TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Them Strangers - Wrong Place]

I like the groove at the beginning and the sense of climax into :20. The progression is pretty cool, and I’m really enjoying the instrumentation. The vocals are super clean, and the distorted guitar in the background of the chorus works really well to add some atmosphere. I think the mixing is a little weak. You can especially tell that the drums need some compression - the kick gets lost on the chorus, and I wasn’t a fan of your samples anyway. The mood of the piece really made it special, though - there’s a lot of character here. I might’ve asked that you vary the chorus a bit during the last refrain, and the fade-out ending was a bit lazy, but overall I like this piece a lot. Well done!

8/10

oldmanorange responds:

Well thanks for enjoying it.

[AIM - Theme for the Keeper of the Reef]

I like the aquatic theme, manifested in the wave samples. Nice job establishing the mood - it’s very tranquil and dreamy. Instead of adding onto the dreamy pads, though, you replaced them with this square, wandering synth, which I thought was questionable. The progression thereafter is a little slow-paced, and I wasn’t a fan of the short pause at 1:33, which halted the flow IMO. The sound design here is really interesting, but the minimalism really doesn’t help this piece. Almost 3 minutes in, I have yet to hear some strong melodic content. The piece also has very little coherence, and the structure seems like somewhat of a collage of ideas. I really would’ve liked to see you carry those pads with you throughout the piece - they really could’ve helped tie the piece together, which you made a last-ditch effort to do by bringing those wave samples back towards the end. It wasn’t enough for me. The numerous different directions of the piece make the listener’s experience jarring. Clean up the structure and coherence of this piece, and it has some serious potential. Otherwise, your quirky instruments and well-crafted mood gave you a lot of points. Keep at it, man!

6.5/10

Maverickmode responds:

Well, thank you for the encouraging words and honest critiques. That pad synth you were talking about is the one I lost about halfway through. I would have liked to use it more, but it's lost to time.

[Cs - 'Ambistep']

The bell sounds at the beginning were a little harsh-sounding. I’d recommend removing some of those treble frequencies in an equalizer. The drum samples at :35 sound pretty generic, but I like the ambient vibe you’ve created here. The minimalist section from :50 - 1:20 isn’t my favorite, though. It seems like you’ve put in this experimental chord progression where there should be some more melodic content. The pads are clearly distorting the drums throughout the entire middle section of this piece, too. Please look into using an equalizer and compressor; I’m sure there are tons of tutorials on YouTube for using them in whatever DAW you have. Both of these tools will help each instrument in your track sound clear and crisp, and the equalizer may also help with blending. The fade-out ending here came across as pretty lazy, btw, like you gave up on crafting the structure of the latter part of the piece. Overall, I’d strongly suggest creating a piece centered around a stronger melody next time. Here, it seems like you’ve based the harmonies entirely on the chords - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the melody should really be priority number 1. When you feel like you’ve written a piece with a strong, memorable melody AND you start using equalizers/compressors to your advantage, PM me. I’ll give the track a listen. Good luck!

4/10

Csucskos responds:

Ohh man. You are killing me.
(Since this is the NG Audio Death Match it is OK. :D)

[-586rick- Overdrive Ostrich]

I like the intensity and drive. I think the mix could use a little cleaning up. The kick is clearly fighting for attention, and the snare could be a lot stronger. It’s possible that you’ve also used a bit too much reverb, but I think you should focus on doing some more care equalizing and compression. The texture is full throughout, but it isn’t varied much at all, which is a problem. I also wouldn’t consider this a structurally complete piece. It has a lot of good ideas, and you have a great sense of harmony and progression, but I’m not seeing much in the way of phrasing or development that defines a complete piece. The notes and patterns themselves change, but not the instrumentation, dynamics, energy, etc.. Going forward, I’d strongly suggest focusing on varying the character of your piece more through the addition of new instruments, changing the dynamics, and creating more drive with the drums. If you did that more here, this could’ve been a really strong piece. Keep at it, man!

5.5/10

586rick responds:

Thanks for your constructive review, For now I just remake them so I understand its not really dynamic, but I want someday to be able to remix all my remakes in my way so it could be unique in its on way.

Thanks again to let me have a chance for this competition.
Cheers
586rick

[Route]

The synths are a little cheesy and generic, but I like the addition of the harp. It actually meshes really well with the smooth 8-bit vibe of the piece. I’m also really enjoying the percussion at around :50. The minimalism gets old after awhile, though. I think you needed some more fill between :50 and 2:00 - pads, mid-range harmonies, or maybe some hi-hats or toms to add some punch to the percussion. Compositionally, this piece is actually pretty strong. You have a good sense of melody and harmony, but the texture lacks fill. I want to see you use the entire frequency range to your advantage at most (if not all) times in the future. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. I didn’t hear any particular problems with the mixing or mastering, so that’s a huge plus.

