TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mr.Must3rd-Purple Orb]

I like the eerie atmosphere at the beginning and the dynamic synth pads at :11. The 8-bit drums are a bit cheesy in this context for me - not sure they fit well with the eerie atmosphere. The sidechaining is also very heavy for my tastes. That said, the gritty breaks at :48 sounded pretty sweet, if a little minimal. Love the rolled hats here too, like at 1:16. At times, the texture could use some more fill, especially in the upper-mid range, and I would’ve liked to hear some more melodic development too, as the harmonic content gets pretty after a while here. That said, I’m really digging the experimental texture and foreboding tone of this. You might also consider working to play up the sense of atmosphere by adding some reverb and other mixing effects to the synth lead during the middle couple of minutes of the piece. Overall, I really like the rhythmic elements, crisp mixing, and ominous thematic content here. The compositional details could use a bit of fleshing out, but this is a solid effort nonetheless. Keep at it, Mr. Musterd! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Faster Speeds]

I like the tranquil guitar chords at the beginning and the synth arpeggios that slowly fade in and out. The minimal beat at :21 sounds a bit generic, but helps keep up the energy level. The atmospheric synths and snare are nice additions during the build-up into 1:04, and Iike the bassy groove at the drop, although I wanted the synth harmonies to pop a bit more in the mix there. The transition at 1:47 was a bit sudden, and the one at 1:58 also could’ve been a bit smoother. I would’ve liked to see a bit more variety in the harmonic content during the second drop at 2:18. I’ll also say that the arrangement here sounds a bit formulaic. The texture shifts every 8 or 16 bars or so, but within those 16 bars there’s not much of a sense of dynamism. Overall, though, the strong mixing, sound design, and catchy beats really make this piece memorable. You’re clearly a talented producer, but some of the compositional details (especially the transitions) could’ve used some smoothing over. Keep at it, MrCheese! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[Different Emotions]

I like the energy at the beginning. At first, the stop-start rhythm of the synth bass threw me off a bit, but I’m enjoying the subtle build-up into :23. Given the tranquility at :23 and how much that contrasted with the hard breaks earlier, I’m not sure you really needed the first 23 seconds at all. Regardless, by 1:15 I’m enjoying the blissful melodies and rich atmosphere. The mix is a tad over-compressed for my tastes, but the filtering at 1:54 is a good way of transitioning into the more mellow breakdown that follows it. I like the neat percussion at 2:08 and the airy melodies at 2:29. Admittedly, the breakdown section as a whole was a bit dragged-out, but by 2:51 I’m enjoying the return of the main melody, although it sounds a tad strange rhythmically when paired with the bass line that so heavily emphasized the off-beats. There was a good sense of build into 3:33, and I like the stronger claps at 4:18. Otherwise, I wish you had done a tad more to vary the melodic content during the final refrain here. That said, I like the emotional appeal of the piano melody during the outro and the tempo automations at the very end. Overall, this piece has a lot of sweet melodies, danceable beats, and fun rhythmic components. Aspects of the sound design and arrangement are a bit generic, and at times the mix could be a bit tighter and less distorted by sidechaining. That said, the compositional details are quite strong, and the progression and harmonies are very well-polished. Keep at it, Mockany! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[Mistful_Shadow & Windows 16 - Underworld]

The riser at the beginning is pretty cool. The popcorn snare at :04 kinda overpowers the dreamy pads beneath it, but a bigger problem is how much the sub-bass distorts the rest of the texture at :09. Notice how that mid-range synth riff sounds a lot quieter at :09 than it did before? That’s a sign that the texture is getting distorted because you have multiple instruments playing at the same frequency range. You can fix it by using an equalizer to filter out the bass tones (less than 200 Hertz or so) in the harmonic instruments. “how to use an equalizer in _____” (whatever DAW you use). You might already be familiar with similar mixing tools - you should use them way more often, is the point.

Mixing aside, the transition at :23 is a bit sudden, and while I enjoyed the build-up into :37, I was a little thrown off by the injection of new riffs at the drop. The intro just doesn’t do much to foreshadow the content during the drop very well. The synth at 1:20 sounds very cheesy, and also doesn’t do much to add variety to the harmonies. The entire second half of the piece, in fact, could use some more variety, especially compared with the content of the first half of the piece.

At the same time, a lot of the transitions in this piece are pretty abrupt. A good rule of thumb is that, with limited exceptions, you should have at least 1-2 harmonic instruments (i.e., not drums or bass) playing the same pattern on either side of a transition, just to keep the listener well-oriented to what’s going on. You can also use sweeps, crashes, filtering, and automations to smooth over some otherwise rough transitions, all while adding interest in the middle of otherwise-repetitive phrases. I’d suggest you experiment with all of these approaches at some point.

Sorry if this isn’t a very positive review. I do like the rhythmic content, build-ups, and a lot of the individual synth riffs here. But overall, the composition feels a bit disjointed, repetitive, and cheesy, and the mixing could be a lot sharper. Still, this is a catchy piece with potential. I’d encourage you to keep working on it. When you feel like you’ve implemented some of my feedback, feel free to send me a PM and I’ll leave you another review. Keep at it, guys! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
4/10

MistfulShadow responds:

Thanks for your feedback. I am sorry this track was not the greatest, but I admit that we could have done better in a few ways
I'm not sure if it's possible to revamp this for multiple reasons, but again, this is helpful feedback, so thank you.

