Quadraphonics's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dimension Hopper]

Whilst listening to this, the only thing I could really think of is "How are you not on a label yet?"

Everything on this track screams at least something which could have been released on VISION, from the basses to the vocal chops to the short and snappy drums. I'd say it sounds more like an IMANU track than Posij, but still doesn't strive to be as bubbly and energetic as what IMANU's released, going for a somewhat darker tone. Not a complaint though, as everything here seems to be near perfected - the percs especially, with the mild off-timing resulting in something *very* groovy. With the way nothing seems too harsh or drowned out too, this is a pleasure to the ears for me. Maybe I'm just biased towards these types of tracks, but it ends in a way that only A+'ers can achieve.

Score: 10/10 (A+)
~Quadraphonics

Demonicity responds:

i mean i could try signing for one

[cat go bye bye dead time]

Well this is interesting, to say the least.

The introduction doesn't start out that strong with the first bass note sounding a little too low, but picks back up afterwards. Speaking about bass, everything from that to the low mids seem to overpower the other frequencies in this track which is a big gripe of mine. On another note, the cat sample is manipulated in a way which I really like the sound of. The lead is quite basic, but it works I suppose. The drums here are a little unordinary with the slightly wet snare drum, the autopanned high hats are quite cool though. Only real problem is that it almost sounds like there's no kick when the lead goes into place, something which stronger sidechaining or a little clipping on the kick could fix. The outro is a little weird, from the mostly unedited sample (1:30) to the sudden reverb at the end - I don't like that too much but I guess that's just me. I really like the idea this is going for, but the things I pointed out weigh it down. This gets a C+ from me.

Score: 6/10 (C+)
~Quadraphonics

valdamaer responds:

Thanks for the critique yo! I don't notice a lot of your issues surrounding what overpowers what frequency wise on any of my reference sources (I've tried three, but am going to try some more to make sure). I get what you said about the lead and fair enough, but sometimes basic is better than weird for the sake of weird, especially for little challenge projects like this (2 hour work btw). Drums yeah I get ya, similar point, but there's a bit of nuance if you listen closely (a couple keychain sounds and non cymbal kinda stuff). Also can't hear the lead overpowering the kick at all (now up to 4 reference points and this issue doesn't happen at all). Yeah, the outro was meant to be weird, and I just put the unedited sample in to show where it started from, and the reverb as a way to end it (a bit lazy but again, just a small project).

Either way, thanks for the feedback, a little weird some of those things that you're experiencing which I've been unable to replicate, but I appreciate the feedback and hopefully I can work on these in newer mixes :)

[Imania (ft. wito)]

Wow... this'd fit more in the Dance genre rather than Drum & Bass but this bangs.

This track starts out with a seemingly calm and slightly un-progressive melody but it turns up the energy straight after and doesn't stop. Everything ranging from the drums to the arpeggios to the synths compliment each other well to an extent that it'll probably get stuck in my head for a little while, not to mention that the mixing seems near perfect for this type of music! My only real complaint with this is the rather disappointing ending, a simplistic fade out - something like the beginning replacing the outro would suit itself better in my opinion. I'm not one to complain much on this though, this easily gets an A grade.

Score: 9/10 (A/A-)
~Quadraphonics

MpjV responds:

Hi, thank you very much! And yeah, true, I changed the genre to Dance, thanks. The fade out at the end is done because I'm not sure how the .mptm module will work in the upcoming game; does it loop somehow in the end to some position etc. (OMPT stuff).

Your feedback means a lot! :)

[Take Back The Culture]

I'd explain this as an oddity, to say the least. As of now, there's no other D&B track I've heard in my memory which sounds similar to this and released at this time.

For something which is basically a middle finger to copyright, it sure does use the amen break extensively. Not that there's anything wrong with that (and music trying to replicate I'd say the mid 90s) but I felt like there could've been a greater opportunity to slice the amen sample up some more - pitch variation, etc. The use of instruments here fit very well for a hip-hop vibe, especially the melody which is a plus, but the secondary sax notes just feel a little too harsh comparing it to the rest of the song. The vocals sit well with the atmosphere of this song and add on to it by doing so.

The second half of this brings some much needed energy for something classed as Drum & Bass, especially with the added sound effect at 1:30 - I don't know why but I just love when that part hits. However, another little gripe of mine with this song though is that there's little snippets what just sound empty to me (not exactly empty, just amen-solo parts in the latter half like 1:33-1:36). They're not annoyingly common though, so it's mostly made up for by the other parts. This gets a B+ from me, nice work!

Score: 8/10 (B+/B)

putzpie responds:

Damn dude that was a solid ass critique. Appreciate the love, hope you have a good one. Glad I got around to posting this on Newgrounds finally lol

[1 Long Note]

My opinions on this little track are... mixed, to say the least.

On one hand, you've mostly nailed down the drums in this with a heavy nostalgia factor (1:04-1:36 especially picture an old Cartoon Network ad in my head) but on the other hand, the main gimmick with the long note really sounds cheesy, out of place and 0:37-0:49 in general does sound a little grating on the ears. I felt like at least the note throughout would be a couple of octaves lower, maybe even with some sound design related elements but I might be exaggerating how good that would sound. Kind of a shame too, the potential for those drums in another track is actually something I'd look forward to if I start browsing the audio portal regularly.

Score: 5/10 (C)
~Quadraphonics

[Campfire in a middle of the night]

Wow... a Breakcore song in 2020! I'm a little biased with my 9/10 on this as the genre is one of my all time favourites but then again I haven't quite heard a track like this until now.

The drums are relentlessly powerful but a little too compressed for my liking - however, the slicing and manipulation of the drums are a big plus, almost seemingly letting the heaps of compression slide past me for the first time I listened to it. The melody and instrument combinations throughout are simple yet astoundingly effective, I could say they even pack a noticeable level of emotion into this track! However, another slight gripe of mine with this is that the melody *is* great, but it remaining for the near entirety of the duration gets a little old and would decrease the replay value of this track by a bit. It's still an A- grade nonetheless.

Score: 9/10 (A/A-)
~Quadraphonics