TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Scazon]

I like the dark cinematic mood at the beginning. The piano with the echo effect works really well to supplement the mood too. It has a lot of emotion, which I recall you didn't go for as much in the past. I love the sense of climax into 1:05, and how you channel that into the chill section at 1:10. I thought it was pretty haunting when the reverb just drops, like at 1:29. That kick comes in a little suddenly at 1:37 IMO. You could've at least used filters to "fade it in," if you know what I mean. Same thing with the sweep at 1:45. I think your drums are a little loud, but that's true of a lot of your tracks and is probably appropriate for the genre. I enjoyed the breakdown at 3:15 and that little riff with the transition synth at 3:27. Again with the reverb cutoffs at 3:50! :D It is quite repetitive, as usual, but I enjoyed the flowiness and constant ups-and-downs, which gave it the illusion of being fast-paced in a way, even when the mood itself was wicked chill. I would've appreciated a little more melodic development later on, but I think you accomplished what you set out to accomplish, my friend. Sounds hella good for something you made when you were "just screwing around." That bass and pulsing pad at the end added a lot to the sense of "release" at the very end of the song. It didn't seem as conclusive as some of your other tracks, but you also evaded the fade-out method, which I appreciated. Overall, great work man! Hope to hear more from you soon. ;)

SynchroSpectre responds:

Oooh, thanks :o, What I meant by screwing around is that I was just reversing some of the hats in the drums and using some stuttering in that Chinese synth thing. But yea, regarding the genre... I have no idea what I'm making; lol, it's my own unique style that just came up. I was always trying hard to make it like those mainstream EDM tracks out there but I never really succeeded - here, I decided, "oh well, I'll just make what I wanna make" and voila, some random deep house piece.

In house, usually repetition isn't a problem, 'cause it's mainly for dancing, but in this song... yea, there isn't supposed to be any repetition; this is supposed to be a piano piece with drums in the background, but laziness got me :l. Oh well, I'll just try to FX harder XD

Anyways man, I enjoy your reviews and thanks for listening :D

[Cave of Mysteries]

Oooo...it certainly is....mysterious! :O I loved the ominous drums and echo-y synths. The (violin?) that comes in at around :57 doesn't sound great, tbh. That's either because of the mixing or the sampling, but I can't tell which. I'm serious about that whole get-rid-of-all-the-tones-under-200-hertz thing, though, although I guess when this was made I hadn't told you about that yet...Still, it is difficult to pick out some of the individual instruments in this track because of the mixing, and fixing that on at least a basic level takes only 5 minutes. Still, I'm glad you're exploring orchestral/cinematic genres a bit more recently. It loops well, and the progression and harmonies are (as always with you) quite enjoyable. Keep at it, LSD! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Yay for mystery! :D

I think I made the percussion pretty much like this: Place a few drums (in the piano roll), add some multi delay, done (well, apart from the quick and not so good mixing of course).

I really like that violin tho! It's heeeeavily modified, and doesn't sound even remotely like that from the start. I was trying to recreate something from something I don't remember at the moment, but I remember succeeding surprisingly well in the mimicking, which might be why I like it.

Oh, I don't really disagree with the whole 200 hz thing. I was just trying to say that I believe that's way too radical to generalize (as we all know, only siths deal in absolutes, DARTH LOGIC). Especially as so many music genres sound so different from each other. There are several guitars, for example, that can and will benefit from the 200hz area, while there are some that sound horrible there. A solo piano should definitely not have everything removed from there, and same goes for some vocals, which sound more full if a bit is left down there. I, personally, probably don't remove enough from that area, but there's definitely people who make it work.
I do however remove everything from everything below 20hz, as should always be done.
I think you'd understand what I mean better if you could listen to the solo intruments in EWQL, while doing EQ sweeps, which is when you'll easily notice that some intruments definitely benefit from not being silenced in low frequencies. Also, as I said, a kick and bass don't even exist in every genre, but a song would sound awfully empty if you removed all the sound below 200hz!
What I said is backed up by not only my piano teacher, but in mixing-tips articles you can easily find online ;)

I can easily pick out all the intruments, but maybe that's because I made it. It's supposed to be a bit muddy though; remember, we're in a cave. IRL, the echo and sound would be much muddier than this! That said, this kind of sounds just as much like an underwater track, I suppose.

