Reviews for The Last Dance

[RandomDanceOfHappy]

song wise i use way more then 16 vsts maybe arond 20 ? not counteting the fact i use most 5 ish times
what daw do u use ? and what synths do u use ?

melodys really nice
mixing needs work also needs mastering
lil bass is nice but i would like more maybe in the form of a kick or better use the sub bass
alot of the filters dont sound smooth and drop to much need to smooth them out a tad to
250 is my fave part i would like the midis to this honistly XD
depending on the type of music and daw u use i can help as much as i can feel free to ask me anything c.c

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Yeah, only 16 VSTi's is very limiting! That's because I'm using Cubase AI 6, which is far less expensive than the better versions :)
For the synths, I used Alchemy Player, Firebird and Anti-Transpirant. Well, I also used Halion Sonic SE, which came with my version of Cubase.

The mixing definitely needs the most work out of all things. My instrumentation could be better, but I'm fairly used to composing, which is not the case with good production.
I can hear the lack low section frequencies, especially in the form of a bass or bass drum at several points in the piece, so you're probably right. I do have the sub bass there for a while, but I have no idea how to mix it XD

Alright, so it's certain that I've used too much heavy filtering. I'll make sure to note that for the future ;)

Hahha, it's interesting that 2:50 is your favorite part, on of my friends said so too! I decided that there needed to be a break from almost all the instruments at the end. Sometimes, less is more :)
I don't think you need a MIDI file though, the chords are as basic as they get, and so is the melody :p
(Am, F, C, G, Followed by Am, Em, F, G, then Am, C, G, Am, and finally Gm, Am [followed by Dm in the intro]).

Thanks a million! I'll definitely ask you if I think I need your help with something specific :3

[LunacyEcho]

This. THIS. AND IT EVEN LOOPS KINDA

Okay, to be honest, it's not the BEST stuff on Newgrounds. But hot damn! This is pretty amazing based on your experience with DAWs. I guess your skilled ability in composition really makes up for it. :)

It's such a progressive song. Transitions are really key in songs like this, and you really pulled some of them off. A few seem a little forced (especially the ones for really drastic changes, like 1:18, 2:01, 2:45, etc.), but mostly, they're really smooth and still manage to let such different ideas flow so well.

The melodies are amazing as usual. Also, it got slower! Personally, I think it might sound better if it were sped up a bit. ;)

Amazing work! Keep working at the stuff with DAWs, and you'll be real pro in no time. You're doing well at stuff like automations and effects - if I were you, I'd try learning more about effective ways of mixing and stuff. Good luck! :D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Awww, thanks LunacyEcho :3

Hahha, if this was among the best stuff on Newgrounds, I might as well try to search for a job in movie and game score production XD Thanks for the honesty ;)
It's great that you think it's good based on my experience though! I wish to get even more experienced for sure.

Yeah, I totally get that the transitions could be better, especially at those spots. I actually had 2:45 working really well at first, as the reverse cymbal got a weird accidental glitch which made it sound amazing! Sadly, upon opening the project the next time, the error had been fixed automatically, which actually made it sound worse :( I didn't manage to recreate it either :p

Ahh, you noticed that this is slower than previous verions :) I had a real though time deciding the tempo for this piece o.O I eventually settled for a simple 100 bmp, but I can see how it works as a faster piece too (My issue was that the speed took some of the dreaminess away imo).

Thanks for the confidence boost! I'll keep working with Cubase, and probably get myself a better verion eventually. I think you're right about the mixing. I should try to learn how to mix properly. I'm actually thinking about asking my piano teacher (with whom I'll have my first lesson in more than a year tomorrow!) to screw the piano for a while, and try to teach me mixing skills XD Let's see how that goes :3

[themob2]

a good job here even knowing you have a lot of trouble to do this one but you have it at least and i found it great even if it a bit weard i like it because sometime weird thing can be the best
even if there is some errors you have make a good job
continues to make great music and trying new things

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I think that wierd things can be great from time to time too XD
I'll try to do more odd stuff in the future too ;)
Thanks!!

[tox]

we all know that this is going to the front page.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

How so o.O?
Thanks for being so confident about it though! :3

[Mattashi]

This is very lovely and it sounds so original too!
I really liked that section around 01:35 nice melody and sounds so spacey.
the one around 00:51 was also nice is that a harmonica playing?
Agh it really sucks you can only load up to 16 VSTi's is it in demo mode or something?
I can't imagine what stuff you'd compose if there was no limit for you :)
I feel your pain I remember when I used to work with FLstudio 32-bit as soon as I had like about 8 VSTi's like EWQL running my computer would go bananas. So I got tired of that and got myself Cubase 7 64-bit and bought myself some extra ram.
The volume isn't too low though plus you can always raise dat volume (⌐■_■)
Nice work as always!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks a lot Mattashi! :'3
It's great that it sounds original. I was heavily inspired by this piece though, which is pretty clear in the beginning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk4KepVIOTw
I like 01:35 too. The interactions between the two lead melodies are pretty interesting, and the percussion is a bit unconventional. And yup; that is indeed a harmonica!
It definitely sucks not to be able to use more than 16 VSTi's :( It's a cheaper version of Cubase (Cubase AI 6), which my piano teacher gave me for free :D
Yeah, DAWs are pretty computer heavy.
It's good to hear that Cubase 7 has been working out for you (which is obvious from the quality of your music). I'll probably upgrade at some point too ;)
Hahha, I don't think the volume is much too low, but compared to most songs I've heard here it's a little bit more silent. I can't raise the volume in my DAW though, or we'd all die from all the clipping in our ears XD
Thanks for leaving an awesome review :)