PianoFortress's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Death of Hank]

weeelll....weeeeeell.....OK!

First off, this song has potential. The problem is that -except for the beat which sets in after half the song is done- I miss some real changes in melody and feeling. 5 minutes listening to woodwinds is a lot. The beginning is cool (that's from 0:00 to 1:00) but you should change the song here and there. Why not adding a Cello which would give a nice dark and sorrowful atmosphere. It could even play the same melody the woodwind does but still it's a variation. Or you cut the whole thing down to 3 minutes and have a short intro so the beat would set in earlier. I know you worked very hard for this one (I've read your BBS post) but I think some more variety isn't wrong.

WritersBlock responds:

Hmm yeah. I wouldn't rule out changing this song before the contest is over. I think I'm kinda going through a phase at the moment where my music has to be long and drawn out, to "sink in". Thanks for the ideas!

[Xyirx - Way Back Home]

Hi!

oh dear, starting with a thunder and rain is never wrong. sets up a good atmosphere. I love the Celesta-sound as well as the climax you've build upon the end. what you've could done there is adding a whole string section to emphasize it even more. not too loud of course. But all the instrument come together very good and with a this pretty melody you've got yourself a nice song.

Xyirx responds:

Oh, it's my honor to receive your review.

I'm happy that you like the celesta (which is actually music box, but they have similar sounds anyway. :D), and I actually put a deep string in the background, but it seems too weak to be heard. So I thank you for the suggestion. ^_____^

[(::Towards The Sun::) =FINAL=]

hmmmm

that's a very minimalistic song you've made. What I really miss in your composition is the variety. you've got one string pad and another bass string pad but where is the stuff that sets some highlights in the song? I mean the music itself is all that you've wanted to achieve like relaxing, soothing, calm, serene, you name it. but still! a little progression is missing. Percussion would be a great addition to this song. especially native stuff like congas, bongos and djembre. you could also use a simple kick + snare build. and about the highlights...well I'm thinking about some...sparkles, a mellow voice that could say your little poem there or a deep&damped bass hit/explosion. just some noises. would give the song more life.

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

Well, I can't change this song anymore, and it is one of the first ambient songs I have made. thanks for your honesty though!! I am back to making funk now and trance so you won't have to worry about there not being variety anymore!!! =)

[_-={An Unseen Dance}=-_]

hmhmmhh

god forbid, this is truly a great piece of almost medieval music. the drums are just stunning...damn I want them RIGHT NOW...I think you told SBB or someone here what exactly you've done with the percussion in this composition. Also thanks for telling me that 'Voice Of Passion' sucks. Almost bought it. Were you able to listen to 'Voices Of The Apokalypse' yet? I think they could sound pretty good. Ah yeah about your song...well yeah the voice isn't the best I say...maybe just my own silly taste of music. Everything else is perfect. Did you use 'Rare Instruments' from Native here?...so many questions, sorry ^^..

pf

MaestroRage responds:

hmmm, the drums from this are called Ethnic Drums from the VST East West Collossus. Though you could probably also find it in East West RA.

The deep hit you're hearing is a preset sample from Fruity Studio's itself! It's called Hit 5, and all I did to it was boost the bass end a little, and stack it, so you have the same sample playing at the same time set to different pitches. It effectively then creates a thick boom which encompasses a lot of the bass area. It's difficult to control when the song picks up and things are happening a lot.

I'm glad you didn't buy it. It's a horrible program in my opinion. I couldn't believe it was 500 dollars. It's got a good system set up for it, but what they recorded was a waste of my time. It's like a giant library of presets. You can't even tell 3 out of the 5 women in it what to sing, just a library of preset sample after another...

disgusting.

Voices of the Apocalypse I have, and it's 10 fold better then Voices of Passion.

I used a lot of soundfonts for this song as it was a song I started mid last year, so actually like 15 months ago *which explains why it's a little detached from my current style* All the soundfonts I used are from

www.sf2midi.com

brilliant little site.

Hope that helps, thank you for the review, i'm glad you liked it!

[Xyirx - From Darkness to]

hmmmm

it's a good song as long as you are happy with it...that's what I do music for. To compose a song that's 100% me =D.

About this song now...well it's very downtempo but that's perfectly okay. The clear piano is a nice addition to all the effect pads, etc. plus it plays a happy melody :D...so far good job!

Xyirx responds:

Ah, I remember you! You're the one who composed "Skywards". I love listening to it all the time because it's so soothing.

Anyway, I'm very happy that you enjoy listening to this. I bet I've got some inspiration from you too.

[(::The Water::)]

high five!!

I like it. yes. nice beat although it's a loop. but I'm also working with drum loops haha :D...this song has a very futuristic atmosphere. I would change last few seconds of the song though...because it really cuts off at the end and I don't like that!!!!!!111...do a fade-out or something...

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

Oh hey pianoForte! You haven't reviewed one of my songs in a while! Well, I am very glad you like this song. Oh and the fade out I was trying to attempt, cut off all od a sudden and I couldn't change it! 0_0 Well, that is really annoying lol. Thanks for the review. =P Oh and you wouldn't believe THIS but TWO OF MY SONGS ARE ON THE TOP OF THE AMBIENT LIST!!!! In fact, they are #1 and #2!!! They have been there for 2 days so farand I hope they stay there to. I worked extremly hard and I finally reached my dream goal... like you did. =) I see a pattern here... lol. Well, good luck with your upcoming songs, and I hope you help me keep those songs there! (Towards the Sun::) =FINAL= and (::Come::) =FINAL=

Yeah, I remixed them so they say FINAL. =P

[Moonstorm =WB=]

hmmm

First you should work on the background noise. it's overcompressed and causes this damn fuzz so you cannot really enjoy the melody at all. my second complain is that the "strings" are very loud. might be just my personal taste but I think ambient songs should be calm, relaxing and be able to creates imagines in your head. but with those strings it's just like BAM BAM BAM all the time. no time to breath between them. a more silent / muted part mixed with the stringsparts would work very well I think.
I'm looking forward to your final product....

WritersBlock responds:

Hey, thanks for the review.
Yeah, I'll have to tweak the background, and tone it down in parts.
I turned up the strings that much because I was afraid it would get drowned out with the atmosphere layer, but if I turn that down, I should be able to turn the strings down a bit too. I should play around with their volume, add a bit of variation. I kind of went for a bit of a more powerful orchestral sound which kind of make it less calm and ambient, but a bit of control over that should keep it fairly calm. I'm thinking of adding a quiet section in the middle, so I think that should mix it up a bit. I'm thinking of a soft pizzicato string bridge kind of thing.
Thanks for your comments again.

WB

[-=)Who Was She?(=-]

hmmm

PIANO FOR WORLD DOMINATION...and chart domination .___.

MJTTOMB responds:

YES! HEIL PIANO! Down with the violin.l grrrr...

Tonight, we dine in Carnegie Hall!

xD

Lol, thanks man. I've been needing to say that for a loooong time.

[(::Let me Explain...::)]

gettin' closer...

this one is definitely better than your other techno song. 1:30 there we go that's a nice pad! very simple arrangement with only 2 chords so far but you've composed a good mix at 2:19...I also like the change from bright to dark beat at 00:50...

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

Oh cool! I'm glad you realized the symbolicness (That's not a word!!!) of this song!

[(::The Final Countdown::)]

hmmmm

I'm missing the techno in this techno song LOL...something like a fast, hardcore beat and big ass-kickin' pad leads...or bright pads...sounds more like the new wave thingy you did.

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

ehh, your right. =( I though it sounded pretty cool, but not that many people are in for that taste.