Charleon's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[We Rock 'n Roll!]

Really cool track, maybe just a bit repetative

Holy Crap you've matured since I last checked in to your work, the detail you are tending to with just the smallest things is what i saw lacked in your music before, but with this piece you have showed that you've improved alot in this field. If I should be picky I don't care at all for the deep bassdrum at times, neither do I have a solution to this problem, maybe it gets a bit repetative/doesn't blend in enough with the rest of the song? maybe try to make it do double hits from time to time? I see this more as a pointer instead of a problem though.

The song IS interesting, it evolves with time and I ESPECIALLY like the melody starting at 3:10 and the following buildup.

Not much to critisize, good job, a really Swell Trance track made with much care and a really cool progression.

8.5/10 / 4/5

[Sky Dreamer(Intro Only)]

good start, but needs evolving!

I think the intro would be cool if you used more effects like phasing and frequency filters, because trance is ALL about the music EVOLVING, constantly.. so maybe skip the drums, use a frequency filter, then when the frequency is at max, introduce the drums, and beef up the melody, and think about that you should almsot ALWAYS ahve some kind of evolving effect/panning/volume in the works, peace out man!

[T&T - Falling Angel]

This song is getting there, with some more mixing!

Actually I've been listening ALOT to trance the last couple of weeks, because i've started to go out running on the runningtrack, So I've kind of analyzed what most rance songs have, so I can give a little bit better critic I think.

The first thing I thought when I listened it through the first time is that the song totally lacks a beefy snare or hihat. Almost every trancesong I've listened to in the last two weeks has started the drums off with the basedrum, and soon after the hihat and snaredrums kicks in. I'm reviewing as I'm listening, So i might alter my view. Now I hear you have hihats at least, but they get introduced much too late in my opinion, and they are way to low behind everything else, you should draw up their levels some. I hear you've started to use more fitlers as phasing and also some automated volume, that's really good, but you should use it even more in the song, especially in transitions. I find some transitions in the song really abrupt (like 1:28) , i think it hsould be made more seamless. The beat is really nice though.

Summary: More beefed up effects like high pass filters, phasing, etc, and more beefy drums in the higher frequencies, also more creativity in the drum section would be really nice. I notice you use rhytms alot with the basedrum, but I can't feel that the other drums do the same, maybe because they are mixed to low. Ihope this helped, over and out!
/Charleon

D-Chain responds:

it'll be my pleasure to mix it again yea ;)
And put your critic to the test ofcours!
i know allot of trance tracks start up with bassdrum's and then develop slowly.. but when i do the same, you get tracks from like 10 min's long ?
it IS normal but,...
i dont see the point in there tho.. coz not everyone likes it ;)

Anywayz, ill see what i can do to grand it ;)
-Tim

[You keep waiting]

Great Modern Hip Hop, Original!

As i've said before, your music is the only Hip-hop i can listen too, this too
is what I'd expect from you, I could loop this all Day, like a previous poster have said, the chorus is really uniqe and gives it your own flavour, and that is one of the things I Love with your songs, you have your own style. I love this song!

[Mindplay]

Really good concept, but production can get better

I think this song has room for improvement. Everything sounds so centred, a song like this would sound so much better if you tried to use the whole soundscape: e.g Pan some of the drumbeats slightly or even the synths to create a more dynamical feeling. The same could be said about the intro, maybe some panning, filter bending or something would made it sound less static before the song really got into it's juicier parts. Something that would greatly enhance the effect at certain parts, and really in the "refrain" with the flute is the use of dynamics, play some tones higher than others, just to bring out THAT feeling at certain points. Overall I like the tune you're bringing forth though, I listened to it several times without getting bored of it, all remarks I have is purely production issues =)

[RL- Cavern]

Good cavesong, has room for some minor improvement

It sure gives off a cavey feeling, and you did a good job on alternating the instruments in the song, you even inspired me to do something like this! (check my latest submitted track).

