Bearhack's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Partner Theme (Onefin Remix)]

The words I want to say to express my feelings on this piece do not exist. Seriously. There is just so much variety, so many effects, so much traveling around - I can tell without your lengthy exposition that you put in a lot of hard work into this. IMHO, this deserves at 5/5 from me.

Just a little bit of technical opinion though - At 100%, I did still get some clipping that results in some distortion. It's a personal preference of mine to listen to awesome music at 100% even if most people keep their master at or around 60%. You really shouldn't be afraid of the hard limiter during mastering, while some algorithms are notoriously deficient, others really don't degrade your sound that much. I use Audacity when mastering my music, and I always start off with a hard limit down to -5 or -6db to smooth out the spikes so that I don't wind up with clipping after I compress, equalize and/or normalize. Just don't do it after you compress. Alternately, you can make sure when you're rendering to jack up your master to 100% and keep the peak at about -5 or -6db, then you won't need to hard limit at all. Hope that helps!

Onefin responds:

Wow, thanks for the review!

As for the mastering part, for this track I did basically no mastering. I left the default Fruity Limiter on the master and that was it. :/ It's just my inability to master well makes it so that the Fruity Limiter sounds better than anything I can conjure. About the hard limiter, a lot of people in past reviews have told me that hard limiting is really noticeable. It's not something I hear, because I kinda suck, but most people tell me it's really bad. Maybe it's the algorithm. I don't know. :/

Thanks for reviewing! I appreciate feedback. :)

[Forward Modulation_0.7]

I really was surprised when the brass came out of nowhere over the piano, and it sounded really good even with the dragged out syncopation and melodic indirection. (lol, in my head I went "Horns!" when I heard it). I just wish there was a little more variety in the piece... if your intent was to keep the piano as the background accompaniment, then another verse or 2 of brass wouldn't really be a bad thing, it really has the promise of a wonderful melodic journey. A technical side-note: With my master volume at 100%, there was some clipping in the lower register which created a little distortion - try equalizing the lower register down a little, or hard limiting it during mastering to -2 or -1db, I think it will sound a little better. Just a little constructive criticism - take it with a grain of MSG. Final word - Keep up the good work! 3/5

dylanasinbob responds:

Thanks for the tips my friend! I don't have nearly the amount of time I wish I had to master so most of my time I mix and if I have a little time to master Ill do so just to try to get the bounce to be as close to -6db as possible. Anyway, thanks for the tips Ill definitely keep those things in mind when I get a chance to revisit this song in the future!

[Papyrus]

I absolutely love the melodies and effects that were added to provide a little spice and variety. I really hate to say it but the beat right at the beginning sounds a little canned until it gets to the meat of the music, so perhaps cut the intro down a couple of measures to make just enough setup for the theme would smooth out the beginning better. Just a little bit of constructive criticism, take it with a grain of MSG. Otherwise, really really good 4/5

FinaLee responds:

Don't sweat it. I always take constructive feedback into account for my newer works! I was really happy with how everything sat well in the mix, but I think it's because there is a bit more minimalism in this one than in my older works. That might be why it sounds like it needed a minute to get everything situated. Thanks for the review!

[Official Fly Fly Penguin Theme]

This has a really catchy beat and upbeat feel on the recursive theme. Some of the ambience sounds work well like the "jumping" sound effect, while others sound almost like white or pink noise in the background and seem to grind against the bass line - After listening to it for about 10 minutes on loop some of that grinding got a little irritating though. Overall, I feel this is a really good loop - 4/5 ;-D Keep up the good work!

3foHorky responds:

Thank you very very much for taking your time to do the critique! I agree with everything you said. There is a bit too much grind on certain elements in treble frequencies. I noticed it too but didn't think it would matter that much, I should certainly improve upon that.

[Spook Master]

now that's just dirty, I can't wait for you to release the final cut.

T1LTED responds:

Thanks! Subscribe and you can be notified when I release it =)

[The Flim Flam Hooligan]

I really like the pattern on this one, forgive me for being a little critical here but it took an awful long time getting down in the beginning. The rest was pretty good though. 4/5

Hyperion666 responds:

mm yeah, I can see that. I usually make a lot of ambience, it probably reflects on my other work, meaning I take my time on things not neccesarily the sounds. Your words were not being critical at all. I think it was just noticing the obvious. You don't need to be apologetic at all unless you are purposely being rude and being a douchebag like one guy is and is still trying to talk shit in a pm while accusing me of his lack of competence rofl. Sorry I find it funny when people get what they deserve and try to blame others. so stay tuned for my music to take a huge down grade because him and his posse are probably going to rape my ratings because he is butt hurt for most likely upsetting many other people, since that is what douche bags do..... well damn I actually think he got under my skin I'm all ranting on my post hahaha damnit anyway thanks bro next few days should be interesting to see.

[Android Tears (Proto 2.0)]

Your second proto of this song is much better than the first, much deeper and gritting. I like the bass effect, add doubles or chords to strengthen it a little for a fuller feeling. The electronic melody is perfect, and if you add a softer counterpoint in the background after the second or third verse it would make a nice progression. Don't forget to bring it around full circle if you go off track in the center. Keep up the good work and I can't wait to see it complete! :-D

SirSirius responds:

Thanks a lot for your review! :)