Oakwood's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Nothing Lasts Forever]

Has potential, but needs some fixing.
The melody is really good and catchy (sounds like something Basto would use), but the beat is extremely weak. The kick fits the progressive feeling you've got here, but it needs to stand out way more. Compress that shit like a mofo and turn down the lead synth just a little bit so there's a bit more room for the kick in terms of loudness
The snare is way too weak as well, needs some compression as well as a shitload of EQ to get those mids out there. Remember that even though progressive house focuses a lot on melody, the beat is extremely important. In my honest opinion, I'd prefer a snappy clap here rather than a snare, but that's a matter of taste.
You also could've added some hats at 0:46 to avoid the track getting repetitive.

I dunno if you were planning to make a full track out of this but if you do, pay some attention to the details I just mentioned. ;)

3/5, 7/10

- LiquidOoze

Mea-Anima responds:

Thank you for your WAY WAY WAY too big review LiquidOoze.
I made this in just one hour, using a custom made Sylenth1 house lead.
Haha the entire track was made to test/show off the lead.
The kick is a compressed minor house punch and I think I just randomly dragged a clap out of my VEC samples :P. I do appreciate the review, but i'm afraid im not going to do anything with it.
More likely I will think of a melody myself (cause this is a melody I tried to imitate off of a youtube song).

Anyhow, thanks haha =P.
Cheers,
PotencY.

[This Isn't Science Rocket]

Heck yeah! This is one of my favorite songs of the album. I think this song alone was pretty much worth the ten bucks. :3

Anyway, like I said, one of my favorite songs here. What I like so much about it is the beat that's so driving and pumping. The first few seconds of this song already bring you in a dancing mood, which actually goes for al your songs but I'm just mentioning it again here,so great job on that. ;)
I also really like the melody. It's not the most original progression I've heard (hell, with the amount of EDM songs today it's hard to be original for everybody) but you gave it a really nice spin. I like the way you made the main section (1:00 - 1:30) sound very bright by keeping the melody and the pads in there, and yet very clubbish by using a synth with some bass in it. That's what I like about your style of producing: you are one of the rare producers I know that can make a song sound melodic and club-like at the same time.

Are there things I dislike? Not much, and they're just details. One thing is the segment where you decide to pitch up your bass synth (for example, around 1:10-1:11 and around 1:25-1:26). I always think these segments are a tad loud, maybe because of the sudden highs.
Another detail is that the song is kinda repetitive. It's still an awesome song, but I think it would've been cool if you build in a bridge or a different kind of break.

9/10
Keep on rocking your tunes, man, you're gonna be big, I know it. :)

- LiquidOoze

[[Transtep] Track 1]

Pretty neat for a first track.
I liked the gated saw you opened with. The reverb on it gave it a great 'breathing' sound and it sounded great together with the piano.
The transition from the piano part to the dubstep part was something you could've worked on. It sounds incomplete and doesn't quite fit either. The dubstep part itself wasn't too bad, but sounded kinda empty and needed some variation. It would've been better if you left the piano in so the transition wouldn't be that awkward.
The part where the gates came back together with the dubstep beat was pretty good, although I think you could've added some more bass to this section, and maybe bring the piano in as well to complete the picture. Also you should've made this part a tad longer.

6/10
I can hear your music has potential, so you are now scouted for the Audio Portal. Enjoy your stay! :)

- LiquidOoze

Transtep responds:

Thank you :) Yes, the dubstep part was very rushed and not well-thought out. Also I have no dubstep presets and am not good at creating instruments. If I can find some decent dubstep presets for Sytrus or Nexus I will make changes

[Monodisc - Airflow]

Sweet stuff!
When I heard the beginning synth, I thought this would turn in some ambient space thingy, but when the reggae beat kicked in I couldn't hide a smile. You really got that dub groove going and the vocals really added to it. The guitar-ish synth on the afterbeat, the organ, the relaxing bass, they really make this song a dub song. The only negative point I have is that it's a bit too short and repetitive.

5/5, 8/10, faved!

- LiquidOoze

tijnn responds:

It really is repetitive! And a tad too short. Don't worry though, it's just a rough concept i made in an hour or so, i'm gonna extend this song to a worthy piece soon :)

[Just Listen!!]

Duude, this has so much potential! Why don't you extend this stuff right now?

