Coop's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sapphire's '09 Voice Demo]

Hmm... good.

A very wide range of voices supplied in this demo reel - the only female voice I don't think I heard was the little old lady type voice - I think we caught a lot of stereotypes in there, thus making up for it.

Now it's time for the standard line that as a fellow voice actor, I don't feel that these sorts of reels are the best way to go, as the quotes are taken out of context, which can adversely affect the listening experience. Perhaps some notes in the comments could enlighten us more as to the origin of the pieces?

Great effects thrown in there - what software do you use for producing these pieces?

[Review Request Club]

Sapphire responds:

Thanks for the review!

The lines used in this demo were created by me. I didn't pull them out of any other piece of work. With that said, I fail to understand how knowing the origin of a line will make the listening experience better.

[Deep_Town_Blues [Box-Killa]]

Interesting guitar

Sounds like Hendrix playing Jazz - something I'd never have thought I'd ever catch myself writing or saying, but there you go.

It's a good sounding tune, with the backing of the track sounding a little like the music used in War of the Worlds - Musical version, when the Martians take over the planet and the red weed grows everywhere. The guitar lends it an additional quality that sounds beguiling and strange, but in a nice way.

I'd have possibly done something with drums to add an extra dimension here, as it sounds like something very muted going on there, so perhaps making the beat a little more prominent would help?

[Review Request Club]

Box-Killa responds:

ha i dont belive it sounds like war of the world. YES I SOUND LIKE HENDRIX MWAHAHAHA that is a huuuuge compliment! Thanks man!@

[[Assios] - Midnight]

Well paced tune

I think that this is a reasonably well balanced tune, but it does lack enough variation for my liking, which is a great shame. With that taken into account, you'd be able to create a much more poular track if other things came in and complimented the keyboard melody, which seems to be the dominant sound there.

The beat is a very nice part of the track and as a result, it keeps my interest. Perhaps with a tweak here or there, even just a few different instruments would make a change enough to make this track so much better. Little things can make big differences after all :)

[Review Request Club]

Assios responds:

Yeah, I agree with you, I should put an alternate melody in there... I'll probably put in an alternate melody in there too, and update the mp3-file, sooner or later ;P

Thanks for the review! :)

[Cast From the Stars (Chill MX)]

Nice sounds

A great piece, this is calming plus it's electronica, which is a rare sound indeed - most of those type of tunes tend to have massively inflated bass beats that really do go against the relaxing persona of a song.

This piece can be a very impressive piece, though I would have done something about that high pitched little solo at around 2.30, as it just seemed too high, which can raise stresses in the song, which I felt you could have done without here.

It's a really well organised piece, the pacing is good and the variation certainly brings forth additional layers of the song, which work well with complimenting the piano of the second half of the tune as well. Nice, but perhaps more could have been done with such an expressive instrument?

[Review Request Club]

Bracksta responds:

i agree about the piano, i should have done a piano solo in the middle or some where, good review :) as always, thanks bro :D

[Aliens_On_Earth [Box-Killa]]

War of the Worlds?

It sounds to me like you drew some of your sounds for this from the War of the Worlds movie that was released a few years back - either that or the musical version which is awesome. You've given it a good bit of pace and plenty of creepy sounds, which I didn't think would work too well together at the start, but I appear to have been proven wrong.

A very evocative piece, sounding like there are some invading aliens and as a result of this, the whole tune sounds quite creepy. I think that perhaps making it a little longer would have assisted, as you'd have been able to make a bigger impression. Perhaps fade out the 'alien sounds' and go for adding something like a quiet solo, where people can think that it's over, then launch back into the piece, giving more sounds and more fear for the people below ;)

[Review Request Club]

Box-Killa responds:

:D yes to everything.

[Gritty Soundin' (WIP)]

Ice cold!

A great little track that's got some frantic pace to it and a very good pumping beat that is guaranteed to wake you up in a morning.

Enough variation to keep people interested and a good feel to the track that certainly feels at home with this genre. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your pieces, as this one is a very good indication that you'll go far :)

I'd have considered making it a little longer, as it's not made for a loop, either that or make it loop properly - no fade ins, or outs, to make it sound like one continuous track, instead.

