TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Spinning]

Very loud mixing throughout. Usually that’s a good thing, although I think it distorted some of your other instruments at times because the compression’s so heavy. The drums also sound a tad generic, although a lot of the synth riffs here are super catchy. The change-of-pace at :51 wasn’t foreshadowed very well in my opinion, but you did a good job leading into the drop at 1:16. The drop itself is a little minimalistic, and overuses ascending lines that don’t really add to the sense of direction of the piece. The re-intro at 2:05 is nice, and the riff at 2:21 is probably my favorite of the piece. It’s also probably the closest you get to offering some strong melodic content up to that point, and I wanted to hear more melodic content early on in general. I also think the second build-up of the piece is very similar to the first one, and I would’ve liked to see some more variation in that regard. The part at 3:24 was a pleasant surprise. You really took the piece in a different direction towards the end, which was a risk that paid off in my opinion. The piece sounds conclusive by the end, and the thematic elements of the piece come together nicely. Overall, this is strong work. My main complaints are probably with the generic sound design and arrangement elements, the overuse of minimalism at different points, and maybe even the over-compression. Other than that, strong work with the structuring, mastering, mood, and harmonies. Keep at it, Hippokopter!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
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
7.75/10

Hippokopter responds:

That's a schmancy system you got there. xD

Thanks for the insightful review, too! By the way, when you say, "too much compression," that doesn't really register in my dubstep infected mind as a bad thing... xD

As I write this review, I see that I've been eliminated... At least I can get back to my one-song-per-week-ish pace. On the bright side, if I got this close to getting past this round, and I haven't been producing for more than a year, get ready for me to wallup this comp next time around. xD

[Dark Secrets (NGUAC 2018)]

I like the dark mood at the beginning. The strings sound a tad muddy in the bass range, and the (piano?) at around :20 sounds a tad harsh in my ears. Great suspense, though. It’s really nice for an ambient loop in a video game or something, but it also doesn’t really sound like a structurally complete stand-alone piece. The progression just seemed to be getting started when you launched into that ritardando on the main riff at the end. Overall, it’s a good start, though. Please PM me if you ever flesh this out more. I’ll leave you another review. As for now, I can’t give you much credit for structuring or composition, but the content you do have here is pretty good. Keep at it, GearWax!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.25/10

Iosun responds:

Thanks, yeah, this actually is supposed to be a loop in a video game. It’s for a project as well.

Don’t really plan to pull it past this cause of that reason

[Firestride]

I like the majestic orchestral sound at the beginning and the sense of climax into :22. The melody at :22 is nice, and the mix is strong and clear without being overly-compressed. The oscillation between relaxed and energetic sections in the piece is great, but occasionally the transitions between them are a bit abrupt (2:12 and 3:01, for example). Well-balanced texture and frequencies overall. The super quiet and emotional breakdown at 3:01 is something I didn’t really see coming, but it really helped you maximize the dynamic contrast in this piece. I think occasionally the instrumentation here is a bit cheesy, especially with the synths, but overall I don’t really have many complaints with the sound design either. The pacing of the piece can be a bit slow, relying on big changes every certain length of time instead of gradual ebbs and flows within the phrase. Overall, though, the piece comes together really well with the extended climactic section towards the end. The transitions and shape of the piece are the two elements I think need the most work. Strong effort overall, though! Keep at it, EverReverb. :)

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

AED4 responds:

Thanks for immensively detailed review once again :) And thank you for hosting and arranging NGUAC for the fifth (?) time!

Cheesiness was indeed something that i was afraid of, but in the end I just had to embrace it :P

[Derpcat - be happy]

Cute synths at the beginning, but they sound a tad dry. The riff at :15 is really cute and fun. Nice filtering work leading into :30, but the minimalism there threw me off a bit and didn’t really help with the directionality of the piece. The filtering at 1:00 compromises the sense of catharsis typical of a refrain, though. Much of this piece sounds rather transitional and repetitive. The melodies are nice, and perhaps 1:30 functions better as a refrain despite the conspicuous build-up into 1:00. I also think the mix, while loud and clear, is a bit over-compressed. Perhaps my biggest complaint is that the piece isn’t really sufficiently varied during the second half. There’s very little new harmonic content added to this piece after the first minute, and the result is that it’s hard to stay engaged after a while. That said, the production quality, blissful mood, and fun synths sell this piece well. Keep up the good work, DerpCatOfficial!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

DerpcatOfficial responds:

thanks!

[Change of Heart]

I like the suspenseful mood at the beginning. Sounds ominous, too. I like the warm string sounds and the emotional appeal of the piano. The progression is nice, and the lead-in to :58 was a nice touch. The strings at :58 are panned way to the left, which I found bizarre for such a foregrounded element of the texture. The piece is starting to sound a bit more victorious at this point, but I really like when more ominous elements of the texture begin to seep back in at 1:12. Nice job once again with the transition at 1:57. The brass solo there compliments the strings quite well, and the victorious mood wins after all. I suppose I would’ve liked to hear a bit more variety in some of the main string riffs, though. Some stronger melodic content earlier in the piece would’ve also been advisable. I found the transition into 2:34 to be a bit jarring, but the atmospheric fade-out in the outro was beautiful. Overall, this is strong work. The piece comes together really well by the end, and the instrumentation and production quality are great throughout. Keep up the good work, Columbers!

