Birdinator99's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[<MWA> Lucky You (Ngadm)]

Wow Bro

I'm glad I'm not up against you!

Great job on the piano, and the electronic parts very different and quirky enough to keep me interested!

mjattie responds:

woah :P checked some of your stuff, gonna review that some time, maybe we'll get teamed up together, looking forward to that! :P

thanks a lot for the review :)

[Hard Seas and Maelstroms]

Hard seas? But water is soft XD

So first off, the synth choice at the beginning is good -- it's a little edgy and aggressive, kind of like a storm at sea, no?

The bass coming in with the kick is cool and ominous, and really works with the tempo increase. Unfortunately, I would say that the song is too slow overall, but only by about 10 bpm or so.

Whatever the hell happens at 1:06, I like it!

At 1:23, things start to get, well, "wavier" is the only word I can think of, but that just again shows what a good title you picked, so good job on that.

A lot of your songs, including this one, seem to be laden with this weird, wavy kind of reverb. I normally don't have an issue with it, but there seems to be a tad too much in this song. If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a listen to the first 20 seconds or so of your "Enigmatic Hills". I actually don't have a clue what it is.

The melody is good for this genre of song -- hypnotizing!

The kick drum rhythm change at 1:57 I don't mind, but it didn't have to be there to enhance the piece. Just a matter of taste, I suppose.

At 2:45, that high synth that sounds like an organ is a great addition. It disappears at 3:00 for the outro; this is a good length for a climax of a song (15 seconds), because any longer might be too much of a good thing, a little overpowering in general, or it may ruin the flow of the piece altogether. You seem to have a good knowledge of song structure, which is something important that quite frankly, I need to work on myself -_- lol

Good ending, too!

All in all, this is pretty good; it's just not my cup of tea, so to speak. Whatever, we've all got preferences, so I'm not going to complain.

Keep it up, dude. Good stuff.

If I had a boat, I would sail these seas. But boats are too expensive, so never mind.

OpenLight responds:

Haha thank you! This review helps a lot. I can't put my finger on what's causing the reverb. I think it's my synth choice and I can't really affect that... but I'll try to do less of it haha.

Thanks again!

[A Traveler's Journey]

K this is wack

Some really cool melodies in here bro; great lead choices, and good overall flow of the piece. You gotta teach me how to mix kick drums some time -- seriously.

The lost point out of ten? The snare is fitting, but it's kind of generic. Dunno if it's just me having heard it too much in other songs, plus I couldn't think of something better -- but it must be out there!

The solo that starts at 2:03 is so ace, though. BOOYAH HOLMES

Nice stuff here.

OpenLight responds:

Haha thank you, man!

Yeah this song isn't getting rated well score-wise but I don't mind with all of these positive reviews. And this is one of my favorite solos out of all of my songs, so thanks! Haha

[Plains Theme]

Oh Snap

Wow, this piece is so well mixed, it's like coming alive or something!

First off, those twinkly pads you used in the beginning remind me of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, yay! I won't bother to explain, but it's a good thing, I assure you.

The flute lead is very soothing, super job there.

The transitions are so fluid, and they do their job wonderfully.

All the percussion gives the lower end a cool, solid foundation, which really gives the track some substance.

The guitars sound really nice, I gotta check those out as well.

Overall, I'm gettin' a "Lion King" kinda feel from this song, which is strange because I never saw any of those movies >__< but I imagine that's what they'd be like. Keep up the good work; I'm happy to drop by and leave a review anytime.

I AM THE KING OF SHORT PARAGRAPHS RAWR

Step responds:

Thanks for reviewing! I can always count on you for a detailed review with helpfulness and short paragraphs of course.

"Wow, this piece is so well mixed, it's like coming alive or something!"

IT LIVES!!! :D

"First off, those twinkly pads you used in the beginning remind me of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, yay! I won't bother to explain, but it's a good thing, I assure you."

