TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[NeWS]

I like the little ambient riser thing at the very beginning. I think the bass overpowers the kick and snare for the next 30 seconds or so. Generally, the snare should be the loudest instrument in the mix. I liked the transitions at :31 and :58, and the panning effects worked well there too. Harmonically, the piece is very simple and repetitive. I think you need a lot more melodic content here. The very little non-rhythmic content you have in here (at 1:56) is very stepwise and one-directional. The result is that the piece lacks direction. The piece changes and evolves over time, but it has little sense of coherence overall because you never return to and flesh out the themes you introduced earlier in the piece (like at :02). Otherwise, the structure doesn't have much meaning behind it. Overall, it's not bad. The lack of melodic content and structuring are my main complaints. Keep at it, man. ;)

xturox responds:

Thank you I'll keep that in mind.

[Byzantium]

I like the eastern instruments. This track is full of tension that never really gets resolved, though. By the end, it's pretty repetitive and structurally flat too. It's very catchy and the samples are cool, but I wish you varied the texture more. The fade-out ending struck me as a bit lazy, too. It's a great beat, but you could've done a lot more with it. Mixing and mastering are solid, though. I like the reverb. Keep at it, man! ;)

ADR3-N responds:

Thanks for the critique!

Structure is a little flat, yes, although most of this genre tends to be. Only samples I have are the drums and crashes. I used a lot of Nexus and Massive. Will admit that I jammed it out in a couple hours, and I really wasn't sure where to go with that lead. Fade out? Well, I dunno, you can really go either way with that. Crashes and abrupt stops are lazy and jarring, outros in hiphop are just stripped down versions of the intros usually, etc.

Definitely gave me something to think about though. Thanks!

[dead mow cinco - The Veldt (Cancer Wasder Trance Remake)]

I like the intro. It progresses a little slowly, but is definitely catchy and upbeat. I think you could've toned down the dissonance in the background a bit. I'm not sure what it adds to the piece, exactly. The synths are really cool. I like how the melody blends in amongst the chords for most of the piece. I guess my main complaint is that the drum pattern changes without any forewarning at several different points (2:00, 2:30, etc.), and that's a little jarring. I also think you could've varied the melody a bit more later in the piece. Other than that, solid work. Keep at it, man! ;)

WasderNoob-MatiasSWA responds:

Thanks for the feedback :P
I don't really care much about any complaints because, as you can tell from the title, this project is a joke. On the other hand, I think your feedback can help me on some other stuff I may throw together. :P If you wanna check out some legit(ly) solid tracks, then I suggest you listen to my others. If you want good stuff listen to Foil It JAJA
Thanks for the feedback! It helps.

[lucasasdf - Drapes]

The rhythm at the beginning is a little bizarre - it's almost square, but not quite. When the beat comes in at around :30, it makes a little more sense. I think you overused the reverb on that instrument that plays for the first 30 seconds, though. I'm pretty sure the instrument that comes in at :41 is a preset from Plucked. The whole piece is pretty dissonant, which isn't necessarily a problem, but I think you needed some stronger melodic content in there. The simple riff at 1:31 isn't enough to satisfy my melodic desires for an entire piece. The samples you used are cool. This could turn into a really cool ambient track, but I think it just needs to be fleshed out more. I also thought you could've done a lot more with the drums. There's a lot of potential here. Keep at it, man. ;)

lucasasdf responds:

I admit that I'm not the best at sound design, so when making the GMS Sample that you hear in the beginning I turned the reverb all the way up, and I'm new to making music, I've made music before, but I do it scarcely throughout time, but thanks for the feedback! : )

[Bounce & Ping]

The vocal samples set the mood really well, and this is a catchy song with a lot of cool samples. The mastering could've been a bit more polished, though. For example, I think you overdid the reverb on a lot of the rhythmic effects, and (at least with headphones) it's really hard to pick out the low-mid percussive frequencies in the kick at :17 (as opposed to the really sub-bassy tones). I'd suggest having two instruments there - a low-mid-range kick drum AND a sub-bass, and then sidechaining the bass to the kick so that they both sound clear. Also, I don't think the loop is that smooth. You left that last sweep/crash at the end hanging without resolving once it looped back to the beginning. Anyway, I've been really picky in this review. Solid work, man.

YakovlevArt responds:

Thanks for the thorough review. I do need to learn more about mastering, and will definitely work on that I as I keep producing. Thanks again!

