ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM-Red Blitz]

Official AIM Review!

Feeling a lot of good rhythmic sense going on here. I will say that it's veeery samey throughout and that's kinda hampering my enjoyment. Transitions for the most part have been done well.

As mentioned, it really does sound like someone just won't answer their phone, and that's kind of unnerving me.

I do like the bit at 3:21. Interesting decision.

I feel like if you had more than a phone app to do your work on, this piece would turn out a lot more varied. You've already shown with your textures at 4:30 that you're not afraid to push the limits of what your software can do.

Overall, fairly interesting piece, but long track that could have really benefited from more melodic content and variation. Transitions were formulaic but that was a plus, considering I didn't really know what to expect, given some rather avant-garde decisionmaking throughout.

Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

[AIM - The Search]

Official AIM Review!

Loving the occasional breathy water droplet. Piece starts otherwise fairly minimalistic with that e-piano, gradually growing to include a cello synth and later breathy violin. I'd have appreciated a stronger attack, faster, on that synth, speaking of, however, it's not a huge gripe.

Progression is very slow and mix is super quiet, but writing is very strong. I was a little disoriented by the ASMR-esque SFX around 2:38. Occasionally I felt as if the sfx may have been as loud or louder than the instruments themselves. No real issue but due to the relative quiet of the piece, it did draw my attention away from the melody. (ps, thank you for not using any eating noises haha) This may have actually worked in your favor a bit though, considering the pace of the composition. I do love the varied texture.

Piece is so soothing, I almost totally lost track of time until the drums came in. At this point, while I was pleasantly surprised to hear another element come in, I do think that kick was a bit too subby for the mix to sustain. You've been very sensitive with your drum writing though, and it feels very natural. Huge improvement. I dig it.

Your outro is quite strong. I wish that went on longer. I could handle an 8 minute version of this song, tbh. Bold move this year, and strong finish.

And now, unless I somehow missed a piece, this concludes my judging for AIM2018. Thanks for turning out for the competition. It's been a blast!

[To Save You]

Official AIM Review!

Oh, trepid little violin -- perfect intro, fitting of such a broad and varied presentation. I found myself wanting a little more volume on the trumpet stabs at 00:36, maybe a bit more panning.

00:48 transition seemed just a little abrupt, as do some other transitions into other motifs and themes. At some points it seems almost as if two or three fantastical compositions are being spliced together! Of course, the artwork has several panels, and these must be conveyed, but at times I did find myself wanting a smoother transition.

Trumpet hard-panned right at 52 seconds enters a little over the top.

Loving the solo violin throughout. Just fantastically written, and fantastic synth.

01:21, not sure what oboe synth you're using there but you may try Synful Orchestra for a more natural sound. It's one of the few I've found to do any woodwinds convincingly.

2:13 choir synth stands out in a very positive way on those first 2 notes. Third could probably have used a bit more velocity play as it's a little more naked.

Fantastic dynamic range. 2:21 sub drop was perfectly executed. Felt like traversing a chasm.

This piece is an absolute journey. Really appreciated what sounds like an ocarina or irish tin whistle solo over the outro -- transitioning in to piano.

Overall, stunning piece. Great work you two!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks for the detailed review!

We still can't get over how nice that violin VST is. That said, the brass instruments we own, while decent, aren't the best out there. We tried to do what we could with the mix, and we can try some improvements after the competition. In the future, maybe Cinebrass or something like that could be a nice alternative (once our wallets makes that possible, haha)!

As for transitions, we don't particularly mind them being abrupt, as long as they tell the story. While we think our piece does work as one, it's not fully meant as a standalone work. Sometimes it's nice to hint transitions so the listener is prepared; at other times it's fun to surprise the listener! :D

Nice catch at 0:52. It's probably part of the articulation, but it can sound a bit thin, especially in the mp3.

The solo violin is Embertone's Joshua Bell Violin. It's a Stradivari played by a classical violinist, and it's fantastically programmed. Highly recommended (in fact, probably the best digital instrument on the market)!

At 1:21, we used Native Instruments' Woodwind Essentials. It's alright, but there are certainly better oboes out there.

Another nice catch at 2:13! Maybe the note could start a few milliseconds earlier, as there is the slightest amount of emptiness there.

