TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sieoctik - For Real]

Intro is really interesting. Kinda throws you right into the action of the song, yet the beat is still really minimal until :28. Still, I'd suggest leaving a little more space in the texture at the beginning of the piece, especially since most of the rest of the piece is so minimal. The riser at :34 has a really distinct sound, but I think the way you use it as a moving note at :41 is a bit of an acquired taste. You also come in at 1:16 with another rendition of the drop that sets the pace of the piece to go really fast. I'm also confused by the riff at 1:27, which I don't think was foreshadowed much by the harmonic framework of the piece. I gotta be honest: the structure and progression of this piece is all over the place, and seriously lacks melodic content or textural fill. I'm also really confused by the riff at 3:26 - I just think it's pretty jarring when an instrument is introduced for the first time 3/4 of the way through a piece. That said, the mixing and mastering is still really strong. You're clearly a talented producer, but the composition needed more effort. There's just very little sense of development, phrasing, and resolve here. I know I've been tough on you in this review. I think the main problem is that you tried to take the piece in too many different directions in a relatively short period of time, so it came across as a bit obtrusive. Keep at it, man!

sieoctik responds:

What can I say? I’m a man that likes to experiment lol. Thanks for the feedback though. I learned something new.

[Concept Delay]

I like the rhythm at the beginning. Some of the percussion sounds a bit harsh in my ears. I think you either went overboard on the panning, or maybe it's just that the stereo shaping is too wide. Still, cool beat. Very refreshing sound design and killer mood/atmosphere. I'd highly encourage you to flesh out the structure a bit more. Chopped vocals were probably my favorite element of the texture. Keep at it, man!

DJDureagon responds:

I think that i didn't put it through a de esser. Sorry about that. I didn't want to inflict pain with the beat. Thanks for the feedback ill surely take it all to heart.

[[SkiT] Night Bloom]

The bass at the beginning has the tone of a sub-bass, yet I think it's an octave too high to function as such. The bell-like synths at :11 work well, despite a few harsh frequencies in the upper range. The entry of the pads at :33 wasn't foreshadowed very well, and in general I think the texture of this piece is pretty thin and dry. You could use some more reverb, especially on the drums and more atmospheric synths. The pads at 1:27 seem to be distorting the mix a little. I'd suggest being a little stricter with the equalization there. The piano at 1:50 sound pretty dissonant - I think the bassline and the chord progression clash a bit harmonically. Also, up until that point the piece has a sort of ever-evolving texture that isn't very well-grounded. The repetitive nature of the last 1.5 minutes or so of the piece helps on this front, but I think you could still do better to shape your progressions a bit more. Try experimenting more with automation, dynamics, and the like. Overall, there are a lot of cool ideas here - I mentioned the bell-like synths and the impressive drum work - but I think the composition could be a bit stronger. Keep at it, man!

DaMastrofSkiTsees responds:

Thank you so much for your input! I'm not gonna lie, I'm still new to FL so I didn't find a way to further polish the synth. I can't believe I didn't think about adding reverb to the drums. The pad was just a tweaked preset as I spent way too long trying to produce the sound I originally wanted. The dissonance for the piano was intentional but I feel like everything got drowned out at that part :)

[Slowly]

Cute riff at the beginning. The instrument at :09 sounds a bit harsh in my ears, and after :18 the texture gets a little dissonant. That sample at :19 sounds percussive, yet you use it as a pitched instrument here, which I think is a questionable call. After that, you kinda just oscillate between a few patterns to form the entire structural basis for your piece. The result is that the track doesn't have a strong sense of direction, climax, or resolve. I think in the future you should focus on building your track around a more melodic pattern. Right now, it sounds like you have a lot of ideas for riffs that aren't really developed beyond their minimal, staccato-y form, and I think that's a big problem. Still, a lot of the individual riffs are pretty catchy and interesting. It's just the arrangement and composition that's seriously lacking. Keep at it, man!

