TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Music Identified]

---Official AIM review---

Really interesting collage of sound effects at the beginning. It was certainly engaging, but I’m not sure how the ominous electronic whirring sounds at :16 meshed with the dinner party vibe of the background chatter. I think you needed a stronger transition into :23. The synth work is quite impressive there, but the piece doesn’t have much of a strong sense of progression after that point. You simply needed a lot more moving notes to keep my attention after a while. I know you’ve put a lot of effort into the rhythmic elements and details, but without much shape, phrasing, or melodic content, the piece doesn’t fit my criteria very well. There’s clearly a lot of effort put into the mixing and mastering, though. You’re definitely a talented producer, but the composition here is really underwhelming and simply directionless for most of the piece. My favorite elements of the piece are the sound design and production. Keep at it, Quarl!

5/10

Quarl responds:

I usually change my drums up a little in every bar because that's what I tend to focus on the most when I write "moving notes."

Sorry if I'm coming off as defensive. It's not intended, but drum and bass has roots in atonal genres. Nuero funk in particular.

thanks for the input though, it's always good to have an idea of what I should improve upon to try and engage people that just don't vibe with my stuffs.

[endK - Space Lasagna]

Gratz on the first place finish! I like the funky vibe at the beginning and the melodic content shortly thereafter. Your style still reminds me of Johnfn, which can only be a good thing. The transitory fill at :56 was great. I also really like how the bass is really exposed at 1:25. The brass fits into the texture really well, and indeed sounds quite musical with the humanization. There are a lot of different solos throughout the piece, which makes the piece feel like a jazz piece structurally despite the synthetic elements. My main complaint is that some of the elements of the texture didn't quite come through like I wanted them too. The electric bass seems to have a really cool line at around 2:40, but I can't quite pick out the notes with my headphones. This might well be a reflection of my headphones more than anything else, but regardless I the final chorus as an appropriate time to turn up the bass. :) Overall fantastic work, though. A well-deserved first place. Keep it up, EndK!

endKmusic responds:

Hey TL! :D
First of all thanks for the review, really grateful for every review of yours.
1:25 part was actually my favorite, since I introduced another more of a high-mids bass that's stereo separated, and it was more like a game of playful patterns at that point, that's why it sounds exposed I guess.
2:40 part was actually the same as the 0:59 I think oO. Maybe it sounds a little bit more muddy than the other sections cause I left some lows on brass section.
Much luvz once more! <3

[AIM - Calling]

---Official AIM review---

I like the ominous ambient vibes at the beginning. The pacing is really slow, but the warm pads that fade in by around :25 are gorgeous. I like the bright synth at :40 too. Even though it sounds a lot like a Nexus preset, it fits the texture really well. The beat at 1:11 is really creative, and the vocals are a nice touch. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture, but it doesn’t detract from the mix too much. It would be nice if you had filtered a tad bit of treble out of the distorted snares, but overall the frequencies are really well-balanced in this piece. I would’ve liked to hear some stronger melodic content at some point, perhaps at the breakdown at 2:40. It also couldn’t hurt to have a bit more variety on the second refrain. The atmosphere and mood knocked this piece out of the park, though. The pads are absolutely gorgeous during that breakdown, and the stop-start transition at 3:16 works surprisingly well. The exposed vocals at the end are also quite effective as a coda. Overall, really admirable work here. Composition could’ve been a bit more creative, but that’s my only big complaint. Keep up the good work!

8.5/10

[AIM - Signpost Symbole]

---Official AIM review---

I like the beat at the beginning, although the instruments sounded a tad unpolished. The progression is really slow, and I think you needed a smoother transition into :53. The harmonic elements at :53 sound quite dissonant, with the bass line and the melodic riff noticeably clashing. The more atmospheric elements at 1:46 were a good idea, but I think that section suffers from the same problem: too much dissonance. I’d suggest laying out the chords you’re trying to use ahead of time. Even if you don’t know much about music theory, it can be a lot easier to hear these kinds of jarring dissonances when they’re on a generic piano sample than when they’re spread across several different instruments in different octaves. I’m not saying you should actually use a generic piano in your piece, but putting all of the notes in one place in order to construct a harmonic framework is usually a good starting point for identifying what needs fixing. Besides that, I thought the kick was a little weak and the overall texture quite repetitive. I appreciated the increase in intensity at 2:40, but even then the snare sounds a bit indistinct. My favorite element of the piece is definitely the atmosphere - you nailed the creepy mood and sound design. That said, I think you went too far with the clashing notes, my main concern for the piece. Overall, you made some bold choices with the texture here, but only the atmospheric elements paid off imo. Keep at it, Fibr!

5.5/10

[AIM - Jeb's Dusty Halo]

---Official AIM review---

Fun choice with the vibraslap at the beginning. A lot of the instruments at the beginning sound a bit unpolished, though. The bass is very heavy, but also has a lot of high frequencies. The hats/tambourine sound a bit harsh. The riff at :12 has a nice progression, but it doesn’t fit into the rhythmic framework of the piece very well. You also tried to do a bit too much with the snare at :36. A lot of times, you have a call-and-response vibe going on between various elements of the percussion, but it detracts from the more harmonic elements of the piece and comes across as experimental. I think my favorite part of the piece was the re-intro at 1:21, but then the mood completely shifts at 1:28 with the introduction of that smooth-sounding pad. Then, the final minute of the piece has a very similar texture to the first 80 seconds.

I think you haven’t really thought a lot about the overarching sense of direction of the piece. The main riff (first appears at :13) is fun, but without many other harmonies doesn’t really do enough to give you many points for composition imo. I think that’s the main thing I want you to focus on going forward: composition. I’d recommend building your piece off of a melodic idea, ideally one that varies note length more than the main riff here. For most of the piece, you don’t really have a lot of moving notes, and the somewhat arrhythmic nature of the piece doesn’t give the piece a satisfying element of catchiness either.

