TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[[PT] - Midnight (Orchestral Rhumba)]

Beautiful atmosphere at the beginning. Not sure how I feel about the heavy use of panning on the percussion, though. My intuition says that rhythm section - drum and bass - should be front and center in all but the most experimental mixes. Mix could also be a bit louder here. That said, I really like the progression and the soothing vibe of this one. I like how there's a short breakdown at 1:23 or so, like someone pushed the reset button. The rich vocal chords at 1:55 were really nice. Didn't quite feel like the piece was over at the end, though. I'd love to see you flesh out the structure of this a little more, maybe with a more dramatic climax at the end. Still, really flowing cinematic vibes here. I like it a lot!

Passarino responds:

Thank you for the feedback! I agree with the percussion part, I’m not entirely sure why that happened to be honest. And yes, the mix could certainly be louder. I just thought it might seem a bit cloudy if I did so. I’m glad you liked it so much! :) I tried for some cinematic vibes but the ending was abrupt, I agree. I’ll take these things into consideration next time! Thank you!
-PassarinoT

[AIM - Mystical Swamp]

---Official AIM review---

I like the bright piano at the beginning and the vocals in the background. The vocals seemed a bit unpolished, though, and could use some more filtering and maybe flanging work to contribute to the atmosphere. The build-up into :44 was pretty good, although I think there were a few questionable instrument choices there. Those strings sound pretty fake, and that snare isn’t very strong and lacks sounds somewhat hollow. I like the victorious sound of the texture, but I also think the occasional high-pitched string interjections (like at :58) detract from the melody until you get to the somewhat more legato part at 1:01. The mix could use a bit of cleaning up in here, especially with regards to balance of different instruments and stricter equalizing. I like the low-energy section at 1:29 and the emotional appeal of the piano, but I think the transition there could’ve been foreshadowed better. The pause at 2:00 was a somewhat bold compositional choice, but I really like the result. Atmosphere at 2:20 is beautiful, and I like the violin riff at 2:35. The progression works well until 2:50, but I think you could’ve had a fade-in or some filtering there to make the transition a little smoother before the wall of sound at the refrain. I also would’ve liked to see you vary the piece a little more during the second half. The melody at 3:34 was a good start, though. Overall, I think where this piece falls short is in the mixing and the sound design. The refrains could sound a lot more distinct, and I think the melody needs some compression to stay foregrounded. A lot of the instruments sound pretty inauthentic, which is especially noticeable at :44 and 3:34. My favorite parts of the piece included the atmosphere at the beginning and at the breakdown AND the melodic content. Overall, you have a strong compositional foundation, but honing in on some of the production-related elements could really take this piece to the next level. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.25/10

FractureClutter responds:

Thank you for review! I really appreciate it. Your reviews always help me to improve my music :)
Yeah, mixing is still my problem, but I hope to learn it soon. Also I was afraid, that I'll go to far with increasing pitch of snare, so I left it in that way. My fault. And I'll try to get higher quality instruments for my compositions soon. Sometimes I just have to use stock FL plugins. Of course, it's not main problem. Just more work and more practice for me)
By the way, I'm learning in musical school, so it really helps me in my melodies. You have knowledge in compositions, keys and know how exactly will sound one or the another note.
To be honest, I don't really like the second half of the song. First part was written under inspiration. Second one is pretty random and sometimes I just had to put a lot of stuff over melody, because it was terrible, at least in my opinion.
Beginning of the first drop had an idea. That melody part and "Tataaa"you mentioned on :58. It turned out not really good. Neverthelless, it was still pretty intresting compositional element for me. Just like test. As well, that's why it's not used in second drop. From 1:01 it turns better.
Anyway, another thanks for awesome review!

[Aphyllix - Starless]

Progression is pretty cool. Wasn't a huge fan of the sound design, tbh. Sounds like you have a lot of generic presets from Nexus or something. Atmosphere is nice. The synth pattern at :53 kinda comes out of nowhere, and I think you could've had a bit more creative content at the drop, like you hinted at in the description. It's definitely a good start to a piece. I think in order to make it sound more dynamic and interesting, you should break away from the repetitive rhythmic structure. Some more legato melodic content might also help (as opposed to the staccato-y top end synth you have at 1:06). Overall, not bad at all. Some really good ideas here that you just have to flesh out a little more. Keep at it, man. ;)

Aphyllix responds:

Thanks for the feedback, I see what you mean about the sound design, though, it's easily what I need to practice the most. And yeah, it is kinda repetive, honestly, I've always focus more on the initial melody, and just added more or less for progression, so I'm definitely going to try to be a bit more creative though, with the different segments. So thanks. :)