Junebuggo's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Colliding Worlds]

I also like how this turned out. Just watch that sidechain. The kick seems to have a few small artifacts on it that make the compression a little fluffy occassionally. The mix is actually quite clean here and oh my gosh I LOVED that switch up at 2:40. That was so good. I'd suggest a more prominent bassline here, but otherwise, the composition is on point. The only thing I'd have to say is that those strings just sound so synthetic and off. I mean... that's only because it's a one shot sample, but it takes me out of the song a bit, and I find myself focused on 'these strings just sound so fake' when I should be thinking "holy cow this is one catchy melody" (which believe me... I was doing for most of the song). Overall, good work.
PS: for better strings, if you don't want to invest a ton into Kontakt libraries, there are some decent freebies with at least a round robin sampling system that while don't cut it for purely orchestral works, would totally work in something like this. Check out: Alpine Collection, and VCSO2 Orchestra.

RedSkiesOfficial responds:

Thanks for the amazing feedback! The strings I used were the Flex String and they probably sound bad because I squeezed em through a soundgoodizer, what altered the sound probably. I'll look into the strings you suggested. Thank you very much!

[Call From Hell]

Certainly fun. I totally felt those sci-fi RPG game vibes. Kinda like Honkai Impact 3rd, or other types of games like that. Mixing here is pretty on point. Do watch your mids... sometimes they come off a little heavy at points, but I absolutely love the mood of this. I can imagine running along blasting monsters with sci-fi pistols and futuristic weaponry.

[QWAZDYN - Hunt]

Mixing, man mixing. I'm sure those basses would be impressive... if I could hear them. They're clipping off the charts, and there is a painful lack of sidechain on those drums. In place of a sidechain, there seems to be a reliance on pure over-saturation of the kick in hopes that the limiter can get a similar effect. Long story short, it doesn't and never will. Sometimes kicks have odd tails and weird artifacts, so I like to use a MIDI controlled sidechain using a volume automation with something like CableGuys' "Volume Shaper 4."

[Corex - Fell in Love (Ft. RoundRobin) (OLD)]

These chords are INFECTIOUS. Thanks to you, I will now be humming this. However, I wish there was some more definition to the drums. Definitely use a sidechain. There is zero sidechain here. That'd really make this next level. ALSO this is just a suggestion but I'd love if you have a detune modulation on those saws. That'd be so awesome. Absolutely loved that acoustic guitar, however at the drop, make sure to make use of a limiter. You need to eliminate quite a lot of mid-range clipping. I got some heavy Coldplay vibes here. Nice work!
PS did I mention those chords are stuck in my head now... because they totally are.

CorexMusic responds:

Lol, Actually since this is an old track,
This was when I didn't even know how to sidechain.
But thank you so much for the kind words!

[Eden]

Okay like... talk about a clean mix, creative sound design, top notch arrangement, and undeniable flow... dude this is freaking dope.

[Free Melodic Riddim FLP]

Your mixing is actually pretty clean. Do watch your high end compression sometimes, however I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this. Work on your sound design and play around more with harmonics. The overall drop arrangement is quite solid, even if the lead up to it felt a little empty. My biggest criticism is rather picky because there isn't much to complain about. That is that the drums feel outdated. Sometimes, the best option (when you have that sinking feeling that even though your sample library is huge, but nothing seems to fit) is to sit down and make some of your own. That way you can create a product with exactly what you want in exactly the way you want it.

[Bottom Kek- U.N. Owen was Her? Remix]

This was really fun just make sure to balance your mix. That lead at around 1:44 had actually painful high-end. Like... I'm not lying when I say that it hurt. It had those dog-whistle frequencies while the mid frequencies all throughout kind of drowned out all the bass frequencies except for the kick. Bring out that fun gated bassline more! Otherwise, this is an incredibly solid track.

BottomKek responds:

this is the first genuine and helpful criticism ive recived. thank you so much for this input! i may actually try and fix this stuff and reupload! thanks again

[Driving Down An Old Dirt Road At Midnight]

Composition is really nice. I really enjoy the chords. Just don't forget to compress your mids.

[T-Logic - Kid on the Bike]

Ok I honestly haven't felt this good since before quarantine started. Thanks, man. This was awesome.

TaintedLogic responds:

Thanks so much, man! This made my day. ^^

[Rocket Jump Requiem]

The orchestration here is actually pretty nice, even though it is an arrangement of a preexisting piece. You really have to work on that clipping at 2:50. Don't have the threshold on your limiter so low, and don't have the release super short. The biggest thing I have to ask is what orchestral plugins are you using? You'd ought to try and find some that have a 'round robin' type sampling system. There are some nice and affordable Kontakt libraries such as Berlin Symphonic. If you have the dough, I recommend Spitfire Audio's Chamber and Symphonic Strings.

Skashi95 responds:

I have been using Edirol Orchestral, Men of War and Requiem Light.
I've planed to extend my Kontakt library at some point. I had Spitfire Audio's Chamber and Symphonic Strings in mind but I need to gather that money first.