Month: July 2018

Broadjam Artist: Jeff Maguire
Song: Downtown Blues

Reviewer: EggOFDoom

Positive Comments: Really nice Jazz. Reminds me of playing a game where it features a casino scene.

Constructive Comments: Personally, I think it’s fine! But I don’t specialize in Jazz music so there isn’t much that I can say or add to this song. In my opinion, it’s a good song. Keep it up!

Broadjam Artist: Buc Williams
Song: THIS ONE’S GUNNA HURT

Reviewer: Massimo Carola

Positive Comments: wow, that’s a classic. I like it very much. Great form, great hooks. Great recording. Cool bridge.

Constructive Comments: Nothing to say, really! Maybe a touch of nice ambiance on the lead vocal could make it more intimate yet powerful. Great work.

Broadjam Artist: Buc Williams
Song: THIS ONE’S GUNNA HURT

Reviewer: Massimo Carola

Positive Comments: wow, that’s a classic. I like it very much. Great form, great hooks. Great recording. Cool bridge.

Constructive Comments: Nothing to say, really! Maybe a touch of nice ambiance on the lead vocal could make it more intimate yet powerful. Great work.

Broadjam Artist: Jeff Maguire
Song: Downtown Blues

Reviewer: Massimo Carola

Positive Comments: Nice guitar sound. I like the pentatonics.

Constructive Comments: Apart from the stiffness of the comping, that I know is difficult to overcome, I think that you should work a bit more on the improvisation skills. Try to start with fewer notes, increasing the density while the solo develops. Also, try to use different scales approach, not using only the pentatonic. YUou can try arpeggios, leaps, diatonic scales and many other elements to make the listener interested. But it’s a good start. Keep trying.

Broadjam Artist: 360onmusic
Song: 3.WITH NO HOPE (dramatic piano classic) 88bpm

Reviewer: Feline Beacon

Positive Comments: Nice concise instrumental. I have to say I loved the simplicity of the main theme, very memorable…found myself humming it after I had heard the track once, which is what we as artists want.The length of the track always works very well for A/V applications, I think. Short, sweet and to the point and can work for film, TV or video games.

Constructive Comments: I’ve really not much negative to say at all, barring the feeling that the pad in the beginning was a bit hot in the mix and I would have liked hearing it more in the background supporting the melody rather than fighting for space in the foreground.Otherwise, a really nice effort. Keep it up!

Broadjam Artist: 360onmusic
Song: 3.WITH NO HOPE (dramatic piano classic) 88bpm

Reviewer: Feline Beacon

Positive Comments: Nice concise instrumental. I have to say I loved the simplicity of the main theme, very memorable…found myself humming it after I had heard the track once, which is what we as artists want.The length of the track always works very well for A/V applications, I think. Short, sweet and to the point and can work for film, TV or video games.

Constructive Comments: I’ve really not much negative to say at all, barring the feeling that the pad in the beginning was a bit hot in the mix and I would have liked hearing it more in the background supporting the melody rather than fighting for space in the foreground.Otherwise, a really nice effort. Keep it up!

Broadjam Artist: Uncle Spider & The Electric Dirt Clods
Song: Bringing The Heat / Big Band

Reviewer: Feline Beacon

Positive Comments: I like the nice mellow laid-back feel of this track. Keeping the main melody simple and hummable was a good call and helps to keep the song memorable. I also like the interplay between the instruments for the most part, there’s a question and answer technique that is nice to hear, ensuring that the listener doesn’t get tired of hearing just one instrument playing the melody.

Constructive Comments: First and foremost, the production needs work. The virtual/sampled instruments are of low quality and too obviously VSTs or ROMplers such as the Emu Proteus units. Believe me, as someone who has invested many thousands of dollars in sample libraries and virtual instruments, I am well aware of how expensive quality products can be, but they will take your music to the next level and give it the pro sound to help your music stand out and be taken seriously.In addition to the instruments, the mix was very flat from over-compression. It’s tempting to go overboard with dynamic processing, but your track will tend to sound lifeless and thin if you are’t careful. Over-compression will take away vitality and energy from your song and will also tend to remove low frequency content. I would suggest reading some articles about dynamics processing in one of the trade magazines such as Recording or Computer Music, or online sources such as tutplus and practice some. You may be pleasantly surprised how true the old saying “Less is more” is. Good luck to you!

Broadjam Artist: Uncle Spider & The Electric Dirt Clods
Song: Bringing The Heat / Big Band

Reviewer: Feline Beacon

Positive Comments: I like the nice mellow laid-back feel of this track. Keeping the main melody simple and hummable was a good call and helps to keep the song memorable. I also like the interplay between the instruments for the most part, there’s a question and answer technique that is nice to hear, ensuring that the listener doesn’t get tired of hearing just one instrument playing the melody.

Constructive Comments: First and foremost, the production needs work. The virtual/sampled instruments are of low quality and too obviously VSTs or ROMplers such as the Emu Proteus units. Believe me, as someone who has invested many thousands of dollars in sample libraries and virtual instruments, I am well aware of how expensive quality products can be, but they will take your music to the next level and give it the pro sound to help your music stand out and be taken seriously.In addition to the instruments, the mix was very flat from over-compression. It’s tempting to go overboard with dynamic processing, but your track will tend to sound lifeless and thin if you are’t careful. Over-compression will take away vitality and energy from your song and will also tend to remove low frequency content. I would suggest reading some articles about dynamics processing in one of the trade magazines such as Recording or Computer Music, or online sources such as tutplus and practice some. You may be pleasantly surprised how true the old saying “Less is more” is. Good luck to you!

Broadjam Artist: Jeana Potthoff
Song: Mysterious

Reviewer: Massimo Carola

Positive Comments: Beautiful song, great development. At 2.24 I had the desire to hear some new stuff. Nice work anyway.

Constructive Comments: The piano sound is quite good but still lacks of some third dimension. I would try adding a dark concert hall with some pre-delay to give the ambient a more realistic deepness.Also, there are some low notes that need some care about the dynamic to make it work like the real thing.

Broadjam Artist: 360onmusic
Song: 1.ETERNITIK (ORCHESTRA ETHNIC ELECTRO) 86bpm

Reviewer: Feline Beacon

Positive Comments: Excellent sound and definitely marketable. Game soundtrack or film trailer application comes to mind immediately.Great cinematic feel with the big percussion hits and french horns in the melody. Also, there’s quite a bit of change-up of mood which I feel lends itself to AV applications.

Constructive Comments: Really not much negative to say about this track at all. The only thing I found a bit odd was that it started out as primarily electronic/ambient and seemed to switch up to unique/soundtrack, but that’s really not necessarily a bad thing.