The harmonies I used in this song are very unusual ones for me. I couldn't even have made them work on a piano, I think. This too, was however, also a very short project. It takes sooo much time to make something well thought out and good :(

Thanks for yet another interesting review! You're very fast in catching up, I must say!

[Twenty Years]

I didn't even recognize it as "happy birthday" at first. It's quite solemn and even regal in a way. Makes me think of a desolate, snow-covered kingdom with an ancient castle looming oppressively overhead. I understand this was a quick thing, but I'm not sure I like the instruments too much (or maybe it's just the way you balanced/mastered them, idk). Still, interesting mood here. Congrats on finding a way of making a song that literally has the word "happy" in its title...well...extremely depressing! :O

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

You're not really meant to recognize the melody at first! That's what makes this interesting, you know XD
The regal is surely because of all the brass. I can kinda see the snow thingy. Interestingly enough, the brass is pretty warm in a way though, and the harp is very similar to the one track that made you think about a more tropical landscape! :p

I don't like the instruments that much either. That said, it's kind if the point. I wanted this to feel heavy, and perhaps a bit unpleasant too. Bu I should've used something else than a harp for the melody; that's for sure.
Thanks!

[Conquest of the Uncharted]

First of all, I like the mood a lot. I think the strings should've been EQ'd more, though, especially towards the high end, because it sounds a little harsh up there, which is most notable towards the beginning of the piece IMO. Also, the section from around 1:00 to 1:23 is pretty muddy. SINGLE MOST HELPFUL MIXING TIP EVER: get rid of all of the tones below 200 Hertz in everything except the bass and kick (and, in fact, most of your pieces don't seem to have a bass and kick). Otherwise, I admired the structure and progression (as usual), and I think orchestral music could suit your compositional abilities quite nicely. Until you become the lead conductor of a major symphonic orchestra, though, you might need to focus on your mixing. ;) Keep at it, LSD! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Oh, another one already? Cool!
Yeah, the mixing in this one sucks pretty badly XD It was just a project for fun though. I'm actually releasing a new full orchestral piece this week, and it has slightly improved mixing (still pretty bad though)! If I keep this up, I'll be able to mix properly in about 5 years or so ;)

Well, I think the strings should've been EQ'd differently, but not more (and I'm pretty sure that it should be lessened in the high end if it is harsh, though I might be wrong of course).

"1:00-1:23"

=> Yup. It's super muddy, but actually, the entire piece is pretty muddy; it's waaaayyy too wet!

Heh, I have an even greater mixing tip though: EQ sweeps. Nuff said. I'm pretty sure I didn't use it enough when mixing this. Also, I think that it's very relative whether you should remove everything below 200 hertz, as several string instruments have their very nice sounds around those frequencies (a cello, as an example you might be familiar with, can sound pretty nice down there. Perhaps you count that as bass, but there are strings that play in higher octaves that have a nice sound surprisingly low on the scale too). Most of my issues lies in horrible percussion mixing, and way too unrestricted reverb/wetness. For the next orchestral track (as apart from the one I will soon upload), I will probably try to look more at that! :D

I think that Orchestral music is actually a pretty suiting genre for me indeed, as I listen to it quite a lot, due to movies, games, classical music and such :)

Thanks again! I will definitely focus on my mixing, as it is perhaps my weakest area!