Usually it’s a good idea to think of the structure of your piece in phrases of 4 or 8 measures. Until you get a better sense of how to slowly shape the texture of a track over time, I’d recommend having your major changes to the texture (i.e., the riff at :13, the percussive work at :23-:24, etc.) fall at more predictable intervals. That way, you’re setting up a framework of expectations and resolve that makes music like this (https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/481572) so satisfying (despite being really repetitive). Right now, the somewhat haphazard nature of the entry of various percussion instruments makes the piece sound a bit jarring sometimes.

There are some good ideas here between the guitar synth riff and the drum fills. It’s mostly the arrangement and composition that are lacking. I’ve given you a lot to think about here. Please PM me if you have any questions.

4/10

[Catharsis Theory]

One of my all-time favorites. The clean production and excellent phrasing more than make up for the repetitive harmonic content. Excellent job with dynamic contrast and creating an overarching sense of direction for the piece. Sound design is also really satisfying, if not anything unique necessarily. Filtering work coming out of the last breakdown (~3:10) is a huge highlight. Mix is loud and clear, despite a lot of reverb in certain places. The post-chorus (4:36, other places) keeps the emotional height active while allowing you to transition effectively to the more mellow parts of the piece. Excellent work overall. I've used this as an exemplary track when I talk to young producers about progression and phrasing, and I will continue to do so. Keep up the great work!

[Urban Expedition]

I like the adventurous vibe at the beginning. The violin solo is beautiful, and the full-section echo at :22 is a nice touch. You have a lot of melodies in this piece, but they all complement each other really well. Tiny detail: I think the triangle/high-pitched percussion you have in there could stand to have a bit more reverb and a little less attack. That'll help make it sound a little smoother and less clunky and dry. Composition is definitely my favorite part of this piece, but the instrumentation is a close second. Pretty rare to find a piece on NG with orchestral samples this good. I guess my main complaint is that the drums were way in the background for the entire piece. Even in an orchestral track, I think the drums should be a bit more up-front in the mix. Despite all the dramatic string swells, the drums are what drives almost any piece forward, and this is no exception. Overall, really strong work. Good luck with your game!

PikmanDude responds:

Thank you for the review! I was definitely trying to recreate a Mario Galaxy-esque vibe from this piece; I feel like the composition was aided by having all my ideas written out before starting to notate, as opposed to improvising the melodies in the notation software. The samples I used in this piece are from Garritan Personal Orchestra 5, which to me is extremely high-quality for the $150 price. I think the high-pitched percussion you were talking about is the crash cymbal, and I may remake the song with a smoother crash sample sometime in the future, in addition to a louder and more dominant snare drum.

Again, thank you for the positive feedback! Looking forward to making more tracks in a similar style to this one, regardless of if I ever finish my game or not

[Monster Crush]

Pretty bizarre texture at the beginning. The ghosty synths I like, but the bass was a little much. It starts feeling like a build-up at around :30, but the texture is still really dissonant until around the 1-minute mark. I also think the synths here sound really harsh, which you might consider fixing by lowering the volume levels or using an equalizer. The texture gets really distorted at around 1:40. I think this may be because the mix is too loud to avoid creating stereo distortion. Vaguely sounds like late-night spacey club material, but it could be a lot more polished. I'd love to see you venture into something more melodic at some point - composition is a bit unexciting after a while. Overall, there are some good ideas here, especially rhythmically and progression-wise, but the production needs to be reigned in a bit. Keep at it, man!

[the brick walls building]

I like the piano riff at the beginning. The panning is really strong at :12, and the mix could be a tad clearer. I like the sound design and the cutesy mood, but I think the mastering needs a lot of work. Throughout the piece, there are these stereo clicks that sound really harsh in my ears. This is probably due to peaking, which means that you need to bring down the volume levels a bit to eliminate distortion in the texture. I also think that the piano riff is too loud vis-à-vis the more melodic instruments, and a lot of the instruments could sound a lot more distinct with some stricter equalization and compression. The composition and atmosphere of the piece are both really refreshing, and the instruments are pretty cool. But the production quality seriously detracts from my enjoyment of the piece. Fix the mixing issues and you're well on your way. Keep at it, man. ;)

benja14xd responds:

1.- Thanks, I enjoy making music for people like you.
2.- Most part of the sound are ripped from my yamaha keyboard
3.- I will fix the "pop" (is a vst that create that "pop" sound)
4.- the sounds aren't equalized (only low pass and hi pass) but i will try to make a good eq.
5.- thanks again.

[Coffee Bubbles]

I like the cute synth riff at the beginning. The reverse crash at :12 seemed a bit uncharacteristically melodramatic, but I like the energy and the beat by around :30. Mix is loud and clear. Texture is still quite thin, and the minimalism of the drop doesn't help solve this problem. Catchy stuff in the drop, but some of the synths could be a tad more polished. The harsh synth at 1:16 sticks out to me as needing a tad more filtering on the treble end. Maybe part of the problem with the thin texture is that the synths sound a little thin themselves. You might try balancing that out by adding some pads or other mid-range elements to the sound design. I also would've liked to hear a little more variety in the second half of the piece. Overall, though, I think my favorite part of the piece is the mood. It's just really blissful and refreshing. I also think the production quality is really high. It's just that the mix is a tad too tight to feel well-balanced and full. Add some more creativity to the composition and variety to the texture and I think this would be a 5-star track. Keep at it, man! ;)

Racc00nto responds:

Thanks a lot! I'll follow your advices! :) <3