TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[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!!!

[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!

[Popping Flowers]

I like the warm chords at the beginning and the way the synth arpeggios gradually fade in. It definitely felt climactic into :46. I think the chord progression was a little cliché, but I did enjoy the melody and the upbeat and blissful mood. The transitions are smooth and the progression is well done. My main problem with it is that you didn't really do anything unexpected or "risky" if you know what I mean. It's an enjoyable piece, but it's one of those that a lot of people would call "good" but not "fantastic," y'know? It was a little repetitive later on, and I think you needed some more variation on the melody to keep my attention, to be honest. The ending was a little lazy, too, and even a transition that's slightly different would've helped gain you some more points in my eyes. Anyway, sorry to be so negative. It's really not that bad at all, and definitely deserving of the All-Star group despite my grievances. The mixing and mastering is good - no complaints there - but that doesn't really help get it past its simplicity. Good job with the mood, instruments, and all, though. Keep up the good work, ForeverBound, and sorry if the results come out when it's a bit too late over there in Europe! ;)

7.5/10

ForeverBound responds:

I wasn't intended to do something risky, I just wanted and easy to listen song whitch is catchy as well and I think I did the job well for that. but Thanks for the review and for hosting this competition

[Rainbow Stream]

I like the instruments and mood. It's pretty fun and upbeat and blissful. I like the climactic nature of it into 1:17. That melody is a little high-pitched and harsh, though. I think it's well-structured and smooth-flowing, and the vocal samples add to the piece significantly. It was pretty repetitive at times, but overall the melodic and harmonic content is rather good. I think you overused the transition at 3:24. Couldn't have hurt to shake that up for some variety later in the piece. Variety on the main melody would have also been welcome. It's a fun piece, but a little simple to be honest. I think it has potential, but I was looking for that "wow" factor throughout and I never really found it. It's not bad, though, but I think you can do a lot to improve it. Keep at it, Ectisity! ;)

7/10

EctiBot responds:

Thx for the review thedoor :). You points are absolutely valid.
The high pitched melody during the drop was something I did on purpose to give the listener kind of a Rollercoaster experience. Instead of just playing the song in a single octave the entire song, I think it adds to the interest to change it up at times. It's also there because it gives the song more energy, which this song is focused on. Ofc, I understand that not everybody likes it.

It's true that the piece is a bit repetetive at times, but it's dance afterall XD. I tend to add more variation in my tracks, but I liked the melodies so much this time around that I couldn't bring myself to switch them up just to do it. Know what I mean?

And about the song being "simple", that might be through, but I don't think a songs value should be rated on how complex it is. Especially Dance music. I do totally agree that this track lacks a "wow" factor though. That's one thing that bothered, and still bothers, me quite a bit about it. In normal Dance, either the bass, kick or the melody is the "wow" factor, but I don't like to go for a standard bassheavy track :/. Thus I tried to mix it up a bit with 8-bit sounds, which I think worked pretty well, but the track is still missing something. It's like there is no "Holy Molly" thing going on during the drop, It sounds a bit empty to me. Hopefully I'll be able to fix this in my future tracks.

Again, thx for the review. Can't say that I agreed on ALL of your points, but they were logical and made sense. Is really just a matter of preference in my opinion :).
-Ectisity