Lamplighter's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Swanlake]

This is very nice!

Can't say I recall the original, but this sounds quite nice. I like the diversity here, even though there isn't a huge battalion of sounds. I love the pan flute, it sounds quite realistic. The organ is spectacular, I feel like you could have brought that part out a little bit more. The brass sounded great, as did the drums. I applaud your use of dynamics and tempo here, not many people notice as much with that as they should. You definitely did a nice job with this! Keep up the good work!

-Lamp

Nermio responds:

Thanks! The dynamics were actually one of those things that required the most time to get right. As for the songs length and choice of instruments, I had planned for a more euphoric section with lots of instruments covering the whole audio spectrum, but I had to cut it short and small because of the approaching deadline.
Still I think that most of this turned out pretty good, because I wanted a dynamic song made of crossovers between the small, quiet and more careful parts and then the big full-orchestra sections.

Glad you liked it! And thanks again!

[DEC08 Elixir]

Excellent!

I can't tell you how this makes me feel. It's just so... beautiful, as in the way only music can be. The synths sound fresh, clear, and strong. The progression is uplifting, almost addictive. The drumset fit everything else well, I liked that. My only minor complaint is that the piano (?) sort of blended into the background after the beginning, and I thought it should have stayed in clearer.

Altogether, this is a great song. Good things shall come your way soon, if you keep this up!

-Lamp

SoundAlchemy responds:

Thanks :-)

I can feel something coming; whispered by wisps of cold air.

[Niburu Symphony. 1st Movement]

Very nice

I'll start this off by saying that this is pretty good! I haven't finished listening to it, but by the time I finished the review it should be through.

First off, the piano sounds nice. I think it could have used a bit of reverb, and after a while I noticed it was playing the same quarter note rhythm and it started to get on my nerves. Just a little bit. Maybe vary that up a little to hold the attention of less tolerant listeners? I also though I heard a pitch change at the end of a few notes, but that might have just been the music my mom's playing downstairs.

Secondly, I really like the panning in some places. Others... it hurts my ears. I'm listening on headphones, and when it's not evenly balanced on the left or the right, I get that feeling that I want to stop listening and give my ears a break. Even though I could just listen on my speakers... but on the good side, you put the strings, brass, and choir where they should go if you were listening to a real concert.

The choir sounded pretty nice, although they weren't really a main part of the song. They sounded a lot more realistic phrase-wise than a lot of synthesized voices on here. Nice job there.

I don't have much else to say... Keep up the nice work! I'm looking forward to hearing future movements!

-Lamp

LacrimosaMuse responds:

thanks, im still trying to figure out how to mix up the EQ/Panning on Finale for individual instruments/sections, but ill be sure to check up on how they work out while im working on it. the pitch change u heard was probably a key change i have around 2:30 that i cant seem to get to work. I actually have the choir singing the lyrics to Mea Culpa, and the Dona Deusbut unfortunatly i dont have the program library that can playback syllables.

[{ReF} The Room]

This is interesting

I could swear there was just a review here, but then it suddenly disappeared. I don't get it.

Anyway... I like this! The synths you use are really nice, there's always a nice variety in our songs. I like the rhythms of the bass... I even started mini-headbanging over here. :) I think the hi-hat could have used a little more variation, although I think I heard some dynamics right at the beginning of every bar.

I think this has a little too much atmosphere to be just about a room... from what I hear, it sounds like a factory that used to make robots or something where people suddenly disappear into. But that's just me.

Nice job on this, though! I can even tell a difference in the mastering, I guess those new headphones are helping! ;) Keep up the nice work!

-Lamp

ReFreezed responds:

I can say that I'm very proud of this song. And it's great that you can hear the difference in my songs now when I'm using my new headphones - it's not just me then. :D Thanks for reviewing it. You are the first!

Oh, and it's a HUGE room. Of course. :)

[Silver[Dj-S]]

Well, since you put it up here...

I might as well review it. First of all, I think this could really use a different name. There's nothing wrong with this one, but without a memorable name most songs get ignored. I mean, when someone's looking through the portal they look for tags they recognize and titles that are interesting. So if there's a story behind this, you could title it after that, maybe?

On to the actual song. The composition is great, you've got a lot of talent. I like the effects on the piano. Speaking of which, I think you'd do well with a different piano sound. This is FL Keys, right? It sounds nice, but it's overused. There are some pretty nice soundfonts online that are twice as good, and you could EQ them to have the specific sound you want.

Overall, this is a very nice tune. I'd rate it an eight for originality issues with your samples, but just because I like the song I'm giving you a nine! :) Keep up the good work, and I hope this review helped!

-Lamp

Sacrafan responds:

:D Thx fer the review...

[{ReF} Minuet (Remix)]

ARGH! Bringing back bad memories!