I don't know if i like the transition from the glockenspiel to the Bassy woodwind sound at 00:50, the transition is alittle bit abrupt.. maybe if you just gradually lowered the glockenspiel the transition would be smoother. Otherwise I don't ahve much to say about this, I think it's a solid work, you don't need much to give off the cavey feeling :D, maybe an alternative melody playing would be nice, if this is meant to loop, I've tried to do this in my track, listen and comment if you like ^^

Darkmaster603 responds:

Yes, I agree, I didn't have a chance to listen to this on good speakers untill now, and it is a bit abrupt. I also never noticed the big sound the double bass gives untill now, and I'll be changing that around too. I also have some ambient sound effects, like dripping and water splatters that I'm adding in, so I have a efw more things to work on for sure. I'll check out your song too.

Thanks for the review!

[Sequence in time(Short)]

Could become something, but needs much work

When starting a song with drums, they really need to evolve, and that is fast, since drums are usually very repetative and it doesn't take long to get bored of just drums. i would suggest some fills here or there, and not just at the place where other different isntruments come in, because as they are now, they sound really stale. Ways you could start with, if you really want the drums to play that much in the beginning, is to create an automation clip controlling the frequency of the drums and changeing them slightly, and also throughout the whole song, And please do alter them more, as in alter the beat, and even pushing more drums into there over time.. like first having only bassdrum and hihat, then progressively adding crash drums, tom toms and whatever.

As for the bass melody, it's good and fills it's purpose, but you need something in the higher frequensies to act like a melody, and you really need to enhance the bass sounds for this song, because the bassdrum really dominates it as it's coming out now. Hope this helps

D-Chain responds:

yes i know it isnt easy to start a song with just drums like a (kick, hat, clap as standard) coz you need to build up from that point, build up on the drums isnt easy thatway tho..
and becoz of that, im starting to buildup a bassline then the melo a bit(or intro melody) coz it isnt just A song, i want it to be electro/house wich is very new to me coz i actually never listen it XD
but indeed, it could use some crashdrums, working on the delay with some effects to comeback with bit by bit lowered frequency's.

and frequency's on drums asswell ^^
also i will put the bass down a bit.
coz its over doing it now XD
and a nice melody to introduce some further would be easy :)

This helps alot yea ^^
Thnx man!
-Tim

[sonate pour la beauté in Ebm]

Really beautiful melody, but needs the performance

Neat little production you got going here. I really like the chordprogression and the melody that comes out.

The biggest problem I have with the song though is that it's in a constant tempo from the beginning to the end, it feels like you're in an eternal verse of some kind, never doing any offshoots into a refrain or similar.

The second thing I want to address is dynamics. I know you use a soundfont in the creation of this, which may not support velocity(dynamics) for every single note but you should always think about each note and the feeling you want to express in every single one of them, especially with piano and guitar, or it will sound kind of static and non-dynamic.

This song is pretty much straight, I can hear that you use some kind of abss in the background, but the instrumental part of this song never changes, as does never the tempo or flow. My suggestion is to orchestralize it a bit. That way you can steer the flow much better and even vary some instruments from time to time. It's a beautiful piece, it really is, but you need a more solid performance of it to bring the feelings out more. It's really hard to put a value into this song, and points are really useless on newgrounds anyway, as long as these 0 voters exists. And I assume you value the constructive critiscism more than a value on your song so ^^

Darkmaster603 responds:

I see what ya mean. I'm actually selling some old equipment so I can get a electro-nylon guitar, so that I can actually play this. The way I play it sounds different than a crappy soundfont, so maybe when I get the recording I'll shoot you a pm.

I really appreciate your critique on my songs, especially this song. I agree, some parts definatly need changed up.

Thanks for the review!

[The Galaxy]

Good idea, but needs dynamics badly

Well, Since I use fruity loops A lot, I basicly know all the isntruments you are using in here and I can give you some critique, and offcourse along with some praise.
I'm not too sure this song has a traditional trance feeling to it, even I can't cathegorize where it should belong, and that's good, being original is the best way to make impression in this world.

