ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[ictg5]

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.

[Overwhelmed]

Very interesting and soulful intro for a dnb track! A few things I would recommend, more tightly controlling your reverb signals to create room for your bass -- removing low frequencies where possible, somewhat decreasing stereo width all around, if you have used any wideners, and actually slightly turning down the break.

The break sounds as if it's in a separate space to the rest of your track -- like it's in a small room, such as a bathroom, and your track is in a movie theatre. I think you can reduce this by brightening your instrumental a bit and perhaps spreading the amen break above 800 hz, or wherever you feel the ride cymbal begin to open up a bit as you play around with it.

Regardless, really cool little track. I enjoyed it!

NGADM score: 8.1

OVERSCORE responds:

Thank you for the detailed review!
I typically have that problem of not having control over the mix/EQ of reverb.
I didn’t use any stereo wideners but narrowing the track probably couldn’t hurt.
I will try to keep reverb a little more consistent in the future.
Glad you enjoyed, thanks!

[ABDUCTION]

Somehow that album cover makes me very, very afraid for your boy being abducted LOL

I'm not sure if you'd call this dark synth -- please correct me if I'm wrong; after many years I still find things I don't know in regards to genre.

I'm also shocked someone gave this only 3 stars. Do I think it's perfect? No, but no song is. IT certainly to my ears deserves more than 3 though.

My main issues with this track are related to mix and space. Your autofiltered pad at 2:15 is really loud on the sides, as are a lot of your wet FX. This was the norm in the 80s, which ofc synthwave seeks to emulate. Today we have all sorts of modulation and futher filtering/FX to control the clashing low frequency noise this often creates. I would suggest if you ever revisit this to shorten the delay tails by reducing feedback somewhat, and apply a subtle sidechain on all low frequency instruments to make room for your kick. It's hiding in the mix.

Your arrangement and writing is top notch in this piece. Well deserved FP.

Back to mix, your low saw at 4:24 is also too loud in the wrong places -- very sibilant. I suggest treating it with EQ or low pass and darkening it up a bit. It sounds too loud because of this presence.

Excellent outro.

Beyond that, spanking track! NGADM score 8.4. Rounding up for NG score.

Slintas responds:

Thank you so much for your input! Loved reading every word and will try to take your suggestions to heart.

I have slightly worse hearing on my left ear, so I think I overcompensate when it comes to the left channel. I also hardly ever send out my tracks to have them analyzed by other people, who might have fresh perspectives.

I have gotten feedback in the past saying they like my use of dissonance. Trying to please everyone including myself is an uphill battle, but one I love fighting.

You have a great day!
Much love <3