DJ-Draconum's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[.:|Matrix|:. Shoot at the One!]

Could have been better but cool as it is... ^^

If it wern't just a four note bassline i might be a little up in arms, but of course the bass is out of Rob D's Clubbed to Death. but, since it IS simply four whole notes i won't put up a big fuss, since everything else is original. and plus, it's based off the matrix (and no other song epitimizes the matrix so much as clubbed to death does).

i think this song has a lot of potential and i love anything based off the matrix, though in execution it's a tad messy and incohesive.

But, the individual pieces that make this up are cool, and it's probably a better shot at industrial than i could muster. And the matrix is cool. ^^ so, sorry, i have to go with a 7/10, 3/5.

(don't worry, D-A-R-K totally made up for this and rocks. ^^)

[Exp Anth - Smooth Breaks Deux]

please export in mp3...

I really didn't want to download a 6-second long loop that was over a megabyte.

Really, find a way to export to mp3, or use a file converter. It's a waste of NG's space to put up 6-second files that are that big.... I've put up 80 kbps mp3's that are around 1:30, less than a megabyte. and they don't lose THAT much...

In any case, i really like this. I really do. the lead is very cool and reverb-y. much better than alot of short NG loops out there.

[Memories Part 3]

why do people steal?

You're the second person I've caught plagerizing FruityLoops Demo songs.

The melody comes straight from a song by Toby I think. RainDrops, isn't it?

Anyhow, since the last time i caught someone cheating in their music (with FL songs INCLUDED with the software.....) and emailed admins, nothing happened. So, I guess nobody cares if people plagerize?

I was going to have some respect for you as a music artist but not anymore. Damn plagerizing...

At least the other dude improved on the song.

Let me re-state, as I've said in reviews past, remixing is OK on NG if you STATE THAT YOU ARE REMIXING A SONG! If you give no credit or state that it is a remix you are effectively _taking credit for someone else's work_. Which is bad.

[Heavenly]

Not as bad as OutLandish might suggest.

True, most trance on NG IS lacking.

However, there is much worse out there than this. And I did happen to like it.

Although I DO know what Landish means by 'breaking free' sorta out of this 'mold' artists on NG tend to be in. The biggest key thing to do is make your own synths for songs as much as you can, and distinguish them with FX and the like. Something you've done more than most people do, of course, but I think this is something most people could stand to improve on somewhat....

Bah... we're all a bunch of high school students doing this in our free time. Give us a break eh?

Well, most of us anyhow.

[project2]

I wasn't expecting something this... good!!

When it was named 'project 2' and you said it was your first track I was skeptical. 2 weeks for a melody? I thought, "He must be a real beginner."

Now, it sounds totally awesome, of course. And it's basically a full song.

The thing that bugs me is that the melody is EXACTLY the one that appeared in the FL demo song, "What's New - FL 3.3".

So unless you were the one that made the melody in the first place (in other words, if you were on the FL beta team), you sorta plagerized the melody from a FL beta tester.

But hell, it SOUNDS good. I mean, with the re-arrangement you did and all. But seriously, it's only a remix at most. You gave no credit whatsoever or indication that the melody came from FL. Big mistake in my opinion.

This melody came from the file...:
(FruityLoops Directory)\Loops\CoolStuff\ISuckAtTitles.flp

[Fantasy Flight]

definately improving.

my only instrument complaint (I'm sorry about all those btw lol) is the bass perhaps. all else sounds pretty good. unfortuantely Samples\Packs\Extra\GrandPiano.wav doesn't fare too well in the upper octave, though that's not your fault. There are ways it can be made to be more organic sounding through FX but I doubt many people would just figure it out right away.

The bass though makes it sound a little too dark.. are all the notes correct? I'm not saying they arn't, it just sounds a little more 'off' than it should. Or it could just be me.

I'm glad you're making more complex songs, though. I hope I haven't been too harsh-sounding in previous reviews but it seems you're taking some of my suggestions to heart.

And I also appreciate that you're doing videogame remixes in the first place.. that's always good.

8/10 4/5

[Phantasy Techno]

I think you're getting better!

The instruments sound better this time around.

You now need to focus on subtleties a little more. Just little things...

I also love the theme from which this originates.... and as always a great job of making it from ear.

There are things that bug me about it but they would be more differences in taste so they're not worth putting into the review.

3/5 7/10

[Electric Blue Sample]

It's OK...

The sounds and instruments were great, but it was annoying to listen to because of how repetitive it was.

I'm going to take a guess and say you don't really have music experience.. and that you used a program that simply arranges pre-made loops (like techno e-jay or something the equivilent of that). Which.. uh.. doesn't take a lot of effort. Compared to actually making songs, I mean.

But hey, that's just a guess. If you used something more complex like Fruityloopa or Reason or something of that nature you would have gotten a higher score for effort but as it is, it sounds alot like something from one of those type of 'sample - arranging programs'.

If I'm wrong please disregard this review and add 1 point to my review score.

[Final Fantasy 7 Remix]

much better.

OK, I'm going to assume you didn't just import a MIDI file and assign instruments to the parts and add a beat track (because that's what my chocobo remix is besides my re-arranging... part of the reason why i wish everyone picked a song i worked harder on to download 400 times. O_O)

With that in mind there's alot more going on here that makes it sound like real music - there are the background parts, the melody parts, the constant high energy beat, and so forth.

But the instruments STILL sound like crap. Now all I ask is that you please learn how to use FX (again I'm assuming you're using fruityloops.. i even recognize some of the instruments!) or the 3xOSC. it's absolutely essential. The song structure and content of the song is great but the instruments are awwwwwwwwwful.

Still, an 8/10 and 4/5.

[Sonic And Knuckles Remix]

I could see where this might be useful but...

This would be a pretty OK background loop for a flash movie involving Sonic and Knux, and as with the chocobo song, the notes were well done and an accurate representation of the Genesis classic's title theme.

However when you're doing a remix of a 16-bit song it helps when the patches/synths/instruments/whatever sound at least as good as the original's since, let's face it, the genesis was not the aural equivilant of a sound studio - in other words, if it sounds WORSE than the genesis, that's not good. i'm not sure if your patches just suck or you were trying to make it sound 16-bit. you either want to make it sound 16-bit or make it sound nice and synthy, because those instruments are pretty rough - it seems to go somewhere in between! however, if you're still new to your program that you use, and that program happens to be Fruityloops.... email me ([e-mail]) and i could lend you some of my Fruityloops 3xOSC presets that I made.

another tip might be to use some effects to soften them up a little. they will still sound 16-bit-ish but won't be as harsh.
oh, and please learn how to do background parts somewhat. i know it's hard with video game remixes since all you can easily pull out is the melody, but try adding bass and string background parts and such.. it really gives your music another 'dimension', so to speak.

anyhow, you're getting there in my opinion. but another weekly pick? i don't think so.