I never really played Metroid before so I can't relate to what you're saying, but if it's a good thing, then thanks I guess!

"The flute lead is very soothing, super job there."

So that makes 2 votes for me to leave it in the song as it is and 2 votes for me to take it away or change it :P.

"The transitions are so fluid, and they do their job wonderfully."

Thanks, glad you like them! I'm always happy when I see that people enjoy the transitions I make :3.

"All the percussion gives the lower end a cool, solid foundation, which really gives the track some substance."

Great! I was worrying that the percussion was a bit too bassey, actually.

"The guitars sound really nice, I gotta check those out as well."

Yeah, they're quite realistic. By the way, here are some free guitar libraries for Kontakt if you have it:
http://www.pettinhouse.com/html/downl oad.html

I didn't use them in this song but I used them in others (like my song Dancing Flame if you remember it) and they sound excellent. Just thought I'd mention them in case you didn't see me link to them before in Dancing Flame's Author's Comments :P.

"Overall, I'm gettin' a "Lion King" kinda feel from this song, which is strange because I never saw any of those movies >__< but I imagine that's what they'd be like. Keep up the good work; I'm happy to drop by and leave a review anytime."

Thanks man, I'm really grateful for that. Glad you liked the song!

"I AM THE KING OF SHORT PARAGRAPHS RAWR"

YEAH WELL I AM THE KING OF QUOTING YOUR SHORT PARAGRAPHS AND RESPONDING TO THEM RAAAAAAWR.

[Bottomless Pit]

Hah

I hear the bass line from your Falling Further Redux in there. Pretty crafty :p

But the synth tones blend so well that I can't complain!

OpenLight responds:

Haha oh crap did I duplicate a bass line? I seriously didn't mean to lol but it's a good bass line... I'm going to check that out.

*goes to check it out*

Haha it does sound a bit like it. I didn't mean for it to though lol.

Thanks for the review lol. I'm glad you liked it!

[Falling Further Redux]

I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST FOUND THIS

HOW DID YOU MAKE IT SO MUCH BETTER AHHHHH

If I could solo like that, I would RULE THE WORLD MY GODDDDDDD

Funny enough I still have a remix in the works, but it is based off of the WIP of this lol

OpenLight responds:

Oh sweet! Haha I always wanted to remake this song, and I'm so freaking pumped to know that you're remixing it haha.

Let me know whenever it gets closer to being done!

And about the solo, I love solos lol. I'd say 80% of my music has a solo, and all of my favorite submissions do. Including this one!

Yeah of course this solo was added in just for fun, and I'm glad it's good!

[Enigmatic Hills]

This is crazy

Crazy good, that is.

First of all, good bass choice. There were a million things you could have done wrong there, but you nailed it.

The song is relaxing, yet it keeps pace well, but it isn't exactly stable at the same time. An odd combination which I'm really enjoying. Good chord progressions.

All the sounds used really fit with each other. Whatever has the lead at 1:25 is sweet!

I have no problems with this song lol. Great job.

Also I require contest results lmao and so does kirby <(-_-<)

OpenLight responds:

Haha I'm working on it. I'm trying to get my friend RetromanOMG to help judge too. I'll let everyone know when it's done being judged!

[-Dancing Flame-]

Damn

I love how well the instruments blend in this song. The guitar and bass kind of vibe off of each other, and the piano compliments them both while the brass covers everything with a...uh...blanket of musicality? It's good, anyhow.

Good snare choice -- it kept the beat nice and tight like fast Latin music should be.

The auxiliary percussion is used sparingly and appropriately -- yay!

Great dynamics here make for great transitions and even greater contrast between sections. Bravo :D

A very empowering piece, I found it to be. Something epic or strong-willed about it (makes me think of a battle, but with dancing and festivities happening at the same time). Feel free to ignore that, haha, sometimes I don't know what I'm saying.

Wrap all this up with a powerful and convincing ending, and you've got me thinking that you've done this before...lol.

