TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Stars]

I like the upbeat mood at the beginning. The string samples sound pretty fake, but I like the crisp drums and clean mix. The spoken word vocals don’t quite work for me, though - I think part of the problem is that they aren’t calibrated to the beat very well. Have you tried quantizing the recording to the beat in your DAW? The lyrics themselves are really good, with a fun rhyme scheme and some evocative imagery. The instrumental track could use some more variety. In particular, it’s missing some bass tones, and some additional harmonies or instruments would be welcome. At times, the mix gets a bit distorted, probably because it’s too loud. The little staticky blips you can hear at 1:45 and other places are a good indicator of that. Most DAWs have some sort of gauge on the mixer that turns red if the audio output is getting overwhelmed by the signal - it’s called “clipping,” and it’s definitely something you want to avoid. That said, the guitar solo at around the 3-minute mark was a good idea, and the repetition of the chorus at the end helped give the piece a good sense of closure. Overall, I think the composition is what could use the most help here. The vocals could use some more careful editing, and the instrumental track isn’t really making use of the bottom part of the frequency range. Still, the upbeat mood, energy, lyrics, and rhythmic content are all pretty good. Keep at it, R0botSqu1d! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
0/1
Composite score
3.5/10

[jafol]

I like the heavy synth bass at the beginning. The percussion is a little loud, and the clicks layered on the kick instrument were a bit strong for my tastes. More importantly, the frantic synth harmonies often clash with the bass line later on in the piece. The synth lead’s melodies themselves are pretty cool, but it seems like you tried to do a bit too much with the progression after a while, layering on harmonies that don’t really complement each other. I’d suggest choosing a certain set of pitches (up to 7, but as few as 5) in advance, and then writing all of the notes of the piece using those pitches. Also, make sure that all of the notes that are playing at a given time fit into the same chord. I find it helpful to put all the harmonies in one instrument’s piano roll first, and then assign them instruments later. That way, you know the harmonies sound good together before you have too many different tracks to work with. Other, smaller problems in this piece include the cheesy instruments and somewhat aimless structure. That said, I enjoyed the cute mood, melodies, and rhythmic elements, and developing your sense of harmony is the most important next step for you going forward. Keep at it, PeculiarAlfred! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
4/10

PeculiarAlfred responds:

i understood about 20% of your response, but thanks!

[Answers]

I like the bass drone and frantic synth arpeggios at the beginning. The airy beats and grating percussion at :28 work well together, and the rhythmic content is certainly a highlight. The distorted piano melodies at 1:02 or so help provide some contrast to the gritty rhythmic elements from earlier, but I would’ve liked them to be a little more up-front in the mix. The string arpeggios at 1:40 were pretty unexpected, as was the drop that comes shortly thereafter. The structure of this piece feels a bit disjointed, and I’m further confused by the mood change conveyed in the blissful piano line at the very end. Overall, you’re clearly a talented producer with a strong sense of progression, harmony, and mixing, but the composition didn’t quite come together for me here. You’ve certainly done enough to earn a scout in my book, though. Keep at it, Paper-Money! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

Paper-Money responds:

sorry for the late reply but thanks:>

[Miami Sunset]

I like the pulsing pads and groovy bass at the beginning. There’s a rich atmosphere, although the reverb and compression may both be a tad excessive at times. I wasn’t a huge fan of your snare sample - it’s a little staticky for my tastes. That said, the cute melodies at 1:02 are keeping me engaged, as well as the rhythmic content and airy sound design. I would’ve liked to see a little more variety later on in this piece. The structure feels pretty cyclical and repetitive after a while, and the melodies in particular could use some variation later on. That said, you still won me over here with the blissful mood, quirky instruments, solid mixing, and fun melodies. Keep at it, OriginalTultraP! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Dragon Warrior Modified]

