TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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 :)

[The Majician - I am ready]

The busy beat and atmosphere feel like a bit of a strange combo at the beginning, and I think there’s some dissonance between the ambient pads and the synths that fade in at around :18. The drums sound nice and crisp, but the mood conveyed by the texture is a bit confusing. I like the climax into :52, but the string part there felt a little indistinct, further contributing to the bizarre mood of the piece. The mood then changes once again at 1:23, and immediately leaps back to the surreal ambience at 1:52. If you’re going to try to include various moods in your piece, I think you need to combine them in a more nuanced way. It can be really jarring to the listener to hear soothing and ominous sounds (for example) playing at the same time. I think part of the problem is that some of the riffs that are playing at the same time are in different keys. It can be hard to navigate complex harmonic themes without an extensive knowledge of music theory, but until you get more comfortable with layered harmonies I’d suggest making sure that all of the notes playing at once in your texture are in the chords you’re using. Pentatonic scales are usually a great place to start. Sorry if this review is really negative. The sound design of this piece is pretty cool, and it flows well too. Keep at it, TheMajician. :)

6/10

TheMajician responds:

Hey thanks for reviewing! This is my first year making music so I don't know much music theory, i have progressed since this song but I still don't know much. Thanks again!
Austin

[Super Space]

The bass line is catchy, but the instrument at the beginning is really generic. I also wasn’t sure what the place of the static in the texture at :16 was. You have a good sense of harmony, although your synths sound pretty unpolished and dry. I think you need to do some more careful equalizing and also add some reverb. I liked the sense of climax into 1:20, and the drop at 1:24 was pretty enjoyable. However, I think the hi-hat is a little overpowering there - that’s a small detail, though. You could really use some reverb to fill out the texture more, although everything does sit pretty nicely in the mix at 1:24. The re-intro at 2:35 was a good idea, the subsequent climax was pretty dragged-out, lasting nearly 2 minutes. This piece is pretty well-structured and smooth-flowing, although in the future I want you to explore methods of creating variety besides just adding and subtracting instruments. Dynamic contrast, phrasing, and the like will help give your piece more emotional drive and shape. I was also a little thrown off by the climax at the end. I was at least expecting it to loop after that. Including some reverb might also help make that ending work better. Overall, it’s a pretty strong piece. I think the minimalism and sound design are the two most pressing issues I have with it. Otherwise, cool piece. Keep at it, TheFantasticZ. :)

7/10

TheFantasticZ responds:

Thanks :D

And I'll work on that stuff :P

Currently I'm using lmms.