ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Kuebiko, Pt.1 [NGUAC '24 FINALS]]

28 seconds in that downlifter or static sample is a bit high in the mix for me, but once you hit the drop, everything sits really nice in its place. I still might take it down a little but this tells me that it's got to be the master compression doing levels a little dirty. Under time constraints I definitely understand a little rough around the edges.

Great bass design. I probably would not stereo spread out your basses so low in the register. Generally 120 hz is where I cut off due to phasing issues that chorus and widening causes.

The switch at 2:17 is beautifully executed and that sound design is quite interesting.

How many basses did you layer on the drop?

Kz-N responds:

on both drops there are 6 unique basses, although it honestly mostly sounds like 3 or 4 because most of the time theyre stacked, also im not sure if maybe its an mp3 encoding issue but i everything <=115hz should be mono, but anyway thank you very much for your feedback, i really appreciate it!

[the city we dreamt]

I really enjoy the arrangement, choice of FX, and lyrical composition of this piece.

Something is off on the vocal mix. It has some very harsh T and S sounds, which, while tamed for the most part, still stick out against the instrumental. Also, there are some boomy plosives not tamed -- a manual hi-pass on those syllables of p, b, and so on will help rid the vocal of these; they are causing it not to sit as well as it could. In general, I think balancing away from the low end of the vocal, pushing it back a bit and actually giving more to the wet signal on it (sidechaining ofc to the vox) will help enmesh them.

In short, I would further de-ess the vocal, and to compensate also thin it out on the EQ. Performing at a quieter volume at this intimate mic distance, aiming for airy, scratchy, vocal fry may also assist.

The swallow and mouth noises also took me out of my element pre-drop.

I was disappointed that the song only lasted 3 minutes. I would have liked to hear that final drop repeat. However I would pull the key synths down slightly, as well as the organ/sustained pads, and again add a bit more air on the vocal. Some tonal separation on those EQs would do much good.

Otherwise I enjoyed it. Good work!

kiiri responds:

will keep working on my vocals! thanks for the detailed review :D

[VS. The Procrastination Demon]

I agree with ethereal winds. It feels as if there is some phase cancellation going on due to the wideness of this track. Like, the drum kit, the bass, and all rhythm elements are widened out. As such it's a little disorienting! I definitely recommend not doing that, so much so that I'm shocked the mix sounds as balanced as it does in this state!

Writing is great, by the way.

[The Descent Of A Champion (NGUAC Finals Rank 23)]

The section at 1:31 gave me chills. Or that was my fever. I don't rightly know which.

I appreciate the nostalgia of this soundfont, the creative arrangement, and the approach to panning, which reminded me of the N64 days, ironically.

Where I think you could improve -- volume of bass, and some tweaks to percussion EQ for better readability in the wider composition; this will lend to perceived fullness. The Emerald soundfont was never known for having very defined drums, due to limitations of its native sound system.

Interloping responds:

I think it may have been a combination of your fever and my subtle tones :P

In this piece there wasnt much of a bassline to be honest, more so just a tuba to fill in the low frequency while the french horns and trumpets dominated their roles, but I know what you mean. I often hesitate to bring up the volume of both the drums and the bass lines because Im worried that they will add too much gain, or simply overpower something else in the mix. Peer review has definitely taught me this is not the case, and maybe on my next piece I will take this into consideration.

I have tried using "Real" drumkits before but honestly, on FL Studio soundfonts, they tend to sound really fake, and noticeably so. Im still seeking out drums that can replace my current ones that maybe have their own cymbals instead of me having to make a separate track for the crashes all the time :P

Thank you for your input once again, I enjoy seeing familiar faces coming back to watch me grow as a composer <3

[Tortuga]

Great sound choices and driving arrangement. I think it's a bit short, this would make a great sample library demo or cutscene music. The latter half feels like a loading screen where I'm waiting to spawn into battle, or after action, when the battle has concluded post-cutscene.

I think the master could be much louder and more compression applied, given that this is a bombastic piece, but for what it is, great work!

[Crystallis Ultima]

These days we take classical music for granted. It's a bold move to compete with it in a competition that favors cinematic, dubstep, and other electronic genres.

Not only have you woven a completely believable orchestra with expertly crafted movements. You've made one that evokes feeling of its own, without anything to look at, without any external stimuli. I hope and pray you get hired by a big studio, because this would make about anyone weep.

5:08 was mixed so beautifully, I felt as if I were a binaural stage mic.

HollandAlbright responds:

That means so much, thank you! I didn't know what to expect from the competition, but I did it for fun and to have a bit of a challenge (and now I have two new songs, so that's a win).

I really want to work in animation and games, but it's hard to find the way in to those industries. Someday soon, I hope.

Thank you again!

(P.S. - "I felt as if I were a binaural stage mic" - I love this)

[Conductor - NGADM Round 2 & NGUAC Finals!]

