TheBenjerman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Steam's Wonderful Contraptions]

Dude, I had to give a return review! The mix on this track is great! Wonderful use of space, and you have all of these instruments that should totally be at odds with each other and they somehow work great together! Awesome energy throughout, you totally deserved to win our little match-up. ;)

steampianist responds:

Thanks man and I call this this kind of instrumentation harmonious contradictions hehehe

[EPH com.4(The Cod)]

2 thumbs up!

I love you and your quintal/quartal stuffz! Super chill and relaxing. Watery too. You might want to play with the string dynamics though.

Oh, and the super verb'ed and delayed piano is awesome.

2 thumbs up!

PhilVille responds:

Haha your right! I forgot to do the dynamics lol this ones still mixed to have a voice in it lol
But thanks bro!

[Enter the Woods ~P~]

Great work as usual!

Hello there!

I've run into you in the forum before, and I've been a fan of yours for a while. I happened across this by accident, very much enjoyed it, and thought I'd drop you a review.

First of all, this piece is extremely effective. I made sure to actually play the game (on Kongregate) before I finished writing this review, and this music fits the game very well. This work loops nicely, fits the forest part of the game, and is fun to listen to. It also works as both "wandering" music and battle music, which is hard to pull off.

I don't really think there is anything wrong with the song, but I feel obligated to give some contructive criticism nonetheless. First, the simplicity of this song gives it a certain charm that helps set the game apart from similar games, but a little bit of textural diversity couldn't really hurt. You have the same chord progression throughout, which is fine, as this is easier when you need to loop. You also have very similar inversions in your background string/pad section though, and this gets a little old after a while. If you through some different voicing on the strings every other phrase, I think it would be easier to listen to for an extended period of time.

The marcato cello section in the background adds a nice flavor to the mix, but is just a little late coming in. This happens a lot with sampled marcato or staccato strings; it is just difficult to line things up perfectly. You can remedy this by moving the strings earlier by a fraction of a beat.

I suppose I could nitpick more when it comes to usage of instruments and samples, form and mix, but I really don't think it is necessary. You have your own unique style, and it works for the game. It is kind of like the way David Orr manages to put bells and brushed snares in everything, but still gets away with it.

Anyway, you rock, this piece rocks, the game rocks.

5/5 10/10

Keep it up.

Phyrnna responds:

Why thank you for the review! You piqued my attention after I listened to one of your pieces as well, and I must say that you have quite excellent pieces too.

Firstly, I must thank you for being open minded to listen to the song in its context before judging. ^__^ Indeed I was trying to figure out how to compose a piece that would work as a field theme and a battle theme. I believe that I could've done a better job, especially with the transition (or lack thereof) between motifs.

The simplicity of the song is actually something that I don't like about the song myself. And you nailed it right on the head. The song is a repetition of the same chord progression over and over. In the process of composing it however, I did have a second progression that I wanted to fit into it. However I realized that fitting it in (and developing that motif), would stretch the song out far too much. This would present a problem in filesize for the game designer, so I kept it short.

Thanks for the critique on the marcato strings. I'll look into changing the timing of the instruments with my next piece that I use them.

I do have a style that's my own, or at least people tell me. I try to grab inspiration from other artists, you included, but it all ends up being what comes up in my head.

Thank you for the detailed review! ^__^

~Phyrnna ^_^ <3

::EDIT:: I realized which marcato beat you were talking about... the one near the beginning. That was intentionally off beat! xDD

[Mark The World]

Nice work, texture!

Nice groove there! I like the feel of the piece and the textures you have set up. The mix is decent and the synths are pleasant. Now to the details ;-)

You might want to watch the mix a little. It starts off nice, but your mids are super-loud and this creates a bit of an uncomfortable pulsing sound on nice speakers. I'd like to turn it up, but I can't because of all of those overlapping mids.

I really like the jazz kit! I wasn't expecting that and makes this piece kinda nice and different from the average piece in the ambient section. You might want to vary the velocities on the kit though to make it sound a little more realistic. Those are some nice samples, but the identical velocities make it sound programmed. You also might want to give some thought to processing or verb just a little bit, it stands out way in the front of the mix and doesn't blend perfectly. Just a suggestion though, I really like that part. :-)

The melody that comes in with the drums is nice and adds some interest. It is a little random though, and kinda sounds like you are rambling. Some repetition of a motive or two, or maybe fewer notes might improve your melodic line. It just sounds a little like filler at times.

The ending was just a little funny, I liked the diffusion of energy, but the steel drum synth confused me a little, and the very end is rather abrupt. If you faded all the way out, or made the last note more final I would like it better.

