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TaintedLogic

4,928 Audio Reviews

2,609 w/ Responses

I like the synth bass at the beginning and the cute synths at :14. The kick at :07 has a bit too much treble for my tastes, and the chord progression is pretty cliche. The harmonies at :29 seem a bit too dense, with hints of atonality between the pads and other synth harmonies. The progression might need a stronger sense of direction over time, with the melodic content very in-the-chords and the variety in the texture mostly limited to formulaic additions or subtractions of instruments every 4 bars. There also isn’t a lot of structural variety in the piece, with the bass line and minimal drums in the texture for the entire time. Overall, you clearly have a good sense of harmony and rhythm, but the sound design could be a little more original and the composition could have a bit more shape and variety. Keep at it, ZeroDigitZ! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.75/10

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the emotional appeal of the piano and string lines. The samples are of pretty good quality, and there’s a good sense of atmosphere to the piece as well. I’m really enjoying the brass swells at :46, too. While the pace of progression here is a little fast, you do a great job with the storytelling and structural contrast here. The melodic content later in the piece is excellent, and the production quality is very high. I also like how the piece comes full-circle by 2:13 with the emotional piano line. There are a lot of moments where you transition between different sections in the middle of harmonic phrases (like at 2:09), and the composition could be a little more fleshed out on the whole. Besides that, there’s not much to complain about here. Beautiful piece with some killer melodies and a distinct emotional quality. Keep it up, Columbers! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

I like the bass groove at the beginning and the refreshing guitar riffs. The mix is nice and punchy, and the drums give the piece a nice sense of drive despite the relatively thin texture. The piece is a little slow to progress, but the melodic content at :57 is nice. The harmonic content gets a tad repetitive after a while, but I enjoyed the breakdown at 1:55. The drum fill leading into 2:38 was really nice, and the addition of the frantic synth patterns for the final refrain really helps hit the piece home. Overall, nice work with the production quality, sound design, mood, and progression. There could be a tad more depth to the harmonies here, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this track. Keep at it, LTGuitarist! ^_^

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?)
.5/1
Composite score
9/10

LTGuitarist responds:

Thanks for your feedback, glad the elements I was pushing came through. Gutted not to have made it into NGADM this year, but notes taken for future. Appreciate your time given the volume of applications!

I like the relaxed synth chords at the beginning and the airy beat at :30. The mood is really cute and dreamy, although the piece is a little slow to progress. I also think the progression is a bit formulaic, as the texture only seems to change every 4th bar, which gets pretty predictable after a while. You also could’ve gone for a little more contrast and shape with the composition here. The instrumental hierarchy is very similar throughout, and at some point I think you could’ve used an injection of energy or other structural variety to add some emotional appeal. You clearly have a good sense of rhythm, sound design, and harmony, but the arrangement of the track could’ve been more creative here. The sudden ending sounds a bit jarring given the chill mood of the track. The mixing is pretty good, too, although it might’ve been a bit cleaner with some stereo widening on the more atmospheric harmonies. The piece was also missing some lower frequencies throughout. Adding a nice sub-bass or something would’ve really helped fill out the texture and add a sense of drive to an otherwise sleepy and repetitive piece. Still, you had me sold on this one with the quirky instruments and pleasant harmonic content. Keep at it, masterakuma99! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

masterakuma99 responds:

Thanks for the very detailed review!

I like the indistinct bass at the beginning and the gradual influx of tonality leading up to :15. Some of the instruments you introduce by :38 are a bit cheesy, including the drum samples and bright pads, but I like the quirky mood and progression here. The tempo automation at :57 was a fun idea, although the texture is pretty minimal until around 1:33. I’d also like to see you find more interesting ways of creating variety in this piece besides adding or subtracting instruments ritualistically every 4 bars. Such a formulaic way of making the piece progress gets very predictable after a while. It’s also a recipe for some rough transitions, which you have in here, especially later in the piece. I like the melodies at 2:45, though - they help the piece come together well. However, I think the mix might be getting a bit overwhelmed at around that point, as the melodies don’t seem as prominent as they could’ve been. I also wanted to see you do more with the drums in this piece. Still, nice job with the harmonic content, mood, texture, and sound design. Keep at it, bassclefff! :)

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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

I like the catchy synth riffs at the beginning and the cool drum samples. The mix sounds a bit over-saturated and harsh at times. I think some of these instruments might be over-compressed. There also aren’t a lot of mid-range or treble tones in the texture at a lot of times, giving the mix a strangely empty feel despite its being very loud. Perhaps it would help if you used some more mixing effects and atmospheric instruments to fill out the texture. I enjoyed the shake-up in the texture at 2:17, although after a time the harmonic content of the piece gets pretty repetitive, and I wish the density of the harmonies were a little richer. Overall, I like the gritty bass, crisp drums, production quality, and mood, but the composition needs stronger melodic content, more variation, and a thicker texture. Keep at it, hirojusa! :)

