3YEOfficial's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Almost done]

Ok so I'm listening to this and I'm hearing a lot of things that could be improved.

First section (0:00 - 1:12)

- Your piano sound is really nice, but to make it just that much more emotive, reverb goes a LONG way. I'd also EQ your melody piano part a little higher, and your chords a little lower so it mixes better.
- I found it a little jarring when your drums came in, especially since there's no real bass or sub. Your kick isn't particularly bassy either so it kinda just sounds more like a click rather than a real kick, if that makes sense. Your snare in the beginning sounds a bit overcompressed too so I'd turn that down.
- When the synth chords come in, bass will be your friend. Make sure you have a deep sub and a deep bass playing an even lower Eb than you already have. I can tell you're going for intensity so some good bass could do a lot for you.
- When that choir is singing all menacingly, then cuts to piano like you've got going there, there's a lot of space that's not being filled. Maybe add some drum impacts, or some atmospheric sound effects during the piano bits to help make it a bit more impactful and interesting?
- The kick you have going at 1:10 needs wayyyy more bass to cut through the mix. Again, it just kinda sounds like a click. And even though this is a lighter section, you're still gonna need some bass in there. Softer bass probably, but still some bass. Make sure you've got some sidechain on the kick to punch through the bass though.

Second section (1:12 - 2:38)
- I'm liking the sound of the chords, but the drums are just a little boring. I'd add some auxiliary percussion like some high hats to make it more interesting.
- When the synth comes in, the chords are great! But I can barely hear the drums :/ adding a lot of short sidechain there would not only make the drums more punchy, but it'd also make that section a lot more rhythmically interesting too!

Third section (2:38 - 3:38)
- It's pretty good here, I'd just add some more reverb on the piano and more bass/sub underneath it all.

Rest of the song has the same criticism as the second section.

And something that I noticed is that overall your track is clipping a lot so maybe try to reduce the peaks to under 0dB and do a little mastering work to get it louder from there? You can probably just find a super simple tutorial online on how to master tracks.

Overall I'm seeing some good potential in this and in your work, though I think there's some things you need a lot of work on. Good luck in finishing this track, and future tracks as well!

Telaris responds:

I noticed most of the improvements involve mixing,

So don't worry, I haven't even started that

I also kind of lied by the title, I still have to do all of the sound design shit, which is why there are these empty parts used as a placeholder for Phaser Basses,

But thanks, I will keep all of this in mind

[Soatsera]

Those chords!!! Gorgeous man!!!

[To the Surface]

Woah this has a really nice vibe

BeeFef responds:

thanks!

[Talurre - Starfall]

You've really come such a long way. That second climactic section is absolutely magnificent. You're gonna do insane things in the future man <3

[Superstition]

DUDE.
HOLY SHIT.
Everything about this is absolutely stellar. I cannot think of a single criticism, except MAYBE a bit of muddy mixing in some parts, but that's bound to happen with a track like this. The vocals, the chanting, the atmosphere, I cannot describe how glad I am that I decided to review some tracks on the Audio Portal at exactly this point in time. I'd ask to collab but I'd just undermine your talent.
Absolutely phenomenal dude. So excited to hear where you go from this. <3

Subotonix responds:

Wow, thanks dude! Means a lot to me, and who knows, we might collab sometime :)

[TEXTILE]

Duuuuude that's real nice

Delerium responds:

hey thanks man, appreciate it <3

[Codebreaker - Paracosmic Screech]

Hey! Nice track you’ve got here :) I’ve got some feedback for you, hope you don’t mind.

Firstly you have the intro, with the strings and the Xtrullor - Ichor-esque piano. First tip: REVERB. Your mix is generally pretty dry, which isn’t always a bad thing, but you kind of want those strings and piano to have an ambient effect and sustain more. Don’t be afraid to drench that piano in reverb and delay.

Something else I’m noticing in this track is a significant lack of bass. Rule of thumb in pretty much any track, you’ve gotta have bass. And ESPECIALLY in dubstep, you’ve gotta have sub-bass (bass below 60hz). For the sub-bass, I’d just use a simple sine wave. The drops aren’t really lacking bass, but the other sections like the build up could really use like a bass pad. You could also use a double bass VST, or if you want it to be a bit more intense, you could distort some stuff and make a gritty bass. Make sure to EQ it all.

As far as composition is concerned, your melodies are pretty nice! I especially like your use of percussion, I thought you did a great job with that. My one gripe is what you did in the drops. For instance, at 1:20, you have a brief interlude from the drop, but instead of putting a little melody in there, you just have one note playing for two bars. I’m also not really a fan of the extra bar at 1:30, I feel like it throws things off. Generally I’d just avoid holding sounds for a bar with no movement or automation, cause it feels like you just threw a sound in and didn’t really bother to do anything interesting with it.

The sound design is mostly great! I LOVE that riddim/deathstep sound at 1:24, and your drops are pretty cool! I feel like they could be a bit more cohesive, but the rhythms are satisfying to listen to. One thing that I feel you could improve is that gritty riser/faller sound, like at 1:16. Idk why but it just hits my ears the wrong way. Maybe not as much pitch bending would make it better? Overall when you’re making dubstep drops you want everything to flow well, and for everything to sound clean and crisp.

One last thing I’ll comment on is your buildups. You’ve got these major drops, but you don’t seem to really be building up the tension. Don’t be afraid to go all out! You’ve got some drums building up and a riser right now. You could add some white noise, fade in some sounds, add more risers- this may sound like a lot but when you’ve got a huge drop like that, the best way to pull it off is to build up a shit ton of tension before it, so that when the drop hits, all that tension releases and you get a crazy rush. So I’d work on that for the future.

Overall, I like what you’ve done here! If you have any questions feel free to pm me. You’ve earned a follow :D
Nice job!

CodebreakerS responds:

Ok so normally I put a Triangle waveform detuned by -2 octaves, and a LOT of distortion on it... but I Completely forgot that...

So yeah, no sub bass... but thanks

[Xtrullor - Supernova (TeslaX remix)]

That second drop is otherworldly. Fantastic job man

[Discoverer (Chill)]

Dude this is great!!! You’ve really got ambient music down :D

[Teminite - Earthquake]

See THIS is how you make drumstep. Although you've improved a LOT since 2016, this track is still gold <3