TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Campaign of Intrigue]

I like the mysterious mood at the beginning. The instruments are a bit cheesy, but you did a good job with the harmonizing. I like the gradual sense of climax, even it’s a little slow to develop. I think you could’ve used some drums here to create some drive, though. You have a good sense of rhythm and melody alike. The mix could use a little bit of cleaning up, though. The melody seems to get a little distorted by the bass at around the 2-minute mark. Compositionally, this is a really strong piece, and the loop was solid. I’m seeing a lot of potential here. Keep at it, man!

7.25/10

[Cs - 'Ambistep']

The bell sounds at the beginning were a little harsh-sounding. I’d recommend removing some of those treble frequencies in an equalizer. The drum samples at :35 sound pretty generic, but I like the ambient vibe you’ve created here. The minimalist section from :50 - 1:20 isn’t my favorite, though. It seems like you’ve put in this experimental chord progression where there should be some more melodic content. The pads are clearly distorting the drums throughout the entire middle section of this piece, too. Please look into using an equalizer and compressor; I’m sure there are tons of tutorials on YouTube for using them in whatever DAW you have. Both of these tools will help each instrument in your track sound clear and crisp, and the equalizer may also help with blending. The fade-out ending here came across as pretty lazy, btw, like you gave up on crafting the structure of the latter part of the piece. Overall, I’d strongly suggest creating a piece centered around a stronger melody next time. Here, it seems like you’ve based the harmonies entirely on the chords - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the melody should really be priority number 1. When you feel like you’ve written a piece with a strong, memorable melody AND you start using equalizers/compressors to your advantage, PM me. I’ll give the track a listen. Good luck!

4/10

Csucskos responds:

Ohh man. You are killing me.
(Since this is the NG Audio Death Match it is OK. :D)

[Sun Beats Down]

Right off the bat, I’m not a huge fan of how that drum loop stops and starts. Not only does it wreck the flow that a drum beat is supposed to create, it also sounds really unnatural. The vocal samples at :12 sounded cool, but by around :24 the character of the piece changes greatly with the implementation of those warm strings. Then, you abruptly change back to the style of the intro, with the drum samples and another guitar. The mood of this piece is pretty cool, but the mix needs a lot of cleaning up. The piece just sounds muddy and distorted throughout. I’d suggest looking into a process called equalization to help solve this (searching for an “Equalizer” in your DAW is a great way to start). The woodwind solo at 1:43 also comes out of nowhere. You seriously need to consider how to create smoother transitions, in addition to more coherence in your tracks. The end of the piece doesn’t feel conclusive at all, and the piece has very little melodic content. Sorry this review has been so negative, but it has serious compositional and mastering flaws. Instead of making a piece that has a number of ideas that are expressed in succession (the guitar/strong beat sections, the sultry woodwind solos, the warm strings, the distorted vocal samples), I want you to try to create a texture that’s able to build off of previous ideas you’ve expressed in a way that gives the piece some direction. This will probably involve making a piece that’s pretty repetitive when you first try doing it, but without this model a track often sounds incoherent and jarring to the listener, and this piece is no exception. When you feel like you’ve made a piece that’s both coherent and smooth-flowing, PM me. I’ll give it a listen. Keep at it!

3.5/10

[-586rick- Overdrive Ostrich]

I like the intensity and drive. I think the mix could use a little cleaning up. The kick is clearly fighting for attention, and the snare could be a lot stronger. It’s possible that you’ve also used a bit too much reverb, but I think you should focus on doing some more care equalizing and compression. The texture is full throughout, but it isn’t varied much at all, which is a problem. I also wouldn’t consider this a structurally complete piece. It has a lot of good ideas, and you have a great sense of harmony and progression, but I’m not seeing much in the way of phrasing or development that defines a complete piece. The notes and patterns themselves change, but not the instrumentation, dynamics, energy, etc.. Going forward, I’d strongly suggest focusing on varying the character of your piece more through the addition of new instruments, changing the dynamics, and creating more drive with the drums. If you did that more here, this could’ve been a really strong piece. Keep at it, man!

