ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Gunslinger's Code: Keep Moving Forward]

Well written, but I feel there could be a lot more expressive velocity and modulation on our strings here, especially when similar or adjacent notes are in proximity to each other in a line. You represent your theme well here, however. Good work.

ChronoNomad responds:

Thank you for the quick review, EDM364! Your assessment is fair, and I truly appreciate your time and critical ear. Achieving higher levels of expressiveness is something that I continue to work toward. That aside, it's really nice to hear that the overall theme comes across so well. Thanks again!

[For Trebuxet]

This falls into the uncanny valley of weird and catchy for me. The vocals are seriously out of tune, though, and I feel the sidechain is a tad overdone. Also, unsure why this is classified as a loop if there are however many seconds of silence at the end.

[Hyper Dash - Cold Sprint]

I was really enjoying this one until the air horn sample came in. Just seemed egregiously ... cliche. Loop is flawless otherwise, and everything seems well mixed. I just hate that sample.

demon1000 responds:

i see... if i get another Complaint about it, I will replace the sample and notify you! Thanks!

[Lemmy - Storm Techno Project 01]

Interesting. Almost sounds like a hybrid of world music with old techno. Takes a while to come together but I'm enjoying it considerably here at 1:00. Everything seems to be coming together until the kick comes in, which has some serious reverb on it. This jars me a bit, as it seems to just reinforce this strange mid range reverb cluttering until it fades out again.

Next we have some spacy ... what sounds like pads. It's pleasing to listen to. Sounds almost like something you'd hear in Cowboy Bebop. The claps and kicks interspersed here I feel don't take away but don't add anything to the mix. Here being around 3:00. The spidery scales reinforce the spacy, almost videogame feel, reminding me of Megaman X Command Mission's later levels before quieting down.

Around 4 we have another 4 on the floor kick come in, with the main theme, the bassline, returning. I hear what sounds like a sitar, and the psychedelic spidery synths return.

At 5 we're back to the spacy pads and world percussion, before 5:35. This personally is my favorite portion of the song. The reverb isn't overpowering, and everything is fitting in its own little niche. It remains like this for a good minute or so before tapering off into another transition, then fading, then repeating this phrase at 7:00.

Honestly, as psychedelic as this is in its nature, it reminds me of some of the stuff I've heard on a Psybient channel. Good stuff.

MorphingThruTime responds:

Thank you for BIG and thorough review. Very nice.

["Twas The Night Before. . ."]

Interesting accents, though slips were a bit noticable. Takes some talent to cycle through them as seamlessly as you seem to be doing here.

whiteknave2 responds:

Thank ya' kindly. I'm not really an "accent" sort of guy, though I aim to change that. I appreciate the compliment, I LOVE the constructive criticism.

[DJ Cat - Pain Is Not A Problem]

I really dislike the sound of your drums, sort of just lumbering, borderline distorted -- snare is overpowering until the drop hits. The pianos with their reverb are bordering cheesy, as are the saws. Your arrangement isn't bad, but it just sort of hits the spot between strange and almost good for me -- the uncanny valley if you will.

DJCat12 responds:

Ok, I will take this comment to help myself :). Thanks Guy!!!

[MrBipolar- 2016 Commercial Demo]

Pretty great, good mixing. Probably could use a bit more high end on your vocals. They feel a bit muffled. That may be your windscreen. It's an amusing listen nonetheless!

mrbipolar responds:

Thanks for your feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Alien Dance Party]

I wouldn't say this is drum and bass, more... I'm not even sure. DnB would be somewhere in the 165-180 BPM and have a different drum beat. I suggest a bit of study. I'm not good at genres myself, but this just sticks out as clearly not belonging in DnB, which could negatively affect your score.

Onto the song itself, it would be 10x better with some cymbals, more prominent percussion, and some transitions. Without them, it just feels like there's no progression.

DeadByTomorrow responds:

spent a long time debating what genre this was, we arn't sure either

[Trap Door]

This is neither dubstep, nor trap, and the lack of mastering made it practically unlistenable. I'm not sure how exactly that works in Caustic specifically, but you should at least be able to lower the volume enough that the output doesn't distort, maybe use a master limiter. I would study some serious tutorials if I were you. Feels absolutely carelessly slapped together.

Stardust-Nation responds:

I appreciate the brazen and honest feedback. I'm studying, yes. I'm still new to this whole shtick, but there doesn't seem to be quite enough time in my schedule to really learn a lot at once. As for the mastering, it's probably the worst part of caustic. I have to do all this tricky business with recording, and I was worried that I might end up screwing it up more. Anyways, it's all about the small steps, I guess.