EmperorCharlemagne's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[TCB - Bit Down]

My ears!

I feel this was WAY too loud. I know it's DnB, but I think you could have toned things down (by a LOT; I listened to this comfortably on low volume) so it wasn't so grating on the poor ol' ears.

I'll admit, I like the lofi feel to it, and it has that half-retro half-modern feel that I like to listen to on occasion. In that respect, great job. The filtering and and other ways you made the synths sound unique makes this a commendable effort.

I also like the different things you have the instruments do... Variety is the spice of life for me, and I like seeing that in music as well.
In the end, I like this song the more I listen to it. It's not perfect, but hey, it's enjoyable, and in that respect ya succeeded.

thecokebitch responds:

Ha yeah... Thats the effect of lazily using master compression, but thats getting the bucket, as from yesterday. But yeah your right about the levels in this, and that will be remidied - eventually.

But then again what kind of speakers do you have, and wat pre-emphasis of the sound do you use? (eq, stereo enhancement, dolby, etc) Because, yeah on my system all your songs sound quiet, and relatively dull (behringer 2031a studio monitors). Granted tho, everything is relative when it comes to sound, so it all comes down to what your trying to achieve.

Chur for the sweet review tho!

[8BitHeaven-[Demo]]

Not bad for mild breakcore...

But the reviewer below me is correct; this is HARDLY 8-bit. If you find an NES that can do what this song does, I'll give you $100, son. Remember, don't confuse "square and analog synths" with "8-bit".

As far as the song goes, I like the stuttering drums, though I think everything could have been tuned down a bit in terms of volume. I like how the synths themselves were also stuttery and glitchy; you did a nice job with that.

This track ain't bad, all things considered. I thought it was pretty nice; nothing amazing, but you did a good job.
7.5

djnet responds:

hmm...well i didnt mean it as if it was chiptune...but yeah they are just synth that i changed around to sort of resemble 8bit lol

I will fix the volume problems in the final cut of it.
Thanks

-DJNet

[Calamaistr's Breeze]

Nice

The lo-fi feel of it really makes me think of obscure games like Contact for the DS, which revel in such seemingly old-sounding instruments. In that respect, good job on nailing that down.

However, that buzz in the background is a mood killer; I wish it had been removed before submission. There is a thing as sounding TOO old, and that ain't always a good thing.

But overall a nice short piece.

Calamaistr responds:

mate its made on console, i didnt 'make it sound old' its made on equipment from 1990, ill soon be re-converting a few new old tracks from console to pc i wanted to have on ng so check back.

[HoT#6 - Demons of the Elements]

You were right

You are correct, in this form the song sounds a bit rough around the edges (more than a bit in a few spots; I'm sure you know which), and it does have a feeling of unpolished to it.

However, much like a precious stone, when polished, does this piece shine. The instrumentation here is once again excellent, and I loved how you were able to capture a feeling of tension through the music. Excellent use of both brass and dissonance; I thought that was rather well done.

I feel that the first screeching chord coming in on the strings was a bit TOO abrupt, I think it needed a second more to build up into the segue for the fanfarish intro and the rest of the song.

Aside from that, I feel that this piece is very much well done, and very enjoyable.

Setu-Firestorm responds:

I can completely agree with your criticism. Joel (the director) was the one who opted to release this one; it would not have been my choice simply because I could never finalize it. This was mostly because when the piece was rejected, I overwrote its original project with the one we did use, so it's not like I could have gone back to complete the mix.

My composing process in post-production is that I compose the piece without doing any mixing whatsoever and send it to them so they have an idea what it will sound like. At this stage, it's all still "raw" and can easily be changed according to their criticisms/specifications, which in the case of "Hero of Time", most of the pieces went through a few to several remakes.

Once they approve the "raw" piece, I then mix the MIDI channels into Audio channels and apply mixing/EQing/Mastering. This piece missed out on that, and when he used it anyway for the film, I was glad, but it's not a great listener given its poor unmixed state.

