paradiddlesjosh's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[SSJ3 - Encounter MGS4 Ver.]

Hm...

Let me think about this one for a minute.

I'm thinking your castanets, which are playing the same rhythm as your hi-hats, would probably work better if their pattern shifted over one 8th-note duration. That would offset them enough to give you a kind of call-and-response between them. Panning them in separate directions would give a nice touch to it, too.

That's my only real complaint on the composition of the piece. I mean, I would have liked to have heard more crescendo action going on at some of the transitions, but that's because I'm a sucker for crescendos. Your mileage may vary.

As for its execution, I have no complaints. You've got a good piece going here, Shawn. 9/10 5/5. :D

~Joshy676

Shiverwar responds:

I understand that it needs work, lol. I totally agree that I could have done the castanets a little better, but I did this rather quickly. If I do another one, I'll try a different method with them.

Leaving that, thanks for your review as always, man! I love seeing what you have to say on my stuff!

[SSJ3 - J-E-N-O-V-A '11]

Nicely done, my friend.

I think, percussively, the only thing missing is a concert bass drum, but those buggers are hard to EQ, so sometimes it's better to just ignore them entirely.

Nice gong/tam tam in the beginning, though. And then closing with it, too.

I like that your sounds blend nicely, and your instruments sound almost real. Are you sure you used SGM? xD The only one that stands out as synthetic is your flute, but that's not to say that synthetic sounds are bad.

Again, nicely done, Shawn. Keep up the good work!

~Joshy676

Shiverwar responds:

Oh, that, I forgot to put in that I used florestan_woodwinds. XD My bad.

Anyways, yeah, I think this is my best J-E-N-O-V-A redux yet. I might do another FF remix sometime. :D

[A Hero's Last Stand Remastered]

I was just thinking something was missing...

...while I was listening to the original.

Those horns make a big difference to the sound, as does that (what sounds like) a xylophone or vibraphone in the background.

Don't get me wrong; I liked the original "A Hero's Last Stand," but this arrangement is much better.

Props to Xayber, and congrats to you, Shawn. Keep rockin'!

~Joshy676

Shiverwar responds:

I added the vibraphones in as a more peaceful instrument in the beginning and the end. The brass I added with the horns to add to the feel, and the oboe adds more to the feeling as well, I thought.

And yes, Xayber is a life-saver. :D The horns really do make a big difference, I must say. He supplied me with the best thing in the song, and I put it to good use, I think. I also added a metal pad during the solo part.

Thank you, Josh. :D

[SSJ3 - Theme of Solid Snake]

I'm throwing down a challenge.

If I can find the time this month/year between all my Project 52 submissions (not to mention remixing "Endless Confrontation" and a couple of other non-Final fantasy pieces that are dear to me), I'm taking this tune on again. And NOT with all percussion instruments again. xD

I can tell you did this one by ear; the clean guitar line in the beginning is missing a few notes in its little arpeggio pattern. I should know -- I missed 'em, too, and didn't realize it until after I'd finished it. D'oh!

Still sounds good, though.

~Joshy676

Shiverwar responds:

I was wondering when you'd review this, man! Thanks for your review!

[SSJ3 - A Hero's Last Stand]

Rockin'. Oh crap!

I forgot I still have to finish my arrangement of your "Endless Confrontation" piece. This is a great reminder of that tune; I'm not sure if it's the similar instrumentation or chord work that throws this one back to it, but the similarity is very cool.

The addition of a bass soundfont, by the way, is music to my ears. :)

Keep up the good work, Shawn.

~Joshy676

P.S.: Sorry about reviewing this so late. I've heard it five times since it's been up and kept forgetting to review it! :D

Shiverwar responds:

Heh, so you HAVE been following the feed. XD Yeah, I put it in the same basic orchestral style as EC, but a more intense feeling throughout the entire piece. Thanks for your review!

[SSJ3 - FF7 Cid's Theme]

I agree with Razael.

You just need that bass line, man. It really adds definition to the chord progression, and the extra voice blends the mix better.

Still, great work with what you've got here. 5/5 | 9/10. Looking forward to your next mix, Shawn! :D

~Joshy676

P.S.: I caught this submission in the RSS feed. I'm glad that it's working. Thanks, NG! :D

Shiverwar responds:

The bass line is in there. I guess I just need to change its instrument. I didn't like the sound of the synth bass, so I put in a harp instead.

Thanks for your wonderful review, as always! :D

[SSJ3 - MGS Encounter]

By ear? Really?

Awesome job, Shawn. It's remarkably close -- I'm surprised you didn't use a MIDI, since someone put one out a few months ago.

Anyway, great mix. Keep it up, man.

~Joshy676

P.S.: I'm subscribing to your AP RSS feed so that I stop missing your latest submissions. :D

Shiverwar responds:

It would have been useless to try the MIDI, since this computer doesn't have Power Tabs, since that's the way I like to do things.

Yeah, this was entirely by ear, and it was a doozy to get done. Thanks for your review!

[SSJ3 - Tetris Redux]

Freaking awesome!

Ever since I picked up YouTube user brentalfloss's CD ("What If This CD... Had Lyrics?"), I've been in love with the Tetris jingle (particularly the Gameboy Type A version, in which Pattern A is played once instead of twice -- or three times, in your case), so forgive me if I can't help but sing his lyrics over your piece. :D

Very nice work here, Shawn. :D
~Joshy676

Shiverwar responds:

I'm glad to get such a wonderful review from an artist I look up to, and you're but 2 years older than I am. XD But 2 years can mean a world of difference. :D This was actually my first ever Tetris mix, so I can't help but notice a few hoo-hah mistakes here and there, but what'cha gonna do?

[SSJ3 - Fairy Fountain]

Me likey.

Very cool, my friend. Calming and refreshing, it's very close in feeling to the source tune. I really like your harp's tone. :D

~Joshy676

Shiverwar responds:

Would you believe me if I said I imported the MID file onto Power Tabs and worked from there, making it slower? :D Thanks! This is, in my opinion, the most calming song in the series, followed by the Serenade of Water (Twilight Princess version).

[Retro Canyon]

Cool story bro.

Thanks for the shameless plug! Now onto the review:

It's good enough to where I will blatantly steal this idea from you. :D

I kid, I kid. But seriously, expect a "Retro Canyon Joshy Mix" or something like that soon.

DarkPortalStudios responds:

Thank you for your review!