[Review Request Club]

[Noisy - Lifehouse: Beacon]

Bordering on euphoric

What a nice, uplifiting piece - it really does get the blood flowing, with the slow and steady pace of the tune, carried by the beat and then brought forward once more by the piano scales that seem to fit so naturally. The whole piece paints a picture of a bright future, with people getting along in harmony. Too bad it's just a picture.

A little top-end static needs dealing with in some of the louder phases, but I think that it's something that only proves that you're human. Keep up the good work!

Finally, I think that to bring this piece forward, give yourself a piano solo - the beat and the melody / counter melody seem too overpowering, so that the piano's subtle tones cannot be heard, sadly. Such a powerful instrument is not a backing singer - let it take the lead for a change and shine through.

[Review Request Club]

INoisy responds:

Euphoric, wow, thank you! I appreciate it, and thanks for the suggestions about the piano. I agree, at the end you can't hear the beginning of the solo, and that needs to be brought up in the mix a little bit.

Thanks very much (:

[My Savior (Dance Remix)]

Quite repetitive

While this tune has some good crisp sounds to it, I think that six minutes is a little excessive, even for this. You'd be quite able to getting away with looping this after three minutes.

Basically, I'd add a lot more variation, or cut the tune down to size - the listener can get a little stuck in a rut with the repetitive sound from the almost 8-bit sound of the lead keyboard, which for me does no favours. The start was nice and had lots of variation, but this became very sparse later on, so think about the spread out of that sort of things.

It can be a good sounding flash that will work, but it does need something else, be that a new sound to add to it, a change to the primary melody, or just cutting it down a little, but I'm sure you can get there with it :)

[Review Request Club]

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Thanx for the review! Many ppl have agreed that I should add more variety. I have absolutely no free time anymore (school, college apps, x-tracurricular stuff, work, etc.) to even open up my DAW but when i get some time cleared up my next goal is to experiment with variations.

[Almany]

Ambient Classical

Not a bad piece - very evocative of a mood for a very good situation regarding the death of a loved one, I feel. Either that, or something sad in a game situation, where the protagonists are making what could well turn out to be life-changing decisions.

While it's not the best piece I've ever heard, it can certainly hold its own, especially within the genre. I think that the strings were slightly overused, and could have been complimented by a little more use of the woodwind section, maybe not to lighten the mood, but to give a more rounded feel for the emotional significance.

[Review Request Club]

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Thanx for the advice! You're not the only one who commented on the woodwinds. I agree with all yall who say that there needed to be more, but the woodwind VSTi's in my DAW arent all too great IMO and dont come with too much, and this was before I got Edirol.
I really like your interpretations to the song. They give me a broader perspective to future projects now that I can compare this song and my future projects based on your interpretations.
Thanx

[Flash/Audio Collab Submission]

Sounds like Spore

Some of the sounds that you've used here sound like they were taken from Spore - a really interesting sound that you've managed to duplicate here. I think that it could do with being stretched out a little, to maximise the effect of this, as at present, it is a song in two parts.

Part 1 is the vocals and the start of the music. It progresses nicely into Part 2, when everything seems to go a little mad and stretching it to maybe as much as 2 minutes would help you out greatly, by giving this piece another dimension.

Sadly, when you get to this part 2, there's everything going on, so if you try and avoid the 'rush hour' there, you'd end up with a much nicer sounding track.

[Review Request Club]

SessileNomad responds:

spore, the video game? if so, ive never played it

i kind of did want to make this track a little longer, but the rules of the collab say its gotta be 30-45 seconds

avoiding the rush hour at part 2, im fairly certain your talking about the drums that kick in, i cant really avoid those, its sort of a genre thing, sort of a personal style thing, and sort of a wanting-to-diversify-the-collab thing

i get the feeling your into more of the pristine styles of ambient, sadly i dont have any sypes of those songs

i guess i could give them a try, but i get bored with them

thanks for the review dude

peace out

SessileNomad