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

Columbers responds:

Haha I was 1 spot away from advancing to the finals which is kind of hilarious... oh well. Thanks for leaving the review!

[On Edge]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the oscillating pads in the background. It has a vaguely ominous mood about it, and the instruments all sound pretty cold and wintery. I really like the prominent use of hi-hats at around :50. Other than that, the progression of the piece is really slow and doesn’t really feature much prominent melodic content. I think the piece is too long for the amount of harmonic content that’s here. Also, when there is a significant variation in the texture at 2:08, the transition could be much smoother. The ending sounded somewhat climactic, but the harmonic framework becomes so stagnant after a while, and there isn’t really any sort of cathartic moment in the piece. It sounds good for some sort of intermediate level in a videogame between two huge bosses or something. But as a stand-alone piece, there isn’t really enough variety or memorable content to keep me engaged. That said, the mastering quality is solid and the instrumentation is good. Keep at it, TheoryGD!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
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?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Andethy responds:

Thanks for the feedback, man. Completely agree with the slow progression and melodic content. Will attempt to improve that in upcoming tracks. At 2:08, I updated that but must've forgotten to update to NG, oh well...

[Hunter&Prey]

I like the airy arpeggiated synth at the beginning. Has an apprehensive mood about it. Despite the generic-sounding synth bass and dry drums, the instrumentation isn’t bad overall. Well-balanced texture and cool atmosphere. Let me cut to the chase, though: the composition is extremely underwhelming. The entire piece sounds like an intro for a 5-minute track. There just isn’t much of a strong progression here - no melodies, little structuring, no big transitory moments, etc. I think you know this, too. Seems like you just ran out of time. The content that is here is decent, but this is hardly a structurally complete piece. If you ever do finish it, please PM me. I’ll give you a proper review. Keep at it, Tansuma1!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.25/10

tansuma1 responds:

Thanks for your in-depth review TaintedLogic. It seems Deadlines are not my friend! Honestly I just work a lot which leaves me very little spare time to create anything coherent anymore but thank you for not saying my work is basically trash lol. I will continue to improve and one day pm you the finished thing!

[I]

Quirky synth at the beginning. I think it drags on for a bit too long, and the entry of the strings at :21 is not only sudden but also shifts the mood of the piece considerably. That said, the strings do blend pretty well with the synth at the beginning, and I like the new, warmer-sounding texture. Progression here is seriously slow, though. The transition at 1:05 also didn’t work for me. I think it would’ve been more effective if you had created a more distinct sense of build-up over the first minute of the piece. The pads totally dominate the texture during the refrain, and the re-intro at 1:50 doesn’t contribute much to the directionality of the piece imo. I really like the atmosphere at 1:58, and the percussion there is nice and crisp. There’s a serious slow-down in the pacing at 2:20, and I don’t think that downtempo section leads very logically into the final refrain at 2:52. You certainly gave the last minute or so of the piece a climactic and conclusive edge, but I think it would’ve been more effective if you had a more gradual build-up. The piece in general doesn’t have a ton of strong melodic content either, and when it does have melodic riffs (at 3:20 or so, for example), they’re a bit buried in the texture by the strong pads. Overall, I think your main priorities going forward should be the transitions, melodic content, and maybe the instrumentation. I was confused about the mood of the piece between the eerie-sounding synth at the beginning and the blissful refrains. I’ve been tough on you during this review, but I think the mixing and mastering here is quite good, and you clearly have a good sense of harmony too. Keep at it, Red65!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

Red65 responds:

thanks for the feedback.

//red

[Outcast]

The intro, while a simple fade-in concept, was effective. I like the cute synths and the sweeps. The build-up beginning at :33 was a nice touch, and I enjoyed the refrain. I think there’s more room for stronger melodic content. I don’t really consider arpeggios melodic content. While the mix is really loud, it sounds both over-compressed and a tad indistinct at times. I’d suggest trying to rely more on equalizing than compression to make your mastering sound clear and well-balanced. I think the other main flaw with this piece is that there’s not a lot of variety between the first and second half. The two refrains sound very similar, and the underlying harmonic framework of the piece never really changes. That said, the ritardando at the end was a good idea. I think your composition skills are pretty strong overall, and it’s great that your mix, while not perfect, sounds so loud and full. Other than that, the instrumentation and arrangement of the piece are a tad generic. Overall, solid work with the build-ups, atmosphere, and volume levels. Keep at it, NoobGameYT!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

NoobGameYT responds:

Thank you so much, it was really fun and I can't wait to join the N G U A C next time :)

[Used to Be]

Majestic riff at the beginning. Sounds a bit thin, but once the rest of the texture fills in it’s a really nice touch in that upper register. The beat is nice and crisp, too. You clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression. The piece feels really dry, though. I think there’s a ton of potential for this piece to have a gorgeous, lush atmosphere. Everything about the sound design has a great emotional appeal, except the only thing missing was the reverb/delay effects that would’ve actually given it that atmospheric touch. Otherwise, the composition here is seriously vanilla. Very little sense of progression or growth over these 2.5 minutes. This piece is both repetitive and harmonically stagnant, unfortunately. Overall, I think with a bit more variety in the moving notes and a more generous approach to the mastering effects, this piece could be an ambient beauty with the perfect amount of punch. Right now, the composition’s just a tad underwhelming. Keep at it, KnockVoltage!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.25/10

KnockVoltage responds:

Thanks for the feedback