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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

I like the bright piano at the beginning. The snare at :11 sounds a bit high-pitched and thin, and the chord progression is very generic. The transition at :45 was a little sudden, but I like the automations and the build-up into 1:07. I wish the piece had some more harmonic variety and stronger melodic content. Most of the harmonic content is very in-the-chords, and the drops don’t add much to the piece in this regard. The sound design is pretty good, although the arrangement, instrumentation, and chord progression in the piece all lack originality. The strongest element of the piece is the production quality - the mix is loud, clear, and well-balanced throughout. That said, I think you need to put some more creative energy into the sound design and harmonic content of your piece. A lot of the compositional themes of the piece come across as bland and cliche. Still, I can tell you’re a talented producer and I hope you’ll keep working on this one. Keep at it, DenisPelmenev! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.75/10

I like the punchy synths at the beginning and the rhythmic content. The drums are very loud, perhaps to the point of being over-compressed, but I like how you vary the texture with the emotional piano solo at :32. The synths at 1:07 sound a tad over-saturated in the mix, clearly dominant of the claps at 1:23, and I also think the progression of the piece is a bit too slow-paced. The drop at 1:53 is nice, although it doesn’t feel like the harmonic content that came before it is part of the same story. The structure of the piece is a bit disjointed, and the spacey atmosphere, minimal texture, and vocal samples at 2:26 reinforce that idea. You begin to overuse the transitions with the sweeps after a while, and the reverb in the texture - especially on the vocal samples at the 3-minute mark - is pretty excessive. The mix is clearly distorted by the reverb at 3:24, in another example. The riffs here are catchy, and each isolated section of the piece sounds good, but the similarity of the drops is certainly a necessary element to give the piece a sense of cohesion. I’ve been enjoying the sound design, production quality, and rhythmic content of this piece, but the arrangement could use some more fluidity and the mix could be a bit more well-balanced here. Keep at it, Gamerthofr26! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

Olindel responds:

Yes! Thank you very much!

I like the strong thematic content at the beginning, but the sound effect of the ice cubes falling in the glass sounds a bit harsh in my ears. Nice job with the quirky synths at :12 and the filtering, though. I think you could’ve used a stronger transition into :22, and the block chords at :22 sound a bit clunky and bottom-heavy. The heavily manipulated synth pads and bird noises at 1:12 add to the cool sound design of the piece, and I like arpeggiated synth pattern at 1:29 too. The rhythmic content at 1:46 is a little too dense, although the melodies are nice there. The riser into 2:35 sounds a tad harsh in my ears, although isolating the bass for an extended period of time at 3:15 was a really unique compositional choice that I really liked. The outro shares the rest of the piece’s cool sound design and bold rhythmic content, although I thought the end came on a bit suddenly. The arrangement of the piece could be more cohesive and fluid at times, and I’ve made my complaints about the treble-range sound effects in the piece clear, but overall this is a really creative track with some awesome sound design, solid production quality, and killer melodies. Keep at it, BIG-PUNCH! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.5/10

I like the relaxing mood at the beginning. The high-pitched chords on the downbeats sound a bit too emphatic given the rest of the texture, and I also thought the sound design could be more polished. The kick at :32 doesn’t do much for me, and I definitely would’ve liked to hear a more prominent rhythm section in this piece given the repetitive harmonic content and slow-paced progression. My main complaint here is how underwhelming the composition is - the texture has very little variation throughout the entire piece, and instead cycles through the same generic chord progression for 4 minutes straight. I think your piece needed to sound much more dynamic than this, my friend. I wanted to hear you add and subtract instruments over time, change up the rhythmic and harmonic content, have different sections with more (or less) energy, and create some more melodic content. Instead, this piece is uber-repetitive and structurally simplistic. Otherwise, the piece isn’t bad. You clearly have a good sense of harmony and atmosphere. Still, it’s hard to assess a lot of my compositional categories here because you just didn’t do much of anything to create variety in your track over time. I hope you’ll keep working on this piece - it has a lot of potential. Keep at it, Pawles22! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
0/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
0/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
4.5/10

pawles22 responds:

I'll consider what you said. Thank you!

The song is technically 2 minutes long, it's just looped. I've already stopped adding these extra loops to my songs though.

I know that this track doesn't have variety, but I actually wanted to keep it simple (my other tracks are probably as simple as this, but here I especially like it). After all, it meant to be a chill, background music (I just couldn't see this variety in this song myself). Maybe it was a bad decision to on my side.

Thanks again!

Hi. I'm Andrew. Audio portal junkie since 2010, supporter since 2017. I always want to improve what I do! I make music, run the NGUAC, post poetry on BBS, and am the all-time #2 audio reviewer. I love this site, and I want to make it the best I can! ^_^

Andrew Mikula @TaintedLogic

Age 26, Male

Policy Research

Bates College

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Joined on 8/16/12

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