JeffHeim's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Orr- Nocturne No 2 "Twilight]

Great performance, beautiful piece, and nice sound! Without altering the raw performance too much, the one thing I like to do with solo piano midi performances is take the lower notes and pan them left by ~10 points, and pan the upper notes right by a similar amount to help create more clarity and width. This raw export does sound quite natural, though. If it were me playing I would have to spend a few hours making midi adjustments ;)

5/5

DavidOrr responds:

Thanks Jeff! The panning idea is great -- something I didn't even think about. Can I futz with panning and still call it a raw MIDI performance? Guess I'm the one making the rules, so I might play around with that.

Yeah, this read came out quite well. I found the PDF on my computer last night, and decided to play through it. I figured I'd play it with one of my sampled pianos (instead of the built-in sound of my Privia), and this is it. It's a pretty easy read -- otherwise I would have had to give it multiple takes.

Thanks for the input Jeff! :D

[The Muffin Man - OST]

YES! Muffin Man! This is one of my favorites of yours. Such a funny cartoon, too :)

Well done!

BenTibbetts responds:

Thank you!

[-Orr- 2012 DEMO REEL]

Great collection Dave! A nice mix of romantic, energetic, adventurous, calm, sweeping scores here. Some very memorable melodies, all beautifully orchestrated.

Very good compilation, looking forward to hearing more from you :)

-Jeff

DavidOrr responds:

Thanks Jeff - Always a pleasure to hear from you!

[-Orr- Dark Horizon]

Incredible loop! I found myself on the third listen through before I realized it had looped. These new samples definitely do this piece justice. Great work, I'll be looking out for more of your music!

-Jeff

DavidOrr responds:

Thanks Jeff! I can't wait to get more comfortable with these samples so I can really bring out their potential! Thanks for taking the time to review :)

[{BT} Bittersweet Romance]

wonderful composition and performance

Ben- this is one of the most passionate works I've heard from you. Please write more!

-Jeff

BenTibbetts responds:

Thanks Jeff!

[Soul Destroyer]

Lovely!

Beautiful chord progressions and lovely guitar playing. Lovely musical moment. I only wish it was longer! May I ask, what was the inspiration behind this composition?

Great work!

9/10, 5/5

Oney responds:

nothing really inspired it, i made the lead first, thought it sounded nice and then messed around with chords. thanks for the review!

["Night Before the Battle"]

Awesome work!

I hear some LOTR references in this music. It is certainly powerful and emotional- perfect for a pre-war speech!

I think you could have used more reverb in the pitch-bended instrument around 0:18. Guitar sounds genuine, nice warm brass sound, and lovely touch with the timpani and gong! The gong sounds a bit too close to the ears, perhaps with added reverb or stereo enhancement (stereo-to-mono), the gongs could be placed more towards the back of the ensemble. Strings sound a bit synthetic, mostly because of the reverb trails. Nice balance overall. the solo instruments cut through quite well!

Great job! I know for a fact my first project on Cubase didn't sound half as good as this. 5/5, 9/10

-Jeff

BrokenDeck responds:

Hey! Nice of you to review this one too! Yeah it took me a big learning curve when I originally made this song. It was frustrting since everything was new, but I'm really glad that it sounded this decent. Cheers mate!

[Unholy Ascension {SF}]

good improvisation, needs more variety

While the performance is nice and aesthetically pleasing to listen to (perfect for background music), the composition itself is very repetitive and could definitely use a change of direction. I got a bit tired of the I - VII - VI chord progression after about 40-45 seconds into the piece, but then it just kept going. I think a modulation, or expansion of chord choices would help give this piece more direction and movement. Again, I really enjoyed listening to the piece and think it's a great start, but it sounded more like an improvisation than a complete score. I hope my words don't come across as discouraging...I wouldn't have written such a lengthy review had I not found enjoyment in listening to it repeatedly while writing these words :)

Best wishes,
-Jeff Heim

strikefreak responds:

Thank you for the review.

First off I would like to say as you mentioned I did write and intended this piece to be background music as if someone who was emotionally destroyed wondered.
Second I do have plans of taking this piece further by fixing mistakes and making additions. I recorded this in one take and felt that leaving the chord progression would suit.

Thank you again
I will take your criticism into consideration

{SF}

[Collaboration Demo #1]

I think this is what Benyue was trying to say...

Instead of inputting the notes with a mouse, try using a midi keyboard to input the notes to add more realism and variety between the articulations. The only time I noticed this being an issue was in the string bass part (staccato samples around 3:00-3:30). I'm not sure which program you use, but if possible try adjusting the articulations so some of the notes are more audible than others.

Personally, I use a keyboard to input the notes so I can write music faster, but I almost always apply quantization to correct rhythmic flaws in my own playing. Next, I adjust the articulation levels with a mouse so essentially it doesn't matter if you use a keyboard or not.

I really enjoyed this piece and the mood it presents. While there are some small fixes that could help enhance the realism of this piece, I think your works sound quite professional overall. Lastly, I think it's important as an artist to be receptive and respectful of both positive and negative feedback, no matter how nasty the negative feedback may sound ;)

With that being said, I didn't like Benue's choice of words in his review. A good review should include a couple compliments with some constructive criticism in the middle.

Great work!

FlaggedOnArrival responds:

I have no problem with negative feedback, but i do have a problem with pompous assholes. thank you for the review and the attempt to clear up benyue, 'tis much appreciated.

[PrTr: 08 Wee Willie Winkie]

outstanding audio quality and composition!

This is a rare achievement here on NG in the classical section: a composition that boasts of utter power and orchestral finesse and at the same time, screams of compositional talent. There are truly some great moments which give me the chills just to listen to.

An instant download. Well done!

EvilRaccoon responds:

Thanks Basbalfan55, for the download. Great to hear you enjoyed it. Makes it worth while putting this up on NGs for everyone to hear. :D