Overall, this piece is pretty awesome. I liked the ambience and it was very relaxing. The kit was nice, and so was the melodic line. The ambient synths in the back are the best part of this piece though. Keep up the good work! I'll be watching you from time to time.

Cheers!

5/5, 9/10

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

I think the main problem with this song are the mids, like you said. I simply need to work on the quality when multiple pads (4 in this case) overlap. Sometimes that can get pretty chaotic and leave some bad feedback and auto wah sounds. However, some of the Watching I put in there on purpose. There is a bass in there that is hard to detect, but it comes in immediately when the Future Flute synth comes in. (The main synth) Then everything quiets down abruptly for a sense of relaxation, and only leaves the beat and the bass.

I like the strangeness of this song because it was entirely experimental, using only 11 keys on my keyboard so I was a bit held back on what I could do. However, the main problem is the renaissance that is amplified at 54 seconds. I have had multiple opinions on this, however, and from those opinions I have decided to leave it in since it sounds so exotic.

Thanks for your detailed review! :)

[Vuvuzela Orchestral Demo]

Holy Cow!

I didn't expect the patch to sound anything like that!

That's awesome! You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.

Beautiful!

sorohanro responds:

:))
Thanks :))

[-Lullaby]

I like!

Very nice! And I very much like the tempo! Not bad at all for a two day piece. I'd like to hear the finished version! I withhold the rest of my comments, as this hasn't been finalized.

Oh, and nice choice of workshop. UMKC has a great program. ^_^

I love your work
-TheBenjerman

PS: If you do release another version, I'll review it if you pm me.

BlazingDragon responds:

Thanks! I think that I'll probably audition at UMKC this December. I really like the campus and have met the professors. I'll shoot you a pm if I finish.

[BuildUp (insane12)]

Too simple.

Sorry, but this is just too simple. You have a repetitive drum beat and then a plain natural minor scale by itself for 2/3 of the song. At the end you harmonized with a descending scale. That is your whole piece in a nutshell. What was the point of this piece? Was it an excercise? If you had something in mind other than a piece to showcase your talent on NG when you posted this, you should tell us. Otherwise, I am going to give it a 2/5 and a 4/10.

I think some of your other stuff has promise though!

Sorry for the criticism, I just don't know what you are going for here. If you've got questions or answers, shoot me a pm

Good luck!

insane12 responds:

Pretty much nothing. Just got bored. Why i uploaded this... I have no clue.

[Gates_Of_Oblivion [Box-Killa]]

Sweet Suds, Dude!

Nice song dude! Pretty good groove, nice melody, great texture. I do have some suggestions though.

First, you have some nice builds at the very beginning, but the order is a little off. You start with the lead as an unprocessed instrument while you automate the bass, then you suddenly switch and automate the lead. This doesn't quite work, because you seem to backtrack. The "final" lead tone that you hit at about :41 is too close to the one at about :25, and that makes it kinda anticlimactic.

You did a lot of nice automation and editing to keep the listener interested, but you only altered the drum once or twice, and only for a short while. That repetitive beat starts to stick out after a while. It is not so much that the beat is bad, but when you have transitions, and you build into new sections, everything is different except for the beat and that is noticeable.

I really liked the harmony throughout the piece! The melody was nice too, but a good thing to watch is that borrowed chords are great, but if you keep switching modes like you did when the main melody came in your song is going to be less catchy. Cool, but harder to get stuck in someone's head.

Also, you clipped a couple of times close to the end.

All in all, a nice song, fun to listen to, good transitions, I would totally dig it in the club. This is just what stuck out to me whilst listening. Good work! I don't review songs that I don't like.

4/5 9/10

Box-Killa responds:

haha i totally agree.

[This Is War]

Very nice!

This piece is pretty awesome! I will review the whole thing. I have a pretty good idea of what you did and what Supersteph contributed, but it is easier to look at the piece as a whole. Nice texture, good sustained momentum, good build! Now for the review. :-D

Alright, mixing is important, and something to work on. The piece came off as a little disjointed, and most of that was because the levels on your instruments were a little off. Mixing is a tough thing to learn, but it will come with practice. Here is a good example: when the double bass section comes in at the beginning, it grabs the listeners attention, and when the cymbal comes in, you get all excited for what comes next. You expect something like what happens at about 1:00, but instead, you get this kinda quiet piano. I love the piano, but it throws the build off a little because it is so quiet, and the cymbal is so loud.

