ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[NeroExpress - 2006 Style]

Like the acid vibe. By 0:26 I notice this is not an intro and is instead a muddy mix. It sounds almost as if it's like 96kbps. My complaint is more so rooted in the fact that this leaves us with buried drums, no discernible highs, and a very quiet track. I actually really like this. The sound quality is just not there, so the track, even though otherwise quality, has been rendered to almost noise. I'm a bit rate snob though, so please don't take this personally.

[Perception]

Wave sample panning around so hard was a bit confusing. I see that you're playing with that to create a soundscape. I recommend some delay on opposite sides to balance the sound out. Rain sample was abrupt.

The chorus on that piano is so hard, it sounds like a flanger. I would probably recommend turning it down, playing with the settings some more... I'm really not liking how it seems like those harmonies you lay over it at 0:55 are just the same interval transposed around. It isn't very exciting. This actually sounds like Mixcraft piano with classic chorus on it. I'm not for sure on that though.

I would probably take this piece back to the drawing board and studying chord inversions, if nothing else, to help you spice up those chords. 3:15 is probably the most varied, exciting bit of your piece. More like that!

Also, watch for clipping. It sounds like parts of this track were mixed too loud. Protip, make sure your track peaks no higher than about -6 dB. If your mix sounds good here, it's safe to apply master FX like compression, EQ, and limiters. It's hard to squeeze a track under -6 dB when you're used to mixing everything all the way up, but it's worth it.

TheB34R responds:

First off, you are quiet right when it comes to Mixcraft... The rain sample is a stock one from Mixcraft and this was more of a test piece if anything that ended up becoming my assessment piece making it get a little rushed. I'm starting to completely remake this track as now I feel like I can do so much better with this song. With the piece at 3:15 I'm looking around at how that part worked, and just tinking around with this piece. And with mixing I'm still yet to get used to it, mixing is a little hard at times, but that is also the reason why I have so many lost projects just because I could never mix them well. Again, this was being slowly made at a time but then it became my assessment for school meaning I got a small time limit and this got rushed out. I'm kinda glad for this feedback though because it gives me something to work with, and knowledge of things I could do better

[Space Academy]

That's one unique intro. I'm not sure what's going on at 0:17 and beyond. There is a lot of tension but hard to find the releases. There are a lot of different and interesting melodies entering the fray at various points, but I'm not able to understand what melodic statement you're trying to make.

Also, your chords in the lower register are very dense and chunky sounding. I recommend studying some videos on chord and voice leading, as well as inversions and chord voicing. These will help you make the statements you want.

There are some places this piece shines like 2:03, but even these are muddied up with mix clutter, probably too much reverb, etc. Try turning down the FX wet and hi-passing your 'verb sends. These frequencies tend to gradually build up and muddy your mix. It's also beneficial to manage your different instrument reverbs via send tracks. I.e. create send track for appropriate 100% wet reverb, put reverb on the send track, then determine how much of each other track you want sent to it, and manage the volume of the send track collectively. This saves CPU too.

It sounds like there's not really a bassline going on as well. Most of the frequencies I hear could be played on a trombone or something, without an F trigger. A lof of the energy in tracks comes from the bass!

In short, I'm not sure exactly how to critique here, but recommend definitely checking out tutorials for the genres you want to produce, make sure to learn some music theory (it speeds up the writing process exponentially once you know the basics, and it only gets faster and better the more you learn) -- let me stop a sec and appreciate 5:08. Those first two chords are good. They work. Kinda chunky and condensed as mentioned. Third is wonky and I would change it out. 4th is just the right amount of nasty to sound jazzy.

Really, I would have liked to hear more in the vein of this outro. Six minutes was a long time to wait to get around to that -- and really, this part felt more well thought out than the rest of the piece combined. Extra half star for that.

Tetrahedrix responds:

Thanks, due to the situations involving the track prior to something happening and after. The ending melody kind of took a sad turn and was in fact I suppose where all my details and attention went toward since the rest of the track was pretty much done to me at that point. I see your point of unnecessary length leading to that part. I definitely still have some transitional and length issues with my tracks sometimes.

[Rainy Day]

That free piano sounds great! What is that?

I find the SFX just a bit too loud for the piano to sustain, especially the occasional thunder cracking.

Sonatina violin -- or cello -- sounds a bit much too dry when it enters. Also lacking those breathy, sibilant pieces which could set it apart from the rain foley.

I really have no other critique aside from the track itself being fairly repetitive up until the outro at 2:15 or so and not really being able to emotionally engage with the piece. It's almost monophonic and does not seem to really progress. Was hoping for a more bombastic -- or even smooth, flowery section before our rather somber finale.

No points deducted for this as well, but that's a really long silent tail. I try to remember to always cut those in audacity or something once a track has been rendered. :)

tansuma1 responds:

It's called The Whisper Piano http://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.com/2014/09/bigcat-maize-vstis.html Bigcat has some amazing instruments that he and a few others put together on that page, all free!

On another note though, thank you for your review. I've realised lately that I have been making music that only really engages with my needs/emotions and that is not the way to go about creating music, so your criticisms are fair but hit hard. Oops! I always forget about the tail, I'll be sure to edit this promptly.

Maybe my next piece will be the flowery bombastic sensation it should be! :D

[Project Shadow - Shihotori]

This sounds like Shreddage guitar judging by those articulations. Gonna start with mix critique.

Lot of lo-mid noise on your reverbs. Try turning down the FX wet and hi-passing it. These frequencies tend to gradually build up and muddy your mix. It's especially noticable on your drums which are super roomy but hide in the mix.

