ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Used to Be]

Watch the articulations on that vocal synth. The articulations give you away. Rather than having two strong attacks on the same note, since there don't seem to be a lot of round robins or legato settings in play, I would just hold and swell the same note somewhat on where you'd want your next articulation. Throughout, this synth sounds fairly dry and naked in the mix.

Now, this is R&B, so I'm going to move it to the proper genre once this review is finished. Before I checked the genre, I was actually going to say, this initially sounds very open, all the elements of the track just out there. At points it does sound too thin with the quick decays on the instruments, and it's hard to tell where leads have been placed, volume wise -- but extended over your usual R&B song structure, this song would make a great backing beat for vocals.

Initially I didn't like the booming sub bass where it is -- the long sustain on the sub does feel like it gets in the way of some of the other instruments, and it seems to be the only bass instrument in the song. I would work for a bit of a balance between that boomy kick and a bassline in future works. For this piece, the sparse presentation works, but it won't work for every piece.

There is a little peaking issue at 0:28, as well as most places where the sub hit occurs. It's a lot louder than all other elements in the track, to the point it almost overshadows them in the mix. I think I hear some soft clipping/overdrive.

It also looks like this track is unmastered from looking at the waveform in some places. That, or it's been approached more or less like a 90's R&B track. Definitely recommend researching some mixing and mastering tutorials for your genre on YouTube, maybe study some song structure formats to help you pace yourself musically. Had lots of good ideas and motifs here, harried just a bit by seemingly not quite knowing where to go.

Overall, enjoyed your work. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

KnockVoltage responds:

Thanks for the feedback!

[Blurred Vision]

Oh, very jazzy, functional, almost atonal harmony.

Something with that snare -- it's a bit too loud, popping in my left ear a bit loud.

Really solid bassline, almost a melody in and of itself. I was hoping for a lead solo somewhere around 1:57 just to switch it up. We've already heard a repeat of a lot of the same material a few times.

Appreciating that tempo change. Again, snare is a bit too loud, relative to the rest of the track, which is super quiet. You've got plenty of headroom, which would be great if I were to master this piece, but as a release, it comes out lacking punch purely based on loudness.

Compositionally though, great piece. Really enjoyed the ride!

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Timeless]

Really interesting use of FX through this piece. Sounds like it was mixed too loud or some of your samples are clipping though. I start to notice it at 0:31, and it continues throughout.

Now, that aside, melodies are interesting, and despite sounding a bit blown out from being mixed too loud, the piece still holds together. However, because of how loudly mixed the other instruments are, when your drop hits at 01:18, it's almost impossible to hear your bass and breakbeat. Take that lead and those pads down some dB.

1:47, there's that clipping again, this time in the bass, and not when anything else is peaking. This tells me individual tracks may have been rendered too loud.

2:19 is almost brick wall compressed at 0. Getting a bit of a head-hurt sensation here.

Otherwise, strong melodies, and I still enjoyed the piece despite serious mix/mastering issues. I definitely recommend taking some time to look at tutorials for your DAW. You've got great writing, good use of modulation, and a solid sense of progression. Work on your mixing, and you've got the skills to be a pro.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[You'll Get Yours]

I may not agree with that first couplet from an ideological standpoint, but song as a whole is great. I only have a few critiques on the mix/FX.

Vocals are a couple dB too loud, even into the big outro section. Sound a bit too dry as well until the 2:18 outro.

1:36, sibilant s sound sticks out.

Otherwise, it seems to be a bit over-reverbed in places, 2:34-2:35 started clipping -- seems mixed a bit too loud before . You could get that nice, silky, spacious lead tone by double-tracking it 5-15% L-R, then applying light reverb via sends.

Enjoyed the track. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

dude2312 responds:

Thanks for the feedback. I am so glad you enjoyed it, ADR3-N! I am getting great tips by everyone here on Newgrounds, I am loving the people over here!

[Aqueous]

Nice use of SFX -- unsure why it disappeared at 0:22.

Ride cymbal at 0:07 has a strangely dry sound. I find myself wanting a more spacious, tinny hit with a longer release.

0:17, it feels like the energy we were building up prior is lost when that sample just stops. Why not just play with volume, low and high pass, etc., as the rest of the track flows? I'm feeling a little swing in your piano, which still sounds a little tilty even after listening a few times. Just a bit more consistency with the beat here would massively improve your intro.

