TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Indiana Team]

I like the victorious vibe and sound design, even if some of the samples were a little cheesy and inauthentic. The melodic content is nice, and the mix seems pretty sharp and well-balanced. I might’ve wanted the drums to come through the texture a bit crisper, but otherwise the production quality is solid. Unfortunately, you really missed out on some points in the composition category because I have no way of assessing your ability to make smooth transitions, create a sense of harmonic progression or melodic development over time, or any number of other structural and arrangement-related considerations. Flesh out the composition some more, and this could be a really solid piece. For this music competition, I expect full-length tracks that really tell a story in order to maximize their emotional appeal. This piece, while certainly not bad for its 23 seconds, sounds more like the theme song for a children’s animated TV show. Cute, fun, and well-produced, sure, but not the most provocative piece in terms of composition and variety. Sorry, man. I hope you understand that, in a competitive atmosphere where most musicians are making full-length tracks, this short melodic phrase just doesn’t make the cut. Good luck with your future projects, CzySzy. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
0/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.25/10

[Sacrifice]

I like the creepy bells at the beginning and cool pulsing pattern of the pads. The atmosphere of this song is really cool, and the gradual increase in the pacing of the song through :58 is really nice. The hard-hitting section at 1:04 was nice, too, albeit a little over-compressed. I also wanted to hear some more high-frequency tones to balance out the texture. This piece has a great atmosphere, sound design, and mood, but it’s also missing a lot of the compositional attributes I generally look for in a piece: harmonic variety, strong melodic content, etc. I think the somewhat more minimal nature of the second drop at 2:42 is actually fitting for this piece, but I think you still needed something more to hit this home - whether that was a gorgeous atmospheric section or another heavy drop. I lose the sense of storytelling in this piece a little towards the end. Overall, I like the production quality, instrumentation, and atmosphere a lot, and I think a lot of the sound design and rhythmic content is really unique and interesting. That said, I wanted you to add a little more complexity to the harmonic content here, including some more variety in the structural content. Keep at it, Pulvite! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8/10

[No Rush]

I like the quirky pads at the beginning and the chord progression. The synth at :09 is nice, too, although I think the kick at :20 has way too much treble in the equalizer and reverb in general. Do you notice how the rest of the texture gets really quiet and distorted at 1:35 during the kick rolls? You can fix that with some more mixing tools, especially compression for the kick, tighter filtering work, and maybe some stereo widening on the pads if you’re feeling ambitious. The texture comes together well at :43, but at this point the sloppy mixing is even more apparent by the distorted drums and overly saturated texture. I’d suggest cutting way back on the reverb, especially on the synths, and compressing the drums a lot more to make them sound sharper. The composition is pretty good - a little underwhelming and repetitive - but my main concern here is the mixing. Still, I like the sound design, atmosphere, and rhythmic content of this one. Keep at it, Juliobee! :)

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

juliobee responds:

Thanks for the feedback! this was kind of one of my old pieces so there isn't too much synth variety and customised design, but thanks for the feedback!

[Snapski - Tribu]

I like the cute synths at the beginning and the atmospheric pads. I think the lead synths and the synth that comes in at :15 get in each other’s way a bit rhythmically, but by :30 I’m loving the cool chopped vocals and sense of build into :45. The pulsing bass and reverb at the drop is really nice, although I think you could’ve done a bit more with the drums throughout this piece. Most of the time, it was a pretty generic house beat with some transitional content (i.e., 1:31) in between. That said, the bridge at 1:47 was pretty refreshing and had a distinct rhythmic appeal after 2:02. The chord progression here is also pretty generic, although I think the sound design still gives you some points for originality. The section at 2:49 wasn’t quite the epic climax to an already-energetic piece that I was hoping for, but the catchy riffs and well-balanced texture there certainly still sounded smooth. Overall, this is solid work. The production and instrumentation are probably my favorite elements of the piece, and the melodic content (while not quite as frequent as I would’ve liked) wasn’t far behind. Keep up the good work, SnapskiMusic! ^_^

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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[F-777 - Flower Bazooka]

I like the bright synths and filtering at the beginning. The crashes sounded a little too heavy to me, and there were elements of the mix that seemed a bit over-compressed, but I’m liking the sense of build into :44 and the blissful melodies. The post-chorus at 1:07 is also really nice. The chord progression is pretty generic, although the energy, melodies, and fun sound design help keep things interesting. Once again, you did a good job with the build-up to the drop at 2:34, although I wish there was a bit more variation in the main melodies there the second time around. I also liked the rhythmic content during the outro. Overall, strong work with the melodies, sound design, production, and atmosphere. I would’ve appreciated a little more variety and originality in the harmonies in arrangement, but at the end of the day there’s a good reason why you’re one of the most well-respected musicians on Newgrounds. Keep up the good work, F-777! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

F-777 responds:

This has got to be the best most accurate review iv ever received.
Thank you so much for your time! I will take these notes :DD.
(and awwwww thank you for the Newgrounds musician comment. But i do give credit to just being on this site for so long XD)

Stay awesome!!!