Great job, but I've got one question -- what's the little blip at 1:02?

Step responds:

Wow, another detailed review from you. Thanks, I really have to review you back sometime.

"I love how well the instruments blend in this song. The guitar and bass kind of vibe off of each other, and the piano compliments them both while the brass covers everything with a...uh...blanket of musicality? It's good, anyhow."

Cool :D. The guitars are all free samples from the same site, so I guess that's why they fit with each other.

"Good snare choice -- it kept the beat nice and tight like fast Latin music should be."

Yeah that's from a free drum kit. Admittedly this is the song which I used Kontakt the most in lol.

"The auxiliary percussion is used sparingly and appropriately -- yay!"

Yay :D.

"Great dynamics here make for great transitions and even greater contrast between sections. Bravo :D"

Thanks! I'm particularly proud of the transition at 0:20.

"A very empowering piece, I found it to be. Something epic or strong-willed about it (makes me think of a battle, but with dancing and festivities happening at the same time). Feel free to ignore that, haha, sometimes I don't know what I'm saying."

Lol don't worry I get what you mean xD. Got to admit, didn't have a battle planned when writing this piece :3.

"Wrap all this up with a powerful and convincing ending, and you've got me thinking that you've done this before...lol."

>_>
<_<
:D

"Great job, but I've got one question -- what's the little blip at 1:02?"

That's actually not a blip. It's the sound of the guitar string being stopped - I have to thank the realism of the Kontakt library for that xP.

Thanks a million for the awesome review!

[Chaoz Fantasy Rock/Orch.]

Pretty Cool

I really liked this, because I felt it was original, and still an effective tribute to the actual original.

*checks if that makes sense* lol

Anyways, I loved the strings in the background -- they're very suited to the song. There does appear to be some minor reverb issues, and the snare isn't mixed quite right, although I'm not sure how I would've done it.

Good guitar sounds, but there is crackling at some parts, which I'm not sure is part of the sound, or maybe it's a little too loud?

The double kick close to the end of the song was well chosen as an intensifier, so kudos to you on that.

A pretty solid job all around, though. I like this style of music, so if you've got any more, just point me in the right direction :D

Step responds:

Thanks for reviewing, man! I really appreciate it.

"I really liked this, because I felt it was original, and still an effective tribute to the actual original.

*checks if that makes sense* lol"

Hmm... yeah, makes sense xD.

"Anyways, I loved the strings in the background -- they're very suited to the song."

I agree, the East/West strings are amazing. Brass and woodwind are alright, but it's not easy to beat East/West strings.

"There does appear to be some minor reverb issues, and the snare isn't mixed quite right, although I'm not sure how I would've done it."

I suck at mixing :(. Sorry for that, since I'm deaf from one ear I can't pick up the reverb issues.

"Good guitar sounds, but there is crackling at some parts, which I'm not sure is part of the sound, or maybe it's a little too loud?"

I dunno. I don't think I should make it any quieter or else it won't fit right. Maybe it's static from the recording? I don't know.

"The double kick close to the end of the song was well chosen as an intensifier, so kudos to you on that."

GronmonSE suggested that I use it, so I'll pass the kudos on to him :3.

"A pretty solid job all around, though. I like this style of music, so if you've got any more, just point me in the right direction :D"

Heh, I have loads more Orchestral hybrids, such as War Theme #1 and #2, Eclipse, Cobra, Midnight Shadows, etc... This is basically my style of music :3.

But yeah, no need to review them if you don't want to. Thanks for the helpful review!

[WIP - The Need to Sleep]

Really good

I love it, except the double bass drum -- it's probably a little too much, but everywhere it isn't doubled up it's well done. A little too much reverb on the main melody, but it still sounds great. Good sound choice there.

Energetic and groovy -- keep it up!

OpenLight responds:

Thanks man! I'll edit it a bit for the final version if I can.