TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Asteroid]

I like the dreamy synth riff and string pads at the beginning. The piece is a little slow to progress at first, but the crisp drums and added harmonies at around :40 are really nice. The oscillating pad that fades in at :38 sounds a bit too loud, and the way it was panned at :51 was a bit jarring tbh. The texture comes together well by 1:08, but the descending line the lead is playing still doesn’t seem very melodic or dynamic. I like the fat, grouchy synth bass and a lot of the other sound design elements. I also like the added harmonies during the second refrain at 2:35.

Overall, this piece is well-structured and smooth-flowing, with solid production quality and a killer atmosphere. Some of the compositional details could’ve been fleshed out a bit more, but honestly my biggest problem here is probably the extreme panning on that one pad - it’s just very distracting and unpleasant. Stereo widening is probably a better way of having an instrument like that blend in with the rest of the texture more - that’ll simultaneously pan the pads to both sides so that they sound more well-balanced. Otherwise, this is a catchy piece with a nice, soothing atmosphere. Keep at it, GlaceonDash! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

MauveDash responds:

This was made during a period when I discovered panning existed, so yeah!

I'll try my hardest the next time I make something similar, hopefully avoiding it sounding too harsh

[Sonic speed]

I like the bouncy beat at the beginning. The synths are a bit cheesy, though, and the mix sounds seriously distorted here. Notice how the drums sound a lot quieter at :32 than they did during the first 20 seconds? That’s a sign that the texture is getting distorted because you have multiple instruments playing at the same frequency range. You can fix it by adding a compressor to the drums, and then using an equalizer to filter out the bass tones (less than 200 Hertz or so) in the harmonic instruments (i.e., everything besides the bass and kick). I’m sure you can look up “how to use a compressor” or “how to use an equalizer” and then add the name of your DAW to help you navigate the technicalities of mixing in your specific program. You also might already be familiar with these mixing tools - you should use them way more often, is the point.

Production aside, I like the frantic arpeggios at :32, but I think the additional layering at :43 is a bit too much. I’m also enjoying the melodies at :53, although the transition at 1:15 came on a bit suddenly. After the breakdown at 1:15, the piece got pretty repetitive, and also has a pretty generic chord progression and arrangement. Overall, I think you have a good sense of rhythm, song structure, and harmony, but the composition needed more variety here and the mix could’ve been a lot tighter. Still, I enjoyed the house-inspired outro and the final build-up at 3:26. Keep at it, GEYXOR! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

GEYXOR responds:

tysm ill try to get better :D

[ShadowFox - Wake Up!]

I like the piano riff at the beginning and gradual fade-in of the pads at :23. The gritty bass at :38 has a bit too much static and not enough tonal core for my tastes, but I’m enjoying the build-up into 1:18 nonetheless. The dreamy drop sounds good, if a tad minimal and over-compressed. The arrangement is a bit generic here, but the compositional details are still satisfying. I especially like the creative beats at 2:25 and the more energetic drop at 3:08. You did a good job of making the content during the drop feel fresh compared to the first one with the added harmonies and the faster-paced underlying rhythm. The spacey outro was also a nice touch. There might’ve been some more dynamic melodies at some point, but overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere, rhythmic content, and mixing and mastering in this piece a lot. Keep at it, ShadowFox! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

gdfoxy0021 responds:

Thanks a lot for this comment, i appreciate it a lot ^^

[Voltage Rush]

It’s a bit hard to follow the rhythm at the beginning 5 seconds or so, but I like the punchy synths and the crisp beats. Some of the drum samples are a bit generic, and the synths at :30 sound a bit harsh and indistinct in the mix. It also sounds like you have some reverb on the kick at :52, which could also be compromising the production quality a bit. You channel the energy really well here, with a number of cool transitions and fun compositional details like the glitches at around 1:10. The harmonic content gets a bit repetitive after a while here, and at some point some more melodic content would’ve been nice. The structure seems a bit formulaic after a while, despite the cool transitions - you seem to switch up the texture every 8 or 16 bars or so, but don’t do much to create variety within the phrase. Despite that missed opportunity, I’m enjoying the apprehensive mood and sound design overall here. You clearly have a great sense of rhythm, progression, and harmony. The composition just could’ve been a bit bolder and more variational. Still, the catchy synth riffs and high-octane breaks are really neat. Keep at it, g2961! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

G2961 responds:

Thanks for advanced review! I accept it!