0:58, I was a bit weirded out that I almost could not hear the snare -- was expecting a punchy PSHHH sound.

1:24, watch out -- your chord structures are starting to get chunky in those low mids. Keep that space open so that the overtones don't clash. Chorus gets catchier and catchier every time I hear it. Think it's going to be stuck in my head. That synth you're using sounds eerily familiar to CS One Bass. If you've never used it, pretty sure it should be available free somewhere. Easy to modulate formant growls with that one.

1:51, it sounds like most everything is panned center here, but the chords are a little more concise.

1:22, volume pumping issue on your transition. Sounds a bit clunky.

"And cut" could probably have done with some compression.

Overall, compelling chord progression. I'd say up until about 1:24, the piece was harried with structure problems, seemingly unsure of where it's going, but this can easily be remedied with some study of voice leading tutorials, song structure, etc. There were still some issues of over-reverb, but not so much that it particularly sounded muddy until bigger sections. I enjoyed the piece. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Thunder Man]

Nicely structured, catchy little loop, with solid progression. Since this is intended to be retro-gaming music, no complaints about instrumentation.

Volume wise, drums could stand to come up about a dB. Leads occasionally get a bit too loud for the bass to sustain. Then at 0:47, bass suddenly becomes too loud.

0:19, the hi-hat seems to be slightly dragging behind the leads.

I can see that the loop looks to be well-cut, but it isn't looping properly in NG's player. Would be a smoother transition if you took the time to write an intro, repeat the section we have here with some alterations, then wrote a short outro with a stinger. Would have been an extra half star for me.

[rat on toast]

Solid intro. A bit quiet, but dynamics are great. Level-wise, I'd like to hear snare come up a bit.

Track is quiet as a mouse, sitting about where it probably should for mastering, maybe even a bit below. It just seems as if mastering has not been applied, or maybe the mastering channel has even been turned down.

2:31, sounds like a double layered kick or one just a bit too high to support the rest of the track. Leads are also a little quiet, and chords could benefit from some inversions -- but for genres like this, it's almost a convention to keep your keys chunky.

Still, enjoying your progression. It's unique but functional. 2:11 is a great B section.

Overall, minimalistic presentation. Biggest weakness, volume. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Emotion]

Opening lead sounded like a preset which had my expectations somewhere around ground-level, but I'm glad I kept an open mind. The texture development at 1:19 is a refreshing change, with a nice chord progression.

It does sound like the track as a whole has been mixed too loud, especially when the kick hits and causes the track to distort. I don't have much else to critique other than very short track length, an inexplicable loop, and an abrupt outro.

I would like to see this idea expanded into a full, standard form trap beat. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Yugoslavia 1982]

Side chain intro is interesting, but I would either take down your brass/bass, or bring up your percussion. It's hiding in the mix.

Song-wise, this is too short for me to really give a good score. A good 30 seconds of the track is comprised of intro and outro fade-out, leaving only about 45 seconds of music. The elements you've brought together are good in and of themselves, but there hasn't been enough development to evaluate those ideas fairly.

That said, I will attempt to go instrument by instrument through the piece.

Your snare is very low-mid heavy. Sounds pitched down. I would recommend distortion or saturation to give it a bit of grit, and if it still doesn't work, either layer a sample or swap it out entirely.

Kick is fine, but bass is loud enough in the mix that it sounds small in comparision.

Hi-hat sounds standard for trap music, which is an interesting combination. It could probably use more body in the mids.

Brasses have a bit too much reverb and at times sound mixed too loud, but I really would have liked to hear another section like 0:47. That's probably a symptom of the track's length talking.

Bass sounds octaved, which is fine. I really have no critique other than it being slightly too loud for the mix to sustain.

Score would have been at least a 3/5 if the track were longer, but I enjoyed what I did hear. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Chickenizer responds:

Hi, thank you for listening and so many good words of advice!

I agree about the percussion hiding in the mix. As for the composition, I am really kicking myself for not developing it into what this >sketch< promises the listener. Not much time I had, do something I had to (probably one of the few Yoda talks that seem to make no sense at all, lol).

Saturating my sound is definitely one thing that I should look into. I'm aware of the technique, just green. Also, after all the years, still gotta be very careful not to overdo the reverb.

May I ask what monitors you listened to this track on?

Thank you once again,
Cheers!