Sycross's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[- When the Smoke Clears -]

Great!

Not much left to say about this song, the other reviews pretty much covered everything I would have mentioned.

I love the panning and subtle layering a lot. The piano sounded exceptionally good (what synth are you using for that?). Sounded like you painstakingly entered in slightly different velocities for every note, giving it an authentic feel.

I also especially like the drums in this song.... They don't quite fit prefectly, which I think was intentional, because it adds some "off-beatedness" to the song.

Anyhow, I'm happy to report that I brought your song's score to exactly 4.00. :)

Hate to ask you of this, but I was wondering if you might be interested in checking out some of my songs also. It seems to me that you might really like "Forsaken" (my latest song), and I could always do with some more opinions.

Thanks,
Sycross

SinJim responds:

Hey man, yea no problem. I'll review it now. I'm glad that you liked the drums, that's sort of been a bit hit or miss with people. Haha, gotta love how the classical genre gets raided by people. Thanks for the review!

~SinJim

[- Dungeon of Deceit -]

Great!

Hey, sorry I didn't get to this till now. I read your PM and then forgot about it... :P.

but anyhow, I think this is a great song! Very atmospheric and often subtle with the instrumental layering. I personally would've like to see a more intense climax, but that's just a matter of a composer's preference.

I agree that the software sounds great! It's very realistic, I may need to upgrade my own software some time...

The only complaint I have about the song is that in the beginning that high percussion note doesn't really fit in too well. Although it's percussion, it has a tonal quality, and keeping the note its playing constant wasn't really fitting with the chord progression, and it was kind of diverting the mood that you were trying to create.

Other than that, great work! I don't mind the PM at all, in fact, I appreciate artists letting me know when they release new works!

~Sycross

SinJim responds:

Thanks for the review, Sycross. I assume that, with the percussion, you're talking about the anvils. I can see how that might conflict with the tonal aspects of the rest of the piece; but I'll have to listen closely to see if I can detect it. I thought I paid close enough attention to that, but I'll go back and have a few more listens.

In retrospect, I think that I could have done better with the climax. Then again, me adjusting that depends if I can make time to put that on my list of things to do haha.

The new software is incredible and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone. Well worth the money (yes a lot of money) spent on that. I would also recommend you have around 4 GB to run it because I run out of ram ALL the time with 2 GB. Ah well.

I'm glad that you liked this one, I'll let you know when I post up some other pieces. Thanks again for the review!

~SinJim

[_-={Day of War}=-_]

Great!

Hey, I really like this song, but I'm mostly writing this review to ask you a question:

What is the "woosh" noise at 0:24-0:25? it sounds almost like a cymbal, but not quite... Anyway, its used in a lot of orchestal pieces, and I'd like to start using it in mine. Unfortunately I don't know what it's called. If you could respond with an answer that would be great.

Thanks,
~Sycross

MaestroRage responds:

that's just a cymbal crash. There are many many crashes out there, I mean hitting the cymbal at any point gives off a different sound, just have to find the right one i'm afraid.

Thanks for the review, glad you liked it!

[Late Night Awakening [SMD]]

good

You wanted a review, so here goes:

Some Cons:
-The percussion sounds out of tune with the rest of the song, and kinda creates an unpleasant dissonance.
-Might want to take another look at some of your transitions. They are ok right now, but could use some buildup leading into them.

Pros:
-Enough variation to make non-repetitive.
-Good, rich sound.

Overall:
8/10, 4/5, Great song, just work on the things I stated.

Look forward to more from you,
~Sycross

SmdSkata responds:

Thanks for the list...and your time :).

Yeah I really need to practice with my drums. I really do lack in that area.

You are also right about transitions. The song really doesn't grow, just stays towards the same level.

I will work on it for my next song...

Thanks,
Jake

[A Walk Down The Trail]

Wow!

I will never understand how you make such lively piano tunes.

Pros:
-Excellent use of subtle variation
-Great piano tune and sound (I didn't think the piano sounded bad at all, despite what you thought)
-Instruments blend and work well together

Cons:
-Just a tad bit repetitive, but not too bad.

Great job as always, and thanks for the PM about this song.

~Sycross

Reasoner responds:

I agree with the repetitiveness. I'm glad you still enjoyed it though :-D

[Orange tea cups in space]

Nice!

Sounds like this is actually recorded (a rarity on newgrounds). I like the song in general, my only comment is that at some points the drums and the guitar feel out of sync with each other (rythm-wise). Other than that it was good. Looking forward to more from you.

~Sycross

bullet-grave responds:

Thanks man. yeah it's a pinch outa sync, but this was my first attempt with recording. Some new stuff up soon from my actual band. Thanks for the feed back love to hear it

[Piano meets Synth]

Ok, but...

This song feels a little simplistic... There is a melody, a beat, and not much else. I really feel that you need to add some form of harmony (or at least some chords/bass), it would help A LOT.

Keep working at it, you'll get better. Please don't be discouraged by my comments, I'm just trying to be helpful.

~Sycross

dondrummer responds:

thats alrite, i just wanted people to hear hwat i did with key change in the synth and the flute nad piano 2gether, but i underdtand what ure trying 2 say, :P

[At The Crack Of Dawn]

Hey!

Haven't checked out your music in a while. I see you've moved on from just piano to actually using synthed orchestras! Nice. You've entered an entirely new realm of composing which, is often much more painful and annoying than just playing piano (but I'd say it's worth it). Your synths arent bad, but I think that some of the instruments could use some work. What are you using right now?

As for the song, its nice. However, I feel that in transitioning from real piano to MIDI, you've lost some of your style and vitality. Its harder to express every intricate emotion while charting out notes, and I think that total expression is what every musician should strive for. That's not to say that this song is bad. Because I really like it.

Btw, I find it interesting that I just wrote a song also, called "Dawn" in which I also use bird sound in the song... :P. Anyways, good work, keep it up.

~Sycross

Zero123Music responds:

yeah, I know what you mean, it is so hard putting music on a comp (FL) I might buy another one of my recordey things though - and back to piano! yay.

BUT I will never become a great composer if I stick to piano,

anyways I am so glad you liked it and I will check out your dawn :-)

[Tainted Hatred =HFX=]

Nice!

Well, first of all, I'd like to say thanks for reviewing my song.

Now to this song: I really like it. You are pretty good piano player. There were a couple mishaps, but nothing noticeable. The recording quality is ok, but I am not going to be picky about that considering I have my own mic problems... :P. I loved the intense climaxes and the use of dynamics is very good. To me, the notes sounded a little dry, but I think that overall its a strong piece. Are you using the sustain pedal in this song? Its hard to tell from the recording, but I think that adding sustain would help a lot.

~Sycross

Phyrnna responds:

Yes, there were a couple mishaps here and there. I tend to get a bit nervous when I know in the back of my head that I'm recording. As far as recording quality, it's bad because I'm using a web chat mic..... >_>; It's probably very hard to really hear anything clearly at this quality, but I am using the sustain almost through the entire song. Only problem is that it gets mushed up by the mic in the recording. I do plan on trying to invest in a better microphone and rerecording all my songs.
Thank you for reviewing my song! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

-HFX ^_^