[Neo-Metry Medley]

I like the idea a lot! The melody at :22 seemed really out of place when it first came in. I think you needed a clearer transition when it first came in. Other than that, you mesh all these tracks (many of which I love, btw) together quite well. I liked the instruments throughout. One tiny thing that bothered me is that the brass synth pad at 2:30 was a little too loud IMO. There were some other minor balance issues too, for example the drowned-out melody at 2:50. Other than that, I love all the synths, and you kept up the intensity and mood throughout. The ending felt a bit inconclusive, but I imagine it was hard to end it given all the various songs you crammed in here! Love the idea, and it helps that I'm familiar with about half of these songs. :) Keep up the good work, LunacyEcho! ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

=> 0:22 =>

Yeah, I've been getting that a lot. But that's what you get for not listening to feedback! :P

=> 2:30 =>

But.. but... the wubs! Yeah, I see what you mean. :P In my defense, it sounds AWESOME when played out of my Mac speakers (which are definitely renowned for being the best speakers in the world obviously)

=> 2:50 =>

You mean the Electroman Adventures melody was drowned out? I can see what you mean, but I sort of just wanted some more high mids in there to keep up the balance. The Club Step melody was the focus of that part!

=> ending =>

Yeah, seriously. None of the songs in the game have proper endings, since they're all cut at ~1:30. So, I had to work with what I could. :P Glad you can sympathize!

=> familiar with about half =>

The Waterflame half? :P

Thanks for the review! And man, going through all your missed work must be long and arduous. Thanks so much for going through all the trouble!

[Ikuisen talven maa]

Oooo...instruments make it sound like some sort of shadowy tropical evening. XD I like the progression and atmosphere/mood. It loops really well, and I admire your sense of structuring, even in such a short piece. The only downfall of this piece IMO is that it's so short! Funny how you put "winter" in the tags. Makes me think of just the opposite season for some reason...Anyway, keep it up LSD! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Ugh, relistening to this, the tremolo strings stand out waaay too much; dem0lecule was totally right.

I guess this makes you think of the opposite season, as the strings I used are actually pretty warm. The most indicating intrument that this is winter themed, is that bell-ish thingy that plays every measure, and the fact that the harp is a bit colder (but it should be even more cold!) than it would normally be, along with that other violin that's playing softly in the background, which is much colder than the warm strings.
So I totally get what you mean with this sounding tropical as well!

This is pretty short, yeah. Not the shortest one I've made, but certainly not the longest XD
The strength of this piece, imo, is its progressions that seem to almost constantly move upwards, even though it actually loops at one point.

Oh, are you doing reviews in order? If you're going to review many of the other pieces I've uploaded, that's really cool!

Thanks for this one as well :D

I'll reply to your PM relatively soon, hopefully by the end of this week, but I have a concert, so you know XD

[Equilibria - Nebula]

I like the ominous strings and piano combo in the beginning, but I think the intro might've gone on for a bit too long. Also, I'm not sure I liked the snare sample at :42. Still, 1:26 was a highlight. You know I love that open hat sound you use a lot! I think it lacks some harmonies/pads at a few points in the song...a lot of the time, there's a melody and drums and a bassline, but not much else, y'know? I can see what you meant by "loud compared to a lot of NG's tracks," but that's a sign that your mixing has improved a lot. I love the intricate breaks at 2:35. I need to know where you got that dirty bass sample! I love it! Also, nice work with the hi-hats around 4:10. I like how you brought the orchestral theme back around there too. I also thought the filters you put on the kick leading up to the drop at 4:52 were really cool. I thought the ending was a little sudden: although it was a good idea to use the static/glitch-y stuff at the end, the kicks made it seem a little inconclusive...unless, of course, you wanted it to loop, but the way it was cut, I don't think it loops that well. Still, overall this is an awesome piece and you've improved a lot in the past year or so! I'm catching up on my reviews in chronological order, so I'll do March tomorrow and hopefully April between Monday and Tuesday. Keep up the great work, DM! ;D

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks man! I actually agree that the intro went on a bit too long, but we were also aiming for a longer intro in this. Every single melody in this was written on the first day and we kept each one for the final version, including the long ass intro haha.

"Also, I'm not sure I liked the snare sample at :42."
Those were tom samples actually! Since we don't have orchestral percussion, toms are the next best thing we've got. This was the first track that we used tom samples for more than just filler, so mixing was difficult for us there, but we fixed it (and all the problems we knew of in this track) in Unsustainable.

