TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[i believe]

I like the quirky and sometimes gritty-sounding synths. It's an interesting mixture of beautiful and angry, perhaps encapsulating your emotions? It does progress a little slowly for the first couple of minutes, but it doesn't lack direction, which is good. I loved the melody around 2:30, and you did a great job of harmonizing there. I like the drums too - I think they add something to the piece. The sense of climax into around 3:00 is great! :D I have no complaints about the mixing or anything, and I love how you got glitchy at 4:11. You really effectively changed the pace around 4:30, and I loved how you brought the "tainted beauty" back in the end. The last few notes were very interesting (to say the least), but still effectively concluded the piece in my opinion. Great work, Johnfn! :D You could potentially go very far in this competition (but everyone already knows that). ;D Best of luck, my friend! ^^

johnfn responds:

Thank you for the review! Yeah, a lot of people got on me for dat slow buildup, hmm :| oh well! thanks! glad you liked it.

[Dark Colors]

I love the creepy mood and the melodies. It loops well. The mixing is not up-to-par, though, LSD. That (harp?) really got buried under the pads and melody instruments. You need to EQ everything more and really dedicate those low-pitched tones to the strings alone. Also, I think the melody instrument was a little harsh-sounding at times...not sure if that's what you were going for or not, though........Overall, pretty good job! These pieces are getting shorter and shorter, though. :'(

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

The mixing is not up to par indeed. As I mentioned in the description, I didn't really put any time into this project at all; I simply felt like making something small after such a long break D:
When you say harp, might you be speaking of the guitar with effects that is going on in the background? It gets a bit buried at least, although it's not meant to be the centre of the song. You're right in that I should EQ things more (I barely did at all)!
I feel like the melody is too harsh in the first few seconds, which I noticed. It was getting so late that I didn't care to fix it though (laziness ftw!) XD

If you want a long piece, don't worry. I don't know when I'll upload them, but I have 2-3 (10 minutes +) improvisations that I intend to upload during my time in the army.

Once again, thanks for all the reviews :')

[Fanfareium]

Woah, 8 days ago. Where did the summer go, Ale? I think it's a cute and fun piece, and it definitely shows your good sense of harmony. I'm not sure the trumpet sounded completely authentic. The vibrato is very uniform throughout all the notes. Couldn't hurt to humanize it a bit. Otherwise, don't really have much to say. It's very short, although it feels pretty conclusive by the end. ;)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Very good question. Too much of it has gone into the army for me -_-
Lol, the trumpet sound is probably amongst the worst you could find XD
Humanizing it would take too much effort though, as I barely have any time at all to devote to music, especially as this is an old piece recorded with my synth :(
I never intended on making this piece long, as it's supposed to sound like a fanfare (in fact, the song should probably be shorter).
Thanks for the review! :D

[My 8bit destiny]

I like the beginning. It leaves a lot of room for climax, which is always good. The synths are cool, and you really bring out that funky, videogame vibe. I think the bass was a little too loud throughout. Instead of using a ton of that mid-range synth bass, you can keep the sub-bass in the EQ and make it really pop on headphones, y'know? Anyway, I loved the solo at 2:09 and how you then transitioned back into the down-octave melody. The ending was a bit lazy IMO, if only because it sort of faded out. I think something like this would make a great loop, so you could go that direction if you wanted to. Overall, though, I have few complaints, so keep up the great work! ;) You were one of the top scorers in your group for a reason, man! ^^

8-bitheroes responds:

Many thanks for the feedback, this will really help out.

[Nuts n Volts {Dj-Abbic}]

Dude, I think this is great! I love the synths and progression and melodies. The breaks at 2:02 were really cool, and it's all very smooth-flowing and catchy and cool. The mixing was pretty good. It may be a little long-winded, but I think you did a great job keeping it interesting with the complex structure and use of dynamic contrast and all. You were among the top scorers in your group for a reason, man. ;) Keep up the great work! ^^

DjAbbic responds:

Ooh awesome, thanks for the review! :D

[Emblem 6]

I love the atmospheric pads and the vocals. I think it could use some more progression and structuring. It's smooth-flowing and catchy, but very repetitive. Doesn't make a bad loop as it is now, though. I don't know what you used for the vocal samples, but I'd double-check to make sure that they're perfectly in tune. The mixing isn't great, btw: the pads are clearly distorted by the kick at times, and at others the kick is buried under the vocals. I'd do some serious EQ'ing, as well as some more filtering and swells in order to keep it interesting if you're planning on keeping the progression this simple. Couldn't hurt to add some sidechaining (if you haven't already) and to remove and limiters or compressors from the master channel if they're there. Otherwise, it's not a bad start. I love the mood and instruments. Just needs a bit of tidying up so it sounds cleaner and clearer. ;)

