TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mi Pasion]

I like piano at the beginning, although I think it could use some more reverb. The brass at :12 sounds pretty inauthentic, especially in the higher register. You clearly have a good sense of rhythm and harmony, though, and I liked the piano interlude at 1:32. I think the piece could sound a lot more varied in terms of energy and dynamics. At the same time, the structural elements of the texture were pretty variational, with not many repeating sections or themes woven throughout the piece. The composition is strong here overall, but unfortunately the cheap brass samples detracted from my enjoyment of it. Keep at it, AzulJazz! :)

8.5/10

AzulJazz responds:

Thanks a lot

[Last Will]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The bells have a few too many treble tones IMO - sounded a bit harsh in the higher register there. I like the sense of climax into :44. The filtering and panning at :48 was really interesting - cool transition there. That said, the pacing of this piece is really fast, with several stop-start transitory moments instead of phrasing and subtle instrumental changes. The melodic content here is enjoyable. I especially like the ones at 1:38. The mix is crisp and clear throughout. The breakdown at 2:38 worked well. I like the gradual sense of climax into 2:58. I suppose I would’ve liked to see you do a little more with the section at 3:44, especially since it’s repeated content and this is a fairly long piece. Perhaps some melodic development would help here. Overall, this is a really strong piece, though. I like the atmosphere and instrumentation a lot. Keep it up, NahuPyrope! :)

9/10

[Alien world]

I like the harmonies at the beginning. The choir sample sounds a little generic, but there's a much bigger problem at :11: this track is peaking...a lot.

Hear the crackling sound? That means the volume of the track was too loud when you exported it, and the result is a form of distortion (called peaking or clipping) that's notorious in the music production realm. You can fix this by turning down the volume on the master channel (or of specific instruments) until the track no longer peaks. How can you tell that a track is peaking? Several ways: if you're recording an instrument, the waveform should look flat and thick at the top, meaning the output signal has maxed out the power it can deliver. Also, many digital audio workstations come with a "peak meter" which monitors peaking, and will turn red whenever this distortion comes up in a playback. I highly recommend that you find out how to access a peak meter in whatever DAW you use, and then listen to your track at least one time through before you upload it, keeping your eyes glued to the peak meter.

So...why don't you fix the peaking problems in this piece and then reupload it? PM me again when you do, and I'll PM you back some more feedback on how to fix what I see as other problems in this piece. Sound good? Awesome!

Looking forward to hearing the cleaner, less distorted results. :)

[Parts of a Whole]

I like the ambience at the beginning. The vocals were interesting, but the entrance at :18 threw me off a bit - it was a sudden entry, and took the mood of the piece in a very different direction. The texture is very experimental here, which is not a bad thing, but the mix could be a bit cleaner to really expose the cool nuances in the sound design you have going on here. I often find that vocals like this play a better role as atmosphere instead of front-and-center content (which is how you use them here). They're also a little dry - I might invest in some reverb, even if that'll make the mastering process more of an uphill battle. My main problem with the piece is that it doesn't have a lot of spacing and variety in energy/texture. There are long sections of this piece (:42-2:11, 2:40-4:15) in which the texture doesn't change much at all, and there's little sense of overarching direction, melodic content, or phrasing. Still, the instrumentation and moods here are both quite enjoyable, and I commend the risks you took with the composition despite my critiques. This is a fair bit stronger than the last piece I reviewed. ;)

[Ode To a Friend]

I like the reverb and the little ornaments (like at :15). The melodies are beautiful, and I like the sense of progression too. This is what I was talking about with the lack of humanization, though - this piece sounds like you used a DAW to create it, even though the sample is pretty good. Incorporating some subtle variations in the tempo, note lengths, and the volume levels of individual notes will make this piece sound like it was played live, which is what I think you want with a piano solo. Also, don't be afraid to deliberately make some entire sections quieter or slower than others - emotional appeal is really important in pieces like this, and spacing things out a bit will help with that. Good luck! ;)

DJ-DG responds:

I actually did humanise it quite a bit... maybe it just didn't get through well...
Glad you like the melody and overall tune though!
And thanks for the review mate, really appreciate it!
-DJ-DG