This track had me sit down and say "what the fuck"

I am in awe. I'll leave it at that. I would prefer a bit more volume or perhaps distortion on the sub in the latter section, but beyond that, this track is just, chef's kiss.

GameBoyFireworks responds:

Thank you so much!! That means so much coming from you!

[Powerful Melodies (NGUAC - Final Round)]

You managed this good of a mix on $5.5 dollar headphones? What a beast! I would only recommend check out the EQ curve of said headphones, as the compression, overall master level, and other aspects of mix are fantastic, but it sounds as if the balance is tilted toward treble.

What I mean is, the sub is definitely present, and the dynamics are good, but the cymbals, EQ, snare fizz, transitions, color FX, and other high pitch elements of the track are proportionately much louder.

All other elements of the track are totally on point for the genre and even pushing the envelope of what can be done sonically. For instance, that extreme panning decision in the beginning and glitching was a huge detail. It set this track apart from others I've heard in the genre, and the detuning/slowing was great.

[(NGUAC '24 Final Round) So Close, Yet So Far...]

Some finer aspects of mix are not quite all there -- the song sounds very much as if mixed by a guitar player, if you catch my drift. By that I mean, all elements sit behind the guitar, particularly the upper mid range of the guitar.

HOWEVER, the balance between kick drum and the rest of the track is pretty good. It cuts through well, sounds good. I only have a bit of gripe with the particular crashes chosen not sounding too great a fit for the piece. A bit darker treatment to the EQ or alternatively backing off their volume a bit and giving just a bit of gentle verb may help. They're very bright, sticking out over the rest of the arrangement.

I like the snare drum but would recommend turning it up a bit and allowing for a bit of verb as well. .2 to .3 dB would be fine.

The section at 1:30 is absolutely beautiful btw -- reminds me of the nightwish I would jam out to in my youth. Overall, great playing, great writing.

I would raise the bass up to a dB, turn the rhythm guitars down a little when they are playing in the upper mids. They sound fine in the lower range. Some kind of resonance or EQ is causing that jump in loudness, must be.

The lead at 6:00 could use more 2k-4k imo until 6:25, where it sits very well.

Compositionally, so, so great. This is the kind of music I dream of. Great work!

[There's a Battle in the Owl Forest]

The instrumentation and arrangement is insanely interesting to listen to, as always.

I'm torn on the execution, particularly mix. At points, it can get pretty sibilant. I would have approached things differently. For instance, the shaker volume and percussion transients are as perceptible and sometimes more perceptible/up-front than the rhythm section -- the low brass, bass, and so on.

The violins at 1:41 and organs are louder than the vocal elements in the section at 2:17, as well as the build into our final big section. In terms of transition and the space you have left to work with on the master, I would have added even more dynamic contrast between these sections. I would grow that gap in max dB as the song progresses for a more bombastic conclusion -- allowing for the vocals at the end to REALLY stand apart from those throughout.

If sibilance or boxy breath noise is stopping you from getting those (wonderfully performed!) vocals to sit right in the mix or perhaps making you fear bringing them up front, try rolling off highs or lows to taste, notching lower frequencies down.

Even de-essing in post via RX or another program can help. Getting them into the same sonic range/vibe as the other instruments, respecting microphone/room frequency responses, and approximating the same ensemble feel is paramount to blending live recorded vocals with VSTs.

I have one big problem toward the end of your piece. It isn't the level of the master, as cinematic pieces are often forgiving in this area, and it isn't writing, playing, singing, arrangement, or even sound palette. It's a single source of ultra high treble, the pipe/reed instrument way up there.

I'll try to explain.

In general, the higher something is in pitch, or the more distance there is between it and other elements of a piece, the louder it's going to sound in relation. I don't know what synth is playing 4 octaves + higher than the vocal line if it's not in fact pipes/reeds, but as the only thing in that gap, it's naturally going to sound screaming loud. It has quite a unique sound, one I like, but I would roll off some of the higher frequencies from that synth, and see if it sits better in the mix.

Alternatively, you can turn everything else up in proportion. I assume you are mixing on monitors -- I am listening on monitor headphones. It may be worth checking the mix in multiple environments, if you can't quite hear what I'm talking about, because the spatial aspect of your mix is bang on, but something is happening there in that range.

In short, wonderful composition. I liked it enough that I even experimented with turning the volume up and down, outside of my normal monitoring and reference range to see what happened. The result was, the lower end of your composition came more into perceived balance as I turned volume up, but the high end of that particular synth became almost painfully loud. So I tried it the other way. I ended up turning the song down by half before the pipe synth was more tolerable.

By chance did you mix this song very quietly? I was shocked when, like magic, once I turned it down, everything felt more balanced. The phenomenon must have to do with psychoacoustics and Haas numbers, which I am not as well versed in as I'd like to be.

Please let me know, as I will be very intrigued!