ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[High Voltage Funk]

Sounds really cheesy and is mixed kind of off. Needs a master limiter and some better volume leveling. Phrasing isn't bad, but your synths are killing your sound. They just don't really mesh well together, and there isn't much keeping what is supposed to feel like a high energy song... energized. I'm just not really feeling it. Needs more perc and maybe some side-chaining.

[Gentle Groove]

Not bad, but a bit short -- which isn't necessarily a detractor. I'd say this is sorta olskool.

[Against]

Pretty good arrangement, and didn't sound bad except some panning. It's kind of unbalanced, especially on headphones, which makes the drums stick out for, well, not sticking out.

Kick isn't as punchy as it probably should be. It sounds almost like slowly slapping your thigh -- kind of wet and meaty. Either that, or the rhythm and lead are all drowning it out in the mix.

Kind of feels like a loop. Not much variation. Also lead isn't sticking out at all and could certainly use a lot more variation. There just wasn't much differentiation in the lead between phrases, or any feeling of progression. You would've done well to perhaps have a solo section over this.

LexRodent responds:

Thanks a lot for the heads-up on the sound of drums. I did some tweaks to the drums recently, (to give them more presence ironically) and modified the overall drums volume. Also the guitars could use some additional cut on the lows.

The lack of variation is because this used to have vocals, and the voice track was a big part of it, sadly those vocal files are now lost forever. I'll try taking the whole rhythm guitar out, and add some overdrive to the bass to compensate, I'm sure this will give it a different and not so repetitive feel, while I can figure something else, a synth line maybe.

[A.I.M - Burning Witches Light My Way]

Fantastic arranging, only the releases on some of the instruments are a bit too short. I actually think the choir could have a bit more high end on the EQ.

Violins at some points have too short of a release as well and stick out just a bit more than they should, especially on shorter notes.

So other than some mixing problems and uncanny valley synth instruments, this was a beautiful listen. Great chord structures as well, and it fits the art perfectly. Salutes to you. :)

Shozi responds:

thank you very much! really glad you enjoyed it :) truely mostly i focused letting the piece harmonize with the artwork as much as i can. i hate mixing and thats why i suck at it. but well...a bit more practice and i should handle the mixing part some day :)

[A.I.M. The Way Home]

I can't hear what RF is saying about hihat. Sounds okay to me, other than sticking out a bit. Maybe it's too loud, or panned too far left. The song does very much sound like going home, but I'm not sure if it reflects the fantasy elements of the art.

Other than the above, the mixing of the song is pretty flawless. Very laid back. I like it. Just the hi-hat threw me off. Mic-ing on them is a little strange -- snare is far away from the hat.

I don't have much to say because I can't find anything wrong with the song. Considering it isn't my kind of staple music listening, that's saying a lot. Good work!

cody104 responds:

Thank you for your awesome review, glad you enjoyed the song. :)

[AIM: ZAZEN]

The panning and wah-wah was nice, but I feel the fuzz is a bit much. It's infecting everything :P

I also can hardly hear the bass for it. 1:06 felt like it should have been a big moment, but it just wasn't. It left me confused and wishing there was something more.

There's a lot of repetition here. It's by no means bad, and it does sort of remind me of a desert on something like Super Nintendo or ... Saturn or something. I can certainly tell you tried with the personal touches all over the synths and the effects. The fuzz just bothered me a bit, and the build up could have been more.. built.

Nice job otherwise!

[AIM - This is War]

Wow, have to say, this surprised me. There are points where it feels flat, or the leads overpower the guitar and drums. But overall, the guitar shines despite that. Lots of variation here. It's really interesting stuff. Sounds like your cymbals are suffering from a lack of high end though. Bass also lags a smidgen behind guitar at some points -- only a little.

Solo was abrupt but it was nice. With a bit more attention to mixing, some more low end, etc., this track would be flawless. Some reverb here and there and a second look at volume levels and compression would fix a lot of the issues here.

Great work!

NahuPyrope responds:

I'm aware of the lag issue, I don't really find what that is, I record in Reaper, and I oftend find, that after recording, I have to move the track like, 7ms, so it's sync'd with the other instruments, Thanks for the review, I'll have in mind what you told me.

Thanks so much!