HouseMasta's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[SineRider's Christmas Epic]

MAC Oct Christmas Review

this is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for the song "SineRider Christmas Epic"

Overall, the song has a nice flow. its very laid back - its got a lot of the Christmas elements in it - bells , piano, and strings. the song was a bit on the short side however. the chorus pad was nice.

instead of the piano, i was hoping it would be a French horn. that would make the song kick ass as a Christmas song. the contrasts of volumes were very nicely done.

i think this songs has the stuff for a great Christmas song. my only beef is the piano. i wish it were a horn and the ending. it was kind of abrupt and out of nowhere. i dont know if youre going to resubmit it, but theses are some things to think about.

the beginning bells should be brought up more gradually though.

Ok, nitty gritty time
10/10 Originality - 100% you, 100% score here
9.4/10 Clarity - great job
9.5/10 Diversity - i guess its classical..
9.1/10 Effort - a lot of effort was put in, but you still needed a bit more to fully polish it off.
9.4/10 Appeal - Christmas Classic Sounding. :)
9.2/10 My Overall Score - I loved it. it was purely enjoyable and good to listen to. the ending and the beginning need more work still

Overall MAC Adjusted Score 88.4

~HouseMasta~

SineRider responds:

hmm 88.4 good enoguh for me =)

I agree with all your suggestions. I didn't really think alot about instrument choice, because it was trouble enough for me to make a christmas song.

[March Of The Elves (xmas song)]

MAC Oct Christmas Review

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for the song "March of the Elves"

overall, it was an ok piece. it sounded flat; there was no contrast, no mixer qualities, and possibly no mastering. the bells were a nice touch, but the song was just lackluster in general.

the drum snares needed to be mixed up a bit more and there are no kicks. no bass either. the ending cut off, which is fine for NG or looping, but not for the MAC Contest. thats another thing that needs attention.

the gong also doesn't fit into the Christmas scheme and to be honest, besides the bells, i would never guess this was meant for Christmas.

Time for the nitty gritty
9.7/10 Originality - you did it all yourself i presume, so i high score for you :P
8.1/10 Clarity - levels aren't great
7.7/10 Diversity - wouldn't call this classical
7.7/10 Effort - no mastering, not a good thing. more time should have been spent on this song.
7.6/10 Appeal - the song isnt that appealing and in fact, its very bland.
7.1/10 My Personal score.

Adjusted MAC Overall Score - 61

the song needs to undergo more work. a lot more work.

~HouseMasta~

Stealth-Emergence responds:

Couldn't agree more, yeah I should have spent more time on this, definitely! bland yeah sure thing!

Though I kind of made it, with the thought that some animators may have some kind of sinister christmas plots in mind! oh well we'll see lol

Yeah mastering was something that I hadn't begun to delve into at this point, however I'm on the case with mastering on tunes I've done since this one!

Yeah I agree with all your points HouseMasta, thank's for your honest opinion and review

All noted, I'll bare these in mind for next Christmas, though I may try another tune for this year nearer the time, watch this space!

Thanks Again

Peace Out!

Stealth

[This is Christmas]

MAC Oct Christmas Review

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for your Song "This is Christmas."

First off, congrats on making a Vocal Song. i enjoy hearing some lyrics in NG.

ok, onto the review
The piano at the beginning was too loud an obnoxious for my liking, it needs to be work on.

secondly, the main voice was drowned out by the piano and the whole song. it needs to be brought out desperately as i had a hard time of hearing him. the guitar also distorts the song a little when it comes in.

the instruments you used were all fine, but you need to master the volumes. the piano was WAY too loud along with the guitar. i couldn't hear the main vocals so thats going to slaw me to not give you a higher score.

im assuming you made up the lyrics, so thats pretty sweet.

and as a Christmas song, year i could see myself listening to this if you finalized it.

OK, time to the nitty gritty
10/10 Originality - all you? 10/10
7.0/10 Clarity - couldnt hear the main vocals and the piano high notes drowned out everything
9.3/10 Diversity - Classical i guess, but i would have submitted it to Pop
10/10 Effort - sounded like you worked on it
9.8/10 Appeal - i wish i could understand the lyrics
9.0/10 My overall score. the vocals sounded on key but as I've said many times, i just couldn't hear them as it was drowned out.

Adjusted MAC Overall Score - 85.3

this song would have been SO much better if the volumes were worked out.

~HouseMasta~

speedmetalmessiah responds:

Wow first off just let me say thank you very much for the in-depth review.

I liked the beginning it was the thing that actually made me continue with the song. I can hear the vocals perfectly fine but maybe it's because you have better equipment than me that you can hear it's flaws.

I was working on the mastering constantly for about five days and this was the best that I came up with. I probably have about thirty different versions of this song. Who knows when I get my Yamaha DGX-203 I might remake it.

Actually all vocal credits go to Bad_Man_Incorporated. He did a great job on them.

I'll definitely take all your points into account when/if I ever remake this tune. Thanks again for the great lengthy review I appreciate it.

[A world so cold]

MAC Oct Christmas Review

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for A world so cold.

the start things off, i didnt expect vocals. major props for that and it will probably give you the edge... but lets not rush ahead hear.

the song is slow; something good for Christmas as itll help relax you in front of a fire.

The vocals were drowned out in some parts, but its ok i guess as i could still hear him. He was also off key in certain areas, but hey, this is NG, so no biggy. The 2 singers added a good contrast. the guitar was a nice effect too.

