hoorayjay's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Djjaner Style DNB]

I've never listened to Djjaner, but I'll have to take your audio for it! This is dope. I love the variation of the synths and how crazy you've made them. Stuff like at 1:48 is really cool and I haven't heard much like it. Two criticisms I'll bring up is I think there is some slight clipping with not enough bass. It could be my speakers, but it does slack a little bit, especially when there is room for it. However, that could be Djjaners style. I'll have to see if it rules as much as this does.

Cethic responds:

If you listen to my own stuff you'll notice it's a lot cleaner with a lot more care put into it. This song was made in a total of about 45 minutes to an hour. Including mixing and mastering. The idea was as you said, to just simply imitate Djjaners style.

I appreciate the review though!

[GearWax- Bomber]

The first thing that comes to my mind immediately is the lack of bass in a drum and bass song. While I understand you are using Garageband, the bass is a little bit...goofy? This probably comes from it just being a Garageband VST, but if you wanna take it up a notch, get your hands on some professional synths to get that sweet as low end, like Massive, FM8 or try Reason as your DAW. I'm also going to agree with Darkburst on it being too quiet. Whilst there is a volume button, if I was to open this next to another drum and bass song on full volume, that other drum and bass song would easily be a lot louder than yours, and it's something you learn while mastering (which I have no idea how to do lele). I like it, I just don't feel that it deserves to be put under "drumnbass". Keep going though. Kick me with bass.

Iosun responds:

Ignore anything darkburst says, it's pretty clear that it's a salt review after I gave him a bad review.
But anyway, the reason I put it under Drum and Bass was because it didn't really have a defined style to begin with. The VST I used was Retro Bass, after I EQ'd it to hell. I'm upgrading my DAW to Logic Pro soon so that shouldn't be a problem.
The reason the song is as quiet as it is is because of how many times it peaks sound with its explosions.
But anyway, thanks.

[{!RGH} Turkish Delights]

Moody. Instantly. It's instantly slowly menacing but sexy, somewhere in between Nine Inch Nail's first albums. Those staccato synths at 1:07 is what drew me in. Songs like this are hard to review because there isn't a clear thing to analyse, you just kinda lose yourself in the pads. If I did have to make a criticism though, your sounds do sounds a little bit stock. That's not to say they aren't good, but they would be a lot more interesting and defined if they weren't so stocky. This shouldn't be a problem, as it's clear you're competent at building synth sounds. Moody industrial works for you. I like.

RyeGuyHead responds:

"slowly menacing but sexy" is just about the coolest compliment ever...

I probably do draw some inspiration from NiN

hats off to you good sir!

[hyperactive]

Stagnant, but in a good way. It adds to the uneasiness and semi-spookiness of the track. Personal preference but I think there was ample room to do some cool glitchy hi hat work to fill in gaps, but maybe that's my head saying "Where are the vocals?". The sounds on offer are creepy and sound good, but they can sound better, perhaps by detuning or putting a phaser on them to get even more spook. I like it though, and I can imagine someone rapping about busting into a house and doing horrorcore stuff. GG.

HighBallers responds:

haha, i was thinking of rapping about Me and my boy's coming thru as the bad boy crew. I havn't really gotten into the glitchy stuff yet.....Lol fuck i have so much to learn.

[Hexes]

You need to experiment with your sounds. It's very obvious sounding that these are stock synths without a lot of tweaking or filtering. A little EQ on your drums would be a huge fix, compression as well as maybe tuning your snare higher would result in a more brighter mix. Can't wait to hear it when it is done!

Psilenth responds:

No nothing in this song is stock i did all the sound design myself on massive but i find the fact that think that is very flattering i can send you the massive file for the synths. Thanks for the feedback ill definitely EQ the drums and play with the snares. Thanks for the feedback.

[Next Step]

I like how current but somehow retro your sounds are, as they sound like old SNES MIDI sounds, which I'm a huge fan of. It gets a little repetitive, save for the break midway through the song, which could have had a tad more bass, just to emphasise the drop. I must complain about the last 10 seconds of the song, which is the little drum loop. Don't do that. It takes away from it and it looks like you want to get above the 2:00 mark. Keep doing what your doing.

jjoon responds:

Ok :) Thanks !

[Champions]

I love the nostalgia this gives me. Early post-hardcore is best post-hardcore. Chorus, breakdowns and verses are all catchy and reminiscent of the style. The most glaringly obvious problem is the mix. The tones are there but the mix has no bass at all. You want that bass to be there during your breakdowns at least if you want to kick someones ass. You'll get there with your catchy leads and hooks, just get get some lower frequencies happening.

KyjunRuu responds:

Thanks much for the feedback man! :D

[February Rain]

The minimal but dramatic introduction is what drew me in and then lost me a little. But then it dropped. I would suggest starting your build up a little earlier, just for the extra "omg its gonna drop" factor. Personal bias suggests that your kicks should be a little deeper, to complement the bass. That being said, I love how the bass isn't in your face either, being happy to act as rhythm. I would still insist on getting them to sit a little bit better together though. Your piano and orchestral arrangement sounds gorgeous and reminds very much of something from Mirrors Edge, which is a complement. Overall, beautiful track, but I think it needs to hit a little more, and needs a little bit more variation. You do you.

5TanLey responds:

I like my dnb kicks kinda light in most of tracks.. just personal preference

anyway thanks for the review, glad it was listenable for you :)