TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Friends Party]

It seemed very minimalistic in the beginning, but it was very climactic. I'm not sure I liked how distorted and repetitive it was. It progresses really slowly, and doesn't really have a recognizable structure IMO. The repetitive synth lines almost get annoying after a while, and the vocal samples really didn't add much IMO. I actually really liked what you did with those filters at around 2:52 and onward, though. It added necessary relief to the relative madness of the first 2 minutes or so. This middle part is very minimalistic, but I think it's my favorite part of the piece. I must compliment you, also, on the way you communicated the mood in this one. I can imagine exactly what this party would be like. The part at 4:37 with the stops wasn't bad. It added an interesting and even humorous sort of relief to the piece as well. It is very repetitive, though, and doesn't need to be 5.5 minutes long. The ending was lazy IMO, and I think you need to tweak the structure a bit so that it has more of a direction to it (besides when you have the build-ups going on). It's catchy, and I liked the synths you used. You just have to offer a bit more contrast to the madness in more creative ways. I think it has potential, but please consider 1. cutting down the length, 2. making it less busy and harsh-sounding and 3. thinking more about the DIRECTION the piece is going in. It's entertaining, at least. Keep at it, Athanatos. ;)

[Hornet]

I like the robotic-sounding synths and beats. It's catchy, but also relaxing for at least the first minute or so. It progresses rather slowly, and is quite minimalistic/simplistic. I would've liked to see a bit more fill at times. I liked the climactic nature of it into 1:59. The drop was pretty cool. I'm personally a fan of the "storm before the calm" approach. ;) The "whirring" effect at 2:32 was nice. I think you overused the portamento effect on the pads at around 3:20, though. It's an interesting piece, but my main problem with it is that it doesn't really do a lot with harmonies: that's an area you could use to really take this piece to the next level. It also really didn't need to be 6 minutes long, as it struggled to keep my attention for that long given the repetition/minimalism. The ending could've been more creative, too. I think this would've made a nice loop, though. Also, more dynamic contrast would've been appreciated. The mixing wasn't that bad, but it's hard to mess up mixing when you have so little instruments playing at once. I've been very tough on you in this review, though. It's a catchy piece with some cool synths and effects, smooth-flowing and well-structured. I also really enjoyed the rather ominous and apprehensive mood throughout. I'll give you that much. Keep at it, man! ;D

7.5/10

aCreator responds:

Thank you very much for this Review! And I also want to thank you for making such a contest possible! :)
I was also taught by somebody else that this song lacked in harmonies. So I'm really happy that somebody else also thinks so.
I think one reason why it is so minimalistic is because I first had the drop and then I tried to "quickly" make something that fits around this drop and that rarely ends well ^^. There's also the fact that when you work long hours on piece that at some time everything you do will sound ok. Now I also think that this track is way to long and minimalistic...
And finally yes... Mixing is really something I have to work more on. It's something really important and I don't pay enough attention to it. Thanks for reminding me of that!
And I will keep at it!!!

[Dark light]

I like the progression and simplicity. That guitar at :36 sounds a little harsh, though. It also sounds a bit muddy with the strings in the background. Once you learn more about mixing and mastering, that'll be fixed. Try bringing out different pitches in some instruments more than others in the Parametric EQ (press F9 in FL Studio. Right click one of the inserts > link selected channels > to this track. An instrument should show up (it's highlighted in the Step Sequencer). Then, on the right-hand side of the window, click the drop-down arrow next to the numbered tabs, then click "Parametric EQ 2." You're welcome.) You should also get rid of all the tones below 200 hertz. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just PM me, btw. Also, I think there were some slight balance issues. For example, I thought the beat at :55 was a little too loud, and overshadowed the rather impressive melodic content a bit. Overall, though, I'm extremely impressed with the structuring, transitions, and harmonies. The ending bothered me a bit, though - it just cut off so suddenly. I think it works very well as a loop, though. For your first time, this is a fantastic piece, though. Do you know how bad my first piece was?! Keep up the good work! :D

7.5/10

0661 responds:

Hey man thanks for your rewiew ! I'm realy amazed how everyone is so positive in this community :D
Thank you for your advice about linkinkg channels and EQ2 it helped a lot already, tried to play with it and it sounds better indeed. I just have a slight problem since I use headphones, and believe those are not a real representation of how songs sound like through speakers. but hey payday is getting near xD
I am glad you liked it,constructively criticised,helped a lot and took time to write this reweiw.Hope I'll pass through the next round *fingers crossed* :D

Best regards from Croatia,
Ozren

[Midnight]

I like the synths and filters. It's definitely very climactic and catchy. The beat is cool, and I liked it when that melody came in at :42. That groove at 1:25 is pretty cool...very bass-y and catchy, if a little minimalistic. It's a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece with a healthy amount of variation and all. I'm not a huge fan of dubstep (especially brostep and stuff), but this wasn't as heavy as that, which is good imo. Nice job, man! Now I feel even worse that you can't join the competition. :'( You would've had a fair shot. Take it easy, man, and enjoy the rest of your summer! Don't forget what I said about the NGMT this winter! ^_~

Jayk-O responds:

Thank you! You response makes me feel confident that the feeling I was trying to portray made it, I wanted to show dubstep could have a soft side. I wont forget what you said!

