Oakwood's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Every Newgrounds Tune]

It's not THAT bad...

First of all, those chords are standard pop chords. Eveer watched the Axis of Awesome? They filled a whole show with them playing a mix with songs using this chords progression. It's unoriginal, but it's not Newgrounds crap, as you call it.

The song itself isn't bad, the synths are nice, but it's all the same, which makes it really boring. I know that you didn't put a lot of effort in this, but I suggest you do next time.

mattuiop responds:

First of all, axis of awesome did it once purposely to deliver a different message.
They showed the 4 chord system in popular music. I'm showing the 4 chord system in the newgrounds audio portal.

Well, I did make this tune in under 5 minutes with no effort at all. If I had ever put effort into this I would consider all of these factors of boredom and possibly remaster it completely.

I did this to show how crappy music artists that make stuff like this and get TONES of credit for it. Yet the people who have the experience and knowledge make music with care and never get the popularity to what the crap music artists get.

Thanks anyway and be sure to check out my other stuff. :)

[{Sunlit Hours}]

Nice sounds!

I really like the synths you're using, they all fit well together.
I think you used a bit too much sidechaining. I'm not sure if this was intended, but at 0:20 you can clearly hear that the kick (a kick I really enjoy, btw) and the main synth litteraly 'push away' the background. If this is what you wanted, I'm okay with it, of course.
Also your claps are amazingly mixed, they sound full but aren't overpowering, great job.

Could you return the favor and leave a review on my newest tune? You probably got the PM by now. Thanks in advance! :)

transcendstheworld responds:

Thanks for the review!
The sidechaining effect was intentional. And also, a funny thing about the claps, they're actually just the original sample without any mixing. :P I didn't expect to have anyone comment on those. Sometimes you don't need mixing.

Paradox indeed.

[[As] Tobuscus Dubstep (RMX)]

Hell yeah!

I like my dubstep like this. It's filthy, but it still sounds cheerful and upbeat in a way, and the song contains a lot of variaton (I heard some dance elements). I seriously exploded at 0:40, there's such an amazing impact there. If I'd hear this in a club I'd go crazy, man!

Great job, dude! 5/5 and DL

xAlexSx responds:

Thanks man!

[Dance Pulse]

Well done.

Yes, this indeed is a pretty good song. I love the synths and the progression. However, there's one thing that really disappoints me, and that's the fact that you used preset FL Studio Drum Loops. Yes, those loops are outstanding, but I never use them because it's so unoriginal. It makes people think you're not able to produce your own beats. And by listening to this song's quality, I think you also should be able to make your own beats. So stop using preset loops (even though Autopresh is simply the best beat I've ever heard) and start making your own. ;)

PearlDrummer516 responds:

I actually never intended for this song to come out how it did. I was just messing around with some house ideas and such for synths and bass, and I wanted a nice beat in the background. However, the song quickly turned into something great and I just kind of went with it. I totally agree with you though on the drum loop bit. I actually love making my drum sounds just right, and making loops is a pastime of mine. I'm going to come back to this song and fix it up a bit, and also change the loop.

I would like to thank you for listening. I am real proud of this song and I'm glad you like it. I'll be sure to let you know when I make a refix.

- Arron -

[Beatboxing In Heaven]

Sounds really good.

Perfect mixing, and Kelly sure must have an awesome voice. Also good beatboxing.
And eh, by the way, Grocel means that the end of the song doesn't sound like the begin. He's talking shit, obviously.

Father-of-Death responds:

Thanks man.

[Beautiful String/Piano Melody]

Yes, it's epic.

But WAAAAAAAY too short. Think about the things you can do with this melody. Build something around it, let your imagintion go free and do not put it all in a 14 sec loop!
4/5, 6/10

DJ-Babokon responds:

Of course I'm going to use this in my next song.

[I'll be back (Kaboohze)]

Not bad.

Not too bad, not too good. The beats were perfect, you used the ghost snares very well. Song is kinda repetive though, more variation would be better. Also, the synths sometimes override the vocal, so you can barely hear it at some points.
If you'd do some mastering here and there, and do the things I said, this track will be very good.
4/5, 7/10

Kaboohze responds:

I'll think about the vocals for next time, thanks a bunch for your reponse!

- Kaboohze

[Dj-C -Happy Times! (final)]

So close, on the pose.

The melody and the kick blew me away, those were awesome. Pretty nice synths too. However, there seems to be some sort of panning glitch at the beginning. At first, the sound is slightly panned to the right, and at 0:07, it's centered. Not sure if that's on purpose, though.
I had the feeling things started to screw up at 2:22, there's no balance between the synths there anymore. Didn't last long though, at 2:28 your AWESOME melody comes in :)
It's a very good song, just needs some more eye for details.

Chimy727 responds:

Lol i agree with some of that.
the panning if i remember correctly i did on purpose.
and the unbalance was just the bridge like part of the song.
thanks for the review!
strongly worded!
i appreciate it!
:D

-chimy727

[DJO - Time Shift (feat. Unrl)]

This could be better.

I know Hard Dance is all about the kick, but yours is WAY too loud. It overrides every synth you used, making it sound like there IS only a kick. I think you should soften the kick. Another thing, the silence starting at 1:22 is WAY too long, it could be much shorter.
But I congratulate you for realising such a hard kick! xD

DJOrsa responds:

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on the kick. :p
I spent quite some time making it sound like that, and I meant for it to be exactly that volume if not a tad softer. If you aren't using headphones or are just playing them from laptop or not-so-hot speakers, the song can sound drastically different; I don't know if you are in this situation, but either way, I appreciate the review! :D

[Lost thoughts]

Mmmm...

I once listened to a song in the portal, it was called Ambient Power. I faved it, but once it was gone. Too bad, the song was pretty good. But now I hear it again: the bells are the same and the melody is the same. I can't say you've stolen it or not, because I can't remember the user who submitted it. That's why you get a 6. If you know the song, please tell me.

Zake1 responds:

I dont know the song, and he must have been using the same loops as me. lol