[Grove of Fragile Dreams and Towering Nightmares]

I like the emotional appeal of the piano at the beginning. The melodies at :09 are nice, but I think you overused the little rolled chords at the beginning of each phrase (:09-:14, :18-:25, etc.). The transition into :52 was smooth, although some of the instruments there sound pretty inauthentic. The piano could’ve sounded a bit more distinct in the mix, but otherwise the production quality holds up well during the climax of the piece. The post-chorus at 1:40 has a nice, punchy rhythm to contrast with the flute lead. Overall, this is a really impressive composition. I honestly think my biggest problem with it is the quality of the instruments - clearly fake, and occasionally a bit harsh-sounding in the treble range (i.e., 1:36). You should probably look into getting some better orchestral samples, but your sense of melody, progression, and rhythm certainly make up for that here. Consider yourself scouted. Keep at it, FUZZYFREAK! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

FUZZYFREAK responds:

hey man, thank you so much for providing such a detailed response to my piece! i really really appreciate you taking so much time and care into listening and analyzing something i've made so closely, even if it's something you presumably take great pleasure in doing :)

before i explain some stuff i must say i 100% agree with basically everything you've said here. the elephant in the room i wanna address is that this piece was made in flat.io, a browser hosted notation based software (think musescore, sibelius etc. but exclusively hosted on your browser instead), which is why some of the instruments sound very inauthentic in the mix as well as the mix itself not being expertly handled (there are 0 mixing options provided besides being able to pan and give reverb to instruments as well as a hard-cap limiter put in place when exporting to mp3 or wav to prevent clipping, but anything else is completely out of the picture hahaha)

as for the rolls in the beginning, i thought of them less as chords and more just the main melody being played by the right hand in a unique way - the melody itself is just doubled an octave higher, so what the roll is effectively doing is just making it so the octaves aren't playing at the same time (something you've probably noticed is that at places like :40 for example i didn't use this roll to accent that specific beat/note for effect, since overall i think the roll makes the melody more "floaty"). all that is to say i don't think you're necessarily wrong, just that there's a difference in artistic vision, which i still honestly super appreciate you mentioning to me as it gives me something to think about


once again, thank you for the review! and dw i'll definitely be applying for the other contest, just wanted to see the results of this one first ;)

p.s. forgot to mention but i've moved to making music in FL since i've made this piece so don't worry about that LOL

[Heroes (Original)]

I like the echo-y pads at the beginning and the bassy groove at :04. The mix is loud overall, but the vocals need a serious boost. They sound both over-processed and way too soft. Vocals and drums should be easily the loudest elements of the mix, and right now neither of them stand out. I also would’ve liked to hear some more dynamic melodic content and some more creative sound design - the drums especially were a little cliche here. That said, the vocal layering on the post-chorus is nice (like at 3:21), and I like the smooth, dreamy pads and bass.

The mixing is definitely my main concern with this piece. I would suggest scaling back the reverb/delay effects and getting a lot stricter with the equalizers on the instrumental tracks, before using some compression and filtering to make the vocals punchier and more up-front. The clap could also use some compression, but it might be more impactful to give it a boost in the upper-mid range where it has the most frequencies so that it “pops” more in the mix.

