TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Twitterpated]

Wow, you weren't kidding about trying dubstep! Good for you! I like the soothing tone in the beginning. Reminds me of sunrises on the ocean. ^^ Naturally, then the texture gets a bit more hard-hitting, but I'm not sure this qualifies as dubstep, exactly. It certainly has some of the edgy and distorted qualities associated with dubstep, but the instrumentation seems much more typical of rock, and the drum samples are more reminiscent of hip-hop IMO. For me, the most distinctly "dubstep" sound design involves a heavy contrast between the kick and the snare, with a prominent mid-range electronic bass with some LFO automations. That said, this is a beautifully composed, well-structured and smooth-flowing piece with an excellent variety of moods, and has instantly gone on my favorites list...but I don't think it qualifies as dubstep. ;) Sorry to be that guy telling other people what genre their productions fall under. XD Keep it up, Ceevro. ^^

Ceevro responds:

Hehe...I don't think it qualifies either, which is why I kinda noted the homage to hair-bands in the description. But it's also not 80s rock, either. All I know is that the synth sounds came from the 'dubstep' file of my sound library, and I'll admit that I mixed the percs between electric and hiphop.

Not sure how I'd classify this. But that's always a pain in the ass, isn't it? I just played what sounded right.

[-Space Ghost-]

I like the quirky instruments and frantic harmonies. The effects at :17 really drown out the harmonies, though. I was also confused when you brought back those same harmonies after the transition at :24. It detracted from the sense of direction the piece had IMO. You also lack a strong transition into the drop at :29. The bass instrument at :29 is also too muddy for my tastes. I think you should try using equalization to restrict its frequency range a bit, because it's clearly distorting the harmonies that come back in at :41. I also think you should add some drums - that should help give the piece more direction too. You also lack a transition into 1:03, and after that the piece is extremely repetitive, and I think you overdid the reverb on the percussion later in the piece. The track cuts off very suddenly, too. I think my main concerns with this piece are the transitions and the sound design. I would suggest using drum riffs or crashes to prime the listener that a transition is coming. Also, I know muddy and distorted basses are in fashion, but they can sound a lot cleaner and more distinct (without interfering with the frequencies in other instruments) through a process called mixing and mastering. I would suggest looking up "equalization" tutorials on YouTube. One of the major ways of making your song sound clearer is to get rid of the bass frequencies (200 Hertz or below) in all of the instruments except the bass and kick drum. Hope this helped! Keep working at it, man. ;)

jpingo responds:

Thanks for the feedback! check out my new songs and a few of my older ones if you can, I would really appreciate reviews on them : ) and besides this one is one of my worst ; )

[Anime savage]

I like the somewhat melancholy mood and the sense of continuity this has. I think the drums are a little weak, though. Usually the snare should be the loudest instrument in the mix. Perhaps this is a mixing and/or mastering problem, though. I'd suggest looking up tutorials on equalization, panning, and compression. They'll really help you get a clear and crisp sound in your tracks. You also lack strong transitions into :29, :43, and other places. Even a simple drum fill or crash would help prime the listener that you're making a transition. I like the hard-hitting vibes at :29, though, and how you contrast that with the more sensual, emotional appeal of the last minute or so of the piece. At the same time, the distorted drums at 1:31 felt a little out-of-place. Overall, though, this is a well-structured piece with some cool sound design. Keep at it, man. ;)

Alyctro responds:

The problem is it's an old project i didn't attent to because i had it saved only in mp3

[Simple Test]

I like the reverb and melodies at the beginning. Nice job with the sidechaining at :30. The piece has a pretty cool progression, but I wish you would've varied the melody more later on. I think you could've done many more creative things (rhythmically) with the drums, and in general some rhythmic variety is lacking in this piece. I understand that this is just a "simple test," but I'd love to see you aim for more harmonic depth in the future. Keep at it, my friend. :)

[Random Loop]

The loop isn't that smooth, and you kinda spam the snare, especially at :01. It's way too short to get any sense of progression, and personally I question the musical appeal of a loop this short. At the very least, I'd suggest making sure the loop occurs at the end of a measure. That usually makes it sound smoother. It could also be that you don't have the file settings on "wrap remainder," which will appear when you export it. Keep at it, man!

RealToxic responds:

Thank you for the review! I know it's not great, its my 3rd loop i made in FL Studio 11, so its not perfect but i hope to get better at making loops soon!
~ Toxic

[Integrity]

I like the punchy drums and cute videogame-esque riff at :06. It has a bit of an odd progression and there are quite a few moments of dissonance, but you have me captivated with the quirky mood and atmosphere. What bothers me about the structure is that it doesn't really build on itself as the piece goes on, and reads more as a collection of ideas delivered in rapid succession. I appreciated the moment where you stripped away the drums at 1:33 to offer some structural relief, but it still seems pretty repetitive by the end. Still, this is a catchy and cool piece that seems fitting for a fast-paced video game or something. Keep up the good work, man! ;)

MalcolmTurnbull responds:

That's so nice of you to say that, thanks for ur time citizen of whatever country come visit me at the embassy

[Skhug Smoothie]

I love the funky, reverberated instruments. It has a bit of a fast pace for my tastes, though. You essentially use stop-start transitions to connect the sections at :11, :16, :21, :31, etc. and it's just too jarring for me. The sound design and mixing/mastering are great, and it might still be fitting for a video game that involves traversing between lots of different rooms/worlds. Still, the pacing of it is distracting and overwhelming. I think you're just trying to cram too many different themes into one here. Also, despite the variety, the predictability of the stop-start transitions and repetitive rhythmic elements gives it a dull sense of continuity all the same, perhaps with the exception of the last minute or so. I know you're a talented composer, Zip, but this just didn't come together for me structurally. Sorry! Looking forward to hearing your future work. ;)

[Medieval Electronic]

I like the melody at the beginning, but it sounds a little dry. I think you should add some more reverb. The chord at :18 is both too loud and rather dissonant. The bass riff at :36 definitely overpowers the celtic melody. I think you need to think more carefully about how you balance the volumes among different instruments. The transitory material in this piece is pretty cool, though, like the crash/sweep combo at 1:36. I wish you had varied the celtic melody towards the end of the piece a little more. Also, the guitar riff at 2:11 pretty much comes out of nowhere. Usually it's pretty jarring to introduce new instruments into a piece during the last 30 seconds, and this is not exception. Overall, this piece has a unique sound design and some cool melodies. I think you need to be more careful about how the different riffs connect harmonically, though. Keep at it, man. ;)

EatMyDonkey responds:

Thanks man! Love the feedback, I'll look to fixing those things. For the part at :36 was supposed to be bass driven while the Celtic melody is in the background.

Anyways,
Have a good day :)