[ReGeNeRaTi0N]

Hey, I like the spacey mood and synths. Kind of sounded like the background music to a documentary on outer space! XD The beat was cool, and the constant filtering really added to that ominous atmospheric vibe. One complaint I would have is that there isn't a lot of dynamic contrast and it's a bit repetitive structurally (okay fine, that's two complaints). Also, it ends a little suddenly. Maybe it would be better as a loop? I know this isn't your tryout piece for NGAUC, btw. I just wanted to check out some of your other stuff, too...and I think I will review your tryout piece tomorrow. ;D

DESHIEL responds:

The things you've brought up in your review are like my trademarked curse that follows me pretty much with everything I upload. Sometimes I do focus on this issue and sometimes I don't but to be honest I mostly do not.My tracks are always full of structural weaknesses. I'm a musician wannabe after all. :D
Thanks for the review and I'm looking foward to read the next one.

[Into the War]

The announcer guy at the beginning (and end) was amusing, and then I really liked the quirky piano and progression. Dubstep isn't really my genre of choice, but I thought those beats were pretty cool. You definitely re-integrated the piano well later on, and, overall, I really like it. The mix was really clear, and the instruments and mood complimented each other well. Smooth-flowing, well-structured, the works! Nice job, man! I'd like to see you get further in this competition. ^^

MrStr8face responds:

Thank you so much!! :D

[The Gecko]

Haha, I love the funky mood! :D It's very bass-y and cool, and the instruments all compliment each other really well. It even has a degree of mystery to it which I love, like this gecko is leading a double life as a secret agent! XD One thing I'd be careful of is not to make things too busy, especially during parts like :01 to :30. However, that does fit the action movie-style fast pace you established here. Anyway, keep up the good work, Possibly! You should post on NG more often! ;D Also, are you planning on entering the NG Audio Underdogs Competition? I think you'd be a great candidate to go far. ;)

Possibly responds:

Cheers - yah, twas just a bit of fun really. I will take a look at the competition thing - typically I'm catatonic by the time I'm half way through the rules for NG competitions.

I do more music than I post on here, I tend to post most of what I do on Soundcloud then update NG sporadically.

[Monochrome]

I love the atmosphere and the guitar. The instruments work well together, although sometimes the guitar seems to have a bit of a harsh, penetrating tone to it. I really liked the beat to this one, and I think the progression was better than in the last piece I reviewed. It really had a good sense of climax about it, even if a touch more dynamic contrast would've been ideal. I really liked those synth melodies at 2:16 and 2:44. The ending seemed fitting, even if it was dragged out a bit. This one really had more a direction to it than the last one, though, so that was really good. Nice work, Adieuwinter! This is worthy of your audition piece. Also, you're from Beijing? That's so cool...0_O Hahah, well...keep up the good work, Mr. Winter! ;D

adieuwinter responds:

Thanks for the review (again)!
This is an old piece, so I hadn't quite figured out how to make the default guitar setting sound less edgy - I've been successful to a certain degree by now. I appreciate the comments!

And yes, I've been in Beijing for the past five years, I just moved back to the States, though. I should probably update that :D

[Lucky Stars]

I love the atmosphere and synths. The slap bass actually goes pretty well with the trance-ish synths, but I think was a little too loud in the mix. I like how you transitioned into :52, but the melody at :52 came in a little suddenly. Some sweeps or crashes could really help you out there. The beat is a little hard to follow at times. I liked the break-down at around 2:05 though, but the synths at 2:15 came in a little too suddenly and were a bit jarring. I lot of your melodies and background synths are a little too busy-sounding. There just seems to be too much going on at 2:38 to make it very relaxing or atmospheric like I thought you were going for given the beginning part. I love the chill parts, like at 3:04, but I think you need to find a more effective way of transitioning between those parts and the others. I'd suggest lowering the volume levels on the busy synths and adding a lot of reverb. Make the simple synth melody and slap bass groove stick out a little more at 2:38, and I think it'll set the pace a little more for the rest of the piece as well as tie some things together structurally. Overall, I like it, though, especially the ending. I was tough on you, my friend! Keep at it, man, and best of luck at NGADM! ;D I can review the piece you auditioned with too if you want. :)

adieuwinter responds:

Hello! Thanks for the comments.

I agree with you when it comes to the many issues in volume, I'll work to resolve these with my future pieces. I'm still figuring out the reverb settings in Logic, so hopefully improvements in that area will come with more experimentation. Essentially I just felt that I was a bit lazy with this piece, transitions, velocity adjustments and all. If I ever get the chance (or become enthusiastic enough about this song) to make changes, I certainly will. Hopefully that happens soon...

I really do appreciate you being tough on this piece though, although I felt positive about it upon posting, your thoughts have really helped me see its issues more clearly. Also, I'd be thankful if you had a listen to my audition piece, anything you notice would be of great help.

Thanks for the review!