ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Threesome]

I actually really like the offbeat, dark feel and thin percussion. It makes for an uncoordinated sort of threesome. I'm not great with EDM genres aside from techno, DnB, and dubstep, but I think you definitely nailed your theme. It really encapsulates the stomach-sick of "What are we doing?", that I feel you wanted to imply. Great arrangement, also. It's sensitive without being overpowering.

AlexTL13 responds:

Thank u for you glowing review!
the overall positive thoughts on this is really exiting.

[interfere]

Sounds like the distortion is just the way the flash player handles peaks. Definitely one hell of an interesting piece you have here. Those nonsense samples really help out the atmosphere, and it feels like a lot of weird seventh chords, which is coincidentally my favorite thing ever... maybe ninth chords. My head hurts from thinking too hard about it.

The bass sort of hides in the mix at points, which is what I felt might have been the point, as it does so without detracting from the track as a whole. Snare on the 4th is also an interesting addition. In short, I love this. Could listen to it for days. Only thing I noticed, it seems to be louder in the left channel. Although I suspect I may be developing an ear infection on the right side. Still, worth a check.

Thanks for the request!

[Gotham]

Interesting and dark, but not drum and bass as far as I'm seeing -- DnB usually is upwards of 150 bpm. This might fit in hip-hop or misc. Reminds me of some old trap, kinda. The timpani is interesting, and for the most part, I like the percussion. Repeats seem a bit lazy, though, like just another trip through the chorus with no verses to differentiate. If you were going to go that route, I'd just have one run through and repeat, or just fade out what you have now rather than repeat it again.

Begginning pad is nice to listen to, ominous, and it loops not quite flawlessly but well enough. 808-ish percussion is pretty cool as well, and the writing is interesting to hear. Keep it up!

[Banging]

~Per your review request~
Interesting. Sounds like some sort of fusion of genres, though I hardly listen to Dance. The lead at 00:30 is pretty nice. I feel like the sub-bass is muddying up the whole mix, though. Almost as if it isn't laying in the chords. It sounds much better at 1:00, when it's laying in a chord. Gate play is interesting. Percussion sounds a little naked, though. Don't be afraid to add some personality to your VSTs! Distort them. Phase them. Chorus them. Reverb is your friend (sometimes). The list goes on. I'd have definitely liked a longer version with some minor alterations -- maybe a change to the bright-ish piano riff every 8 bars or something.

As is, I can bob my head to it. My main gripe is that the kick isn't as gritty as the snare. Cannot get enough of that lead, though. That's one infectious melody!

Keep it up!

TheNGVirus responds:

thanks for the review, man!

I'll keep it up!

[A New World (Part 1)]

~Per your review request~
Hmm, so it starts out chiptune-y. Very nice composing, too. Now I understand that crash from the second half -- though it sounds much better here. Again, you may want to try Video Game genre.

VSTs like these are where your best mixing comes in. Sounds as if you are much more comfortable composing with them. Excellent work. Only subtracting half a star for the abrupt ending -- although it leads into the second track, I understand.

Now, some things to improve would possibly be to add in the occasional hat and some mod/filtering to your bassline. As is, it's not a bother, but it sounds as if it isn't live within the room, so to speak. It doesn't breathe. I try to look at music as if it were a living being. Let it breathe life and emotion, you know? You may want to experiment with panning different aspects of the track, playing with high or low pass for transitions, etc. Also, your percussion doesn't have to lie straight in the middle of the track. Move it around a bit. Have fun with it!

[A New World (Part 2)]

~Per your review request~
I like the arrangement of your percussion, but this sounds like a lot of generic plugins or samples. I dunno, really just isn't scratching the itch of doing all it could do. Try distinguishing the sounds of your VSTs a bit more and meshing the soundscape together. Definitely could use a bassline to tie it in as well. The melody is a little naked in places. Double bass is nice. Could use less corny crashes -- I know that sound anywhere, aha. Also gets points for bravery, directness, and the unique arrangement, as well as looping absolutely FLAWLESSLY. You would probably gain more traction in the Video Game section or Misc with this track, however.

Anyway, keep trying, and eventually you will make headway. You're getting somewhere!

[Make it last]

It's listenable, but it doesn't exactly speak dubstep to me. Tempo is right, but... There is so much reverb, and the low frequencies are almost painful. Interesting soundscape in the higher frequencies, but it really does not feel to me as if it progresses from 00:20 to the end. Same dry drum loop, same papery sounds pulsing in and out, and same violin. Not my cup of tea. Sorry. Outro is nice, though.

[A Tale of Two Brothers]

~per your review request~

Sounds pretty great, especially around 1:40 up til the end. I'm no expert on chipstep or anything, though. The only thing I would say work on is the volume leveling. I hear it fine on headphones, but on laptop speakers and desktop, it is a little quiet. Almost sounds like 1/3 the volume it should be, even at max volume. Great cover other than that!

[Stars, Coconuts and dinosaurs]

This is a fantastic soundscape. I feel a lot of fear and also wonderment at the same time. Your use of gates is fantastic, as is that crash around 02:00. Completely took my by surprise. Wonderful job on this whole tune!

[Warpdrive]

Some pretty catchy stuff, but you'll probably get more traction in trance than here. Some pretty sweet sounds around 40, and the low pass play is nice. I feel like you diverged from the mainstay of your chorus around 00:50 to 01:00. Once things got moving again at around 01:30 though, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

The 303 bass feels a little dry in places. Lead around 2:10 is spectacular at its entrance with the shaky tremelo pitch mod.

Overall, it certainly doesn't sound bad, but I feel this is in the wrong genre. Maybe Dance or Trance would be good places to put it. Don't worry about that for now, though. I'm not good at divining genre anyway. I have a couple gripes, however.

-I feel like the cutting of the intro and outro is a bit unnecessary unless it is a consistent theme of the track's melody or accompaniment.
-The pads and basses sound like presets. Nothing wrong with that on its own, but they don't mesh perfectly, and a smooth soundscape is everything.
-Watch your leveling. The mid range between 00:20 and 00:30 was almost painful in my left ear from some frequencies sticking out so much more than others.
-Some parts of the song felt almost copied and pasted, like around 01:02, where the main theme came in.

Pretty catchy tune you've made! Keep it up!

Daru925 responds:

Thank you for the detailled review and useful feedback, especially about EQ
Definitely a lot to improve, listening back to it monthes later^^ Still its one of my favourite track.

I admit i m always lost when choosing a genre for my tracks. I must be stuck in the past where everything was called Techno.
Now I m more like: i will create something and let audiophiles decide what genre it fits best ahah^^
They know better :)
Thanks again!