"I love the intricate breaks at 2:35. I need to know where you got that dirty bass sample!"
That bass sample is FM8 being modulated by a bass made in Massive with Vocodex. ;) The sound design for the basses is actually really simple when you look at it, but still complicated and effective enough to be freaking awesome.

"Also, nice work with the hi-hats around 4:10. I like how you brought the orchestral theme back around there too."
Got to have those shakers man ;)
I'm glad we brought it back too. It was so much different from the rest of the track that we wanted to use it more than just once, and it actually made for a really cool breakdown and build.

"I also thought the filters you put on the kick leading up to the drop at 4:52 were really cool."
That was actually just the toms being layered with the kicks haha, no filters needed.

As for the ending:
Honestly we don't really know what we were going for, but we wanted it to seem inconclusive and end abruptly with the static. Since this is a single from the EP, it's going to be leading straight into the intro for the title track, Infinite Realms. Since IR is in a different key, we wanted an interesting way to make it fit right after Nebula and static FX and high passing the track sort of worked and we're sticking with it for now.

[Spoiled Coffee]

Spoiled coffee?! I will cry! :'( Just kidding; I don't even drink coffee. Anyway, I like the warm string sounds at the beginning. Kind of seems ominous and cheerful at the same time (not sure how you managed that). The string synth does seem to accent the beginning of each downbeat though, which bothered me a bit when you tried adding in dynamic contrast (it sounded like an Fp when you clearly didn't intend for that to be the case). I like the progression, but I think this piece lacks some more harmonizing to keep it interesting. Overall, though, solid work! Sorry I was so late in reviewing this; you know why I was. ;P

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Cool! It would seem like you're finally getting some well deserved time! :D
Yiss! Another non-coffee drinker! We shall form our own empire and rule the world one day still.

It's the weird tremolo string that makes it feel ominous, I think, while the melody and chords are, to the most part, not so ominous. I really made this in an extremely lazy manner XD Now that I have better instruments, I could easily reassign the MIDI and make a version that sounds much better :p

This is a pretty simple piece. I think it would sound much better, if the melody stood out more with perhaps a solo intrument, while just a few clean string intruments played the chords. Chordwise, this song repeats itself very little. However, in order for the emotions to really show, one would need to automate the volume dynamics much more, which I didn't even do at all XD

I don't mind a late review at all! If anything, it's very nice to get a new review on a piece that was already uploaded wuite a while ago! :D
Thanks for reviewing ;)

[Best Song Ever Made]

NOTICED FRONT-PAGE; HAD TO REVIEW! :D I like the tranquil atmosphere at the beginning, although given the date of upload and genre, I was expecting some sort of intense drop at some point. Still, I like the progression and mood. It's very bright and quirky, as if one is suddenly arriving at a quaint Irish village after a long night of trudging through the snow (although maybe I'm getting the "Irish" part only because "potato" is tagged). ;) If I had to complain about anything, it would probably be the quality of the stringed instruments around 1:10. You can tell that they're fake because the vibrato is on a fixed sine-wave pitch ratio. I'm not sure how to "humanize" things in Cubase, but I suggest you look into that. Otherwise, nice work and congrats on the front-page! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

LOL! How did I not even notice the frontpage at all? Hahha XD

And I like how you actually reviewed this as if it was some serious piece. This song goes back two years; I made it on my synth in about 30 minutes. It was as a challenge for myself, but I really failed. The thing is, I came up with the chords in about 15 minutes. After that, I improvised every intrument once, based on the chords. There are five intruments, as many as my synth can record at a single track. That's why the audio quality is like it is, and why there are some weird mistakes, and everything is off tempo and messy XD
This was too bad to upload as it is, but I have been waiting a year to upload it as an April Fools joke! Finally the time came, and it seems it even managed to get front paged! Somebody has a good sense of humor :D

So yeah. This was NOT made in Cubase, nor is it a recent work :3
But thanks for the review anyway, I appreciate it ;)

P.S. Potatoes rule!