HyperTrough's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Wanderer]

Nice work on the guitar. Lyrics are well written and thought out. Everything about this song is near perfect, so I can't really critique anything. One thing I would like to point out though would be the higher pitched vocal. Rather than singing an octave higher, I think it would sound better if they harmonised. I think around 1:58 you had ago at it, but to be honest I don't think it worked that well.

If you're putting this together in a DAW, I think it would be best if you recorded your vocals a few times so that you can layer then. The imperfections in your voice from singing again and again (only a few cents) will create some nice phasing and thicken up your vocals. I think they could use a touch more reverb too.

Awesome work man! Favourited ;)

Linktrx responds:

I do use a DAW (protools 8) and actually thats what i do in a lot of songs but i guess i was trying to strip away ad be a little more intimate here. Yeah the harmony needs a little work and i plan to go back and tweak it a bit. The octave vocal was more or less a new sound i had been working with recently and i plant to continue working with it. Thanks so much for the review man i really appreciate it and im glad you enjoyed it too :D

[DBM - Coma (Original Mix)]

NIIIIIICE INTRO! A great driving beat to kick things of is never a bad thing! That first lead could use a bit more reverb to make it fit in the mix better, it just jumps up and it catches you off guard a bit.

Breakdown/build up was very well made. Built tension, did its job. Great!

For the chorus, I would recommend investing your time into creating grittier basses. The ones you have now are fine, but could be better. Try get some more movement into them (particularly the high end frequencies). Also, sidechain your kick to everything! It'll give the track a "pumping" feel which would go well with complextro.

Overall, i think the structure is good and the mix is fair, but could be better. Try using some stereo enhancers next time to make your instruments sound BIG and POWERFUL!

Nice work!

[Glitch practice]

dBlue Glitch...okay. lol ;D

Although this is an "experment", I still think you could have made the mix sound ALOT clearer. The whole track just sounds flat, there's no real change in volume or any suspense created. I'd suggest playing around with some filters, reverb and delay. Just to give you some practice in creating different moods.

The sounds you've got in here are sounding pretty cool. Just don't overuse dBlue. It gets annoying, very quickly. :)

Happy experimenting!

Yoshiii343 responds:

You can't blame me for trying lol.
Yeah, not a lot of "experimenting" is really done here (I didn't mess with the reverbs, and stuff).
I'll keep that in mind.

[Pissbitch McShitcock]

Not sure how to approach this...

In general, needs more cowbell. And could do with being about 20% cooler. You could start that 20% by not making "General Rock" in a DAW :D

5 stars man

[Free Your Soul]

From what I can hear, the mix is sounding good. Everything's clear, nothing's clashing, so nice work on that ;)

The first minute and a half of the track need MORE VARIATION! Rather than just stacking patterns on top of each other over time, try to focus on your main instrument. Sculpt it so it builds itself up to a melodic conclusion. Variation doesn't need to be huge, subtle is the way to go. Even finishing a major/minor 3rd above or below from the last loop will do. Just make sure you main instrument takes the listener on a journey, from intro to conclusion. Then build your other instruments AROUND it. Compliment the lead with harmonies to give life to a certain point in the track. Also, try avoid introducing a new pattern every 4 or 8 bars. It gets boring to listen to and becomes predictable. Instead, you could bring loads of new sounds in when you want the track to "come alive" and pull them all out just as easily to break things down.

I think you just need to work on your composition. Try steering clear of looping patterns and compose to create emotion. Finish on a major 3rd for one measure, finish on the root for the next. Spice it up a little bit ;D

Composition aside, I think you've chosen a good set of instruments and they fit the mood of the track quite well. Nice job!

[Don't Rest your Head!]

First off, the 'shiny' synth playing 3 notes every 2 measures could've been syncopated rather than on the down-beat. It would've spiced things up a bit and been more fun to listen to. I think at 2:00 you should have removed as many elements of the track as possible. The break-down is meant to feel euphoric (lots of release and reverb!). If you could automate some delay and verb onto the tail of the last segment coming up to the 2 minute mark, there's a sweet break-down waiting to happen!

The bass you had going in the build up was pretty cool (almost like an acid bass). The build up overall was lacking suspense. The rising effect of the elements was nice, but I think you need to work on the structure of a build-up. Try cutting up your patterns into shorter ones and loop them. Playing something repetitive and speeding it up as it approaches the chorus is one way to build more suspense.

The chorus was lacking big time! The bass was very underwhelming. It wasn't strong enough and just sounded like a sludgey mess. I think the bass you used in the build up was more appropriate. Never the less, the chorus still could have been improved by sidechaining the kick to all of the track's elements at a greater ratio and lower threshold. This would've given the track a huge "pumping" sound (which is what you're after with house music).

Overall, the composition is good and the overall structure is good (work on those build-ups!!!). The mix needs a fair bit of work. Try cleaning up the low end of your track and it won't sound as muddied.

All in all, great work! The tune is funky and definitely something I could get down to. You just need to improve the technical side (work on your sidecahining, mixing and build-ups). Awesome work!

[Green Up]

Instantly fived. As soon as I heard the tight, quality drum work I just had to!

Great tune! Awesome work.

[Acid Paradox - Chill Out,]

Tight as! Awesome work AP!

[Irt - Tower of Life]

YAY! Better quality :D I hope this method is working well for you and not limiting your imagination.

You've made a pretty awesome tune and it flows very nicely. I would (however) like to hear a bit more repetition, but that's just personal taste.

Great work on this one! Can't wait to see what you come up with when using other elements too! ;D

Irtorius responds:

Nice that you liked it :D

Gonna try to work on a song with more elements, hopefully it will turn out good!

Thanks alot for the encouragment :)

[What am I doing...]

You have got a great kick, awesome tune and synths, BUT your mix is CLIPPING D: I was scared for my headphones because the clipping was so intense. Try just turning it down a bit (so the master peaks below 0dB). Your sound design is awesome, the panning; not as awesome. Try mate it a bit less obvious. Music is all about subtleness (but not always).

If this is just a loop, it's great! If you're turning it into a full track, make sure you use sound effects (builds, atmosphere, etc.) to create anticipation and the other one (can't think). It's easiest to use a melody with a few variations coupled with a bass, pads, chords, blah blah blah to support it. I reckon this could turn out really well for you!

Give it a crack! ;)

Squeezums responds:

You sexy beast, you know i will ;)