TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[This is It (Full Version)]

I like the rhythmic elements and the bells, even if you overuse the bells after a while. I think the chord progression and instruments are a little generic. The synth that comes in at :48 has a lot of high-pitched, harsh-sounding tones that I think should be equalized out. In a piece that’s meant to sound in-your-face, they might sound okay, but I don’t think that’s what you were going for here. I appreciate how you offered some structural contrast at 1:30. As for the mixing and mastering, I think the percussion could be a lot louder and clearer. I’d suggest some compression at the very least, but being a little stricter with the equalization will also help. You clearly have a good sense of harmony, although I think the piece is very repetitive and predictable by around the 4-minute mark, and really shouldn’t be nearly 8 minutes long. It would help if you varied the melodies and chord progression more, but overall I think you simply don’t need to drag out the structure of the piece for this long. I think you’d be better off keeping this as a 4-minute loop. Still, the mood and melodies are still very enjoyable. Keep at it, LakePixel! :)

7.5/10

[Entry]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the beat that comes in shortly after. I think the piano sample sounds pretty generic - I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that’s FL Keys. The progression of this piece isn’t bad, and you do a good job of using the entire frequency range throughout. I think it might need some more structural variety, because right now it has a bit of a dull sense of continuity. Stripping away the beat at some point could really help give this piece more shape, for example. I also think that the high-pitched synth at 1:06 doesn’t have a lot of clarity in the mix - the notes just sound a bit indistinct. It might be that you went a little overboard on the reverb, or that you should be more careful about how you equalize other instruments in the treble range. You have a good sense of harmony and flow, but there’s not a lot of strong melodic content here - most of it is fleeting and minimal. I do like the production quality overall, and the mood and atmosphere are both amusing. My main issue here is that the composition is pretty underwhelming. I’d encourage you to flesh out the structure and also provide some stronger melodies. Keep at it, KnockVoltage! :)

7/10

KnockVoltage responds:

Thanks a lot for all of the advice. You nailed the piano as being FL Keys. That's usually my go to when I get stuck on melodies/chords. I'll try to move away from that as I get better at composing. Melodic composition has always been one of my biggest issues, which is one of the reasons I ended up moving towards beats instead of songs. I'll go for stronger melodies and more structure in the next round. Thanks again

[[DJKB] Hiding In The Dark]

The chord progression is a little cliche, but I like the quirky lead. The progression is a little slow, and I don’t think the anti-climax at 1:04 helped give this piece a sense of direction very much. The minimalism was wearing on me after a while, and the vocals at 1:20 seemed a little monotonic and lacked passion. I like the drop at 2:01, but I also think the drums got really lost in the mix there. I think you need to do some more careful equalizing and compression to clean up the production quality. The new harmony line you introduce at 2:33 really overpowers the melody, and that same instrument sounds really harsh at 3:09, which you can also fix with more careful equalization. Toning down the reverb a tad might also help add clarity to the mix. I would’ve liked to hear you add some more variety later in the piece, whether in the vocals, melodies, or otherwise. This also doesn’t make a smooth loop. Still, my biggest problem with the piece is the mixing and mastering. Please look into using equalizers - you can use them to eliminate the frequencies that interfere with each other, like when a melody and chords (for example) both have similar frequency ranges. A lot of distortion comes from the lower range, so it’s really important to eliminate the tones below around 150 Hertz in everything except the bass and kick. You can also remove some of the treble tones on your melody synths to make them sound smoother and less in-your-face. Still, there are a lot of good things about this piece. I like the atmosphere and mood a lot - it has a spooky sense of apprehension throughout. Keep at it, Kbenitezlugo13. ;)

6.25/10

AlmightyDJKB responds:

Thanks a lot,

I know that I really suck at equallizing and volume which is my only weakness, that and lack of ideas.

Thanks for the advice and I'm very happy getting thourough critisism, which for me is hard to get.

I really hope you consider in having me for the next round. If not, then that's ok it was fun.

[JonOneMillion - Jon1000]

I like the tranquil vibe at the beginning. The pulsing synth didn’t quite mesh well with the atmosphere IMO, especially since it was so up-front in the mix. This has a really experimental sound design, and also a sense of urgency. I was really itching for some moving notes after a while, though. There are also quite a few moments that sound really harsh in the mix, like 1:48 - 1:55. I’d suggest carefully limiting the treble tones on some of these instruments. You took some huge risks with this track, compositionally and otherwise. It was actually working pretty well for me until around 4:20, when I think you lost me with the structure and coherence element. It’s a cool experimental piece, but I think in order to sell it as a stand-alone piece you need more melodic content, as well as a cleaner mix. It also has a certain comedic aspect (e.x., 6:14), which doesn’t really help your case of “this should be taken seriously as a musical composition.” I like the piece for what it is, but I don’t think this much experimental noise has a place in this contest. Thus I am torn - but I hope you understand why I’m giving you the score I am. Best of luck with your endeavors, my friend - this is strong audio engineering work. That much I know for sure. ;)

6.5/10

[XtraterRestriaL]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning, and call-and-response piano/synth riffs at :05. Nice job with the acceleration effects at :25 or so, too. The piece has a nice sense of climax into :45, and subsequently 1:09, even if the build-up was a bit drawn-out. Unfortunately, the climax doesn’t really lead anywhere, and thus lies the downfall of this piece. The content here is solely transitional, and by 1:40 the texture changes jarringly. You really need to give this piece more coherence. Not only is it structurally incomplete, but there’s absolutely no melodic content, emotional height, or even many moving notes. It’s just a series of build-ups. The sound design and atmosphere here are really cool. I have no complaints about the mixing. But you needed to show me that you could make a well-structured composition here, and I don’t think you did. I’m really torn about this piece, because it clearly has a lot of potential. Please PM me if you ever get around to fleshing out the structure here. I want to hear it as a full-length track! Keep at it, K0TiC. ;)

