TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Why?]

I like the beat at the beginning, even though I’m pretty sure I recognize some FL Studio presets. :D The gritty guitar at :06 is cool, although the drums are really struggling to stay on top of the mix once the texture gets busier. The mix is also very bottom-heavy, with a lot of individual instruments competing for not much stereo space down there. That could be a part of the problem with the distorted drums. The harmonies in this piece definitely get more well-varied as the piece goes on, but overall they’re still pretty minimal. I’d like to see more variety in the harmonic content, including more higher-register ones to balance out the dense bass riffs. I’m also a little confused why the 2-bar beat at the beginning played again at the very end - in the context of the rest of the piece, it sounds a little out-of-place both times. Overall, you clearly have a good sense of rhythm and progression, but the composition here needs more fleshing out and the mix could be sharper and clearer. Still, I love the ominous energy this piece has. Keep at it, Octusic! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
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
5/10

[test3]

I like the mysterious tone at the beginning. The mix is very quiet, though, and the synth bass sounds a bit unpolished. The melodies and synths at :44 are nice, but I’d like to see you flesh out the structure a bit more and create some variety in the harmonies.

The biggest problem, though, is that there’s a lot of distortion in the texture, likely from the drums. It might be that the piece is over-compressed more than simply too loud in general. It’s hard for me to diagnose the problem without seeing exactly what mixer inputs you have here, but it definitely sounds like clipping, which is something you want to avoid. Clipping is basically where the audio signal exceeds its maximum output. Since your device can’t shove the whole waveform through, it’ll reduce the quality to compensate. Most DAWs have a mixer feed that allows you to see when your piece is clipping - I’m unfamiliar with Waveform, but typically it’s a red bar that shows up to let you know the quality is taking a hit. Likely, you’ll need to soften up the mixing effects on those distorted, grainy-sounding drums during the refrain if you want it to stop clipping.

After you fix that, you’ll have a cute, melodic track with some well-balanced frequencies and a danceable beat. :) Keep at it, Octopuswindow!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
5.5/10

octopuswindow responds:

thanks for the review! :)

[interface]

The filtering effects at the beginning are really cool, and I love the prominent hi-hat at :10 and the variation on the attacks and mixing effects for the first 45 or so while the texture is still minimal. The bass at :43 is scrumptious - it has so much depth, and yet it doesn’t completely take over the mix either. Overall, the sound design is killer, and I love the melodic bridge at 1:20. The multiple stop-starts there weren’t my favorite, but otherwise this piece is also really smooth-flowing and well-structured too. The quirky low-mid-range solo at 2:11 was a nice touch, although it feels like this piece never quite got back to the same feeling of arrival and climax as in the first minute or so. That said, I like the dense rhythmic variations during the final 30 seconds or so, and in context I think the stop-start at 3:03 fits better than the ones during the bridge. Overall, this is a really strong piece. Love the instrumentation, melodies, production, and danceability. Keep it up, Octaneuro! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.5/10

octaneuro responds:

I honestly agree with you on most of this. The first half is definitely a lot stronger than afterward. That's mostly because I had to rush finishing this one, & I wanted to keep it simplistic.

Thank you so much for your review! It means a lot to me.

[A Window to the Soul]

I like the mellow piano and quirky synth at the beginning. The drums are nice and crisp and the texture, while minimal, has a good sense of balance about it. The wavy pad at :27 is nice too. The main problem here is that it doesn’t develop much beyond the first couple of harmonic ideas. Frankly, you need to show me you can write a full-length track with a decent amount of variety if you want to get very far in the NGUAC. This is a good start - it has a great, somber mood and some killer sound design. Flesh out the composition more with some denser harmonies and changes in the energy level over time, and that would really take this to the next level. Keep at it, Nxes! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[Kawaii]

I like the spacey pads at the beginning and the frantic vocals. The vocals could be a bit more up-front in the mix though, and at times the glitch and distortion effects are a little too heavy (like at :29 and, especially, 1:14). Otherwise, the piece sounds pretty repetitive, even though it has two distinct sections. I can’t hear the instruments all clearly in the mix throughout, especially later on. The drums are seriously ducking under the distorted vocals, and the texture is overall way too harsh and grating. I’d like to see more variety in the harmonies and a more fleshed-out structure, but first you need to rein in some of these volume levels. There are some good ideas here in terms of the instrument choices and core harmonic riffs, but you just went way too lo-fi with the production. Keep at it, NotZec! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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?)
0/1
Composite score
3.5/10

NotZec responds:

Hella thanks for the tips and respectful criticism, I'll sure be keeping at it with the mixing though (It's fuckin horrible) 😭

[a jazzy tune]