Overall, there’s a lot to like with the compositional details, rhythmic content, and progression here. It just needs a more crisp and well-balanced production, is all. Keep at it, Force64! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

Force64 responds:

Thanks for you review :D

[Woven Tapestry]

I like the acoustic guitar at the beginning and the pensive mood. The quantization is not perfect, and sometimes there are little pauses that briefly disrupt the flow of the piece (most noticeably at :37 and :48). That said, the rhythm of the strumming, even when it’s irregular, is really soothing, and the subtle mixing effects you added work well. I might’ve liked to see the piece have a stronger sense of structuring, especially towards the end. Instead, the sense of flow and direction in the texture gradually slips. You’re clearly a talented guitarist, but some additional layering and more of a dynamic composition (use more of the guitar’s pitch range, or record a more percussive accompaniment at some point, etc.) could’ve really taken this piece to the next level. Still, the title of this piece captures something really important about this track: a tapestry of riffs that you’ve woven together to tell a story. Evocative stuff! Keep at it, Flamadour. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

Flamadour responds:

Thanks for the constructive comments and review. I was contemplating about adding additional layers and instrumentation such as a lead guitar part over the top. I might do that for future compositions.

[Cosmic Speed]

I like the frantic beats and distorted vocal samples at the beginning. I’m not sure they quite blend in well with the bouncy VGM synths at :12, though, especially with the way the piece is mastered to really highlight the vocals and beats over the synths. Otherwise, the piece is pretty repetitive, and also doesn’t have much in the way of dynamic melodies for the first couple of minutes. I do like the dreamy breakdown at 1:30, although once the beat comes back in at 1:53 the vocals get a bit lost in the mix. The gritty, rhythmic bridge at 2:16 was also a good idea, as was the organ solo at 3:30. I still think the mix is a bit too dominated by the beats and vocals from the intro, but you hit the piece home nicely with the tonic landing at 3:46. The fade-out at the very end could’ve been a bit more creative, though.

In general, my favorite aspect of the piece is probably the sound design. The mix needed a bit more blending and balance, but was pretty clean overall. Still, you nailed the upbeat mood, energy, and rhythmic content. Keep at it, Eptheus! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.25/10

Eptheus responds:

That's a perfect review for me. There's so much here that I can take into improving my sound and mixing/mastering. Thank you very much!

[Embyeee - white space]

I like the haunting ambiance at the beginning. Sounds like you took a vocal sample and then heavily manipulated the tempo. It’s actually a bit hard to get a sense of flow to the piece since the pulsing synths oscillate in tempo so much. The beats are cool, and I like the sound design a lot, but the progression is pretty slow-paced and the texture is minimal enough that I get a bit restless after a while listening to this. I know you’re a really talented producer, Embyeee, but the composition and arrangement just needed a bit more fleshing out here. For what it’s worth, I think this would be great background music for a horror-themed game or something, especially if you doubled down on the mixing effects and atmosphere. Still, really creative instrumentation and engrossing mood here. Keep at it, man! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Embyeee responds:

Hey, thanks for your feedback!

[AIM23 - Forgotten Civilization]

I like the pensive synth arpeggios at the beginning and the spacey pads. The mix is pretty well-balanced, but there’s a lot of reverb in the texture, and the drums are a tad quiet, especially once the texture gets busier. The guitar synth at :44 is pretty cool, and I like the rhythmic syncopations during that section. The breakdown at 1:28 was good for some structural variety, although the arrangement of this piece is a bit generic, and at some point I would’ve liked to hear some more dynamic melodies, changing across phrases and really leading somewhere, not just repeating a 4-bar riff within the chorus/refrain of the piece. There are a lot of other cliche aspects of the sound design and composition, in fact - like the descending arpeggios and drum samples. That said, I like the pace of the arpeggios increased during the final refrain at 2:34. Overall, you clearly have a good sense of harmony, progression, and rhythm, but the structuring here is a tad formulaic, and aspects of the composition could’ve had more variety. Still, you’ve made a catchy and smooth-flowing track with some quirky synths and a strong sense of atmosphere. Keep at it, Dynamic0! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

Dynamic0 responds:

Thanks for the review!