I would like to address all the instruments in your song

Personally I really loathe the FL Slayer (I suppose you use it for the comping guitar), much because it was the only thing available to you and as new of course you want to make music with some guitar in it. My Advice is that you should use it sparingly, even if it does seem to work pretty okay in this song. For Composition I can say that you've found a chordprogression that works, but you shouldn't stop there, every track needs to have something that breaks out from the main-chordprogression, otherwise it's VERY hard not to make the song sound repetative. Of course it's possible, but it takes alot of power and creativity to accomplish that. Personally I think the song gets pretty repetative after a while, not even the addition of the two gated Saws can save it from that thought.

I see you also have a sytrus in here, it's a great instrument really.. but not so many people have the patience and will to try and tweak the instruments so they have the creator's touch and sound in them, which really is the biggest problem I ahve with this song: I know exactly which instruments you used in this creation, I've heard them so much in my past as i've tried to experiment with them.

Also I think your song is far too stale in terms of tempo. You have this chordprogression playing from beginning to end, and nothing ever differs from it. My advice is that you should 1) do something like i mentioned from before, break off into something like a refrain or verse, 2) Create more dynamics in the song. The drums are great for this, but you use them very sparingly in this song. They come in, doesn't do much, and then they disappear just as fast again, and it's the same loop over and over again. Try to do a fill-patern from now to then, and maybe introduce them with one as well! I think it sounds wierd when one second there aren't any drums at all, and in the next there are. Progression and TRANSITIONS are very important in songs, and you should think about how you accomplish these tasks more carefully.

Hmm, let me just summarize what I think about this song:
*Has a potentially good chordprogression
*Should evolve in some way so it doesn't sound repetative.
*Should incorporate better transitions both with drums and instruments
*Try to turn some knobs in Sytrus man! make the sound your own =)

Overall I like the song, it's just the tempo I have a problem with.. General songs have breakdowns, buildups, variations, dynamics, and this song has neither. Looking forward to what you can deliver in your next production.

NightmareTheDragon responds:

Alright, will do man.

[Project D.T.H-E]

Great idea, but it can get better!

Definitely A LOT better than the last one I reviewed, And you did a pretty good job at keeping the song Dynamical. i REALLY like what you're doing about 3:20, the standard techno/rave buildup of melody, What I'd like to see there though, instead of the really low clicking drum , is a really beefy, steady rising in volume snare drum. you are building up for the song climax, it has to be GRAND! the part leading up to the climax is just as important as the climax. Also in my opinion you need to introduce many more of the parts in the song with the gradual introduction of an instrument (with an animation clip controlling the volume and/or frequency), that way you can get really smooth transitions between the different parts and you don't have to worry about it sounding too stale at times (e.g .. okay.. adding instrument 1, .. instrument 2 .. instrument 3) , with gradual implementation those problems vanish. Also I would like to see a synth in the higher frequencies to play some sort of lead earlier in the song before the grand climax, because you have a really good solid Rhytm and good backing, nothing prevents you fromdrawng the listener in more.
Tweaking here and there with cuts/frequencychanges should be done as well, you've managed flawlessly wwith this at 3:30 and forward (the long introduced synth), i love the way you work it's frequencies and volume until the climax.
The climax too needs SOME more Unf .. like a drum or clap in the middle section of the frequency-range. You actually introduce it at 04:40, but I think it should be suited when the climax starts.

This is a cool song, really! you just need to bring out the last bit of dynamical potential to it

D-Chain responds:

yes, definitely, i agree with you there, im gonna add another PAD
(if i can find 1)
in the qlimax buildup (From 3:30 - 3:57)
to make it more powerfull
and let it come back at 5:04(Or earlier) till the end

and i would also look to add a beefy snare in the qlimaxbuildup

and start the qlimax with indeed the claploop wich starts here at 4:40
and i saw i forgot adding a snare in the qlimax i see now :|
how damn stupid XD
But that would be no problem, fixed in no time.

About adding a lead in the intro, that is an amazing idea!
definitely gonna try it! (Maybe it would be cool to have a lead, in rly high frequency, so you can barely here it for example)
And ill see what i can do (more) with the frequency's later in the song.

Thnx again man!
Rly need this kind of reviews :D
Take care!
-Tim