Jahn33's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Year of Solitude]

The first plunking that starts playing leaves much to quickly, it could use better transitioning, in fact the whole track could use better transitions. The percussion is good, but i don't like the main punch, guessing that's person preference though.

FortressLord responds:

So, longer intro, transitions and a new snare. I guess that's helpful enough.

In fact, that is helpful. I don't know where to go with the snare, but more transitions will be in my next track like this.

[Never Give In]

I liked the intro but you need a new synthesizer. It sounds cluttered, and like Envy your songs are sounding the same. I liked the sound effects, also i could hardly even hear the drums over all the other sounds.

R3SP4WN responds:

Aww, I just got compared to my idol :D! No, seriously haha. I really do need a new lead synth; as much as I like the one I use it's the same sound as my lead every time and every song is almost the same excepting a new melody. Thanks for the review, I'll be sure to go review your new track in a little bit!

[prototrack]

Fine, the kick is weird XD not bad just different, plucky. I really like it though! It's like progressive house? Idk I'm not too good with genres. Anyway I think you should make a drop at the midway point or before, it sounds great but gets boring when you make it feel like a drop then it just shuts down.

Keep it up.
Tweak it up.

DJMERKEREE responds:

Thanks man, yeah I need to work on that. it gets frustrating when it starts to sound like a giant series of build ups. Hahaha definitely working on that sticking point. Also the kick comes from the "Xfer" sound pack by deadmau5

[Krazy]

This is krazy. I really like chopped up vocals, just my opinion. The main synth is not.. My fav. Sounds a little reppetitive as well. Not bad though, I promise if you keep at it you will become better.
Keep it up, tweak it up.

DJMERKEREE responds:

hahahaha no worries man, this isn't my favorite track I've uploaded. This was kind of the end of my phase where I was always trying to put Deadmau5 like chords into everything. I wish I still had the original files though because after hearing it I would've liked to tone the vocals down a bit, they're a little grainy and it might've sounded better if I smoothed em out before uploading. btw thanks for the encouragement dude

[Charlie (Jazzy Dubstep)]

Like the style, but everything dosnt blend too well. The jazz sample was little high pitch so tone it down just a tad ( The pitch ) Tha background bass was ehh okay. could be deeper. LOVE the style though, keep it up, tweak it up.

DJMERKEREE responds:

Thanks a lot man, I appreciate the advice, it gives me an unbiased opinion of how my tracks sound to everyone else. Yeah I used eq 3, saturator and limiter to rid some of the background noise on the jazz sample, but it did cause the horn to be pretty high pitch lol I still need some work on my production skills. Thanks for the outlook

[The Return]

Sounds too cluttered, the drums are hardly audible ( exept for the "piano?" part which was verry nice ) The transactions were verry abrupt like at 2:03
I do like the ending though, that plucking noise and a surprise. mmmmm

[Tubular Trance]

Spooky. The synths ( or whatever they are) at the beginning kind of hurt my earzies though.

Wilhiemthe2nd responds:

That can not be... You sure you listened at a healthy volume?
This is the best mix I have ever made. [In my opinion, the Uncompressed version sounds even better, and may fix your issue]

[Von Neumann]

Definitely loving this song. You said it was more in your face but it sounds a little held back to me.
The vocals are a little out of place and stand out but don't blend with the music, and it's the same thing over and over..

OcularNebula responds:

good critique

I am still really bad at mastering, so I'm not entirely sure why it sounds held back (I mean, my compression settings are essentially random most of the time, but I'm sure there are other issues here, too)

5 minutes was perhaps a bit much for this piece, given the repetition - especially the middle (I was initially planning on having more additional layers, and by "planning" I mean I had some vague ideas about what I wanted, but it didn't quite work out)

I feel like I often squander a decent idea by having poor development and iteration, so your feedback makes a lot of sense to me