Now for the melody. Being able to write a good melody is essential, and it is very hard to teach. You seem to have a good melodic sense, but you might want to focus a little more on form. First, you seem to want to keep it changing all the time, and to have every instrument playing as much as possible, at least towards the end. This is a habit that is very common, but makes for muddy music. There is nothing wrong with a melody that repeats itself a number of times. Actually, it is usually suggested. Don't worry, we won't get bored. For instance, from about :58 to 1:40 or so, the marcato strings play something like 5-6 themes, one after another. This is just confusing, because we can't figure out what you are getting at. One or two themes would have worked just fine. You'll get a better sense of this eventually though.

Alright, now the instrumentation. Good job! I like your choice of instruments, although I think it is a little odd to have the only non-orchestral instrument be the drums. Not bad necessarily, just something to think about. They were very effective though. You had good use of the sections up until the main theme came in, at which point it might have been beneficial to share the themes with some other sections.

Overall, I really like the piece! I really only review things that I think have some major potential. You're doing well! And you can take all of this advice with a grain of salt if you want. You're the artist, do what feels natural to you. If you have any questions or want anything from me, feel free to shoot me a pm at any time. Again, great job, both of you!

5/5, 9/10

GronmonSE responds:

Mixing is super hard indeed. Most of the volumes were adjusted by Supersteph I think. He threw the piano all the way to the back, whereas I prefer it on the front, where you can actually hear the melodies and progressions.

Most of my other songs are very repetitive when it comes to melodies. I wanted it to change after every section to keep the listener interested, but I see where you're coming from.

Drums...well...I used another guy's loop for the original song, the drums on this one were programmed by Supersteph :P

Your advice is super helpful and I wasn't expecting a review from you, much less a lengthy one. I'll hit you up if I need assistance, thanks!

Your music is amazing by the way.

[Midnight Shadows (WiP)]

Schnazzy Start!

Hello sir, very nicely done! I don't know what sort of thing this will turn out to be, but I have very high hopes! High production value (I especially like the swooshes that lead into every other tom hit) although a few extra tweaks would give it some more sparkle. A little more work with mixing for instance, to give the piano and voices more of a dynamic and "performed live" feel.

Sounds like a great intro to a great piece! It is very filmic, maybe epic-movie-trailer-esque. Think Globus. It will be hard to balance, because the length of your intro suggests a piece of decent length. It is hard to sustain a really huge texture for a long time, and you have just led into a really huge texture. I have confidence in you though. X-D

As a final note, if you want to make this REALLY pro, the choir and upper strings are what sticks out as the most noticeably midi to me, and they might benefit from something to cover them up a little bit, like a pad, some extra verb or eq. or gratuitous amounts of similar samples. :)

This TOTALLY rocks dude. I will reserve the rest of my comments for the finished version. I'll keep my eye out for it, but if you want a review on that too, shoot me a pm. Again, sweet work!

TheBenjerman

Step responds:

Wow, thanks for the lengthy review!

"Hello sir, very nicely done! I don't know what sort of thing this will turn out to be, but I have very high hopes!"

Thank you :D. I have high hopes for it too, so much that I gave out the FLP to a certain number of NG members to see what they could do to help me out, then send it back to me so that I can determine a final version of the song. I really have some high standards for this, and I hope it turns out well :3.

"High production value (I especially like the swooshes that lead into every other tom hit)"

Lol, glad you noticed such a little thing xD.

"although a few extra tweaks would give it some more sparkle. A little more work with mixing for instance, to give the piano and voices more of a dynamic and "performed live" feel."

I'm crap at mixing, so I've actually considered looking for some female vocalists on NG who might be able to take place of the woman choirs in this song. I doubt that'll be easy.

"Sounds like a great intro to a great piece! It is very filmic, maybe epic-movie-trailer-esque. Think Globus. It will be hard to balance, because the length of your intro suggests a piece of decent length. It is hard to sustain a really huge texture for a long time, and you have just led into a really huge texture. I have confidence in you though. X-D"

Haha thanks xD. I don't have much trouble making long songs, my problem is *starting* songs, although here's a pretty good start IMO so I'll definitely make it as varied and epic as possible.

"As a final note, if you want to make this REALLY pro, the choir and upper strings are what sticks out as the most noticeably midi to me, and they might benefit from something to cover them up a little bit, like a pad, some extra verb or eq. or gratuitous amounts of similar samples. :)'

Hm, those samples are from East/West Symphonic Orchestra, I didn't think from all the sounds you'd find those sounds midi-ish xP. Although I agree that they're very dry; East/West Silver's samples tend to be a bit dry. I'll add a little reverb to them.

"This TOTALLY rocks dude. I will reserve the rest of my comments for the finished version. I'll keep my eye out for it, but if you want a review on that too, shoot me a pm. Again, sweet work!"

Awesome, sure thing. I don't want to push you into reviewing it, but if it's OK with you then feel free :P.

I'll drop you a line when it's finished :).

Thanks again for the amazing review!