ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Narrow Northbound]

Rhythmically 100% on par for your average hard hiphop beat. My problem isn't with any of that, it's the samples used and the structure -- for instance, we have no discernible hihat or drum pattern until 1:26, and virtually no transitions

I would recommend switching out that 808 for a generic Metro-ish sub, actually decreasing the complexity of the drop completely -- at 1:26 the rock drums are too much for the already busy beat to sustain. 1:47 is interesting but I would save this moment and structure it better into the track. Literally saving these elements and copy-pasting some of them into a typical song structure would give a better result than freehanding it.

Also in regards to the elements themselves, bells and leads and so on, they all seem to be in relatively the same key range. Given the high 808/bass, this makes things sound a bit run-together, busy, and muddy. They are also panned really close together and similar in volume, further muddying the waters, especially considering they all typically play together at the same time.

I think this track has a lot of great ideas, just needs better structure and sample selection!

5.5/10

EDIT: I forgot to mention, if you're looking for good 808 samples/trap drums, I made a free kit for that which you can find on my userpage (or just ask me), and I also write a monthly magazine of free music production resources if you should need any

AAAAND keep it up! No matter what anyone says, don't take it to heart. You've got a lot of unique, daring ideas. Just a little polish and you'll be kicking ass in no time!

[Carnage]

I find myself wanting more sub overall in your intro and first half of your drop. This might be accomplished by backing off slightly on compression, slightly reducing leads and pads in volume, etc. I may also take down your hi-hats a small amount.

Very interesting sound palette here. Sounds like you're using a bit of bit crushing and hard/soft clip.

Something is off with the mix balance -- sounds quite sibilant at points, and at others very heavy in the range of AM talk radio. It's not too bad, just under the heavy compression detracts from the dynamics of the piece.

Production wise I'm very impressed with the writing and modulation of that synth guitar, showing understanding of how guitar playing actually works. Enjoyed that very much. Also enjoyed the varied writing of the piece in general. Great work!

8.4/10

[Lostforests]

Love the idea and sound selection -- would revisit the mix to correct these few things:

- bass is VERY quiet
- lead could be slightly quieter all around
- side-chain on the kick and snare could be harder -- and I may also shorten their releases
- panning of hihats and crashes could be more varied, with less reverb
- in places it doesn't feel as if the leads/delays are connected in the sound space to elements such as the bass/drums/perc

Transitions are nicely done, and I appreciate the slower tempo final drop :)

6.5/10

Tilldrawn responds:

thx for the advice. ill try to implement these tips into further projects, but a lot of them come down to me having to get used to a new DAW since the one i currently use is, well... (you cant do an awful lot on there) but anyway thanks for taking the time out to review my stuff. stick around ;)

[haste]

I can tell you put a lot of effort into this track from how busy everything sounds. A lot of what holds me back from rating higher can be summed up in a few words, sound selection and mix.

As far as sound selection, some of these synths are just god awful to listen to outside of Videogame genre. Namely the FL-Slayer style guitar, if not dressed up -- it's just an old, tired sound. With good mixing, it can be okay, but I would keep looking if you want an actual guitar sound. (I do post free music resources to my userpage, where you can get some ideas)

Mix wise, a lot is going wrong:
- drums are hard to hear over guitars and other melody/harmony instruments
- bass is almost completely inaudible
- lots of melodic elements are competing in the same space, at around the same key range and volume

This is making the choice of instruments sound even worse -- we are hearing instruments the brain generally associates with lo-fi/low quality in conditions that don't allow them to shine.

A little self-study of mixing/volume leveling on YouTube will help you here, a LOT. And secondarily, I would study a bit of arrangement as well. Picking and choosing what you want to focus on in a given section of track is important, to avoid busy elements running all over each other.

Besides that though, I can hear interesting melodic ideas and a good understanding of rhythm. Keep at it!

5.3/10

[Warp]

There's a LOT of what sounds like CHROMA plugin or a similar colorizing technique on your side pads. I'm not sure I like THAT much backing synths -- they're covering up your other elements. The track itself also seems off balance in terms of meter, leaning more into the avant-garde side of EDM into IDM. I want to stress I love the overall idea and insanity, but perhaps back off on the gating and odd meters to keep the groove going. Save it for transitions ;)

At 3:11 I'd like to hear a sub backing up that reese!

Same at 3:24, a bass drop and sub line would really slam this piece home.

In terms of sound design and unique approach, full points. Mix and production could use revisiting for cleanliness and balance. Particularly the colorized chords on the sides sound a bit centered and boxy in the mids, and the lack of sub elements on the final drop really hurts the listening experience.

Besides that, really interesting track. I enjoyed it!

6.4/10

whymsical responds:

thanks for the feedback!

[Votum]

I swear I've heard this acapella somewhere in Nat James' drops over on Looperman. They're usually ready-made as far as mix, but your treatment of them here is good. Second acapella is a bit unintelligible for me, but also some of that is demanded by the genre.

As far as the beat the balance of sub relative to bass and rhythm elements could be a bit better,, but beyond that, nice smooth compression, nothing jumps out too overly hard. Nice work!

