TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Bouncy Tails]

I like the bright piano at the beginning. Harmonic progression is really interesting. I like the bass and the crisp drums at :31. Build-up into 1:00 was good. That mid-range bass at the drop was a bit too up-front in the mix imo, but overall the drop was effective. The structure of the piece feels very formulaic. You don't have a lot of automation within phrases, instead relying on stop-start transitions and crashes/sweeps to smooth things over. Those kinds of transitions are effective up to a point, but definitely could be more creative. I also don't think the piece sounds complete. You seem to take it in a very different direction starting at 2:17, and that way there's not much of a sense of resolve by the end. I think it would be better if you had varied some of these main riffs, like at 2:45 for example, instead of creating a whole new set of harmonies. My favorite element of the piece is probably the production. Super clean mix and well-balanced texture. Sound design is a little generic but overall good. Composition is fine, but could use a bit more creativity. Overall solid work. :)

DjTheDarkFlameMaster responds:

Thanks for listen the entire track! I appreciate your constructive comment, have a nice day!

[Kavez - Constant [WIP]]

I like the dreamy mood at the beginning, although I wasn't a huge fan of your drum samples. The clap has a really sharp tone that doesn't vibe well with the otherwise smooth, wet atmosphere of the piece. I also thought the clap was a bit cliché. Other than that, my main concern with this piece is the lack of melodic content. A lot of time is soaked up with a couple of pretty simplistic ideas (the arpeggios at :50 and the riff at 1:32), and when you deviate from those ideas, it sounds really dissonant (1:48). I appreciate the effort put into taking the piece in a new direction at 1:48, but the harmonies sound a bit jarring there. There are a lot of good ideas in this piece, though. I like the reverberated synths and somewhat quirky sound design. It just needs a bit more thought put into the arrangement and compositional depth. Keep at it, man!

SlyFrost responds:

Thanks for the review!

The drum samples fit more into the 'drop' (which needs to be worked on) than anywhere else, and I agree that the clap is quite unoriginal. I think that sharp tone is actually the ride and the hat together, which I was a bit unsure about when I played them together after mixing them. I could remove them or just change the ride a bit. Also, since I use the demo version of the DAW I'm using (FL Studio 12) I have to record, which isn't ideal because it makes some of the sounds glitch sometimes. The drums near the end don't sound like that when I play the song in FL.

So. Needs more melodic influence, a rework on the instruments, change 1:48, maybe change the chords up a bit. Cool.

[Geoplex - Affinity]

I like the atmospheric intro and the warm pads. The big glissando at :18 was a nice touch. By around :30, I'm really liking progression and upbeat vibe. The melodic content at :51 was really enjoyable, and transitioned nicely into 1:03. Mix is super clean as usual. My favorite thing about this piece is how filled to the brim with joy it is, though. You've set up the progression really well here so that the chorus feels incredibly cathartic. The vocal bit at around 2:10 added a lot to the texture as well. Really engrossing melodies and mood here. Nice work with the atmospheric intro and outro as well. Fave'd and DL'd. Keep up the great work, Geoplex! ^^

Geoplex responds:

a 5/5 from TaintedLogic :O As always I really appreciate the feedback dude. Thank you :)

[AIM - Music Identified]

---Official AIM review---

Really interesting collage of sound effects at the beginning. It was certainly engaging, but I’m not sure how the ominous electronic whirring sounds at :16 meshed with the dinner party vibe of the background chatter. I think you needed a stronger transition into :23. The synth work is quite impressive there, but the piece doesn’t have much of a strong sense of progression after that point. You simply needed a lot more moving notes to keep my attention after a while. I know you’ve put a lot of effort into the rhythmic elements and details, but without much shape, phrasing, or melodic content, the piece doesn’t fit my criteria very well. There’s clearly a lot of effort put into the mixing and mastering, though. You’re definitely a talented producer, but the composition here is really underwhelming and simply directionless for most of the piece. My favorite elements of the piece are the sound design and production. Keep at it, Quarl!

5/10

Quarl responds:

I usually change my drums up a little in every bar because that's what I tend to focus on the most when I write "moving notes."

Sorry if I'm coming off as defensive. It's not intended, but drum and bass has roots in atonal genres. Nuero funk in particular.

thanks for the input though, it's always good to have an idea of what I should improve upon to try and engage people that just don't vibe with my stuffs.

