Aalasteir's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sensationally Qualmish (instruments)]

Fantastic work James! I especially like how you're pushing sound design to realms I haven't heard before.

JamesHeart responds:

yeah i was really pushing the boundaries here trying to make it work while also breaking rules

this could be Drum'n'Bass but i felt it broke to many rules

[Windswept In The Chilly Nostalgia]

Excellent song! The structure is good, and nice jazz.

ZuwerWS responds:

Regarding the structure I'm not 100% satisfied about it. There are two main factors as for why it came out the way it did: Gentle Giant / Time Crunch. Last week right in the middle of when I was working on this song was the first time I listened to any song of Gentle Giant, and to be honest I love their progression and style. I already listened to the entirety of the first album, and today once I'm done with the solo for the second NGMC song I'm gonna listen to the second album. I also originally, well during the day I was really crunching it hoped that I'd have enough time to turn the minute long solo into a four minute long one and basically have it switch much less frequently, and develop each of the little tunes it transitions to much more, but eventually I was just so tired and done I decided to take everything I had and make a Frankenstein monster out of the solo, and while I think it does sound alright, I definitely wished for much more, but oh well, I'll try to make my next attempt much better

[Finding Falkor]

Great bass, and the breakdown is very satisfying.

JamesHeart responds:

trying to catch the old vibe without going old ^^ .. i see things i could have done here

[Wonder Deep]

The sound design is very expressive.

JamesHeart responds:

yeah i was trying for odd idea here. ^^ .. things come to mind when i think about the choices i had with this

[Deku Palace Tribal Dance Remix]

Super uplifting track with amazing energy!

octopus58 responds:

Thank you very much! :D

[moon glade]

Fantastic atmosphere makes me want to explore in caves!

trevor8 responds:

thank you!

[Made this live for Winterfest :)]

Fantastic tune! Thank you so much for sharing your process.

I deeply apologize; I was pulled away by a call and couldn’t see the rest of the stream.
What is your advice on collaborating with game developers, animators, and musicians?

ConnorGrail responds:

No problem, thank you for being there!

In terms of collabing it's always just the best to join a jam or event where people are looking for music, maybe you'll end up grouped with somebody you'll end up working well with. Or just getting in touch with people that you think their work is cool and see if they're open to the idea of trying anything

[nobody like me (instrumental)]

Epic beat! Aaaa!

yagru responds:

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Cue rdem??？]

Your song is cool. It has good structure and melody, but the mixing is off—it’s too sharp. It should be balanced out with more bass. Or different instrument sounds, but keep making music!

Easyprojekt responds:

Thank you very much!!
I’ll keep this in mind next time!!
:)))!

[Intro]

Great beat, and mixing!

What's your process for mixing?

VariableGR responds:

Thanks!
I've been practicing my mix since previously my songs lacked volume and also bass.
What many people think is that you should start with an EQ, right?
Noup, you need to level up the instruments, percussion and effects first This is achieved by controlling the volume and setting priority pillars.
In this case the kick, the sample and the bass are my three pillars that help guide me on what I want to sound more or sound less.
EQ is not always necessary except in cases of sound shaping and Mastering. Even to clean up unnecessary frequencies in some instrument-sound
Learn to use the multiband compressor and normal compressor It's what can help you highlight little things like Reverb, Echo and other little details. Also, not compressing too much is important so that it doesn't sound like a sausage sound.

Panning with stable parameters gives you a fine stereo feel
Example in this song panning voices and effects like the NG tag
It also plays with mono and stereo, automate this stereo range so that in a few moments it feels like you are traveling through the headphones.