nyxl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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