Realmguys's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Let Down Y'r Weary Soul]

NAC Judge
Let Down Y'r Weary Soul: 9.0
Your mic picked up many sounds that detered from the song itself. I can't tell if this is a result of poor mic selection, or a strange mic recording setup. The instrumentation was very cool, and I can really appreciate all of the work that goes into actually playing the instruments. This tune screams Celtic/Irish folk music. I really loved listening to this one, it was peaceful and full of talent. Tasty. Perhaps some filtering or different mic selection would have cleared up the tinny aspect that existed throughout the piece. I love this theme!

[Fuaimeanna na Farraige]

NAC Judge
Fuaimeanna na Farraige: 9.5
This song reminds me of the online gaming MIDI songs that played on games such as Ultima Online, Everquest, etc. You really captured the classical and medieval sound in this. It really illustrates a fantastic world that this music would be playing in. That being said, the quality of your samples was somewhat lacking in overall quality, which is maybe why they remind me of old school MIDI files. The composition was spectacular however. Great job on this and it definitely speaks to an Irish/Celtic origin!

Wurfel-Waffles responds:

I was still using Soundfont at this time. SF is a bit better than MIDI samples with more dynamic. I only use Edirol Orchestra for flutes.

reVISIT doesn't have good playback engine. I was using tracker too.

Thanks a lot Judge Realmguys.

[I like 'em large.]

NAC Judge
I like 'em large.: 7.5
This was like a modern day approach to classical irish folk comedy. Good lyrics and witty choice of versing. The poor mic did deter from the song a tad. The vocal harmonizing was a nice touch. I liked your light hearted approach to the contest and enjoyed the much needed laugh.

SonicWombat responds:

Thanks for the review!
I realize that my mic had some deteration, but I think I just need to experiment with mic gain, and stuff.
I'm new to this song recording business, but I'm getting there.

[- An Margadh Maidin -]

NAC Judge
- An Margadh Maidin -: 8.0
This song has a very intense jig quality to it. The quality of sounds used is questionable. This definitely sounds like a MIDI rip purely because of the cheesey sounds. The composition of the tune itself is quite good. This would sound very amazing with real instrumentation. About 2/3 of the way through the piece, it did start to get a bit repetitive. Excellent work staying within the contest criteria!

silencefreedom responds:

I figure out you might not be the first one to say it sounds like a rip. My professor said the same thing. Problems are because this is the work of a scrambled egg of melodies and poor choices of instruments.

No sir. I'm not the kind of composer who rip things. I'm too cautious not to violate any law because I'm a certificated composer.

Thank you for the comment a lot.

[Op.21 Teideal Bacach]

Op.21 Teideal Bacach: 7.0
This tune did not utilize very quality samples. This greatly detered from what could have been a really cool tune. I think the composition was very cool and would have sounding amazing on real instruments. The trouble with this error in music making, is that you don't give your creation any justice because it sounds like a MIDI song on Oregon Trail video game circa 1989. Your score suffered from the samples used, but the tune was very nice itself. Good job sticking to the contest criteria, this sounded very Irish.

Jiimaan responds:

hey!

using real instruments was indeed the plan, but shit happens,
and I was forced to submit it the way is now...

...and I'm not rich enough to get myself nice samples, so that's how it sounds...

I'm glad to read that you liked the composition, though...it's somewhat reassuring to know that it wasn't all crap...

anways, thanks for the review...

jiimaan

[Fuck It I'm Back]

NICE!

It has been many years since I have talked with you. This is a sick beat. I think the instrumentation is very good. The piano and string levels are a little low, I think it would be more powerful with some added volume. Overall a very good song though. Glad you are still writing. Hope you are well, later man.
-Tyler

RevenTheLegacy responds:

WOW...it's been years since I spoke with you thanks for your critique honestly.
take it easy bro and thanks again for the critique and the review.
hope all is well and have been.