[Dark Nights with City Lights]

The synths at the beginning are a little harsh-sounding and repetitive, and many of the other instruments sound generic, dry, and unpolished. The piece seems to be heading in a very different direction at 1:06 with the introduction of that bass riff. This piece has a lot of minimalism and dissonance, and overall not much melodic content at all. The sound design seems a bit arbitrary, and the structure is much too convoluted to keep the listener grounded. In the future, I’d highly recommend structuring your piece around a stronger melody. Your piece also needs a little more shape and structural coherence. Once you feel like you’ve done this, please PM me and I’ll leave you another review. Don’t be discouraged! You have a good sense of harmony, and your piece is fairly catchy. I think you went a little too experimental on this one, though. Keep at it, Vendros! :)

4.25/10

vendros responds:

I remember making this about 2 years ago and it was my best work then. I revisited my old tracks this year and have noticed most weren't mixed properly including this track which is why I stopped posting tracks. I completely agree with your review and will stick to your advice. Hopefully I might remaster these old tracks and expect new ones soon.
Thank you for the review ! :)

[Page, the Original]

The frantic texture at the beginning was a bit too busy IMO. I think you need a stronger introduction - ideally something that doesn’t just throw the listener right into the action. You also overuse the crashes a bit. In general, the mix feels a bit strained in this piece. I think you need some more careful equalization to clean that up, especially in the lower and treble registers. The drums in particular could be a lot more distinct. Also, the bass solo at 1:53 completely distorts the rest of the mix. The piece doesn’t have a lot of strong melodic content, either, and sounds frantically energetic throughout. I’d like to see you vary the energy and dynamic levels more throughout this piece. That’ll help keep the listener grounded in the structure. Overall, it’s not a bad track for a videogame. I like the mood and sound design, but elements of the mixing and arrangement need some serious work to make it as a stand-alone piece. I’d highly recommend looking into using two mixing tools in particular called equalizers and compressors. I’m sure you can easily look up where to find one in whatever DAW you use. They’ll both help make your track sound a lot cleaner and limit distortion due to interfering frequencies. Keep at it, Yeelp. :)

4.5/10

[Blessing Ear]

I like the cute riff at the beginning. The instrument that’s playing it sounds really thin, dry, and harsh, though. I’d suggest using an equalizer to eliminate some of the treble frequencies, and then give it some reverb. You clearly have a good sense of harmony. The brass instruments sound pretty inauthentic, and I think it would’ve been useful to include some drums in the piece to give it some energy and drive and help smooth over the transitions. The piece is also missing some low frequencies, and could potentially sound a lot richer with a bass or kick drum. Overall, the mood and harmonies are really enjoyable, and the piece is pretty well-structured and catchy. You seem to want some more help with mixing in the description for the song. Adding reverb and equalization at the very least is a good place to start. Compression is most commonly used for drums. No matter which DAW you use, I’m sure you can find somewhere online that tells you where to access these tools in your production software. As a priority, I’d suggest eliminating the low frequencies in every instrument except the bass and kick, but this makes the biggest different when you have a bass and kick in there in the first place. :)  Good luck, man! The composition is already strong. The sound design and mixing are my biggest concerns here. Keep at it, Zyg0te. ;)

7.25/10

P.S.: This is my 2,000th audio review on Newgrounds. :O

Zygotimus responds:

Very specific, very helpful, THANK YOU!!

[Under the Blood Moon]

The percussion at the beginning is interesting. The piece is a little slow to develop, though, but I like the synths and ominous mood. You really took the piece in a different direction starting at 1:39, which at first was a little jarring, but I see how it fits into the motifs of the piece shortly after. The drop at 2:32 was cool, and the melodies there, while repetitive, had a cool, quirky mood about them. I think the kick is a little weak, though, and might need a little more compression. Overall, the mixing is really clean though. The transition at 3:16 is also a little sudden. I did appreciate the variation in the harmonies at the second drop at 4:30. You wound down the energy well at the end. This is a well-structured and pretty smooth-flowing piece overall, and I especially like the sound design and mastering. Keep up the good work, Vdragonb! :)

8.75/10

Vdragonb responds:

Thanks :)