ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[An Fáinne Nua (The New Ring)]

Composition-wise, this is very solid, dynamic, and quite enjoyable. What I dislike is the mid-range reverb ringing, which is just very unnatural to my ears. No matter how much I enjoy the composition itself, whatever reverb plugin you've got going on is just not doing it for me.

frootza responds:

Thanks for your thoughts EDM. No reverb plugin, just the reverb that comes with Versil's EtherealWindsHarp VST. Composing for playable harp can be challenging, (which this scored composition is, a playable harp composition). At any rate thanks for leaving a review :)

[The Dark Desolater]

While I much prefer the atmospheric portions of the track to the dub elements, this is a whopper of a composition. You took several seemingly contradictory elements, added some malice, and here we are. Stellar job. Tuba synth really threw me off until things came together. That's something that probably could do with a bit less nakedness.

Spadezer responds:

I appreciate the feedback. Thank you. I guess the tuba seems to stick out like a sore thumb (especially when it's pointed out more than once lol). I didn't change it much compared to how it fits in the rest of the song other than maybe the dynamics of it, which I guess goes to show how much blending and mixing can make a difference.

Your first sentence gives me hope on this track being competitive. I don't expect to win this contest now (which isn't as important) but it's good that the composition is noticed.

[AIM-Changing Our Fate]

While this is a good song, it seems you skipped the rules for the AIM contest. Art must be from Newgrounds, so please remove the tag!

It seems a lot of parts of the song are hard-panned, like the drums. That takes away from the listening experience for me quite a lot. After all, even if I'm sitting on one side of a set, both ears will hear the sound!

[AIM - The Lonely Hermit]

I actually think I prefer this to your usual vein of work. It shows a sensitivity and freedom of expression rarely seen. ASMR elements make for an unusual exploration of sound, which I feel very much represents a story. I will say that the eating bit absolutely annoyed the SHIT out of me as a misophone who normally listens to music at obscenely loud volumes in order to ignore eating noises -- eating noises which were currently going on around me. Subtracting half a star as I was supremely disturbed by that part. Very good piece, though. Thoroughly enjoyed.

EctiBot responds:

Dunno if I'll be able to make something like this again, but I certainly hope so :D.
Glad you liked it :D

[AIM - The bunny crew]

I did enjoy the piece, but I can't possibly turn it up as loud as it needs to be for me to be able to hear each little intricacy you've got going. That's a compression issue, not a speaker problem, if you catch my drift. Everything you have going on here is all very relaxing, but at this volume level, everything is a bit buried by the drums. Although I very much enjoy them, it feels as if each new element introduced is over before it begins.

[AIM - Gravitational Attraction]

This is a very fun piece, but unfortunately buried with less than stellar mixing. The chords are all very relaxing and creepy at the same time. Drums in particular need a little liveliness, both in tone and compression, reverb, etc. They're very... soggy, not crisp.

Bass is buried in the mix. Needs more grit and presence. Everything else I could possibly whinge about has been mentioned, but in short, I enjoyed the piece, but the quality could be much better! If you do ever decide to go back to your old projects and bring one to life, pick this one, please. I'd love to hear it.

Kalviter responds:

Yeah the mixing on this one has been an absolute nightmare, I've definitely gotta try to redo it when I get time. This is what happens when you only learn how to sidechain properly halfway through a song. Glad you like the concept though.

[AIM - NINE]

Agree with RealFaction. This isn't dubstep. Closer to trip hop. Also forgot to mention in my review of "Drowing" that the title was mispelled. Should be "Drowning". But back to "NINE", I'm not sure what significance the number holds to the woman depicted, or this very trippy, grimy "My Husband" you've got going on. I do appreciate the vibe. I wonder, are the snakes representative of her husband, in your mind? Certainly a darkly beautiful piece.

[AIM - Drowing]

The very muted, deep noises perfectly emulate what I've heard of music underwater. Quite an interesting experience. When the song hits its crest, the bass is heavy and emotive, but not overbearing, which is an achievement. Very enjoyable, very artistic piece. I love what you've done with it.