[Yuletide Memories]

Ooooo...I like the instrumentation and emotion here. The percussion at :30 was a nice touch, too. It's pretty slow to progress at the beginning, but I really like the direction it's taking by around 1:30. You definitely play with a lot of different moods here - from nostalgia to hopefulness to longing. The vocal section at around the 2-minute mark was enjoyable. At 2:40 or so, the vocals seem to distort the strings a bit, but I can hear everything clearly at most other points in the piece. I suppose I would've suggested you take some of the treble off of those harsh-sounding bells at 3:05. The piece sounded like it was peaking there, but it might've just been the high pitch of the instrument. You could also just transpose it down an octave instead. I really like the rhythm guitar you introduce at 3:56 or so. It adds a lot of flair to the last minute or so of the piece. The ending is sweet. Also, I don't recall reviewing last year's version of this piece, so I'm glad I caught it this year. :) Keep up the good work, Ale! ;) Merry Christmas!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad you didn't review last year's version, as it was just a reboot of the 2014 version, with a music box instead of a piano!
I agree that the piece is slow to progress. I guess it's fine, since it's an Xmas song, and a fairly long one too.
As for playing with many moods, I probably overdid it! But I've been overdoing it since the first (never uploaded) version which I made in 2011. So it'd be weird to stop now!
Also, if I recall correctly, the original thought was that there should be different emotions, since a lot of different ones are felt during Christmas times, and this is a composition about remembering them.

As for 2:40, I think you're mistaking an even lower, simultaneous choir harmony, "singing" at the same frequencies as the Cello. So it's likely drowning (which is also bad), but not distorted!
The track doesn't peak at the bells, but I agree that it sounds harsh! I noticed this today while listening on speakers instead of with my headphones, where it's better.

The rhythm guitar is a great bass VST. But I couldn't use a bass because of the Cello, so I used fairly high notes, and added a few weird effects to make it sound like it does. I'm glad you liked the addition! The mix is probably the most terrible at this part though :V

So yeah, your critique is very on point! Thank you for the review, Andrew, and Merry Christmas!!

[I Wish You An Epichristmas]

I like the cute instruments and harmonies. It has a good sense of flow, and the overall mood is very relaxed and soothing. I liked the melodies at :40, but I think you could've done more with it as far as rhythm and flair. Right now they seem a bit square and lack-luster. The balance is good in this piece. You might want to incorporate some more percussion to keep it going, though. Also, there were some pretty sudden transitions in there, such as 1:44. I would've liked to see you vary the main melody more later on in the piece. Otherwise, the piece lacks direction a bit. Still, I appreciated the modulation to minor at 2:38 and the subsequent key change at 2:49. The stop-start transition at 3:31 didn't really work for me. It kinda just interrupted the flow. Maybe a crash or some reverb would've helped smooth it over. Personally, I'm not even convinced you need the last minute or so of this piece. It's all just repeated melody. Overall, nice piece. The mood and instruments were my favorite parts of it. It just needs a little more variety later on. Merry Christmas to you too! ^^

Earel responds:

Thanks for advises :)

[charge]

Woah. I love the dreamy synths and the portamentos. The reverb is so luscious and gives the piece a really spacey vibe. The bass groove at 1:10 is enjoyable too. Excellent mixing and mastering as always. That jazzy piano solo at 1:25 was great. Really cool tune, Johnfn. Killer melodies, catchy as hell, instrumentation enhances the mood a lot. I love all the subtle automations on the melody lines, like at 3:17. The pitch bend on that last note was awesome. The track cuts off suddenly, but fixing that is as simple putting in a blank extra measure. Fantastic piece, Johnfn! So nice of you to get me this Christmas present. ^^

johnfn responds:

Thanks TheDoor! Glad you liked it :D

[Cheap Holidays]

I like the atmospheric chords at the beginning, but they sorta crash stylistically with the percussion you add at :05. I think you need to work on your transitions. There was nothing in there that really predicted the bass line's entrance at :46. Same thing with the melody at 1:06. Even a simple sweep or crash would help smooth over those transitions. The piece seems to have a distinct structure, but overall lacks direction. You repeat a lot of the same riffs (like the bass at :46, and the melody at 1:06) over again, but you don't ever vary them enough. The piece has a huge sense of continuity about it, which makes it hard to keep my attention. I'd suggest creating a moment or two of structural relief in the middle of the piece where you lose those pads in the background and shake up the texture a bit. Some more prominent/consistent drums might also help give this piece more direction. Overall, it's not a bad track. It just needs a bit more dynamic shape and flow. Hope this helped! If you have any questions about my comments, please PM me. ;)

kriztendom responds:

Thank you for listening and analysis, for sure I'll follow your guidelines when I'll create a new track. This track was really made to be boring and random lol :))