JeffHeim's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

["Desert Journey"]

catchy!

First of all, I loved the melody you present here, and the rhythm works well with the orchestral background. I'd like to focus on the things that I think could make this sound more effective:

First of all, I felt the balance between the orchestra and percussion was a little off. You're using hand drums which sound like they're being played right next to a microphone while the orchestra sounds pretty far away. I think if you toned down the percussion (or raised the volume of the orchestra), it would sound better. Also, the orchestra is pretty static. I think more dynamic contrast in the strings/brass could really make this mix sound more dramatic.

Great start so far! I can hear some Martin O'Donnell influences here.

BrokenDeck responds:

Thanks! Although I was thinking "Jerry Goldsmith" inside my head at the time I slapped this track together. Cheers :D

["The Last Ship"]

outstanding

This piece is incredibly powerful and soothing, and the harmonic choices you made ring of beauty. Lovely!

BrokenDeck responds:

Thanx!

[{BT} Sneaky Sneakers]

sneaky!

The plucked guitar, harp, and pizzicato strings were a perfect selection of instruments which fits the character described in the title perfectly. Wonderful layering of instruments, and the melody and countermelodies all work so well together! I'm officially going to listen to this piece every time I tie my shoes in the morning :)

BenTibbetts responds:

Thank you! Tie away, my friend, tie away.

[Red Saturn Day]

beautiful chords!

The mix between minor and major modes really makes this pieces powerful, and that brief pause at 2:00 is perfect! Is this meant to loop? My one complaint is that the piece is a bit stagnant. I think after about 2 minutes you could use different chords or possibly use a modulation, and that last chord needs to be longer :)
Love the touch of the piano! Well played :D

MarkySpark responds:

Thankyou for the review my friend.

[My concept]

Outstanding!

This is one of the few classical pieces I've heard on newgrounds that uses live musicians, which is always a treat, so before I comment on the piece itself, I want to thank you for reviving the standards of classical music here on newgrounds. This truly is unique! The performance was oustanding and I could tell that this was well-rehearsed and professionally recorded...I almost feel that this piece is too good for newgrounds, something that should be paid for on iTunes. Well done!
Now for the actual music...the introduction is so packed with emotion and I love how complex the harmonies are! I can definitely hear the influence of Chopin especially in the waltz section around 4:45, but aside from that this piece includes such a diverse variety of emotions and styles, some sounding romantic while other parts sound much more modern and atonal. My only complaint in this piece is that I wanted to hear a bigger moment towards the end (maybe bring back the introduction again for a third time at the end?) That's only my personal opinion, which you can disregard if you choose. Oh, and I love the ascending string scales you use in the here and there throughout the piece...Great work! I'll be listening to this composition again and again!

robomanus responds:

There is an introduction reminiscense in the end and that's the culmination. I hope you will find it :)

[-Orr- 4 Brave Champions [FULL]]

Congratulations!

You've done it again! Top of the charts. Great music as always, David!

DavidOrr responds:

Thanks Jeff!

[classicaldark]

Great work!

I thought the voices and strings worked very well, and the percussion panning was done very professionally as well. Some interesting rhythmic and melodic elements in here giving this piece an eerie, dark feel to it. I thought the piece could have either been shorter, or included more variety (modulation, tempo change, stylistic change, etc) somewhere in the middle to give this more form. Also, I'm not really hearing this as a classical piece of music either, but that's just my opinion. I thought the piece was mastered beautifully as well, nice job!

masterfil responds:

Yes, i wanted to have a gradual tempo change throughout.then speed it up more rapidly toward the very end!thanks for the feed back and advice man..

[-Orr- Colony]

very nice!

3:15 is my favorite part by far. I love the strings + modulation! Definitely a climactic part and I can see how it could fit in real well in Colony. Love the ending, too...was not expecting it to end that way. Always good to have a surprise. The dark electronic sounds fit in nicely, too. Which guitar sounds do you use again?

DavidOrr responds:

Hey Jeff! I used the East West Quantum Leap Ministry of Rock sounds for this. The bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and drum fills are all from that. Thanks for stopping by!

[Village by Water (Piano)]

Beautiful!

Some very nice harmonic progressions in here, and the melody is quite nice. I sometimes got lost trying to listen critically in order to give advice, which I guess means I enjoyed it so much I forgot to critique it! Very nice work, I loved it!

5/5

camman007 responds:

Thanks glad you enjoyed it!

[Justice day]

tres bien!

very well done, I loved the orchestration and rhythm. Great contrast between the middle and beginning/ending. I felt like the balance was off here and there, and the transitions between the slow and fast parts were a bit odd. perhaps you could add some percussion to help solve this problem? I can definitely hear some cymbal crashes and booming percussion in this piece. Great work!

p.s. the french dude says:

"Magnificent

Bravo

Sincerely, this is very well done :D
I love it. the sound is very soft and the rhythm is ... (don't know that word)

It's great! Nothing to say I think :D"

robomanus responds:

I decided not to use percussion. Why? Because maybe I would like to perform it with my orchestra, where I haven't got cymbals and percussion. But I have some Timpani :) So maybe I will try to add them. Thx for review :D