TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Brain Fog]

I like the pensive synth arpeggios at the beginning and the ominous atmosphere at :06. The crisp beats at :13 are nice too, and the build-up into :32 was enjoyable, but extending the transition with the arps kinda ruined the flow of it IMO. The drop at :38 is pretty minimal, and when the arps come back in at :51 I can barely hear them. I think the bass is seriously distorting the rest of the harmonies in the mix, which you can probably fix with some more equalization and potentially stereo expansion on the arps. In general, I’d like to see some more harmonic depth here - thicker layers of harmonic instruments, including some that are in a higher frequency range to balance out the otherwise bottom-heavy mix here.

That said, there are some really cool compositional details here, like the rapid-fire synths at 1:46. The rhythmic content is definitely neat throughout. I also think it would be good to cut down on some of the filler/transitory content, like the long section at 2:35 where a pulsing, atmospheric pad takes up most of the texture. That said, the bright-sounding mid-range synth at 3:05 was a good way of creating some variety, and you transition nicely back into the refrain with the main theme at 3:37. The bass is still distorting the mix during the final minute or so - please double-check to make sure that you have an equalizer cutting off all of the frequencies below 200 Hz in every instrument besides the bass and kick. You might also need to limit the upper range of the bass a bit to make sure it’s not interfering with others.

Overall, this piece is catchy, smooth-flowing, and has a great atmosphere and a lot of cool individual riffs. The composition just needs a tad more depth, and the production could use some cleaning up here and there. Keep at it, Randomdude456! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
6.25/10

Randomdude456 responds:

hearing someone give a review like this on a song i made warms my heart so much... thank you for the feedback!!!!!

[Lizard Wizard of the Bayou]

I like the frantic guitar riff at the beginning. It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm at :18, but the added atmosphere there is a nice touch. The solo at :34 is a bit dissonant with the harmonies, but I like the vocals at :50. The vocals sit well in the mix, although the lyrics themselves are occasionally a bit cheesy. During the vocal sections, I also wanted to hear a bit more of the drums - maybe some more compression would help.

After a couple minutes of verse-chorus oscillation, the piece was due for a switch-up in the texture, so the solo at 2:54 was refreshing in that regard. That said, I’m not sure the filler transitory part at 2:42 was necessary - it kinda saps the momentum of the piece at a time where it’s theoretically building up to the intensity of the solo. There are also moments in the vocal phrases where there don’t seem to be enough syllables to fill the line, so you stretch them out in a way that causes the vocal phrases to lose their edge - 1:55 is a good example of this. Contrast that with 3:10, for example - there’s just more intensity to the delivery there, which is much better (although the lines “man built within” are also pretty stretched out).

By the end, the piece also sounds a bit repetitive. It might’ve been nice to switch up some aspects of the refrain the final time around at 4:46. Overall, I think the pacing of this track needs to increase a bit before the menacing feel of it really comes through. You definitely have the voice for that, but the delivery could be a lot more flowing. Some more variety in the instrumentals throughout would also help keep the listener engaged. That said, I enjoyed the sound design, concept, and progression of this a lot. Keep at it, Proktology! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.75/10

[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