[In the Dumps]

I like the emotional strings and harp at the beginning. The samples aren’t the most authentic, but the melodies are beautiful and the harp keeps the beat well. I like the progression and harmonies, too. The mix is a little quiet. I think you could’ve had a little more compression. The sudden dynamics shift at 1:20 was a little jarring, and the woodwind solo at 1:27 completely dominates the texture over harp. I also think the piece could’ve used some more percussion at times to give the piece a stronger sense of drive. The change in meter at 2:40 was a great idea - super fun compositional approach here. There’s another sudden transition at 3:12, although I like the volume level changes at around 3:35 onwards. The piece comes together well during the last refrain at the 4-minute mark, and I thought the pause at 4:11 actually worked well there. I think this piece could use a stronger sense of atmosphere at times, with a tad more reverb and other mixing tools probably being advisable. Overall, the composition here is really strong, despite my complaints about the transitions, and the most important thing you need to improve this piece is higher-quality samples. Keep at it, TheWeathermanYT! :)

P.S.: Sorry you feel kinda sad. Please PM me if you need someone to talk to.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

[A Bright Sunday Drive]

I like the cute synths and atmosphere at the beginning. The beat is also pretty catchy. I think the panning is a little overdone, though. The mix sounds very wide, to the point that the pads at the beginning are a little harsh in my ears. Some of the transitions here are pretty sudden, like at :54 and 1:14. I really like the dreamy vibe and sound design overall. I think you needed a little more melodic content and prominent foregrounded material. Right now, the atmosphere is nice, but there’s not a lot of dynamism in the texture. The over-panned pads also come back towards the end, which might’ve been a nice thematic touch as a full-circle sort of deal, but I’ve already mentioned the concerns I have with how they’re mixed. Overall, solid work with the instrumentation, soothing mood, and balance of the texture. The best thing you could do for this piece to increase your score is flesh out the composition more. Keep at it, TheDoubleOne! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
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
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.25/10

[Un-scouted beginning revised]

I like the cute melodies at the beginning and the sound design, even if it is a little cheesy. The drums could’ve been mixed a bit louder here, although the big bass drum at :30 seems a little heavy for the overall tone of the piece. Some of the transitions in this piece are pretty sudden, notably 1:00, 1:28, and 1:04. My main problem here is that the structure is pretty flat. The energy level is a near-constant in this piece. I would’ve liked to hear either an atmospheric bridge/breakdown or a climactic section with some new melodic content at some point. Still, the mood, instruments, and melodies here are really nice. Keep at it, Tebyricat! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Arise and Fight]

I like the warm strings at the beginning. I think there are more creative ways of beginning a piece than that subtle fade-in, but at least it fits the character of the track here. The piece is also a little slow to progress, but I like the vocals at :36 and the sense of climax into 1:05. The horns were a nice touch, too, and the increased energy at 1:10 was really nice. You left a lot of space for contrast here, which is nice. The bell sample at 1:22 sounds a bit clunky. Perhaps it could be equalized or modified differently to remove some of the jittery “aftertaste” it has? That said, I like the brass melodies at 1:41 a lot, although I would’ve preferred a more gradual build into a climactic section like that. There’s a great feeling of catharsis when the strings come in at 2:15, and overall the composition here comes together really well. During the last section, I wish the string harmonies came through the mix a bit better, but overall the production quality is solid here as well. Nice job with maximizing the emotional quality of this piece, AceMantra! I think the sound design and inspiring mood here are my favorite elements of it. Keep up the good work. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
9.25/10

AceMantra responds:

Hey, thank you so much for the in depth review! I know you had a lot to cover and still more to come.

Cheers!

[exist love?]

I like the furtive ambiance at the beginning. The synth at :17 sounds a little unpolished and cheesy, and the kick drum at :34 is way too loud, to the point that it severely distorts the mix. Do you hear how indistinct the other instruments sound during the rolls at :44? You can fix that by reining in the volume levels (turn down the knobs on the kick), and by using limiters/compressors to take some of the distortion off. Otherwise, the composition is bland and minimal, and the piece lacks a sense of overarching shape. Most of the variation in the texture comes from adding and subtracting instruments, which is a pretty remedial way of creating variety (more advanced ways: volume changes, automation, filtering, phrasing, etc.). That said, I liked the added atmospheric synth during the last part with the beat. I think you clearly have a good idea of how to create moods and harmonies, but unfortunately you don’t really capitalize on those talents with the bland composition here. Overall, it’s a catchy piece with some cool sound design and atmosphere, but it needed a little more depth to the harmonies to keep me engaged. Keep at it, paulinhudj! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
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
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
4/10