nyxl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - My Summer Sweetheart]

Awesome track! A lot of things happening here, and all ideas are well integrated intro the track. I like the clean mix. Only in the "main" parts (from 1:01 and 2:10) the bass frequencies could be a bit more present in my opinion. The slowing outro is the cherry on top.

[Rolling Waves - AIM 2021]

Great track. The atmosphere really fits the piece you used as inspiration. You wrote that you would have liked to do some more mixing on this track, but I think it sounds fine. There is some compression pumping going on in the part starting around 2:04, but I think that fits the general aesthetic of the track. My only mixing complaint is that the piano seems a little undefined in that section. One other thing I didn't like so much is that the piano playing is a little unprecise (rhythmically), which becomes a bit distracting when the drums are introduced - could maybe use a bit more soft-quantize in the context of this track. Apart from that I really liked the different sections and transitions.

[A Hero's Purpose (NG VGM Challenge)]

You uploaded this around the time when I started working on my version for this challenge, and I think I might have consioucly or unconsciously been inspired a bit by your song structure :)

You build up a really nice atmosphere and use interesting chord progressions. Also I think the different parts of the song fit well with the journey theme and the development of the hero's story. The combination of acoustic and electronic sounds works well in your track, and the mixing and mastering sound good to me. It's great that you use tempo changes, sometimes they sound a bit too linear for my taste, but that also fits with the more electronic nature of the track.
My main criticism with this track is that it's not very memorable in my opinion. The track mostly consists of rhythmic elements that drive more or less, depending on the desired mood, and arpeggios that do little more than follow the chord progressions. Now all this sounds really nice, but to me it also sounds like an accompaniment to something that is never introduced. For background music in a game, this might work, though I think even for that it would be nice to have some more memorable elements, even if you don't want to draw too much attention to the music. There is a melody right at the beginning that is also repeated later, but I think for that to be singable and memorable it would have to have less interval jumps and reuse more small elements of itself.
However, all in all, the different parts of the track could probably very well be used as background music in a game and the way that you put all these different atmospheres in one track is quite impressive!

[The Forgotten Journey (for the EctiBot Challenge)]

Great use of a lot of orchestral colors and I like how the hero's theme reappears in different contexts through the entire track. I like the second half of the track more than the first one, the different elements sound more coherent there and I also really like the demon king's theme. The two brass lines work well there, as well as the interspersed elements of the hero's theme. The exposed violins starting at 0:24 unfortunately don't do the track any favour in my opinion since they are a bit jarring (too loud) in the beginning and also a little stiff. Some variation via Midi CC in dynamics (or volume, if you're using BBCSO Discover) could improve the sound a lot there (also in other places, for example for some of the flutes in the end, around 3:41 the high flute is too loud in my opinion). The big cymbal crashes starting around 1:29 repeat a bit too often for me and much of the percussion in that section doesn't really connect with the rest of the track for me, perhaps it would need more or some different reverb.
But overall, you have a very nice composition going on and musically transfer the melody through different instruments and moods.

valdamaer responds:

Thanks for the constructive feedback!

[longing (or, wedding song to a broken soul)]

Great song, very impressive vocals, I especially love the multiple voices! I also like the piano, strings and the oboe(?) and how the arrangement builds up.
Now you already know that this is a very good song, I will still mention some points that could be improved in my opinion - mainly two things.There is a low (strings?) pad in the chorus that plays somewhat rhythmically... I personally don't really like that, since there seems to be a kind of hole in the sound whenever it changes notes, which sounds a bit hectic to me. I'd like something with a more sustained sound better here...
The second point is about mixing: I'm not sure about the dynamic range of the vocals, I think they could be a little louder in the quiet parts, or a little more quiet in the chorus - especially since they kind of overpower most of the other instruments there. Sometimes I can hear that there is a really nice composition going on behind the vocals, but sometimes it's difficult to hear what is happening behind them.
Keep up the great work!

Troisnyx responds:

Thanks for the thorough review! ☺️

Stylistically, I wanted to let it tread a happy balance somewhere between popular music and full-on orchestration, a happy balance that I can't quite seem to find. Plus the fact that I can only manage freebies and software defaults, and it shows. With the sounds I have, I do my utmost.

Re: vocal volume, I've never really known how to balance them — I don't know what fits a song at any given time. I would be grateful for any help or pointers you can give.

[RUSH]

Awesome track! The distorted synths drive the track really well and are mixed cleanly. Modulations keep the track interesting and thanks to breaks at the right times the ear does not get tired from all the intense sounds. I think the looping also works really well. Two minor points that could be improved in my opinion: I think the kick sounds a little hollow. I'm not sure how to improve that except maybe using a different sample... but I understand that might be difficult. The second point is about the mini break from 0:20 to 0:21. It seems to me that this is mostly volume automation. I believe using a high pass filter with some resonance and automating that in order to "duck" the track for one second could sound more natural.

baryiscool responds:

Yes i should have put some more work in some of the transitions !!
Also.. the kick is a nightmare
ive layered some kicks under it so it could be more full
but nothing seemed to work.. feelsbadman

[Cool Slice]

Nice laid back track! I enjoyed the chords, the keys and the saxophone. The mix is nice as far as I can tell right now via headphones. The guitar playing is great, but I think it would fit the track better with less distortion.
The stutter is interesting and not too disturbing. Another thing that could set this track apart even more would be if you extended it with a slightly more complex structure (for example with a break in the middle).