[Flying Spider Colony <(FTA)>]

NAC Judge

Flying Spider Colony <(FTA)>
Christopher Shaird (FaeryTaleAdventurer)
I was surprised at the initial quality of some of the sounds used in this piece. Some of the instruments later used however, seemed as if they were of lesser quality and it began to distract me when listening. This sounded as though it were a score to an actual clip of video footage. I could almost envision what was happening along to this music. Many different emotions were played out and illustrated. It definitely had some creepy moments to it, mischief and evil were in the air. Nice bank of sounds and your understanding of music theory shows. Excellent work and good job fitting this month's easy contest criteria. 9.0

FaeryTaleAdventurer responds:

Thanks for the review, Realmguys!

Thanks for noticing the quality at the beginning. Even before I mixed and mastered I actually felt like I was at the helm of a live orchestra. Unfortunately there is perhaps an instrument or two that I kind of want to kick myself for not using instead. I thought about using individual tracks for the plucking, but got lazy about that and instead used a string ensemble pluck, which was perhaps actually lower quality, I didn't even bother to confirm.

I kid you not I "envisioned" waking up to a spider like Itsy for some time, with some music like this, but the flying spider idea, came up just this year, while I was cleaning the pool one day, I kid you not!

I have never scored music for a live video, but in the past, I guess I attribute this kind of work to the fact that I did a lot of AMVs on Youtube, ranging from music synching to pictures, and growing up watching a lot of cartoons.

If I was originally completing this song without hearing about te contest, it most likely would have been a lot less scary.

Don't know a lot about music theory, but I guess I do tend to surprise myself through ear training or piano playing. An honest mix of John Williams, Danny Elfman, and the composers of loads of those classic WB cartoons I watched in the 90s, and many more!

Again, thanks for your review!

-FTA

[XS - Murder Mystery]

NAC Judge

XS - Murder Mystery
X Sentinel (Jimmypig)
My natural sense of pitch is really fighting my ability to objectively listen to this song. The melody is extremely creepy, but the bending pitch is so distracting, I'm more concerned about why this is happening than worrying about if that killer clown voice is something I should fear. I like how you went from single, to double, than back to single time. That was a cool play on tempo, yet keeping the bmp the same. Overall I think it was effective, but I would have not bent the pitch so drastically on some of those lower pitched instruments, a listener can lose their audible footing if the rhythm section is messed with that much (a common complaint of dubstep genre) 7.8

[First Thing's First]

NAC Judge

First Thing's First
joethesouleater
These low quality blip instruments remind of Sega Genesis video game music. I can totally picture some creepy game similar to "slaughterhouse" being played to this music. Some major evil crap is going down and this music illustrates the struggle that is playing out. The melody is incredibly repetitive, but it would be in a game I guess. If that was not your intent, I would have changed phrases throughout the song with different instrumentation and melodies. Overall creepy, but ultra low quality sounds and repetitiveness take away from the effectiveness of this being an entertaining song for much longer than a minute or so. 7.0

[Moonlit Shore]

NAC Judge

Moonlit Shore
Grant Jones (OpenLight)
Eeeek, that piano was all FORTE! There should be some expression to piano, not all played at full hammer. It sounded like someone was hitting the notes with a sledge. The melody was very creepy and would have sounded better with a varying intensity and expression. Your choice of lead for the melody was strange too. It sounded like something from the original Zelda, very low quality and with a distracting vibrato that made me cringe. The break beat drums sounded entirely out of place too without having a bass line or understandable rhythm going on. This was a strange and creepy piece but the instrumentation and dynamics just threw me way off. 6.0

OpenLight responds:

Late response, I apologize. But the forte piano was intentional haha. Calm piano would be less "insane" sounding, which was the feeling I was going for. The high vibrato instrument was intentional as well. I understand how it may not have been your cup of tea, but it was all intended. Thanks for the review though! I guess my music just isn't for everyone on Newgrounds.