7/10

Zechnition responds:

Thanks for the review! I didn't know I was progressing so much with my mixing.

[Rex: Origins Rap]

This is a fun and catchy piece, but I don’t consider it structurally complete. Cool use of sound design, and the rapping was also quite enjoyable. The lyrics came through very clearly despite the fast pace of the song. You pull off the texture quite well here, and you clearly displayed a great sense of rhythm. I was really torn between giving you a 3 and a 7; in the future, I really want to see you flesh out your work and also take it a little more seriously. The arrangement is seriously lacking, and the piece is pretty unpolished. You clearly have a lot of talent, though. Comedic pieces are usually frowned upon in the NGADM, and the addition of the kazoo doesn’t really help your case there. I’m going to help you out here score-wise, but I wouldn’t expect any compassion from the other judges if I were you. Keep at it, man!

7/10

Kwing responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Keep in mind I did everything here - the kazoo, the throat singing, the beatboxing, the layering, the writing, the rapping, and the mastering - all during a 42 hour Game Jam while I was programming and animating the game that this came from. Game Jams are notoriously unpolished and what you're listening to is one of the aspects that I really couldn't afford to put more work into.

I decided to submit this to the Audio Deathmatch because it has absolutely zero samples that I don't own, since I made the beat completely from scratch. Not sure if I would have had a better chance submitting something using someone else's beat.

[(Chillstep) Purple Leaves]

I like the emotional piano and the mechanical-sounding static in the background. It’s a little slow to progress, but the atmosphere is great. I like the drop a lot, too. The synth bass is very gritty, but the bright piano and distorted saxophone layered on top add this awesome quirkiness that really keeps the piece engaging. The piano bridge that follows the drop is great, too, adding a lot of space to contrast the busy drop. The saxophone melody at the 3-minute mark works well add finality to the piece. Really admirable work here, man. It’s well-structured and smooth-flowing. Awesome mood and full texture throughout. I don’t hear any problems with the mixing either. If I had to complain about one thing, it’s that the ending seemed a bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the piece. Still, this track tells me you’re serious about this competition and geared up for the long haul. Keep it up, dude!

9.5/10

5TanLey responds:

wow, I expected all kinds of thing but not 9.5/10, many thanks :)

[Nostalgia (Instrumental)]

The instrument at the beginning sounds very generic, and I don’t like how you spam the crashes at :09. At :11, the beginning riff seems to be distorted a lot by the arpeggios that come in there. At :23, the kick sounds very harsh and unpolished - I’d suggest finding a new sample, and then being sure to equalize it more carefully (try searching for an equalizer in the mixing tab on whatever DAW you use). You have a good sense of melody, rhythm and harmony, though. This piece is quite repetitive by the end, and occasionally elements of the texture (the clap, most notably) seem to come in and drop out without any forewarning. I’d like to see you smooth over some of your transitions later in the piece in more creative ways - the spammy kick-hat-kick-hat thing you do at :42 and several other places is only really appropriate when the following section is significantly more energetic than the previous one. Overall, you have some good ideas here - there are a lot of compositional elements of this piece (melody, harmony, mood, etc.) that are really strong. I’d focus on improving your mixing and mastering skills as a priority. Doing some research on equalization and compression could be a great start. Keep at it, man!

6/10

TheNGVirus responds:

I do agree that I need much work with mixing and mastering. About the drums, this was my first time working with and programming sounds with a TR-909, but I'll definitely keep working on it! Overall, I do agree with the critique you've given me, and I will try to improve myself, whether I do make it into any of the matches or not!

[The Damn Motherfucking One]

I like the atmospheric fade-in, although some of those instruments sound a little generic. I would’ve liked to see you maximize the impact of that initial climax before diving into the lengthy piano section that follows. You seem to set the pacing of the piece up to be pretty rapid with the 15-second intro, but then it’s actually rather slow. I like the drums - they have a great organic roots rock kinda vibe. The piece has a great sense of climax over the course of the next 3 minutes. The drums could’ve even been stronger towards the end. The rhythm is pretty square for most of the piece, though - a lot of straight eighths going on. I also feel like you could’ve maximized the climax by adding a really dominant and empowering melody somewhere. That distorted guitar thing at 2:53 doesn’t quite cut it since it blends into the rest of the texture. That said, the texture of this piece is one of my favorite elements. It’s so full and rich, and really shows off your great sense of harmony. I like this piece a lot, but I think you could’ve taken even more risks in certain elements of the composition and structure. Still, keep up the good work man. :D

8.5/10

MysteriousPresence responds:

Thank you very much for the review and for that cool note (even if I didn't make it :'3) !
I will take in consideration every advice you gave me in order to improve myself. Maybe I'll make it in the NGUAC who knows ? If so, count on me to produce the best I've ever done ! B)
Thanks again ! =D