Gougou responds:

You are right

[Honor Within]

I like the orchestral hits at the beginning and the suspenseful mood they imply. The string instruments sound pretty fake, but overall the melodic content at :17 is well-composed. The snare sounds like you went a little overboard on the high-pass, and I'm also not a huge fan of the instrumentation by around 1:23. Also, when the strings come back in at around 1:40, the mix sounds a bit overly compressed. The source of the distortion there might be something else, though - some more careful equalizing may be in order. Despite the cool mood of the track, I feel like you didn't really do too much with the composition. After the beat comes in, the energy level is very uniform, and the piece was lacking a section of climax or resolve towards the end. Overall, solid work, but I'd love to see you do more with the composition going forward. Keep at it, man!

TenodiBoris responds:

Thank you very much for the review, I needed a skilled ear to hear this, and now I got one :) I have very humble studio, and sometimes I just hit the bottom up of what I think I can do, but, you proved me wrong, yes I could do more on dynamics of the song, some better lift up, and better ending... Again, thank you :)

[Rewind Once Forward]

Cute melody at the beginning. The transition at :44 could've been a tad smoother. You seemed to make a ritardando into it, which can work, but I think the timing could've been a bit better, perhaps with a big up-bow crescendo or something. That said, the section with the violins sounded absolutely beautiful. I also love when the oboe comes in at 1:34. The transition at 2:31 isn't particularly smooth either, but I appreciate the change-of-pace. Up until that point, the piece had gone quite a long time without much of a change in energy. The melody at 3:35 is probably my favorite part of the piece. The ending was well done, too. Nice job making it come full-circle. :) Keep up the good work!

Veneox responds:

I love in depth reviews like this, I will surely work on the transitions to evolve more smoothly. Hope you can review some of my early works as well, thanks. ;)

[[Dubstep] Falkuma]

I like the distorted atmospheric part at the beginning. The percussive thing that plays on every off beat starting at :13 was a little much. It basically functions like a snare, yet sounds more like a transitory effect. The build-up wasn't bad, but the drop at :53 sounds really distorted. You may have used a bit too much reverb there. Despite all the reverb, the drop is also quite minimal from a harmonic standpoint. I like the mechanical sound effects at 1:54, though. I appreciate the variations on the second drop, but in general this piece has very little in the way of harmonic depth, which is probably my main complaint. It's a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece with some unique sound design, but I think you need more moving notes in there to offer the listener a more memorable harmonic framework. Keep at it, man!

Delerium responds:

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback. The snare sound you talked about was a risk i was taking for some interesting percussion. In general my music is minimal melodically and harmonically, and I think I could improve that. However, I feel like the lack of harmonic depth is what draws people to the focal point of this piece, which is the drop.
Did you notice that some of the percussion and foley pan? I was hoping that would add some effect.
:)

[Game Intro Loop]

The intro isn't bad, but I think you need a stronger transition into :18. Cute melodies at around :30, but I wish they were a little more up-front in the mix vis a vis the arpeggios. Also, that synth you used for the arps sounds a bit harsh in my ears, and could benefit from some filtering work. I'm not sure what the project is, but it sounds like some menu music or something. Cutesy and vaguely adventurous, yet not structurally complete. My favorite parts of the piece were the sound design and melodic content. Keep at it, man!

verjamon responds:

Yes it was a menu music!
Thanks for the critic!

[With you (Dubstep)]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the chord progression. The drop is pretty hard-hitting, yet very catchy. I guess I would've liked the drums to shine through the mix a little more at the drop, though. The secondary drop at :59 was a bit of a surprise. The pace of the piece is pretty fast, although I really like the chordal section at 1:20. While very loud and full-textured, I think the mix could be tightened a tad. You seem to have an excess of reverb in there, especially some of the busier sections, and the hats seem to be fighting for attention at 3:06. Overall, though, this is really strong work compositionally. I really like the 2-drop paradigm, although I wish you had varied the drops a bit more the second time around. It's engaging throughout and generally smooth-flowing and well-structured. Keep up the good work!

lukiaffe responds:

Thanks for the well written response. I agree with you. All things considered, I made this when I was like 15 so I didin't know much about mixing back then ;) Cheers!