it. Gives it depth. It's a great start. : )

[So What If I Melt]

Wow. Very emotional. Definitely some audible compression pumping happening with the kick but it fits the feel of the track. That hissy swelling pad is a bit bright in the mix though IMO. Tight track. I like it. Very melancholy.

[{Underwater}]

Good stuff. A bit slow to start but I like it. : )

[Born For You]

yeah but you combine peaceful with D&B you can get atmospheric D&B which is one of my favorite ice cream flavors. <:3

Quarl responds:

If I saw dnb flavored ice cream I would marry it. Now I'm trying to match flavors with sub genres, thank you for this idea trip :3