Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Vista Sounds - Long Way]

As far as EDM goes, this isn't bad. Personally, I'd qualify house as a subset of EDM.

I think, given the genre, the mix isn't bad, although in some parts of the song there is very noticeable distortion with the instruments. It's unclear if you meant it that way or not, but I think that distortion could make the piece tiring to listen to multiple times in a row.

What's the story behind the name? It's hard to make sense of it.

Still, it's pretty good, all things considered. I hope you find this feedback helpful for your future works. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Vista-Sound13 responds:

I really like your review, Thanks. I called it 'Long Way' because the melody (piano) to me sounds that happy and hopeful.

[Baka is a creep!]

This seems tongue-in-cheek, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. IMO The music sounds unfinished.

Who is Baka? What's the story behind that name?

The mixing isn't great. It's a little heavy on the compression and some of the instruments get muddy and lost in the mix because of it.

I said it seemed tongue-in-cheek, but the reality is your intent is unclear. If you provide your intent and thought process in the description it could influence my rating and review. As it is, I don't know what you are trying to do in creating and releasing this piece so I have to score it based on how much I like it rather than how effective I think your intent comes across in your music.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

biyaonibakasan responds:

I really appreciate the feedback. and yes, it is sounds unfinished and insufficient with extended context on this track. Your Guidelines has a awesome Standard to make the artist feel more impulsive and more motivated to make better content for those creators like me. It may come in handy through my end. Thanks!

[Skerp - Staying Alive]

There's a certain pessimism to this piece. I'm not sure if this is your intent, but the repetition, although annoying if played on loop, makes me feel like doing the same thing every day just to stay alive in times like now, with the virus and all, is a real struggle. IMO the sparse instrumentation highlights the bore of having nothing to do.

Mixing wise, the song is pretty good, although I think the volume could be louder via compression.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Skerpp responds:

Thank you for the feedback I appriciate it very much, If you really dig deep in this beat and just play it over its a simple beat and makes you think its the same thing, what are we doing now what are we going through are we going through a loop hole right now through processes of life as everyone lives through one of these pandemics, history repeats itself, this track is what you take of it and what you think of it.

Thank you for the comment, I do think i could make the track louder as it is a tiny bit quite, thank you for the compliments as i appriciate it very very much and thank you so much for the feedback, stay safe and have a good week!!

- Skerp

[untitled boss theme]

I love this! :D It has a Mario & Luigi feel to it.

The panning and the way it's mixed is cool too. Definitely a breath of fresh air compared to some of the other chiptune songs I've heard.

Not sure about the skeleton guitar. Are you talking about that melodic synth from about half-way through? It's cool sounding. I do think that as a song the ending is abrupt. I wish it was posted as a loop. I'm looping right now and it sounds great! Although, the aesthetic of the song gradually gets busier towards the end, so hearing it looped in its entirety is a bit jarring every time it restarts.

Still, nice work!

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

zami responds:

ah, thank u for your review! the skeleton guitar is just a joke, it's the overdriven guitar from earthbound's soundfont, and it was used in megalovania.

[SHAPE ZONE (Song #6)]

Nice work, although I'd say the ducking would be a distraction if I was wearing headphones while playing, though. My suggestion would be to make the song's mixing a bit less aggressive so I can focus on the game rather than the music.

Apart from that, the feel of a puzzle game background music is there, though. The writing fits, just not the mix.

I hope you find this helpful. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

DIMENSIONLORD responds:

Thanks for the review! You make it sound like you've already played the game! Well you will get your chance very very soon. There will be an option to mute the music -- if you feel like playing other music while playing the game.

*EDIT: I made adjustments to the mix and I think it sounds a LOT better now.

[Chrythm - Legends]

It sounds very pretty. What's the story behind the name?

I think it may help if you use compression/limiting plugins, or at least some volume normalization, to increase the volume. The reason behind this is so the listener doesn't have to change their volume to listen to this one track.

I kind of wish there was more to this piece it than what is here so far.

The song's general vibe comes across to me as serious, but not epic. It's certainly unique, though. Not sure what you are trying to convey, but again, it sounds nice overall.

I hope my feedback helps. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Chrythm responds:

The name is mostly just a reference to epic storytelling, I felt it was appropriate for a song like this. The reason this might be quiet is my headset volume, I usually work with it really low. I will pay more attention to it from now on.
Thanks for the review!

[Sky High Clouds]

That's pretty fun sounding. It feels like train travel in a hypothetical urban SNES Pokemon game.

That said, I don't think the name matches the vibe. You may want to consider changing the name to fit the feel of the song better.

I think the mixing is too quiet. If you have any, I think you should use compression/limiting plugins and/or normalize the track so it is as loud as other songs you may hear. It's inconvenient for the listener to have to raise the volume for this one song and lower it again when they go back to listening to other music.

If you are intending this piece as a song rather than a loop, I recommend resolving the song with an ending rather than an abrupt full stop, unless you were specifically going for that.

The only other thing is I wish there was more to it.

Other than that, you did a great job. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

gamerjaym responds:

thanks dunno how to change it so ill leave it as is

[Quarantine Blues]

As a song, it's not bad. I think there's room for the mix to be louder. IMO you should use some compression/limiting to increase the volume so the listener doesn't have to raise the volume just to hear this song and then turn it back down for the rest of their music.

Other than that, it's nice to listen to.

A side note: If you don't think the saxophone instrument you used sounds good and you don't want people to critique the sound of the saxophone, maybe don't put the word "Saxophone" in the title. As it is, you're drawing a lot of attention to it in the description.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

MajorMusic responds:

Before I get into this reply I would like to say thank you for your honest review. However, there are a few points I'd like to make.

1) The DAW I use is extremely limited as it is actually meant for music notation rather than music production. It only has a very bare-bones mixer that allows me to add reverb and slightly alter the ADSR. I can't alter the compression or limiting. That said, I am trying to learn how to use FL Studio and am gradually getting better at it. I think I'll probably be able to properly use it in about a month.

2) The instrument I used was a saxophone. I intended it to be a saxophone and is written for alto sax.

Other than those two points I am very happy you left your review and will keep your words in mind for the future.

[The Worldfactory]

The synth melodies give a vague sense of dread, like a post-apocalypse world. It's almost like the game Portal 2.

The mixing is incredible. Really grabs and keeps my attention without being too overpowering.

If there were a game that featured robot zombies, this would be the theme for the ruined industrial city they dwell in.

Very well done!

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Neboo responds:

Thanks so much man! I rarely get written reviews and it means so much to me! Much love <3