DjSkyFall responds:

thank you for the review man, and yeah the pads and vocals aren't distorted xD they are side chained with the drums, and yes to everything you said, this is a rough cut of a track and i only published it because the links to test weren't working haha, and if the vocals and pads sound like they are distorted rather than side chained then yes it does need changes, but again thank you and yes to everything you pointed out

[Ascent]

I like that synth at the beginning, but I think the rhythm is a bit disorienting at times. Couldn't hurt to have a beat earlier on or some harmonies to support the rhythmic structure. I think the real problem is that there are just too many notes in there, man, and you should stick to some simpler rhythms and focus more on the progression and variations. Eventually, when you get a feel for rhythm more, it'll be easier to know what sounds jarring and what doesn't. It also really helps if you play a musical instrument. This piece is short, which is okay, but what really bothers me is that there's not a lot of structural variation (breakdowns, bridges, verse-chorus play-off, etc.), melodic development, or dynamic contrast. The harmonies were also a little jarring at times, but I think that might just partly be because you have too much going on in there. The reverb kind of gave it a nice spacey feel, but it also added to the disorienting nature of the rhythms. Overall, I think it has some potential - you have some good ideas in here. However, it needs more variation. Try fleshing out these ideas more, simplifying them if necessary, while still keeping it smooth-flowing and coherent. This is challenging, I know - but once you learn to find a balance between coherence and variation, it makes your pieces all the more pleasant to listen to. It's just that this one is WAY on the too-coherent end, okay? ;) Keep working at it, man! ^^

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks for the feedback, man. hopefully i'll work on these things. cheers!

[Mechanical Hypocrisy ROCK vers]

I love the mood and instruments, and the vocals are very well done. The lyrics are good, but the vocals really made the conspiratorial and intense mood they imply come to life. It's climactic and dramatic, and I love that I feel like the singer is personally talking to me! The instrumentals are a perfect mix of soothingly atmospheric and subtly apprehensive. I love the synth melody that pops in at around 1:10. I think the mood of the piece slowly evolves into triumphant. It really feels like you're free at the end. Excellent job channeling the emotions here. The mixing and mastering was very good as well, and I see no problems with the balance or anything else of that sort. This is a job well done, MetalRenard! Also, I'd like to personally inform you that we had SkyeWint step in as a special back-up judge to score your submission, as Troisnyx didn't feel comfortable doing so in the end. Anyway, good job. ;) Keep it up! ^^

9.5/10

MetalRenard responds:

Awh thanks! I'm glad you like my voice, it really boosts my confidence to continue singing when people tell me that. I'm hoping to include vocals in all my submissions for this competition, if everything goes to plan.
Cheers!!!

[MJ1 - Stream of Hope]

I love the atmospheric nature of it, although the transition into :23 was a bit rushed in my opinion. I thought the bass at :23 was a little too loud, but the melodies were good. The mixing could be better in my opinion. The beat kind of gets drowned out by the synths sometimes. The breakdown at around 1:25 was a welcome structural relief, and I think you brought that hook back in at 2:00 effectively. I think it's coherent without being too repetitive, and well-structured/smooth-flowing as well. The ending was a little bit lazy in my opinion. I think you could've done something more creative there. That said, overall I liked the instruments, mood, transitions, and most of the rest! Keep up the good work, Madjasper1 ;)

7.5/10

TheMadWasp responds:

After looking into what criticisms you gave me, I looked into the timings you also provided me with and I agreed with you! I never spotted these mistakes before, but I'm glad you told me. Next time I compose something, I will look more into those little details.

Thanks.

-Madjasper1

[Rise]

I like the frantic synth bass at the beginning, and the quirky lead at :15. I think you needed a more effective transition at :15, though, even if it was a simple crash. I like the climactic nature of it and the melodies. You have a great sense of harmony. I loved the transition at 1:25. I think this piece has a great sense of direction to it, and it definitely keeps my attention throughout. That said, I think you had some slight balance issues. For example, the bass at around 1:30 and onward was a little too loud. Also, you have some really high-pitched and harsh tones in there later on which could've been compressed more, at the very least. Otherwise, it's an extremely amusing, energetic, and fun piece. The title seems fitting. I think you needed another crash at 3:06 though to aid in that transition. The ending was good, and it doesn't even make a bad loop! Great work, Larrynachos! I think you could potentially go very far in this competition. ;D

9/10

larrynachos responds:

Thanks! Your points were all incredibly valid, and I agree with all of them. I'm flattered to receive such a high score!