The kick was mastered extremely well and feels really punchy, perfect for a proghouse song. Claps are good as well, although they could use some more treble. The hoover synth and the bassline are also kicking ass.
The vocal you occasionally use should be toned down a bit, it's too loud according to me.

The rest is uber-awesome, this would make a great song if you'd finish it.

Blijf zo doorgaan! ;)

killerhoofd responds:

eey bedankt man!! ik zal kijken of ik jou kritiek punten kan fixen ;)

[Make You Sile (dub Demo)]

Sweet mother, this song is awesome! The beat was very catchy and mastered pretty damn well. The kick sounded perfectly flat and the claps were really snappy, and the hats have a great rhythm to them.
The bassline also sounds really good, and so does the lead synth. I was hoping that you would bring more of a climax to the song, the one at 2:04 is good, but I was waiting for some more 'umpf".

5/5, 9/10

- LiquidOoze

Krupinkin responds:

Thank you! I will add uplifting in the final version. Again thnx for your comment!

["Alarmed"]

Very interesting dance track man. I like the progression and the breakbeat part, even though that part is a little bit lengthy. The beat itself also worked out really nice. However I suggest you cut some of the higher frequencies on the kick and increase the lower once so it's mixed better.
Also, try making your own synths. I'm not blaming you for using Sytrus presets because they are kewl and all, but you've been making music for about a year now and it's time for you to actually build a synth from scratch. In the end, using presets will only do you harm.
Speaking of which, your bassline synth (which is coincidentally a Sytrus preset) should be replaced with something else. I know it has a great sound to it, but because it is meant as a saw (hence the preset's name 'Cerbera Saw') it has this extremely raw sound to it when you play the lower notes, making it overdrive like hell. I suggest you just use 3xOsc with a filtered sawtooth or something, maybe even a plain sinus. It won't overpower the other synths as much as the one you use now does, so the whole track has a better balance.

3/5, 7/10

- LiquidOoze

Skullfy responds:

As I said there: I made this about 4 months ago. I have made my own synths now (with syrtus and 3xOsc:D) but thanks for the feedback :)

[Stratospheric Escape(WIP)]

Pretty good, but lacks a lot. The snare could use some more emphasis on the mid-frequencies, and in combination with a slight damping reverb that would work very well I think. Also, it sounds like your pad has a peak all the way to the right of the frequncy range, you might wanna move that one to the left some more because now it almost sounds like white noise.
The drop is minimal, which makes the vocal a joke. I suggest you remove it. As for the dubstep part itself, it could use some more shit, and it gets kinda repetitive.

4/5, 7/10

- LiquidOoze

SirSirius responds:

Thanks for your review! The snare already got reverb on it, but youre right i could probably EQ it better. About the pad... I don't hear white noise, it's a guitar synth Oo
And yeah of course youre right about the dubstep part, thats why its still work in progress... I lack the skills to do more awesome basssounds than just a simple wobble and a yoy-sound...

[UDB Loud Eating]

No, just no. When I clicked this link, I was wearing headphones at max volume, so you kinda killed my ears.
What is this? What was your intention? All I hear are extremely high-pitched bleeps which seem to be randomly played, and a monotone buzz in the background. This song has no purpose. Next time, try to put some more effort in your songs, man.
1/10, 0/5

- LiquidOoze

WrightOnTarget responds:

It says loud, buddy. So I have no regrets there.
I guess you can't see the whole picture, since I don't have video to it yet (a disturbing scene of cannibalism), but I find a certain beautifully disturbing quality to atonality. Have you heard the works of Harry Partch?
So, just so you know, just because you aren't aware of the purpose, doesn't mean there isn't one.
Though I will concede that this type of score may not be the best to put here alone, without video.

[The first]

Mmmm, this sounds a bit random if you ask me. If you'd start out by just putting a kick on beat underneath it this would turn out a lot better. The BeepMap preset you threw in every now and then was kinda disturbing, and it didn't fit in well. The high-end synth at 0:48 is just obnoxious, it hurt my ears. The square synth that followed after that one iactually sounds pretty good, but it doesn't last very long which kinda disappointed me.
I'm sure you can do a lot better than this.
5/10, 2/5

- LiquidOoze

SykeOne responds:

Well,I agree with most of your critic.That was my first attempt,so it's far from perfect. Thanks for comment!