ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[When it’s over (the bright future)]

This track is suffering from a loud clap, loud hats, and lots of reverb. I think the first two are to cut through said reverb. Some low cut would be helpful for those wet signals.

I hear your videogame influences and recognize them. Represent :)

I think I would like to hear a more defined structure in this song, as it sounds like several ideas mashed together, with no cohesive idea of what is verse, drop, bridge, etc. As far as those ideas though, they sound worth keeping around. I wish there wasn't an abrupt cutoff!

[Obsidian Knight]

You were right, this is a sub bumper! I think you have the idea down for bass music, just need to get that bottom end sub under control, and get some mixing study under your belt. I think that is holding me back from fully enjoying this piece.

The melody is not bad by any means, and neither is the accompaniment, but it seems most of the attention was given to the bassline in terms of mixing and FX. The melodies are a bit dry and stay where they are in the left and right channels respectively. At 2:30 they open up a bit more, but the bass fades out of the picture. A bit more balance between these two moments I think would help a lot.

But no matter what happens, don't give up. Great work getting this far!

SednovaNova responds:

Appreciate it. I will take this into account.

[The Depths]

I think the mix on this leaves a lot to be desired. The choice to add a snare in the intro, 19, without leading into a drop following, and it feels like the snare is hiding. The high frequencies stick out most on it, also drawing the listener's ear to this repetitive snare line. I may have tried hats instead

at 1:06 I was also expecting a drop, not a pre-drop, another interesting choice

Now the drop at 1:24 legitimately has GREAT things going for it, such as the chords are so tasty, the lead works. I think some study of contemporary mix in your genre of choice will bring you up to pro level, as your sound design and composition are ALMOST there, and the mixing and sound design are 90% of the battle.

Great work getting to the final round. I'm proud of you, and you say this is your best work, but with ideas like these, I think the best is yet to come

Rici-Ellipsis responds:

Thank you!! I agree. I do struggle with the technical side of music production and I think my strong suit is the composition itself.

[DEMONIC SAVIOUR]

Wonderful work with composition, arps, and chord progression

Mix could use help! The hihats are up so, so high!

Lead also could use to be double tracked and have more wet applied to it. It would sound better panned as 2 slightly different performances, panned 5 to 15 percent left and right respectively

The rhythm guitar also should be two different instances, panned 100 percent left and right.

And note I have not much to say about your writing at all, as there is quite literally nothing wrong with it. It's nice and spirited. Great, great, great!

recme responds:

i was hoping for mixing comments, as thats my weakest suit. ill experiment more with panning. though i do not understand the rhythm guitar comment. wouldnt that make it mono? im guessing you mean pan some notes 100 left and right.

a different sample shouldve been used for the hihats, yea. now i notice it. shouldve done a deeper sound :P

thank you for the help!!!!

[A Fighter's Song]

You are coming out with damn near a whole album this competition. Great job, and great spacious chords. I think your mixing is sounding a bit better each time.

For this track, your vocal performace is great. I think the backing vocals could be compressed harder and brought a bit more to the front

best mix, 1:39

The bass drum is not sticking out heavily as on other more mid and top heavy sections. I think it could be brought down just a bit still

Vocal FX are also sounding better.

Great atmospheric lyrics.

Mischa-head responds:

Thank you! I've found the deadlines really motivating to get things written, and all the feedback has been really helpful. Really glad I entered the two audio contests.

[The Great Adventure]

Very clean brass library and tasteful use of it! Excellent. I think you've accomplished your goal in your treatments of the individual instruments. For those solos, I'm floored those are not actual human beings. Wow. I haven't heard someone treat them so well!

I'm also impressed with your very contemporary mixing, esp toward the end. I think the initial brass stabs could use a bit more support undergirding them harmonically, think euphonium added vs just trombones.

Beyond that, FANTASTIC

[cloud reverie]

I disagree that this doesn't suit a flying track, if by flying you mean on a bullet train through various fields. That's the feeling this evokes for me. In addition to the comments of SplatterDash and TL, I think this track is a bit mid heavy, but there is not much else wrong with it. Perhaps it could actually use less dynamic range, in my opinion. I enjoyed it!

[Run Away]

WILD dance track. Sounds like a DJ set all its own, which is an accomplishment for an original! Lovely blend of various styles of dance music. It works fantastically.

Could have a bit more clarity, but when you have a time constraint such as this, that's understandable. Great show of skill!

KayozKun responds:

Thank you so much for the feedback!

[Listen]

All I have to say is your percussion is a feast for the ears. I think the shakers could stand to come down some more due to their repetitive nature, but this is a groove. Nice!

Kassich responds:

Thank you for the review and for all your work in judging! I'm sure your ears are tired! Also, I agree on the shakers level now listening to it again.

[The Sky (NG Exclusive)]

That's quite a long intro! Surprised me. Also a nice pleasant chord progression there. We will wait to see where it goes. At times it reminds me of my heart will go on ahaha.

Now at 2:09 we have a transition into a more classic electronic mode. Sounding olskool. I think the white noise could come down some, as could the hihat -- give it some time to get up to speed before introducing the full volume hat.... wait, it appears to be getting louder. Kick is subtle until drop at 2:57. Recommend keeping it balanced rather until then.

At 3:10 it's a bit hot on the mixer, sounding like brick wall limiting. I would actually increase low cut on delays and reverbs here. The mix doesn't have that full head headache giving quality to it luckily but it is close by 3:54 and 4:29. The introduction of piano is a plus. sounds like it's clipping at the mixer though a bit. I hear a sharp dip at 4:42 that was not meant to be there as you drop down for your transition.

Otherwise, enjoyed the track. Great work. Outro is well done. Wow, what a monster track

Olindel responds:

Some easy errors that could have been avoided with a full month worth of work but in the end the track isn't as bad as what I expected it to be. Thank you for the feedback and glad you enjoyed!