6.5/10

[-Civilization-]

I like the suspenseful mood at the beginning. It was a little slow to progress, and the rhythm is a little square. I think you could’ve had a stronger build-up into the section at :45. The snare also strikes me as sounding really thin and lacking low or middle frequencies. It could’ve helped to give the piece some more drive if you had left some more of those tones in the snare. At the same time, I think the drums are struggling to come through the mix during the refrain (until around 2:15). I think you should be a bit stricter with the equalizing in the synths, and give the drums a bit more room to breathe. The breakdown at 2:17 was effective, although I didn’t hear much variation in the texture during the second build-up. I really think the even ⅛ notes detracts from the piece significantly, making it sound overly robotic and stagnant. Overall, I do like how the piece has a lot of shape in the structuring, though - the ending is quite climactic, and you do a good job of channeling the energy throughout. Solid work! :)

8/10

[Our Silence]

I like the slow pace and ambience at the beginning. The distorted vocals are cool. I might’ve taken a bit more treble off of the guitar and vocals with an equalizer, just to keep it from sounding too harsh. The drums sound a bit generic, but the texture is really cool and unique. I guess my main problem with the piece is that it doesn’t have much structural variety - sounds almost uniformly energetic throughout. I think you mixed a big opportunity to maximize the emotion there. The ending is pretty abrupt, too, almost like you meant for it to loop. Still, killer atmosphere and sound design. Going forward, I just need to see you give your track a little more structuring. Keep at it, Joey! ;)

7.5/10

Joey4Track responds:

Thank you! Yes, this is actually a track from about 4 years ago, I entered it into the NGUAC as an afterthought really, as I never have done one of the contests before. But I do agree with your criticisms and the track I will do for the knock-out round is going to have a lot more energy put into it. Thanks again :)

[It's Not Easy]

I like the melodic content at :16 a lot. I think the percussion could use a bit more clarity - maybe some compression and more careful equalizing could help. I think you overuse the transition with the “crash” effect (like at :33), but you clearly have a good sense of harmony. There are a lot of staccato sounds in the mix, though - some pads might help smooth that out and add to the texture. You might also want to consider adding some more reverb to enhance the texture. I think the section at 1:35 was a cool idea, if a bit cheesy. The piece has a cutesy and fun vibe overall. Perhaps the composition is a bit underwhelming - it could certainly use some more shape (dynamic contrast, phrasing, filtering, etc.). The piece is also lacking on originality a bit, but overall you’ve demonstrated that you have pretty strong compositional skills, and I think all the frequencies are well-balanced in the mix here. Keep at it, JigglypuffClient. :)

7/10

JigglypuffClient responds:

Yeah, its difficult to make something that hits all points with such limited programs I use, but I can agree with almost all of things you said. Thank you

[Cheerful and Happy]

The beat at the beginning really establishes some energy and drive here. I think the hat has a bit too much sustain on it - feels like its bleeding into the next beat a bit too much for its own good. Many of the instruments, including the first synth bass that comes in at around :10 and the hats are a little generic. By :50 or so, the kick is getting really lost in the mix. I think you need to equalize those synths more carefully so they don’t have any interfering tones with the kick, especially with the low frequencies. Compressing the drums in general also would help. I liked the melodies at 1:46, but I think the transition into 1:46 is a bit sudden, especially since it seems to take the piece in a bit of a different direction. I liked your use of modulation at 2:38, but at the same time I think the piece drags on for a bit too long and the modulation exacerbated that idea. Those melodies definitely didn’t have to last for over 2 minute (from 1:46 to 4:00). You tried to create more variety later in the piece, but the transitions at 4:32 and 4:52 are just a little too sudden. Overall, though, I think my biggest problem with the piece is that it’s very cliche - whether you’re considering the chord progression, instruments, drum patterns, etc. I know that the best way to get comfortable making music when you’re first starting out is to imitate what works in other music. But I think you’re past that point now. I’d strongly advise that you try to use more nuanced and innovative approach to sound design, mood and atmosphere, as well as when creating the structure of a song. You’ve got a good start with some other elements, though - there are some strong melodies here, and overall it’s a catchy piece. Keep at it, Jeansowaty. :)

4.5/10  

Jeansowaty responds:

Thank you for the nice review, I'll think about it ;) Also, believe it or not, but it's always like that that I start off with a nice idea but then as I progress through it it just goes worse and worse, I start losing ideas, I get bored, distracted...

[[FGS] The journey]

I like the apprehensive mood at the beginning, and the foreboding percussion that comes in shortly thereafter. The strings at :49 were a nice touch, too. The piece is a little slow to progress, but I’m really enjoying the sound design and crisp beats at around 1:10. The melody at 1:55 is a little square rhythmically - I was itching for some stronger melodic content before the breakdown at 2:15. There is a lot of variety in the texture and instrumentation, which somewhat makes up for the slow pace of the piece. You’ve taken some big risks with the composition and sound design here, and I think they’ve largely paid off. I’ve rarely given competitors full credit for originality this year, but you nailed it. I also didn’t notice any glaring problems with the mixing, and the reverb is a nice touch during the more minimalistic parts of the piece. Perhaps my biggest problem with the piece was that I don’t think you ever quite capitalized on the emotional/dramatic potential of it. It needed an emotional height or climax at one point, and those climactic aspects largely only come in small, scattered bites throughout the piece. Overall, though, this is a momentous effort that sets you apart from your competitors significantly in my opinion. Keep up the good work! :)

9.25/10