8.5/10

Auphinity responds:

Thanks! Thats really Nat James' acapella. I bought it so ALL RIGHT RESERVED lol

[Prominence [Redux]]

This does sound like a throwback! Interesting and introspective look.

I think that intro bass could be dropped an octave or swapped out.

The sidechain at 1:12 may be JUST a bit dramatic for my tastes. We're also hanging out on octaves, which doesn't leave much room for wow-factor. Perhaps add some 5ths and 3rds here or there to make chord changes more... emotional?

Your growls were a nice addition which I enjoyed.

I also enjoy the varied style of this piece.

I think your growls could stand to be louder. Transitions have improved vastly btw

Overall, nice track. Could use to turn the kick down slightly since you have that dramatic sidechain. This would allow for harder compression.

Your keys are a bit far back in the mix -- perhaps a bit of study for balancing mix in these genres is in order. It also appears that your master is pretty quiet relative to the average. I can see some louder peaks sticking out here and there. Meaning you can probably push this mix harder by increasing volume of bass substantially, and keys less so.

NGUAC score: 7.2

[AIM - Bellowers of Grief]

Sounds like a legit orchestra in a legit studio, with actual proper mics and dynamics and all. No critique there. Piece is very dynamic, contains multiple coherent themes, and is mixed tastefully and cleanly. Point blank, puts my scoring to absolute shame.

I think there could be some optimization for streaming services and neutral sound devices. A bit of compression could be added without losing the dynamic contrast of the intonation of the instruments themselves, and some adjustment to bring up the bottom end could be made -- as well as a bit of stereo width.

NGUAC score: 9.4, NG score (take my preferential fiven): 10

[Relinquished Runaway]

Oh I hated that fakeout at 22 sec! I was so ready for the bass to drop T_T

For mid-tempo, this bass is gorgeous, but somehow the mix isn't punching as hard as I know we want it to. I think it has to do with the bass paradoxically being too loud in the mix prior to compression, and the kick and snare being likewise quiet. I do this to myself so often, I assume it has to be the case here. Side-chain also could be heavier.

In terms of production, sound design is great, and so is sample choice -- modulation as well. Great variation.

Mix is where the most improvement could be made, and master similarly. The overall impression of the track to my ears is a bit low-mid heavy, with a slight vacuum in the high mids and sub range. At the very end, I hear some reverb on that bass, which could very well be responsible for some muddiness and over-presence in the low-mids.

Besides all that though, great work!

NGADM score: 7.4. NG score: 8

SoTshu responds:

thanks for the review!

i'll be honest, mixing and mastering ain't really my strong suit, so thats why its lackluster. i just dont spend as much time on it as i probably need to, i just stop at the point where it just sounds good enough.

you nailed the problem with the bass, im actually dumbfounded at how you even got that. ill probably do a remaster of this track and update it at a later date.

also the reeverb on the bass comes up only on the last part, so its not an issue in the other parts of the song

again, thanks for stopping by!
cheers!

[Frustration]

I hate this drum kit, or rather both if you used two -- but your playing and ideas overall are great. Guitar tone and articulations are also good.

The drum kit sounds like a machine gun, using the same exact articulation and cymbals. I suggest swapping it out entirely. The snare sounds fine at 1:40 however.

I don't have a lot of critique aside from that, beyond that the drum kit could be passable IF you were to massively turn up the snare during the choruses, and slightly turn up the kick. I would also take your key instruments and make double tracks using similar patches on the opposite side for extra power.

Also, as a Christian, I do feel totally overwhelmed! Every day being reminded, this world is not for me. It's a constant struggle, being in the world and trying not to be of it!

NGADM score: 6.5, NG score: 8

Arponax responds:

I guess the snare and kick could be piercing the mix more yeah.

I not sure but doesnt a standard drum kit have like 2 crashes?

tbh im not sure how i could change the articulation of the drums to fit in the chorus better...it always sounded alright to me but im not a drummer ofc XD but could be some breaks between different parts of choruses but my choice was to make them simple, i dunno why...it felt right at the moment.

when it comes to multi tracking the instruments, guitar is double tracked in the first half of the choruses but the guitar in part at 0:57 is single track. tbh i went along with it because it made that part stand out in terms of just how it sounded, the guitar felt more dull and mono.

Im mostly making these songs purely by how i feel at the moment of making them so any mistakes or "lazy choices" are there because i felt like it XD i dunno if that makes sense but ey :D

With that being said ill try to pay more attention to drums from now on, ive been focusing on getting a more solid guitar tone lately that i maybe forgot to have more living drums in my songs.

Also as it is okay to feel overwhelmed...tho its important to realise that youre not alone, both with the fact that other people might feel the same but the God himself is with you the whole time.
I wanted this song to be like a medium to just put these feels in...and the psalm in description to be like a reminder of what we crave when feeling lost(recommend reading it, its awesome). (but ofc everyone experiences music a bit differently and takes from it whats most important for them).

Anyway im glad for the feedback....ill try to take the most out of it for my future projects.