I like the guitar melody and beat. The sax solo at :17 is good, too, but the instrument that’s playing it sounds really fake, so you’re probably better off either getting better quality samples or replacing it with something that’s meant to sound electronic. There are also some dissonant chords in the lower register here - part of the problem might be that the notes are spaced so close together in pitch that the whole chord sounds clunky. Otherwise, this is a really short piece without much in the way of structuring. You’re going to need to show me you can write a full-length track with a decent amount of variety if you want to get very far in the NGUAC. That said, there are some good ideas in here, between the melodies, mood, and rhythmic content. Keep at it, Nopeus7! ^_^

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

[Emotions]

I like the airy pads at the beginning. The atmospheric groove at :25 is also nice, but the drums are a tad over-compressed and the texture has a bit too much reverb in it to sound distinct. The transition into the drop at 1:02 was cool, and I like the frantic, gritty mid-range bass there. The breakdown at 1:55 was a nice change-of-pace, but I also would’ve liked to hear more variety in the harmonic framework at some point. The busier beat at 2:08 was a good way of switching things up, and I was a bit disappointed when it didn’t last through the return of the main riff at 2:21. I appreciate the variations on the second drop, but otherwise the entire second half of the piece seems very repetitive, and the arrangement almost formulaic. Still, I like the sound design and atmosphere of this one. More variety, melodic content, and a more well-balanced mix would really help take this piece to the next level, though. Keep at it, NizeX127! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

[[AIM 2024] Ad Astra - nito-kun]

I like the airy pads at the beginning, although the chord progression is a tad cliche. The reverb on the percussion at :14 is a bit excessive, and the synth arpeggios at :32 are seriously distorting the pads. The piece is very slow to progress until about 2:01, and even then the harmonic content is very much the same. I would’ve liked to hear some more dynamic melodies and variety in the energy level earlier on. The mix probably needs a bit less reverb and more stricter equalization to ensure the bass and drums come through clearly throughout. The pads at 3:45 are also seriously distorting the ones that came in just 15 seconds earlier - it might take some more advanced mixing tools like stereo widening to fix that. Overall, the sound design, mood, and atmosphere of this piece are enjoyable, but the production could use some more polish, and the composition is a bit bland. I’d encourage you to keep working to add variety and harmonic depth to this. It’s just really hard to make a compelling full-length track when you limit yourself to a simple 4-chord progression for 5 minutes with little in the way of melodic content. Until then, the dreamy synths and smooth-flowing arrangement get high marks from me. Keep at it, nitokunffr! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10

[TimeToShine [NewGrounds Version]]

I like the sound effects at the beginning and the cute synth riff at :04. The rhythmic and melodic content alike are great, and the sound design itself is also enjoyable. The transition at :50 is a bit abrupt - at the very least, a crash or sweep would’ve helped smooth it over a tad. Later on, the piece is pretty repetitive, although you have a slightly different contour to the melody the second time around from around 1:15 on. The ending is very abrupt - even a brief outro would’ve been welcome. The production quality is pretty good, but not perfect - the drums at :19 could use a bit of a boost in the mix. Maybe some more compression is in order, or just stricter equalization in the other instruments. Overall, though, this is a cute piece with some neat instrumentation and strong, upbeat melodies. Keep at it, NewGameExplorers! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8/10

NewGameExplorers responds:

Big thanks for the review! I am pretty grateful for this.

[||TERM1NATION OF CYB3RNET1C BOUNDARIE2]

I like the bass line at the beginning. It’s a bit hard to follow the rhythm, though, and once the beat comes in it doesn’t get much easier. The rhythm might be just a bit too dense. In general, the piece is very slow to develop, but by 1:25 the texture feels full, if a bit bottom-heavy. The mixing isn’t perfect, and it definitely gets hard to hear the drums during some of the busier sections. It might help to transpose some of the harmonies up an octave or two - crowding a lot of instruments towards the low end of the frequency spectrum can make a piece sound really muddy. By 2:50 or so, the harmonies also sound a bit dissonant. I’d also like to see more variety in the instruments and energy level, which would help keep the piece sounding fresh.

Overall, I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece. Simplifying the rhythms could make the piece a lot more danceable - right now, there’s so much going on that it’s often hard to discern the points of emphasis in the beat. As for the distorted mix, in addition to raising the pitch of the harmonies, I would suggest using an equalizer to remove the low-pitched frequencies (below around 200 Hz) on everything except the bass and kick. That will limit the muddy, indistinct quality of the texture. You could also ensure the drums pop through the mix by adding a compressor onto them and turning up the ratio to 4:1 or so. Lastly, I’d challenge you to add one or two sections with a more mellow or atmospheric quality to them, just for contrast with the gritty club beats.

Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC. Also, I forgot to mention that the final cadence with the drum echo at 5:24 is really cool. Keep at it, NeuralDelverM! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
4.5/10

NeuralDelverM responds:

I really appreciate the in-depth analysis. This track was recorded straight out of my nintendo switch and sloppily mastered. Now I have some drive to get it fully stemmed out and mixed/mastered properly, and I will see what I can do about the rhythms. The rest of your suggestions should be easy to implement, especially because you provided specific points to improve on. Thank you for taking the time to help me out even though I did not make it past the first round! <3