5.5/10

586rick responds:

Thanks for your constructive review, For now I just remake them so I understand its not really dynamic, but I want someday to be able to remix all my remakes in my way so it could be unique in its on way.

Thanks again to let me have a chance for this competition.
Cheers
586rick

[Route]

The synths are a little cheesy and generic, but I like the addition of the harp. It actually meshes really well with the smooth 8-bit vibe of the piece. I’m also really enjoying the percussion at around :50. The minimalism gets old after awhile, though. I think you needed some more fill between :50 and 2:00 - pads, mid-range harmonies, or maybe some hi-hats or toms to add some punch to the percussion. Compositionally, this piece is actually pretty strong. You have a good sense of melody and harmony, but the texture lacks fill. I want to see you use the entire frequency range to your advantage at most (if not all) times in the future. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. I didn’t hear any particular problems with the mixing or mastering, so that’s a huge plus.

7/10

Zechnition responds:

Thanks for the review! I didn't know I was progressing so much with my mixing.

[Legionella]

I’m liking the chill vibes at the beginning. At :12, it seems like the piano should be in front of that high-pitched synth a little more. I’d readjust the volume levels accordingly if I were you. By :36, the texture has a dark, quirky vibe, like something out of a cheesy zombie-related flash game. By 1:00, it’s back to a pensive, brighter feel. It seems like the mood changes pretty quickly at several points without ever giving off a sense of direction. I enjoyed the melody at 1:45 a lot. I think my favorite part of this piece is the sound design. The drums could’ve been a lot more creative, though, and the kick is pretty weak. You probably need a new sample there, or at the very least some compression and stereo widening. The ending felt a little rushed, but overall the mood and atmosphere here are great. This piece has a bit of a wonky structure that doesn’t have a clear refrain or emotional height from what I can tell. This is where uniqueness really helps you, though. The instruments seem of very different strains - the stereo guitar, the ominous bass synths and pads, the string samples - yet they mesh together very well. You took some serious risks with this piece, and at the end of the day they paid off. Well done.

8/10

[Rex: Origins Rap]

This is a fun and catchy piece, but I don’t consider it structurally complete. Cool use of sound design, and the rapping was also quite enjoyable. The lyrics came through very clearly despite the fast pace of the song. You pull off the texture quite well here, and you clearly displayed a great sense of rhythm. I was really torn between giving you a 3 and a 7; in the future, I really want to see you flesh out your work and also take it a little more seriously. The arrangement is seriously lacking, and the piece is pretty unpolished. You clearly have a lot of talent, though. Comedic pieces are usually frowned upon in the NGADM, and the addition of the kazoo doesn’t really help your case there. I’m going to help you out here score-wise, but I wouldn’t expect any compassion from the other judges if I were you. Keep at it, man!

7/10

Kwing responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Keep in mind I did everything here - the kazoo, the throat singing, the beatboxing, the layering, the writing, the rapping, and the mastering - all during a 42 hour Game Jam while I was programming and animating the game that this came from. Game Jams are notoriously unpolished and what you're listening to is one of the aspects that I really couldn't afford to put more work into.

I decided to submit this to the Audio Deathmatch because it has absolutely zero samples that I don't own, since I made the beat completely from scratch. Not sure if I would have had a better chance submitting something using someone else's beat.

[(Chillstep) Purple Leaves]

I like the emotional piano and the mechanical-sounding static in the background. It’s a little slow to progress, but the atmosphere is great. I like the drop a lot, too. The synth bass is very gritty, but the bright piano and distorted saxophone layered on top add this awesome quirkiness that really keeps the piece engaging. The piano bridge that follows the drop is great, too, adding a lot of space to contrast the busy drop. The saxophone melody at the 3-minute mark works well add finality to the piece. Really admirable work here, man. It’s well-structured and smooth-flowing. Awesome mood and full texture throughout. I don’t hear any problems with the mixing either. If I had to complain about one thing, it’s that the ending seemed a bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the piece. Still, this track tells me you’re serious about this competition and geared up for the long haul. Keep it up, dude!

9.5/10

5TanLey responds:

wow, I expected all kinds of thing but not 9.5/10, many thanks :)