I really dont have much else to say. the song was meant to be a vocal/guitar piece and it delivered.

time to get to the nitty gritty
10/10 Originality - singing your own tune is instantly a 10 by me. especially if you can do it well.
9.2/10 Clarity - no problems here, quality was fine but i hear some scratches from the mic
8.7/10 Diversity - just 2 singers and guitar. what else can i say.
9.3/10 Effort - you guys made your own song, thats some effort.
8.8/10 Appeal/Catchiness - i wouldnt be singing this ever, but it appealed to me nonetheless
8.9/10 my overall score - you did a swell job, congrats

Adjusted MAC Overall Score 82.3

~HouseMasta~
5/5 vote

DarKsidE555 responds:

I have to say, if you didn't review my entry, I would have been 20 th place or so. This is really the only review that really is deserved. Not want to sound arrogant but this song was hardly underrated in the MAC.

Well, thanks for taking the time you put in your review and thanks for the vote!

[Greensleeves (MAC6)]

MAC Oct Christmas Review

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for your remix entitled "Greensleeves."

I was going to give you a higher score, but then you threw in the techno synths and that just destroyed the mood for me >:( lol

anyway, lets start with positives. The song was pretty damn good for a remix, ive never heard it done like this before. the main melody at the beginning should be brought out more though, it can be hard to hear it in some places. remember, NG doesnt have Equalizers...

the flute part was like a curve ball into my brain. it reminded me of Robin Hood, but it was a very nice breakdown to new instruments. it was a nice tough though, but the techno part after. it just doesnt fit AT ALL. next time, reconsider the choice of your instruments. Organ, flute, then techno synth? doesnt fit, see?

i was expected a heavier Kick too when the snare came in and not just toms. maybe lower them an octave each to give more depth.

i also noticed no bass, but thats ok, i dont think this song needed one.

As a Christmas Song, i have to say yes [duh] as its remix of Christmas songs.

overall, i enjoyed it except for the Godforsaken techno part. time to break it down to the nitty gritty.

4.8/10 Originality - not you songs, so i had to score low.
9.1/10 Clarity - very good sounding overall, except for sound levels here and there
10/10 Diversity - if i didnt give you a perfect 10 here, id be lying.
9.7/10 Effort - a lot of work must have been done. congrats i guess lol
9.6/10 Appeal - even the techno part cant hinder this song from being kickass
9.2 My Overall Score - loved it

Adjusted MAC Overall Score - 79
it not being an original costs you points since all the others im reviewing are originals [as far as i can tell]

NOTE: im going to give you a 9/10 on this review and a 5 vote. congrats

attemptedperfection responds:

hahaha, sorry I offended you with my techno synths, but I'm glad you liked the rest of it. thanks for the review!

[Christmas All Along]

MAC Oct Christmas Review

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for your Song Christmas All Along

Overall, its not a bad song, but there are a lot of problems to be worked out. First, i dont think you used the mixer at all. theres no contrast between instruments. No reeverb, filters, panning, anything. that will cost you dearly, as it makes the song sound very flat.

The opening bell theme was pretty cool and i think you should have incorporated it into the song towards the middle or end.

The piano sample youre using, along with the strings are trash - pure and simply. you can tell you used crummy samples when the notes when higher, they got shorter. you desperately need to get more VSTs or master the hell out of it.

The ending was another let down. i was expecting the bells again or something. just one note from the bass isnt going to cut it with this.

And Lastly, it doesnt really have that Christmas feel, besides the bells and the shaker...

Heres how yor score is going to break down.
10/10 Originality - its all yours as far as i can tell.
6.8/10 Clarity - need to work with the mixer desperately
7.5 Diversity - i wouldnt classify this as pop. tis ok though, youre new at this.
9.2/10 Effort - im giving you a high score here, as its your first song. not bad at all
9/10 Appeal - not a bad tune!
7.3 My Score - Overallm, this song sounds like it needs to polished up a lot.

josh-tamugaia responds:

Hi Housemasta. I would like to thank you a lot for the review. Other judges gave me like 2/10. I can tell that some judges just ditch the composition and give those lousier tunes but better samples better scores, like 4/10. You are the different one.

I have to tell you, I am definely a better composer than an arranger/mixer. I write the notes and I can give it to a band and play it for me, but making the instruments sound good is not my thing, though I am learning to better myself at it.

btw, what is a VST?

Am I gonna join another NG audio contest? Not in the near future, and maybe not at all.

Also, being accused of stealing this song (by one of the forum guys) isn't really my idea of encouragement. Probably those who gave me low scores were the ones who really thought I stole this song and did not have any way to prove it (because I did not steal it) so the only way to get back at me was to give me 2/10. Pretty smart.

[WG-Fighting Spirit-Naruto]

very good job!!!

hey not bad at all! congrats on this being your first gold track! im sure more will follow after.

i liked the main melody of this song, although it hurt my ears at some parts.

other than that, fantastic job man!

-Steve

Weapongod30 responds:

Hey, thanks for reviewing! I don't know if I will have any other gold tracks though, I'm am off the AP indefinitly! Oh well. Anyways thatnks for the review my man!

~WG

[Cotton Field Blues]

much better

great job, i like it. it sounds a little under-filtered in the beginning, but its not bad.

RadRacer responds:

under filtered eh? Don't really know what you mean by that but thanks for the review

[two mexicans]

not bad

but its about mexicans. thats just racist i guess. i hate to give you a bad review, but seriously. racism isnt cool

ill review another one of your songs and give you a better score...

RadRacer responds:

so fuckin what? It's not racism just because theyres mexicans in it . . . weiririririririrrdooo