At any rate, I appreciate the input. Thanks for being honest. =)

[musingsthefirst]

Hurrah, it is finished!

As for the percussion, I would say, put a few more rolls in there here and there, to give some nice transitions from scene to scene. And the last cymbal crash could be toned down just a shade. I think the bass drum was pretty swell throughout.

However, despite that this is a wonderful version, and I think it was really cool to see this work progress from something simple to progressively complex. It was a nice ride, says I.

Do I think some things might be hammered and smoothed out? Yes, but that's really a nonissue at this point. What I see here is a constant progression of improvement culminating in something darn exquisite, so congrats on the good job.

loansindi responds:

Thanks for the review!

This piece, as a learning experience, has been tremendously valuable.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[(CHS) Death Match!!!]

Great sense of tension!

For advice on your next project working with a similar song, I would suggest toning down the guitar a little bit, along with a few other instruments. In that way, we can hear greater contrast from say, the strings and bells and chorus. As it stands, the guitar is pretty overpowering in many aspects, and I think some softer playing would have brought things out more. It is something to keep in mind for the next song: that soft parts can be just as effective as the loud.

However, that aside, this is a pretty bitchin' track, one that has all the hallmarks of good quality that comes with your stuff. Keep up the good work, keep on tinkering, and above all, keep livin' the dream (lol).

All in all, this is really good.

ChaosDragon004 responds:

Man this one got to me big time. Im telling ya, this song ran me up and down the wall lol. I couldnt ballance out everything the way I wanted. I got alot of work ahead of me in that aspect bro. Thanks for being honest again because I knew there was something wrong with it I just couldnt get this one worked out. Thanks again, I'll be working hard on anther project hopefuly I will not have the same problems with it.

[[:Beyond Your Mind:]]

Good

The loud noises created some crackling in some places; make sure you don't beat your listener over the head with sound. This is only something i hear at the very beginning; it might be just me.

I liked this song. I liked how the drums kept things interesting, and at various points bringing in some synths in order to breathe new life into it. It's well put-together in that respect. The last 40 seconds was a section I rather enjoyed, too; nice job on having some bluesy-jazzy synth work there.

Be happy with this one; because you did quite a nice job.

julius33 responds:

Yea i think i should have worked more on mastering this one, thx for the review.

[Plaxingo]

Awesome, in a word.

The intro was lovely; the timbres of the synths really created a creepy yet wonderful feel to the song.

The shifting styles here show the mark of stylistic innovation and creativity, and that is something not easily achieved. As well, the way they just jump around from one style to another doesn't feel jarring or obtrusive, but rather, it is well done in such a way as to really make me compliment your skills as an audio maker. There are a lot of praises I can sing for this song, but I won't be more long-winded than necessary.

Suffice to say, you made a real winner here, something that is fairly original, and extremely enjoyable.

That-Is-Bull responds:

That's a fucking great review.

[Galaxy Driver]

Liked it more once that guitar-thing kicked in

I thought this was pretty rad and catchy, and perfect for the mood you were going for. It's not like you made an undeniable masterpiece, but then again, this song doesn't need to be one. It just needs to be good, which it is.

I like the bassline, and like I said, halfway through the song is where I started liking it even more. Great job.

EchozAurora responds:

Yesh, by no means is it a masterpiece lol. Much thanks on the review though, glad ya liked the song.

I'll hit you up with a review in a bit as well.

[(CHS) Moonlight Duel]

Keep up the good work man.

Just have to ask though:

"Clouds AND stars"? ???

I liked the interplay of the the more celestial synth sounds and the down-to-earth bass and synths. It provides a great contrast for the song.

ChaosDragon004 responds:

I appreciate this once again. This song is one of my older favorites so I decided to share it with everyone, so im sorry if the quality is off or anything. I beleive that I made this song some time 2007 and Im surprised that it has a good rating and the amount of downloads lol. I didnt expect it to do that well honestly lol. I guess you never know. I'll probably put more old favorites up.