Guitars are not double-tracked for the rhythm. This gives them a weak, flimsy sound. If you don't know about double tracking, Chernobyl Studios does a great series on metal mixing which does a good job of explaining most of the elements.

Hi-hat probably would have sounded better panned more to the left. I also would have liked less machine-gun articulations on your toms. Probably would have liked them panned 75% L, 40% L, and vice versa for the right, with a light roll fill across all the toms to keep them feeling balanced.

This track would be huge if not for mix flaws and machinegun velocities every so often. Writing isn't perfect -- 1:39 is very dissonant and/or just sounds ported a few semitones around, tbh -- but it gets the job done and keeps a good level of energy.

I recommend either A, GrindMachine or Dominator amps by Audio Assault for a more easily accessible sound, or B, Emissary Amp with NadIR or KefIR cab. Also, probably a free bass like ABPL just to give you a more organic bass tone. I realize you've got a synth bass in there somewhere but I still felt that organic touch -- even for fills -- was missing.

I have no issue with the repetitiveness of the track. This is written like DnB. Mix is just very cluttered. Some TLC and this will be a banger.

[Bristle Wind]

I had to turn this mix down a bit to enjoy it. Something about it -- it's kind of harsh in the mids, muddy mix, sounds like it has too much reverb. Lot of lo-mid noise on your reverbs too. Try turning down the FX wet and hi-passing it. These frequencies tend to gradually build up and dirty up your mix.

That said, you've got very nice chord voicing here. I only wish the perc were a bit louder over your leads. Leads are giving me a bit of a headache. Although to be fair I'm unsure if I'm just tired. Your writing is good; I'm just not quite able to enjoy it fully due to mix issues.

Track sounds way overcompressed. That may be part of the headache inducing feeling. It sounds like errant sub frequencies. Protip, before you apply FX to the master channel, make sure your track peaks no higher than about -6 dB. If your mix sounds good here, it's ready to be mastered. It's hard to squeeze a track under -6 dB when you're used to mixing everything all the way up, but it's worth it. You may also want to hipass at 32 hz before compression. These frequencies take up a lot of space and it doesn't sound like you'd even be able to hear the difference on the spectrum of this mix -- other than a cleaner, less volume-pumpy in and out sound.

[Sishi]

Chord progression is a little fast in your intro.

I would probably recommend taking the downbeats of your bass notes on that 4 string synth and either palm muting or modulating their velocity to about 30 versus what sounds like about the 90 they may or may not be at now. Those machine gun attacks are bothering me. I would probably recommend a free bass plugin like ABPL -- if you want a sample of the sound, I used it on "Old Wounds" in my catalog, which was front paged a while ago. Small, quality synth.

I also didn't like the rhythm of your lead. It sounded a little... cheesy? Eighth notes for the I chord, 16ths for the next, back to I with 8ths, then 16ths again. I know from hearing you write, you've got some better rhthms stowed away somewhere. I'm listening to those polyrhythms at your drop and thinking to myself, man, why didn't that occur to ya sooner? :P

Like your snare. Good piece, solid pacing. Just a couple minor gripes is all. :)

ShareeBon responds:

Oh, okay.

[Broken Glass]

I'm noticing really heavy reverb here. That could be what's causing the slight muddiness in your mix. Try turning down the FX wet and hi-passing it. These frequencies tend to gradually build up and cover up whatever polish a mix may have. I'm not a huge fan of all the synths used here, so some free recommendations, ABPL bass, AGML acoustic guitar, Headroom Piano/Intimate Piano -- I don't remember where I got that last one but it was free and probably in the free kontakt library thread in the audio forum.

Other than that, nice writing. Mixing is the only thing that really needs work. I like the organic feel. Would have rated a full star higher for cleaner mix and better treatment of non-piano synths, especially percussion, which is almost hidden in the mix for most of the track.

shadow-ghost responds:

Thank you very much for taking the time to comment; I do appreciate the tips and critiques. I think lack of knowledge of mixing on my part is what's making the reverb a bit too heavy (among other things), as I've always been more into the writing/composing part than anything else.

I'll see what I can do to improve and try my best to reduce the muddiness next time. ;)

[Farewell]

I'm not really feeling the sorrow bit, I am feeling some nostalgia. Couple problems with the mix -- very sub heavy. Feels boxy in your low mids. Ride cymbal may be too loud.

Piano panning from left to right, as well as that theremin synth sound like they may have too much reverb send on them.

I think I occasionally hear distortion as the song goes on, around 2:00 ish.

I will note that violin synth, if it's a violin, has a pretty weak attack that I feel would have benefited from being moved up some milleseconds. I'm not really sure what else to say on the piece because the mix, melodic content, and other elements all seem to stay very samey. It's not a bad piece, but I'm not really able to feel the musicality in any meaningful way. Feels kind of gridlocked.

[Saruz - Violin Master]

Writing and mix on this song are stellar. Mixed like a classical/cinematic track, with all the dynamic contrast preserved. Violin solo does sound somewhat floppy and inorganic but I do find that the virtuosity of your writing prevailed in the end. If I had to recommend a synth to replace that, Synful Orchestra. I would also mix that violin lead with more breath to it. String friction is what really makes or breaks the violin sound in my eyes. Still, I have nothing bad to say about this song. It's sitting on the razor's edge of 10.

Saruz responds:

well, this violin's artificiality may come from that I have pretty limited orchestral sounds libraries, so those instruments won't sound like living ones. but I admit, I could have made that violin sound more various. thanks for the synth recommendation and the whole review!