The riser at the beginning sounds cool, if a tad unpolished and out-of-place in the context of the relaxed riffs that follow it. Nice job with the filtering on the synth line at :14. The mix is also pretty clean and well-balanced here, as exemplified by the crisp drums and broad frequency range. The piece is a tad slow to progress after :14, and the chord progression is a bit cliche. My main complaint here is probably that the piece needs more harmonic variety and a richer texture later on. The jumpy riff at 2:33 was good for some variety, but it was short-lived and was playing in a pretty minimal context, which didn’t help give the piece a sense of conclusiveness. This piece has a lot of changes in the energy level and dynamics, which is good, but little overarching sense of direction over the entire piece. As a smaller detail, it’s also bothering me that the drums are a little buried in the mix at 1:23, especially since not much else is going on there. Overall, you have a strong sense of progression, harmony, and mixing and mastering. The composition could be a tad more varied and dynamic here, though. Keep at it, OliRO! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

OliRO responds:

Thank you so much for this in-depth review! I already feel like I won a prize. Getting such good quality reviews on my music is on my top tier list of things that my music could bring me. :D

[Passed the Past]

I like the airy pads at the beginning. There’s a bit of harmonic dissonance in the texture with those electric piano riffs, and the mix is pretty muddy and indistinct. I’d suggest taking some of the reverb off of the pads and doing more with panning and compression. The percussion at 1:19 is a bit cheesy and unpolished, but I like the dreamy melodies at 1:38. The injection of energy at 2:20 was a welcome change to the texture, and the rich atmosphere at 3:20 or so is especially nice. You have a strong sense of progression and harmony, although as a whole the piece seems pretty dragged-out, and the sound design is full of cliche and preset-quality choices. I also would’ve liked to hear more melodic content later in the piece - I felt like the track needed a more distinct climactic section to tie it together. That said, overall the mood, rich texture, and phrasing help sell me on this piece. A tad more attention to mixing and sound design next time could help you move this track into the 8-range or higher. Keep at it, OddaSykes! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

['LOVELY' by SoundVorteX (André C. Kalipke) of NTtHBM]

I like the quirky mood at the beginning, but the dissonance is a little strong for my tastes. I’m enjoying the progression once the texture starts to smooth out at :17. The percussion sounds a tad cliche and dry, although the rest of the sound design is quite enjoyable. After that, the piece gets quite repetitive, and seems like it could use some lyrics and/or melodies to keep the listener engaged. I think the strongest element of the piece for me was probably the production quality, although without a very busy texture it’s not necessarily the most ambitious production job I’ve ever heard. Flesh out the structure and harmonies a tad, and this piece would easily earn another point or two from me. Until then, I’m enjoying the mellow atmosphere and blissful keyboard riffs here. Keep at it, NtTHBM! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[Grimey Grapple!]

I like the cutesy bass riff at the beginning and the energy. The percussion is nice, and the descending brass line, while a bit cliche, helps add character to the piece as well. The production quality is also solid, and I’m enjoying the rhythmic content throughout. That said, the structure might need some more fleshing out. There isn’t a ton of development in the harmonies or melodies after the initial themes are introduced here, which makes it hard to assess how well-rounded your composition skills are. That said, you’ve easily earned a scout, and I’m going to have this piece stuck in my head for a while. Keep at it, Noudele!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Noudele responds:

thank you, the criticism is greatly appreciated!! I might apply some of the criticism and rework the song, once im able to again. I'll definitely post more music!

[Sword of Destiny]

I like the airy percussion at the beginning and the quirky orchestral samples. Some of the instruments could’ve sounded a tad more authentic here, especially the strings, but I think a bigger problem is the mixing. The texture sounds pretty muddy and indistinct throughout, and the percussion easily gets buried when there are several other instruments playing at once. I’d suggest toning down the reverb and using some more equalizers to remove the lower-pitched frequencies from some of the non-bass instruments. From there, you could also add some compressors to the percussion to make it pop through the mix more. Compositionally, the piece is solid, although the melodies feel like they could be a bit more dynamic at times. I also would’ve liked to hear more variety later on in the piece. That said, the sound design is cute, and the mood sounds triumphant and adventuresome, which is nice. The modulation at 1:48 also helps keep me engaged later on in the piece. Overall, solid work, NnolokK! Just needs some more attention to detail on the production, and you’re well on your way to an 8-range piece. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

NnolokK responds:

Thank you for the critique. =)