[endK - Space Lasagna]

Gratz on the first place finish! I like the funky vibe at the beginning and the melodic content shortly thereafter. Your style still reminds me of Johnfn, which can only be a good thing. The transitory fill at :56 was great. I also really like how the bass is really exposed at 1:25. The brass fits into the texture really well, and indeed sounds quite musical with the humanization. There are a lot of different solos throughout the piece, which makes the piece feel like a jazz piece structurally despite the synthetic elements. My main complaint is that some of the elements of the texture didn't quite come through like I wanted them too. The electric bass seems to have a really cool line at around 2:40, but I can't quite pick out the notes with my headphones. This might well be a reflection of my headphones more than anything else, but regardless I the final chorus as an appropriate time to turn up the bass. :) Overall fantastic work, though. A well-deserved first place. Keep it up, EndK!

endKmusic responds:

Hey TL! :D
First of all thanks for the review, really grateful for every review of yours.
1:25 part was actually my favorite, since I introduced another more of a high-mids bass that's stereo separated, and it was more like a game of playful patterns at that point, that's why it sounds exposed I guess.
2:40 part was actually the same as the 0:59 I think oO. Maybe it sounds a little bit more muddy than the other sections cause I left some lows on brass section.
Much luvz once more! <3

[Urban Expedition]

I like the adventurous vibe at the beginning. The violin solo is beautiful, and the full-section echo at :22 is a nice touch. You have a lot of melodies in this piece, but they all complement each other really well. Tiny detail: I think the triangle/high-pitched percussion you have in there could stand to have a bit more reverb and a little less attack. That'll help make it sound a little smoother and less clunky and dry. Composition is definitely my favorite part of this piece, but the instrumentation is a close second. Pretty rare to find a piece on NG with orchestral samples this good. I guess my main complaint is that the drums were way in the background for the entire piece. Even in an orchestral track, I think the drums should be a bit more up-front in the mix. Despite all the dramatic string swells, the drums are what drives almost any piece forward, and this is no exception. Overall, really strong work. Good luck with your game!

PikmanDude responds:

Thank you for the review! I was definitely trying to recreate a Mario Galaxy-esque vibe from this piece; I feel like the composition was aided by having all my ideas written out before starting to notate, as opposed to improvising the melodies in the notation software. The samples I used in this piece are from Garritan Personal Orchestra 5, which to me is extremely high-quality for the $150 price. I think the high-pitched percussion you were talking about is the crash cymbal, and I may remake the song with a smoother crash sample sometime in the future, in addition to a louder and more dominant snare drum.

Again, thank you for the positive feedback! Looking forward to making more tracks in a similar style to this one, regardless of if I ever finish my game or not

[the brick walls building]

I like the piano riff at the beginning. The panning is really strong at :12, and the mix could be a tad clearer. I like the sound design and the cutesy mood, but I think the mastering needs a lot of work. Throughout the piece, there are these stereo clicks that sound really harsh in my ears. This is probably due to peaking, which means that you need to bring down the volume levels a bit to eliminate distortion in the texture. I also think that the piano riff is too loud vis-à-vis the more melodic instruments, and a lot of the instruments could sound a lot more distinct with some stricter equalization and compression. The composition and atmosphere of the piece are both really refreshing, and the instruments are pretty cool. But the production quality seriously detracts from my enjoyment of the piece. Fix the mixing issues and you're well on your way. Keep at it, man. ;)

benja14xd responds:

1.- Thanks, I enjoy making music for people like you.
2.- Most part of the sound are ripped from my yamaha keyboard
3.- I will fix the "pop" (is a vst that create that "pop" sound)
4.- the sounds aren't equalized (only low pass and hi pass) but i will try to make a good eq.
5.- thanks again.

[Coffee Bubbles]

I like the cute synth riff at the beginning. The reverse crash at :12 seemed a bit uncharacteristically melodramatic, but I like the energy and the beat by around :30. Mix is loud and clear. Texture is still quite thin, and the minimalism of the drop doesn't help solve this problem. Catchy stuff in the drop, but some of the synths could be a tad more polished. The harsh synth at 1:16 sticks out to me as needing a tad more filtering on the treble end. Maybe part of the problem with the thin texture is that the synths sound a little thin themselves. You might try balancing that out by adding some pads or other mid-range elements to the sound design. I also would've liked to hear a little more variety in the second half of the piece. Overall, though, I think my favorite part of the piece is the mood. It's just really blissful and refreshing. I also think the production quality is really high. It's just that the mix is a tad too tight to feel well-balanced and full. Add some more creativity to the composition and variety to the texture and I think this would be a 5-star track. Keep at it, man! ;)

Racc00nto responds:

Thanks a lot! I'll follow your advices! :) <3

[[PT] - Midnight (Orchestral Rhumba)]

Beautiful atmosphere at the beginning. Not sure how I feel about the heavy use of panning on the percussion, though. My intuition says that rhythm section - drum and bass - should be front and center in all but the most experimental mixes. Mix could also be a bit louder here. That said, I really like the progression and the soothing vibe of this one. I like how there's a short breakdown at 1:23 or so, like someone pushed the reset button. The rich vocal chords at 1:55 were really nice. Didn't quite feel like the piece was over at the end, though. I'd love to see you flesh out the structure of this a little more, maybe with a more dramatic climax at the end. Still, really flowing cinematic vibes here. I like it a lot!

Passarino responds:

Thank you for the feedback! I agree with the percussion part, I’m not entirely sure why that happened to be honest. And yes, the mix could certainly be louder. I just thought it might seem a bit cloudy if I did so. I’m glad you liked it so much! :) I tried for some cinematic vibes but the ending was abrupt, I agree. I’ll take these things into consideration next time! Thank you!
-PassarinoT