As for the sub drop, it's one of maybe 2 or so electronic-ish elements we used in the piece. It works well, but we wanted to keep the electronic additions to a minimum. It's great that the drop seems to have done its job!

The wooden flute is indeed an old Irish instrument, from ERA Medieval Legends I (not sold under normal circumstances at this point). It has a nice sound! A bit different from the rest of the orchestra, but we didn't want to be sticklers for traditionality; we focused more on conveying the art.

Thanks again for taking the time to listen to all the parts so carefully!

[AIM || Beyond There]

Official AIM Review!

Intriguing piece. I can tell you've got a good head for melody and harmony. This piece has several moments like 2:20 which stand out for their melodic content, even if occasionally repetitive.

I will say I don't like most of the keys throughout. Quite generic. Could have probably meshed better with a more obvious synth and laid some FX on that.

It does sound like the piece is overly reverbed, especially on those low strings and the drums used throughout -- speaking of, where did those go? Even a dubstep-esque BOOM, clap, BOOM, boom-clap would have enhanced that final section at 2:20 onward. But the reverb makes your piece sag a bit.

Note, 1:17 or so, I'm not liking the drums there. Feel almost pasted. Too fast. Kinda like an afterthought.

Overall, cool piece, and lots of little riffs to chew on. Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

[AIM - ICU (When Things Start To Get Melt)]

Official AIM Review!

Wow, super creative. There are a couple instances where the mix gets a little muddy, and at points the lyrics sound like word salad to a native English speaker -- but this is relatively common with vocaloid.

I would recommend perhaps dialing down the distortion just a bit on your guitars/bass -- maybe bring them and Gumi down a few dB so your drums can stand out a bit more.

For guitar and amp sims, I'm familiar with Shreddage and GuitarRig but prefer the more natural sound of RealEight (and its lovely keyswitches) and the ease of use of Grind Machine. It seems like you know the ins and outs of your programs fairly well, but distortion on your guitars was muddy, and tone was unclear, hence the recommendation.

Intonation on Shreddage sounds like it needs a lot more velocity applied. Some notes sound a bit machine gunny or intonation too surgical.

Drums sound solid, though they're hiding in the mix under those guitars.

Now, onto writing -- I'm blown away by how surreal these lyrics are and how well you've used Gumi to convey them. Melody is catchy as hell, and those portamentos will be stuck with me a while. I've gotta invest in installing her one of these days.

Great work. Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

biyaonibakasan responds:

Thank you so much, that some awesome advice, ill keep that in mind about mixing and some tips. it's Helpful to improve whats missing to my music! again Thanks!

[AIM - The Dragon War]

Official AIM Review

Gotta say, I find myself agreeing with Chrono's review on that initial vocal solo -- it's written well, but something in that vocal synth is ... either too thin, or too quick on that descending run. Literally my only critique other than perhaps a bit too much reverb here and there. I can't tell if that vocal synth is too dry or needs something like a tape saturator to give it the same lively tone as the rest of the track. Might even try a grittier library like Gaia Francesca. Very strong voice.

Gorgeous violin riff around 2:23... I do think there's a bit much reverb going on there when you have us dangling off the musical cliff.

But holy cow. Monster of a track. I'm almost lost for words! Very close to a 10.

Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks a ton the review! Like I said with Chrono, I think MIDI programming and mixing for vocals is one of my bigger areas for improvement at the moment. It's nice to see people enjoying the track so much though! :D

[AIM - Knighty Knight]

Official AIM Review!

First off, piece is super-duper quiet. Recommend bringing it up some. The up side to this is, nothing distorting, lots of dynamic range. I know classical/filmscore is a genre that relies heavily on dynamic contrast, but I say that it could probably benefit from some sort of compression, notably multiband. Occasionally I find myself wishing for airy highs that just aren't very present in the mix. Rather than EQ'ing these into each instrument and risk sounding overly sibilant one might try applying a little air with a multiband compressor. That way the air is there when you need it, but it never exceeds a certain threshold.

I would probably recommend some more tempered velocity on your chime samples. Repetitions of the same note sounded fairly inauthentic, as did some of your horns and choir.

I will say, great job with those timpanis. Kept things flowing. I did find myself wishing for a roll or two.

Our final section and outro was also well-handled. Despite most progression relying on the adding and subtracting of instruments or the occasional flourish, I enjoyed the piece.

Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

[AIM - Junkyard Kidz]

Official AIM Review!

Funky VGM vibe on this, and good phrasing. Would probably liked a bit more presence on that bass, perhaps a drier sound. Drums pull me back to late 80's and 90's drum machines.

Transition around 1:10 was satisfying.

Overall, not a lot to critique. Track is just solid. 2:28 volume level is just a bit unexpected. I also felt record scratches were just slightly overused, but not really a huge deal. Static outro probably could have been cut a few seconds shorter.

Wish I had more to say. Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

[[AIM] Felix Zophar - Hold On Longer]

Official AIM Review!

Like that intro. Riff is catchy. Don't particularly like how the perc comes in, but it does settle in nicely once all is said and done. Perplexed at 0:33 when it seemingly vanishes without explanation.

I'm noticing a lot of 4 on the floor drums. Would like at least the typical big room convention of the snare on beat 4 of every 4th measure or so to keep things fresh.

Your chord progression is fairly safe but good. Not sure why you wouldn't like the piece. It's simple but fairly effective. Again, drop is stellar, and this time around much better mixed. Another one that will be stuck in my head. Still impressed you were able to accomplish this on a mobile DAW.

I agree that this track probably would have done better much shorter, about a full minute, and perhaps some of those cheesy transitions beefed up with more perc, not to mention some sort of riser.

We hear a lot of the same melodic content over. I'd have probably liked a second repeat of that chorus at the end, or maybe even a key change to keep things fresh. I'm also noticing your tracks seem absent of any crashes or wooshy reverse cymbals. Unsure if that may be a DAW limitation.

Overall, cohesive piece, impressive considering you made it in Auxy. Nice work. Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

FelixZophar responds:

Yeah, since I use the older update, I don't get things like sweepers. But I try to make my own. But a few days ago I got a new DAW on my computer called IMMS. If you listen to my new songs, they're made on IMMS (if you can, write a review on one!). But I like IMMS better. Not to say that I hate auxy, but I can't live with the older version. My friend @MutantNebula, I go over to his house every now and then, and he has the newer version of auxy. It's awesome! But I really like IMMS because I can organize it the way I want. I can get the sounds I want from a place called www.soundpacks.com but yeah. Thanks!

[[AIM] Felix Zophar - You Can't Hide]

I'm impressed you made this on a mobile DAW.

Wishing the texture at 0:17 went on longer... Second listen and I realize this is a snippet of the drop.

Mixing wise, this piece is fairly rough and cluttered, but my-my, that drop is catchy! It's clear you've got an ear for music. I'd have liked to hear that a few more times.

Most of what I have in mind has already been said -- transitions, transitions, transitions. 1:59 I was again moderately disappointed not to be greeted with the drop again. Seriously, love that drop. This piece may have benefited from a true bridge in a different key before returning to our chorus. By 1:39 I was feeling a little confusion -- and wondering when we were going to move on from that riff.

However, theme is strong and cohesive throughout. My only real complaint would be mixing, and I realize this is probably much harder to nail down on Auxy. You may want to look over some general mixing tutorials, as I notice the percussion is especially sibilant, and at some points, like the drop, we begin to see the limits of what the mix can sustain. Bass and lead kind of overwhelm the drums as well, yet mix as a whole is generally sitting about where I aim to have mine for premastering/mastering.

Overall, enjoyed the piece. Pleasantly surprised when I read the words harmonic minor that rather than the usual arab-esque treatise, I hear horror-themed EDM, haha. Nice work!

FelixZophar responds:

Yeah I was surprised at how it turned out. It was so scary to me. I like the drop as well. Auxy is great for a mobile DAW and I think everyone should get it if they can't afford a DAW like FL studio, or Ableton. But I just have one problem. I have an iPad 2, so the newer version isn't compatible with my iPad. So I have to use an OLDER update. In the older update, you don't get sound packs, you don't get all the effects. There are seven (well, there is an eighth, but It's only on two other instruments out of a hundred) effects in the version I use. Depending on the instrument, delay might be replaced with shape, but they sort of do the same thing, and then there is tone, reverb, filter, ducker, and volume. So yeah, only like seven effects. In the newer version you get like ten effects. But what I have I can work around. Thanks!