TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Unmotavation]

I like the drums at the beginning and the groovy bass guitar riff that comes in shortly thereafter. The drums sound nice and crisp, and the recording quality is pretty good, although the texture isn’t as full and rich as I would’ve liked. You have a good sense of harmony and progression, but I wanted to see you take some more risks with the composition and flesh out the structure more. The mix is a little quiet, but other than that I don’t have any complaints about the production. This piece just needs a little more harmonic variety, melodic content, and flavor. Keep at it, Jfloyd! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
5.75/10

Jfloyd responds:

Thanks I really apreciate the time you guys took and the feedback. Just getting into serious recording and the review really helps me to progress. Thanks again

[XenoXenon - Beneath The Sunset]

I like the emotional appeal of the piano at the beginning and the tasteful use of reverb. The strings at :24 sounded lovely, and the pizzicatos at :37 add a cutesy element to the texture. The piece is a little slow to progress at times, and I would’ve liked to hear some stronger melodic content earlier in the piece, but I appreciated the dynamic contrast you offered at 1:15 and the atmosphere provided by the piano arpeggios. The horn melodies that start fading in at around 1:42 are a valuable addition to the texture, and the percussion helps give the piece some energy and drive during the final section. I think you could’ve gone for a bigger climax towards the end to maximize the emotional qualities here, but I like the cute piano melody at the very end. Production-wise, the texture is pretty well-balanced and clear, although the mix is very quiet throughout. Overall, I think you could’ve taken some more risks here with the composition, but you nailed the sound design, atmosphere, and melodies. Keep at it, XenoXenon! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

XenoXenon responds:

Thank you so much for feedback :)

[Neon]

I like the smooth synths and atmosphere at :11, but the vocal sample at the beginning sounds a tad generic and unnecessary. The piece is pretty slow to progress, but the texture is well-balanced and the ascending synth arpeggios in the background add a lot to the piece. I wasn’t a huge fan of your drum samples at :51. The kick has a bit too much treble for my tastes, and the snare is pretty cliche and thin-sounding. The production quality is indeed good, although I think the composition is a bit underwhelming, especially during the first half. I liked the more prominent bass line at 2:18, and the bright stabs at 2:38. That said, the piece is missing some dynamic melodic content and harmonic variety. Despite the lovely atmosphere and fun sound design, I think the composition is pretty bland and flat overall. I’d suggest you keep working on this piece, though. It would change a lot if you simply added a more engaging melody towards the end. Keep at it, quantumdylan! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

quantumdylan responds:

Thank you so much for such a well thought out critique, it means a lot to me. I'm definitely going to take this to heart when I come back to the mix post NGADM.

And yeah, I think this was one of the weakest of the three synthwavey tracks I'd been experimenting with, but it seemed to be the safer option for auditioning and the like. I'm still learning how to make these sort of tracks and good critique is incredibly helpful!

Thanks again, you rock!

[Illusion of Time]

I like the ominous atmosphere at the beginning and the sense of anticipation at :08. The additional drums at :27 help fill out the texture, although the pace of progression here is pretty slow. The melodic content at 1:13 is really refreshing, and the production quality here is rather strong. The prominence of the atmospheric content at 1:45 is nice, although I think the piece could use more structural variety in general. It has a sense of underlying tension and continuity. At some point, I wanted that tension to come to a head and the illusion to be revealed in a more dramatic way. Instead, despite the cool solos and beautiful atmosphere, I’m not sure you maximized the emotional appeal of this track. The section at 3:36 definitely helps hit the piece home, but it doesn’t necessarily resolve the tension-filled atmosphere, which remains the underbelly of the solos until the very end. Still, I deeply admire your guitar skills, production quality, and sound design here. Keep up the good work, MintyFreshThoughts! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

VortexVisionz responds:

Thanks for the review! I can agree with everything pointed out. I’m still in the early stage of learning music production, but all things considered I still manage to make some decent tracks. Many thanks!

[Odyssey]

I like the anticipatory string riffs at the beginning and the frantic energy and tension underlying the piece. The percussion helps fill out the texture nicely, and the melodic content at :40 is a nice change-of-pace after the intense beginning. The progression is a bit slow-paced until 1:34, but I like when the texture gets richer and fuller there. The breakdown at 2:05 was strong, and had some pleasing atmospheric components in the percussion and ascending synth lines. The production quality is strong here too, although occasionally there’s a tad too much reverb in the texture, and the mix overall is pretty quiet. The outro at 3:29 could’ve been a bit more creative, but overall I like the progression here too. Strong work overall, especially with the sound design, harmonic content, and atmosphere. Keep it up, SirQuebi! ^_^

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

Quebi responds:

All I can say is wow. While I do think you're being pretty generous in some areas, it's really heartening to see how much I've improved over the past 2 years. Thank you

[Piano in the Rain]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the atmosphere. The piano sample is of pretty good quality, and the progression comes together well by around :32. There might’ve been a tad too much reverb in the texture, and I thought the entrance of the drums at 1:04 was a little sudden. The piece is well-structured overall, but the fade-out ending struck me as a bit lazy. I also think you could use more contrast in the energy and volume levels in the texture in order to maximize the emotional appeal of the piece. Still, the composition is smooth and the bright and airy feel of the piece is rather enjoyable. Keep at it, shadow-ghost! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

shadow-ghost responds:

Thank you so much for the detailed review, TaintedLogic! I definitely think you make some good points, especially in regards to reverb (I tend to overuse it) and the song fade out. I'm glad you liked the piece overall! :)

[Peeter Angelo - Something 'Bout You]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the chill pads. The harmonic pace is a bit fast-paced at times, especially at :22 or so. Still, the vocals are refreshing (even if the lyrics are a little cliche) and the rest of the sound design is smooth. I think the drums could be a little louder here, but otherwise the production quality is solid. I especially like the slight glissandos in the vocal line and the fun, jazzy solo at the breakdown at 2:03. The composition is strong here overall, and the piece has a great feel-good vibe. The mixing effects at 2:53 are cool for some variety, and the chopped vocals later on help hit the piece home. I would’ve appreciated some more melodic variation during the refrain, but overall you keep things engaging with the energy and synths. Keep up the good work, Peeterangelo! ^_^

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
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

peeterangelo responds:

Wow, what an in-depth review! Up until recently I've composed instrumental songs almost exclusively so I don't have much experience with writing lyrics yet. I'm hoping I'll get better soon if I keep at it, though. Thank you very much for the kind words and suggestions.

[The Lost Legacy]

The percussion at the beginning is cool, and I like the mysterious synth patterns at :06. Nice job with the bass riff at :22 and the atmosphere. The drums sound a tad generic, and the texture doesn’t quite come together in a particularly rich way until the very end. Even then, there’s room for some stronger melodic content and additional structuring here. I’d love to see you flesh out the composition more here, as well as create some more gradual transitions and build-ups to maximize the emotional appeal of the piece. I also think the bass could be a bit louder during the final climactic section. That said, I enjoyed the strong production quality, sound design, and rhythmic content here. Keep at it, EdKempeper! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

EdKempeper responds:

Hi !
Wow, thank you very much !
I always appreciated the details of your reviews. I keep in mind all of your advices especially when I'm mixing my tracks (maybe the hardest part).
It's a very short piece, so you're right, I could have add some part.
And you often mentionned the transitions within your reviews, I'll try to work on it differently for my next tracks.
Thanks again ! ;)
Ed