ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[If You Where Mine Ft. Flame The Odyssey X The Kid Griff]

This would be lit -- if the mixing were better. Can sound a little cliche at points, but had good pacing and phrasing. Acapella sounds dry. Needs some chorus, compression, a little noise cancellation if the noise is noticeable (make sure to find an absolutely silent point to select, then render the track again and see how it sounds, because live cancellation will sound like shit).

Actual beat could use a little more attention paid to it. We have a lot of high end with virtually no low end, and the kick sounds a bit weird. The dry vocals make it sound even stranger in terms of soundscape. Just sounds very naked.

If you're interested in more tips and thoughts, let me know. Tbh I can't tell from this whether you're on Ableton or Cubase.

[Jedi Mind Tricks Ft. Flame The Odyessy]

Your mixing/flow is ... a little weird. Reminds me of Wiz Khalifa minus good production values. I hope you haven't <em>actually</em> had a lobotomy, although that would explain why your verse just sort of seems to poke and hope when it comes to syllables in a series. Your actual rhymes are ok. Your structure is lacking and we're left wondering what is going to rhyme with what. Confusing your audience like it's some kind of incomprehensible opera is never a good thing because then they can't get into it.

Also hope not everyone copies you because I really couldn't deal with the same loop laying down in the background not doing much of anything to supplement the track. The way it's mixed, it makes your acapella sound really heavy on the right channel. Sounds like you've got cheap or no equipment here but you left it dry, no FX. I've certainly heard worse things, but this one needs to go back to the drawing board. I don't know if you made this beat yourself or not, but whoever did needs more experience. Maybe some YT tutorials.

Mixing, I could spend all day telling you what's wrong here, but in the future, just make sure if your beat has some weird ass panning like this one you record your verse 2-4 times and pan it as well. Think old Tupac tracks. Most kids these days don't know shit about olskool mixing, but rehearsal and multiple recordings were the saving grace. If you can't hack that, don't use a wack beat. Also, think about what you're actually saying and if your audience can actually get behind this. Rap these days might be about talking about yourself, but you're also talking about what your audience wants.

This sounds either like a freestyle or written verse that just wasn't rehearsed. Definitely not the best I've heard, but not the worst either.

[Joystick Junkie]

It's a good song, but it's definitely missing something, and it's quite repetitive. I can compliment your mixing, however. It's just not my cup of tea.

8-bitheroes responds:

Thanks dood

[White Classic Orchestra]

Good chord structures. Would have given a higher score for better use of the soundspace and mixing of percussion. Really could use with some type of FX on that at least -- and more high end. As is it feels pretty unimaginative and sticks out for just being the lamest part of an otherwise pretty alright track. Your retro instrumentation stands out far more than your strings as well, and structuring is repetitive. I don't like your string synth. Really, it's an alright, laid back track, but the wow factor isn't really there for me.

[GreyDay]

Pretty good song. Mixing and panning is where it falls flat, as well as perc and overall leveling. The highs and pads are totally overpowering your atmosphere and drowning out the bass, taking a 4.5 star song down to a 3.5 for me.

Your writing is good, but a lot of your song is buildup, and repeated phrases. You could use a lot more velocity meddling on adjacent notes as well. I see lots of FX and pitch bending, but these should really be afterthoughts once you handle your arrangement. As is, it's a lot of repeated phrases that feel like they go nowhere fast and it feels quite samey. You've got some very imaginative melodies but it takes FOREVER and a day to hear them.

Anyway, minus that, good song, and I enjoyed it. You've got some talent, but remember -- melody comes first. FX comes second. Mixing comes finally.

capsule69 responds:

Thanks so much for such a detailed and critical review.
It's rare that people will give you an honest opinion in fear of hurting feelings along the way.

I feel like I've made progress with my mixes, which is definitely something I've been aware of for sometime.; but I'll look into melody work too.

Cheers

[I Rob People (feat. Sky)]

Hooks were fantastic and varied. Teq, your rhymes were the strongest but delivery and mixing of your lines was weakest (more so volume wise). Beat was overpowering you the most and without lyrics it'd be a bit hard to understand you. I would suggest just a little more compression on your vocals, a couple dB up in the 8-10k range on your lines to make you a bit more crisp -- will say the noise cancellation was so much better, and your recordings are getting there. Always some fine lyricism coming out of you, and I'm never not impressed.

Beat is fire, just needs to come down a little bit. Velocity on the piano could be edited here and there to make it sound more varied and not just SLAM. SLAM. SLAM-SLAM SLAM. You get my point. Rhodes were a nice touch. It does however sound slightly overcompressed.

Sky, your vocal mixing was strong, but rhymes were slightly weaker and at times nonsensical -- after all, they HAVE banned being a bandit, unless you mean Crash Bandicoot. Wait I wasn't supposed to to be talking smack on your track. Aw shoot.

Couldn't resist.

Anyway, with just a bit more precise mixing, this could be some banging olskool shit you'd hear on the radio if you were cool. Right now, it's almost there. 10/10 would listen again tho.

Teqneek responds:

Okay I made one final edit. Cut volume down on the dubs, raised the mains, and made a few minor adjustments here and there. I think it sounds much better now. I got it sounding about as good as I think I can possibly get it to sound at least.

Next solo track I make, I'd love to see what you can do for the vox.

BUT ONNNNNE DAYYY...
ONE DAY, I TELL YOU...
I'm gonna nail it.
NO FLAWS
...Except the song itself will suck

[SMB2 Menu Song Remix]

Responding to review request :)

Much improved mixing from your other projects. Snare could cut a little more through the mix, and that loud lead could come down just a liiittle. Other than that, I really don't have any complaints. Structure is good. Transition is where it was weakest. The notes clashed with the existing song structure. The drop just felt a bit superficial and repetitive, really. Overall however, it was a pretty enjoyable listen. Also, the fade in re-establishing the main drive was noticably louder than the rest of the track. Watch for that. You may even master limit your tracks around a -12dB with the Classic Master Limiter FX in MX7.

Pretty good stuff, just needs some minor hotfixes. Also, where are hats and cymbals?

Finnsfolks responds:

Thanks for the review. Regarding the cymbals and hi-hat, they're there, probably just a bit drowned out though :/ As for transitions, I'm not quite sure of what I can do to improve them. About the "master limiter" thing you were talking about, I WANTED to do that, but I would then in turn not have anything to help transition from the drop back to the verse (which, in this case, was a kick and cymbal).
If you have suggestions for any of these, feel free to let me know.

[Dark train]

Sounds like the same 3 loops mashed on top of one another. Drums need to come up in the mix more -- or be sidechained.

[Skyrim Nord Follower Sample Lines]

Nord accent isn't the best, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it'd be a good experience if actually implemented in game. You actually sound closer to a Redguard.

CarlTheVoiceactor responds:

That's a fair point! I can definitely imagine this being really fitting for that. I may make a few adjustments to the attitude and try the lines in more of that style :3 Thanks for the listen and review!