ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[It Does Not Die]

Writing wise, this is great!

In terms of drums and guitar synths, I would say you've 100% outgrown the ones you currently have. Today there are free alternatives for drums you can use such as Krimh (free ver), although if you don't have Kontakt and you're willing to work with a multisampler, I released a free metal drum kit or two called Take My Cymbals and Saudade Drums Remastered respectively. I also write a magazine for free production resources every month.

Now back to the song itself, the cymbals are quite loud relative to the mix. The kick and snare, as well as bass, could all come up substantially. The rhythm guitar should be properly double-tracked left and right, and you could do with a better sounding amp on it as well. There are free ones available such as Liver6, Stevie T Amped, and Grindmachine -- the 1.0 and 2.0 should be somewhere lying around on the internet.

Now, to double track that guitar you'll need a different synth instance playing the same or similiar midi. Otherwise it'll sound jank. But the idea is 2 guitars playing the same line, one perhaps humanized/quantized just slightly off -- and each hardpanned one to the left 100% and one to the right 100%.

Regarding bass, it doesn't really matter that much whether you use a synth bass or something free like Ample Metal Ray. What does matter is that it is supporting the guitar part excellently and just a little quieter than them so as not to stick out like a sore thumb. There are some free amps for these as well but they are hard to find in my experience.

Beyond mix, stellar work. This reminds me a lot of the work of @Lashmush in his early years -- an amazing talent at the time only limited by his tech. He was one of my favorite artists years ago (still is), and gave me an appreciation for this kind of sound. I have high hopes for your development in the years to come. Keep it up!

6.7/10

TrandafirTeodora responds:

Thank you very much for the review!
This is my first time trying to mix properly, so the feedback is appreciated!

[Night City Lights]

I was nervous when I heard that N64 WaveRace sounding slap bass, but this is interesting for sure. I think something is going on with your perc. The beat wants to swing, but the perc doesn't sound like it's on board.

If you want to make Vaporwave, I recommend studying Nu Jack Swing or 90s pop R&B production. Will make a big difference.

This beat sounds a bit cluttered to me, and at points that brass synth is going out of key. Recommend simplifying the arrangement a bit and refining the volume levels of each instrument such that the kick and snare stick out appropriately.

I do like your transitions and choice of vocal sample :)

6.5/10

Lunar48 responds:

Thanks you for your recommendations :3333333333333

[Marigold Tomato (feat. Morgan U.)]

Instrument quality is really hurting this one for me, but your arrangement is wonderful. I would also caution against using so much reverb on your guitars as in 36 seconds. On each pick attack I hear un-cut reverb in the 100-200 hz range running WILD. This continues through 1:12 on what appears to be a double bass.

Besides that, the track is not very dynamic in terms of volume, but the arrangement itself keeps things interesting.

1:55 that reverb again is fouling up an otherwise great moment through 2:24. Could use a second look! Happens again at 3:28 and exceptionally so at 4:05

6.4/10

[Delayed Decay]

Some of those sounds sound like what I do when I'm bored -- flicking my teeth to play random melodies xD

Color bass is one of the coolest genres to come out in the past decade, I'll say.

I think if you were to make those colored wets more subtle in the mix, this would sound perfect. You've got a lot of rhythmic variation and a lot of reverb, necessitating a bit more of a deft hand with them, considering colorization typically leads to that tin-can sound and a sucked out center.

Around 3 min beautiful chord progression and drop rhythmic structure.

I would like if the stereo image were pulled a bit back in and everything were just a bit more dry, and the bass a tad more audible. It actually sounds as if the drums are slightly too in my face there, with the exception of the following amen -- which you could potentially clean up in something like Pancz to reduce the body of note tails (for a punchier, almost gated sound)

Essentially, throughout, the contrast between loud-soft, colored-dry is at times hard to make out, a bit dirty. I think if you were to revisit this exact project and do spot cleaning, it would hit like a mack truck. I love the overall ideas and the experimentation I hear. Otherwise beautiful work :)

8.3/10

[othersider]

I would bring your drums up substantially in this mix. With them almost inaudible, it doesn't help the driving nature of the piece!

Besides that, writing isn't too bad. Particularly, the olskool trumpet sound is nice. The guitar in the right channel can get a but muddy when combined with other elements in the same key range near or in the same channel.

6.2/10

ciralincixx responds:

yooo thanks for the feedback! i hardly have any idea what im doing but this advice makes sense

[fckjamesy x cabbage x die4reese - cant_stop]

Songwriting and arrangement is GREAT

Mix and master needs a revisit

1:05 there's some clipping caused by zero-crossover issues

Overall, vocals need compression, de-ess, and in general to be much louder. The mix in general sounds very lo-fi, so perhaps some of this is purposeful. The vocals also sound for the most part very centered.

Extra reverb and delay could be tamed. Low end on all wet signals should be cut in order to make room for the 808 and keys.

At 38 the 808 is so loud, it almost sounds like the entire instrumental is clipping. There is so much reverb and all the elements are so loud, when the compression kicks in, everything gets quiet and distorted due to the limiter/comp hardly being able to contain the volume. This is similar to what happens when you run audio too hot in the club, and it probably shouldn't be happening on your garden variety mix.

That said, the writing and vocal performances are strong enough that they overcome some of this. Just a little study of mix and you can safely incorporate some of this aesthetic without going totally overboard and into clipping territory.

7.3/10

[[AIM24] The King of the Sky]

Brutal mecha dogfight 100% sold. Also, sound palette of jet and mechanical noises is very pleasant. I actually think you could afford to push the master harder and watch the relative volume of the snare and kick against other track elements. At times they are too loud, and at other times they could benefit from harder sidechain.

Beyond that, no complaints from me. Great work!

8.6/10

[Felt Like This]

I wish the vocal loop stood out more in the track prior to 52 seconds. It sounds thin against the thicc funk!

In terms of mix balance, things get murky around 1:29 with the bass and rhythm elements being spread across both channels, and the guitars overall about 1 to 2 dB too loud. Part of this sensation is the kick and snare being too far down in the mix, the turntable scratches being too loud, and so on.

Writing and rhythm wise, off the charts funky, no complaints. 100% grooving

Mix wise, could use a touch-up. Particularly at 1:24 you can see it on the waveform, things are starting to soft/hard clip due to volumetric overload.

I would mono the bass, bring it up. Take other elements in the same key-range and bring them down a bit. That and the drums is 90% of the mix issues in one.

Besides that, smashing track. Love it :)

8.4

Joe-Mega responds:

Ah man, I super appreciate the advice.

[What Will You Be When Your Gone?]

Super detuned, interesting sound palette. I wish this were longer, more varied, and developed into a full song so I could A: have more review to write, and B: have a higher score to give for NGADM.

As far as how to improve, I would say learning some basic song structures, as this is one complete idea for a phrase, not necessarily an entire song. Secondly, mixing for space! There's nothing offensive about your mix, but it could be better balanced. These are things that come with time.

Really, I just wish there were more to hear. I enjoyed what little there was a lot :)

5.4/10

[AIM 2024 - The Spirit Fisher]

I'm not going to lie, I hate the shikka-shikka-clap-shikka motif almost universally, but you've got such a clean mix, I don't mind it too much. The transitions here are WILD, unexpected, and once again very clean. Nice varied track. I do wish on your first drop you had a bit more bass!

Also, very sorry to hear about your mom. The pain and frustration this disease causes on both sides, the afflicted and the affected, is unpredictable and at times unbearable <3 Sending hugs

9/10

GameBoyFireworks responds:

Thank you so much for your kind words all around. I appreciate your critique as well. Thank you!! <3