[City of Rot]

I like the groovy guitar riff at the beginning and the crisp drums. The lead vocals are powerful, but the vocal harmonies could’ve blended in a tad better with the lead. Some more mixing effects might help with that, including reverb. The lyrics themselves are great, and I love the dark themes. Sometimes, the bass gets a little lost during the vocal verses, but otherwise the production quality holds up quite well. The solo at 2:47 helped disrupt the somewhat repetitive instrumental tracks underlying the verse-chorus structure. The last verse felt especially emotional, and I like how you turned up the intensity of the bass line during the final 20 seconds or so. Overall, this is a strong composition with some great sound design and a clean, well-balanced mix. Keep it up, Mischa! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

Mischa-head responds:

Thanks for the feedback!

[Goldenrod Game Corner [SUPER HYPER MEGA MELEE MIX]]

I like the bouncy synth pads at the beginning and the rhythmic content. The sound design has a big 80s vibe, and I like the melodies at :44 too, despite the somewhat strange contour on the descending bit at :55. The mix could’ve been a bit louder and sharper here, with the kick drum in particular getting buried during the busier sections. I also like the addition of the brass at 1:14 or so, as well as the synth solo that follows at 1:28. At some point, I might’ve liked to hear a bit more variety in the energy level here. A near-constant energy level for the middle 3.5 minutes of the piece isn’t always the most conducive to keeping the listener engaged. Still, the tempo automations into 2:27 and the switch-up in the harmonic framework were creative ways of creating variety. The mix seems a bit muddy at 2:27, though, possibly because of an excess of reverb. Still, you hit the piece home nicely with the final melodic section at 3:12, and I was glad to see the brass also figure prominently there. Overall, despite being a tad repetitive at times and having some slight production blips, this is a really catchy and fun piece with some neat sound design and an engrossing, upbeat mood. Keep at it, Metatron! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[STAR☆COASTER~]

I like the blissful melodies at the beginning and the cutesy 8-bit sound design. There was a good sense of build into :24, but it didn’t quite prepare me for the frantic craziness there. It sounds like the vocals were sped up and were intended to sound upbeat, but I think the artificially fast tempo actually has the opposite effect - they almost sound creepy instead. The bassy instrumental section at 1:05 is good, and the vocals at 1:14 sound like a pitch-shifted version of one of Eminem’s classic “speed verses.” :D The melodies at 1:24 are nice, and there’s a great sense of triumph in the melodies at 2:05. At some point, I might’ve liked to see you slow down the pace a bit and create some more variety in the energy level and thickness of the texture. That said, the piece is full of variety in other ways, including in the sound design and melodic content. Overall, this is a strong piece that might be more effective if it slowed the pacing down a tad, just to keep the listener grounded in some of the core motifs of the piece more. It’s a little jarring to listen to a piece that changes so much every 10 seconds or so. Either way, the composition, sound design, and production quality here are all really impressive. Keep it up, MetaHumanBoi! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[mesage - final Connection]

I like the airy piano at the beginning. The chord progression at :06 is a bit strange, and the drums at :15 sound very generic - I think I recognized one or two FL Studio stock samples. Later on, the beats are more enjoyable, especially the one with the prominent hi-hat at :48. That said, the harmonic content is very bland and repetitive. Layering on some additional harmonies, or alternatively switching up the texture with a richer atmospheric, might be advisable here. At some point, I also wanted to hear some more dynamic melodies - ones that feel like they’re leading somewhere, not just repeating the same 4-note phrase over and over again.

Sorry if this hasn’t been a very positive review so far. I do like the rhythmic content, a lot of the individual riffs, and most of all, the production quality. The mix is loud, clear, and well-balanced throughout, although the bass could use a bit of a boost at times. Overall, some more variety in the composition would be welcome, but you’ve put together a catchy and pensive-sounding track here. Keep at it, Mesage! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5/10

[McSpeedster2000 - Heatrave]

I like the catchy beats at around :13 and the melodic contour in the lead. The mix is loud and pretty clear, but also appears to be brick-wall limited, which can create distortions in the texture if you’re not careful. I’m not a huge fan of some of the sound design choices here, notably the screechy descending sample at 1:22.

A bigger problem is that the harmonies frequently clash with each other. I’d double-check to make sure that all of the notes that are playing at a given time are in the chord that you want to use, and I’d suggest avoiding tones that are less than 4 spaces apart in the piano roll. I’ve never used BandLab, but in most audio production software you can highlight all of the tracks that are playing at a time and then open the piano roll to see them layered on top of each other. In the future, it might even help if you write one series of chords that covers what you want to do with the harmonic framework for the entire piece, and then assign notes in those chords to different instruments. While it’s a bit strict, that method will ensure that you’re only using harmonies that sound good together, and you can still create different rhythms and patterns as long as you’re using the same notes from the chords.

Still, you have a lot of individual riffs and ideas here that are pretty cool. I like the rhythmic content, blissful mood, and the main melodies. I’d caution against using too many of the repeated tones (for example, the melody at the very beginning often plays 4 of the same note in a row before moving on). It just sounds a bit spammy and cheesy after a while, and you do the same thing later with the drums (at 1:09).

Later in the piece, I might’ve liked to see some more variety in the riffs that were playing. It’s a good way of creating a dynamic composition to slightly vary the note patterns you used earlier, even if they play a slightly different rhythm or start on a different pitch. Again, just be careful that if you’re changing the pitch of one instrument, the others still match with it harmonically.

Overall, sorry if this isn’t a very positive review. You already have a good sense of rhythm and progression. Harmony is just a piece of composition that’s especially crucial. When you feel like you’ve better aligned the harmonies of this piece, or have created another one, send me a PM, and I’ll give you some more feedback. Keep at it, McSpeedster! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
3.5/10

McSpeedster2000 responds:

Thanks for the feedback. I will look over this to enhance my future songs although I don't fully know how to work chords. Incrementally improving each aspect song by song is my move from basic to technical.