Do you have any idea how much frustration this song caused me when I was learning it on the piano?!? But I finally got it, and this Minuet stands conquered by Lamp.

Anyway.

This is a very nice rendition of it. I like the synths you used, especially the one that sort of sounded like a cross between a wood block... nevermind. I can't explain it. It comes in around :51. That one. Very nice job on the percussion! It was present, but not overwhelming. I liked that. Keep up the great work!

-Lamp

P.S. - I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed one of my latest songs, I was interested to see what people thought about the one called "The Lone Mourner" but it has no reviews :(

ReFreezed responds:

Haha! This is one of the first songs I learned on the piano, but I got it pretty nicely. :D

Anyway, I think that synth is a nice one too. I'll probably use it at some point again. And I simply love my new headphones. Mastering the songs goes quite well now. (I did some mastering right before I uploaded it, so you don't get confused when I said it was old :] )

Thanks for your review! I'll have a listen to your stuff right away.

[{ReF} The escape]

I like this

This is actually a pretty nice song. The instruments are simple, but it still kept my interest. I like that vocoder... sometimes is was hard to understand it without the lyrics, but it still sounded nice. What's the sound you blended your voice with?

Anyway, I really liked the lyrics, and the progression really helped the lyrics along. Very nice job on this, keep up the good work!

-Lamp

ReFreezed responds:

I used some preset in the plugin Sytrus. Can't remember which. I'm glad you liked it, even though the voice is a bit unclear. :)

[{ReF} Robot]

Uh...

Wow. This really woke me up. :)

This sounds really strange. The themes are all over the place, but still pretty catchy. Trying to imagine a robot dance to this is a very interesting images. I really liked the effects, panning, and harmonies here, good job on those. The drums... wow. I have no doubt that it's humanly impossible to play like that. They sounded so random in a pulsing way... this song blows my mind. While I'm putting my brain back together, keep up the good work!

-Lamp, your faithful reviewer.

ReFreezed responds:

Whoa! Thanks a lot man! I'm quite proud of this one, even though it sounds a bit too much sometimes. :) I included a lot of drums in it so I'm glad it turned out well.

Good luck with putting your brain back together and, once again, thanks! :D

[@ndrea - Candy Dance]

I feel bad about complaining...

...but I hope you'll read this with an open mind.

Okay. You have talent. That much I'm going to say. But there are a lot of things in here I'm sure you could improve on. Number one: the chord progression. It's probably one of the catchiest out there, but the thing that bugs me about it is that I've heard the exact same one in about three hundred other songs. That is no exaggeration. I think you could put some different notes in there, or at least have some complex chords in there.

Second, you've sidechained the notes from the generic chord progression. Thats all fine and dandy to people who don't care, but for the picky people like me, it's just another thing that blends in with all the other dance tracks. I'm sure you could make that into a harmony and simply have the progression play flat in the background.

Three. I don't reallly like that "come on" voice, it doesn't really fit, but it's fine.

I liked the bell part you put in here, that was one thing I liked. :)

All in all, it's a nice song and everything, but nothing really stands out. Sure, it's got some interesting snare rolls and it's catchy, but so does seventy-five percent of the other dance songs on here.

No doubt people are going to scream at me for this like they did at Karco (who did have good points, he just didn't offer any constructive criticism.) I'll even bet people will rate this as abusive just because I voted a seven, but I really think you should use your talent and make something better. Until then, keep up the work!

-Lamp

AndreaDigita responds:

Np I see some of your points and trust me I have a lot more potential than this ;)

[~{(TT)}~ Conflictions]

This is awesome.

I must find the poopskid that 0-bombed this and throw them in the midst of this battle.

The story is simply awesome, even when I didn't have a song to go with it. Now I'm just astounded. This tells the story very well, from the first signs of life from the Ancients to the fear and first attacks of the NDA. I love the synths/sounds you used in here, they have that completely-new-while-still-sticking-t o-the-songs-flow feeling. The weird panning sound and the quiet metal striking sounds really give the impression that this ghost town might not really be deserted after all, among other things. Everything fits, very good job there.

I just got to the part around 3:20 for the second time, that part sounds great when the two synths seem to be competing with each other. Maybe that's where the two are beginning to battle, or when the reinforcements come and the Ancients are faced with a new enemy. Either way, it's cool.

Probably one of your best, if not the best. Catchy, perfect for the story.. I have no complaints! Keep up the awesomeness!

-Lamp

Twistedtechnology responds:

I think i just shed a little tear :*) Thats probably the nicest review i've ever been left on a song that has taken me more than 2 sittings to complete.

3:20 is when the NDA fights alongside their reinforcement, hoping to over power the anchients

Im so glad you enjoyed this track XDD

I put a ton of time and effort into this one!