dj-padman1's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Hero Became A Legend]

Very, very good

Firstly, sorry I'm so late in getting back to you.
Let me just say that this is a very well produced track! The melody and chords are excellent, I have no chance of producing something like that with my keyboard skills, I'm very impressed.
I'm not sure why you used the same instrument for both the main parts though. It works though, they're well balanced.
The bass suits the track well, good sound choice, but it kind of dissapears after 1 riff, oh, it comes back!
That solo over the top reminds me of slower versions of heaps of Nintendo game music I used to play all the time. Good slides and harmonization
Keep it up man, this is a fine effort :)
Just a thought, if you stuck in an acoustic guitar to replace the synth, you would have a very good foundation for some lounge music.

I can honestly say that, if I ever make an epic flash movie, this is the first candidate for the end-credits.

Aephion responds:

Oh wow, thank you so much! :D
Yeah, the one thing that is most troubling to me in my progress is the lack of good samples, and the funds to buy them ^_^;
I'm hoping to get a musical education some time soon! :D

Thanks a lot for the review!
You're very kind ^_^

[Rucklo - Dratsabgnik]

Retro sweetness

Its lucky I saw your name in the audio forum or I may have never have been reminded that there's a guy on newgrounds called Rucklo who I owe quite a few reviews I think!

This is a unique and addictive song. I love videogame sounds and there was plenty of ear candy here! You mix up some tasty rhythms on the percussion as well, I'm guessing tablas, could be Mr Burns' head though.

Imaginative intro, too bad that vocal or similarly treated vocals didn't surface later in the track! What a tease... :) The drumloop is well mixed, I think the shaker you use is spot on. Nice layered basses.
After the filter sweep on the bass and the new section it seems to run out of steam a bit, it creates anticipation, slowly, but I was expected something bigger to let me groove harder.
Other than that, I enjoy this one a lot. Have a 5...

Rucklo responds:

There´s alot of things going on in the beat and well... about every single layer in t his song... However, i failed making it "happen" kindof :-/
But thanx alot for the review and the 5 man, love ur stuff ;)

[DjDiego - HellTracker]

Nice

Phat bass here dude! the drums were a bit lacking in the variety department, but they rocked as they were.
This one made my speakers RUMBLE!!!
Great stuff!

Could you possibly check out my drum and bass track, Charred Army?

ZehPhantom responds:

lacking, ill work on that one!
Thanks for the positive review!
i heard ur music before and i liked Roughneck the most :P

-DjDiego

[Zero Level]

I agree

This would be good for a menu, or maybe some instruction pages. Its nicely hypnotic. The chord progression is delicious and I love your choice of synths, nice effect on that bass, some kind of phaser is it?
My only complaint, the hi-hat sounds too familiar, it took the attention away from your delicious synth harmonies.
Anyway, great song!

Syntrus responds:

Agreed i had a sore throat when i made it so some things worked some didn't

[Dante's Eighth 2]

Nu-metal meets jazz

You have a surprisingly effective group. I like the industrial nu-metal flavour you have here and its nicely distorted. Thing is, it might be TOO distorted, because I hear plenty of digital clipping. Watch those levels!
I really enjoy the stabby goodness of this one. Nice section later on, sounds like futuristic jazz/lounge music. The stabs are starting to get a bit repetitive by this point. Nice beats around this section. Swooping in and out all over the place.
Great effort here, just watch those levels. Digital clipping isn't cool!
You've got some potential to make some righteous noise.

Gryphyn responds:

better late than never reply. Yep clipping does suck. I've worked on it alot lately even though I have not really submitted any of my new project. Thank you for the comment.

[//PreSynthesis//]

reason!

You've got some great sounds here. The mix is clear and sharp and you've got some nice dreamy melodies within this song. I can only recommend perhaps changing the hi-hat pattern to something less sharp, maybe an eighth note pattern? And some additional reverb on your instruments would make it sound smoother I reckon. I love that slide down bass you have in this one.
Lets see what else you can do with that program :)
Later!

caffeinerush responds:

Thanks man. Agree with the hihat, it was just a temp percussion that I forgot to delete.

[TheComet-Hellfire]

Unique, awesome track

This is one hell of a track! Nice intro, with the sub-surface drums and sweet crystal transforming into your main break. Wait, you have a lot of 'main breaks' here! I love the constant variety in this one, I'll definately listen to it a number of times.
My favourite has to be this techno/break flavoured part, with double kicking and rapid fire acid bass. Off-beat dirty synth keeps really good momentum.
The co-ordination between the synths is excellent, and its commendable that you re-introduce elements and the song expands over time. It builds up to something epic, I'm really enjoying this one!
That concluding riff that also features in the cool-down after the climax is definately old school by the way!
Definately a classy effort. Must have taken quite a while! I predict a large amount of success for this one on Newgrounds. Some fractured vocal samples would REALLY give me seizures though!
I'll definately be checking back soon, you seem to have several hundred songs. Hope they're as good as this one :)

TheComet responds:

thx, I checked your stuff earlier and left a link to one of your songs in the audio advertisements thread.

My old music has some gems, but the further you go bad, the older and slower a pc I was using XD

[Jungle Danger]

Tribal

This track is quite good, I like the low pads and the beat is nice. The thing is, its way too repetitive, and doesn't have enough action in it. The ethnic percussion is playing a really boring rhythm, any tribespeople would be rolling their eyes at it. I know you can do more with it!
Also, I was missing a bassline, those pads help fill out the low frequencies, but you need something more to provide a foundation.
You have the right idea, just amp it up a bit and break out some wicked sounds!

LfunkeyA responds:

Thanks man, I'll listen to your advice and I'll see what I can do. Right now I am busy with many tracks, but I'll find time for this one.

[Secret Computer Whore]

Sounds good

Nice work here. Its nicely dark and ominous, yet energetic as well. I like the lo-fi flanged beats a lot. What you have sounds great, the mix seems a little empty though. The pad you used to build the track up into the guitar section really filled it out nicely, it was a shame it didn't continue into the next section.
Ah well, just a minor complaint.
Keep up the good work. I like the transitions and the fx you used in them a lot.

margarine responds:

Thanks a lot! The 'pad' building up to the guitar bit was actually the same guitar riff played on my acoustic, then reversed and reverbed all over the place. I see what you mean about making it flow into the next section, but I think the sound might have clipped if I'd done that.
I put a lot of effort into getting the fx right, so I'm glad you liked them :D Cheers

[Deathman123 - Agility]

Bass in the place!

This is pretty good since I'm guessing you're a newcomer to techno. That pitched kick drum loop is pretty catchy, the problem is there's no really strong driving beat. You need a big mother of a kick playing every quarter note. 4 per bar. That will give your techno the foundation is needs.
Catchy bassline here as well, but it needs the techno kick drum loop to make it groove right.
One more thing, the hi-hats you have are too loud, they're the loudest thing in the mix when they should be among the most quiet :)
Keep it up, I look forward to seeing your future work.

B34T1N responds:

Yeah, I am new, thanks for the advice.