SourJovis's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Awakening - Extended]

Nice work. Very atmospheric. The reverb makes it sound very dreamy. It's true what dem0lecule says, about the reverb, that if you use less reverb on the lead instruments the song becomes more transparent, but I'm not too much bothered with it. This way it sounds more like all of the instruments are in the same space, and I think it fits the mood of the song. It's very personal. Just try out different ways of using reverb for yourself, and do what you think sounds best. I look forward to hear more from you.

LawnReality responds:

I'm glad you like the track! :)

[Demo Reel Mashup #1]

You have a very diverse style. It all sounds so great. You have a new fan.

DL2Electron responds:

Thanks man.

[Back To Life]

Great song. These are live instruments right? They must be. Nice melody. Well played. I think I'd like it even more with less reverb. The part that isn't in reverse at least. That reversed part is very experimental. Fortunately it works. I like how you still play ordinary notes over the reversed part. Looking forward to hear more from you.

NyxTheShield responds:

Yup, everything is live ^^

I would like to use a bit less of reeverb but my recorder sucks, it's a cheap $6 bucks plastic, yellow recorder, i need to "hide" some of its flaws with it :c

[Closing Walls [FULL]]

Great song. The instruments work very well together. They all fit in a different sections of the frequency spectrum. Reminds me of a mysterious jungle, or savannah. Very mysterious mood. Also I like how you use different style instruments, like electronic and acoustic. Western and exotic. Gives a nice complex sound.

DL2Electron responds:

I still kinda feel the drums are perhaps a bit out of place from a mixing point of view. But thanks for taking the time to review this. Appreciate it :)

[Welcome Back...{Re}Remastered)]

Great song man. I love the sounds. How did you get that synth effect between 1:16 and 1:25 and after 2:31 The one that sounds a little like distant birds? I like it a lot. Also nice pads and piano. I hear some other effects that are hardly noticeable, but still make the song richer, like spices in a dish. The lo-fi sound of it and the vinyl crackles make it become more alive. The song sounds a bit too compressed for my taste during the loud parts. Other than that it's perfect! Favourited!

ET16 responds:

Check out this vst called ProtoPlasm and thank you for the review !

[Fall Of An Angel]

Very beautiful. I like the light percussive instruments so much, along with the moody pads. And those choirs... Wow! I remember you once asked how I obtained a certain voice/choir sound, and I very proudly said how I made it myself with a thor synth. That sound has nothing on the choirs you use now. These sound so wonderful, and totally realistic (though I'm still kinda proud getting a somewhat voice like sound out of a very basic synth...) I didn't expect that climax at the end of the song. Gives such a nice new dimension to the song as a whole. Those powerful brass instruments with the heavy drums. I've got a new favourite song.

Mattashi responds:

I still like to use synth choirs as well, it kind of depends for what style/mood it is. Usually I try out lots of different ones just to see which one would fit best with the track.
I think it's still amazing you made that sound yourself, my sound design skills are pretty horrible lol sometimes I try to mess around with the controls and if I'm lucky I end up with something I like.
for the choir I used Shevannai, Voices Of Passion and Symphonic Choirs (When the orchestra comes in) and I automated the volume levels a bit for swells (on the Shevannai one)
Thanks for your review and glad you liked it :)

[Chummified [2014]]

I like this song. Sounds like a boss theme. I also like that super fake (sampled) choir and pipe organ. I've just been listening to some high end choir sample packs of hundreds of dollars, but I noticed that no matter how much money and effort you put into it, you're almost always able to tell the difference between a sampled/synthetic choir and a live one. That's why I think it's best to be upfront about it, and make it so it's obviously not supposed to be a realistic sounding choir. That way people won't think you tried something but failed at it. Plus I like the atmosphere artificial choirs give. A bit of a retro feel. Artificial choirs can also sound a bit spooky, because they sound human, but at the same time fake. The uncanny valley. What I also like about this is that the orchestral instruments are combined with electronic drum and bass sounds. Makes me think about Orochimaru's Fight theme from Naruto (not shippuden but the first series) The filter on the guitar is a nice effect. It's quite a long song for a loop, with lots of variety. You didn't try to get off easy.

Deemo-R responds:

That is an interesting way of looking at it, I hadn't quite thought of it like that until now. There most certainly are nuances to a human performance that will never be replicated by even the most fine-tuned vsti, so I'm a firm believer of 'working within your limits'. The quality of the choir really just about matches the rest of the instruments in the song anyways, so it doesn't get too lonely in that regard. ;)

I most certainly went for variety with this one! I can still recall writing it about a year ago when I still thought it was one of the best things I'd ever made. I tinkered with the melodies a bit at the start, but most of it came pretty naturally as I was laying out the parts. The thing I struggled with was making a loop back to the start, so I ended up just tying over with a haphazard transition involving the french horn and saw lead.

I love the Naruto music! Masuda delivered a stellar ost to that show. Still got a bunch of those songs sitting on my phone for whenever I need a quick inspiration. :D

[A Familiar Encounter]

Great composition. The instruments sound okay. You could've made it punchier when you mixed it differently, but like this it sounds quite relaxed and pleasing to the ears. It reminds me more of an old video game song like this, and also it would be less annoying to hear very often, as happens with a standard battle theme in an rpg. Apart from the mixing, the composition is quite action driven and bombastic. Also a reason why I wouldn't mind hearing this song more often. The melodie sticks very easily, but not in an irritating way.

Deemo-R responds:

I'll be honest, anything mixing-related is still a big question mark with me. I have yet to make any considerable progress on mixing, though I like to think I'm taking baby steps in the right direction. I'll try my best to discover how to get that proper "punchy" quality out of my mixes in the future! :3

Actually, as a side note, when I think about it, I feel like a lot of the pseudo-orchestral re-imaginings of themes from popular game series (like what they did with the newer Phoenix Wright games on 3DS) tend to smooth out all of the "punchiness" from their old counterparts. I wonder if that's just the byproduct of removing those old, chipper (heh) synths.

'Bombastic' is definitely a good word for the style of music I was trying to emulate. Never a dull moment with those, I tell ya. I'm glad the composition on my end is suitable!

Thank you ever so much for the insightful review, Sir Jovis! :)