ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Naghihintay para sa Hanging Amihan]

Fantastic writing, and amazing to have been made in musescore, which I consider quite limiting for being able to make a professional sounding piece, in terms of poor ability to manage mix, articulations sticking out like sore thumbs on occasion, and rapid jumps in volume. Those actually sum up any problems I have with this piece. I think you would do well to take the midi data from muse score and adjust it in places to fix that.

[Star Way]

I'm a little confused as the why there is a dramatic crescendo and decrescendo of what appears to be already master compressed sound as opposed to doing it the other way around.

As a composition, sounds fine. There are some issues of mix beyond simply looking a bit strange and not having contrast in volume throughout sections but instead everything instead being more or less the same volume and just getting louder and then quieter.

As you fade, remember that high frequencies get more prominent, and bass tends to slip away into the realms of inaudibility. So as you fade, your tinny sounds get tinnier, and your bass loses its clarity. Chasing the fade is important. If you can't recall what this is or don't know, google is definitely worth it! It's an old and nearly forgotten technique from the 60s and 70s if not earlier.

Now the reverse applies as you get louder. Low mids and bass get too loud as you push up the volume in a fade. You may find your snare is harder to place due to losing some of that high end clarity in the middle of the verbs coming up, and then you feel the urge to push hihats to get more clarity, when taking down your side synths some is the right choice.

The key change at the last bit was abrupt and left some wrong notes hanging in the reverb to clash for the first beat, as well as in the side synths. Otherwise, not a bad choice though.

Beyond that, great work. I really enjoyed your melody writing!

[Club Revolution]

Oh I miss this genre!

Some gripes right off, the hihats are very loud relative to even the drop bass.

1:07 the buildup snare is getting lost in the mix due to lots of instruments nailing the high mid freqs very loud, as well as overcompression -- the song is too loud prior to being master compressed. There is also a LOT of reverb going on and that needs to be handled more sensitively. I get the sense my head is very full listening to this song even on lower volumes, which speaks to me of overcompression, a lot of low mid hum on the reverbs that hasn't been tamed, and perhaps that that cello in the back also could be hipassed a bit to make room for bass.

Beyond that, very catchy and really suits the genre you were going for. Good work!

[Black Hole (NGUAC Entry)]

I think I would switch out your intro piano or perhaps not octave double it. But as far as your buildup, the superb production there makes that minor gripe very forgiveable.

Absolutely top drop. Additionally, excellent use of string ensembles and hidden what sounds to be choirs.

2:18, I think a different changeup rhythm for the kick and snare would be appropriate for that transition. Feel it was just a bit abrupt and roughly handled. Hihats at 2:55 can also safely come down a bit until 3:11. Perhaps even after that, by, say .2 to .4 dB. They are really screaming up there if they are loud on my monitor headphones, which typically under represent those frequencies.

3:54 also has a LOT of white noise frequencies, perhaps needing to be brought down.

But all this is just nitpicking. You've really brought a banger. Great job!

[Fight for the Future! - NGUAC Knockout 2023]

There is some unidentifiable noise clicking above the mix prior to 30 seconds. It could be some sort of reverb. Speaking of reverb, it is hard to hear anything going on due to lots of low end noise coming from reverb through this piece. Rolling off some of the low end i.e. 250 hz and below can help. Alternatively, manage reverb smartly by applying it where you want it to be heard -- think about how people don't leave the sustain pedal on a piano when they change chords, unless those chords go together -- it causes things to sound muddy.

The kick is very hard to hear throughout the song. Snare could come up throughout. Hihats potentially also. Levels are just in general all over the place. Perhaps not for a chip tune song, but this is not chip.

I am having trouble hearing the bass through the reverb shoegaze and over the amount of sustaining bells, as well as the quite loud leads.

Based on your panning, I think it is part of the reverb on the snare in your beginning I was hearing. Oh no, it was the instrument at 2:14. Rolling off the high end on that delay will help a bit. Due to muddy mix, it was sounding like clipping to me in your intro.

But I would like to say beyond all that that compositionally, this is a great piece, which I really enjoyed. All mix issues aside, it's lively, energetic, and driven. Kind of reminds me of mario kart, tbh. Good work!

CommanderJersey responds:

Thank you for the review, I have been working your feedback into the song to make it better!

[Crystal Zero (Lite)]

I think there is overuse of reverb throughout creating a low-mid hum throughout -- perhaps roll off some of that as you incorporate more instruments.

Mix at 1:17 is sounding great on your bass, but I think the cello could be thinned out a bit and made into an ensemble at the same volume. I think it actually needs a wetter, crispier sound.

Structure wise, going great into 2 min. Liking that drop. Wanting actually more low mid and high mid here, and a bit drier tint here, especially at 2:15.

At 2:35, I think the low piano chords could be thinned out note wise or replaced with saws. Also, the attacks on each note all sounding at the same time is a bit grating for that naked section. A natural hand roll as it would be played might sound better.

3:42 is way over compressed, more than 3:24 even. It is losing the natural character of the synths and the transition sweep is getting lost as soda fizz on top of any reverbs there. The side chain is also almost totally lost in terms of actual contrast it is providing.

At 3:59, same issue as 2:35. Changing the velocity to be softer here, as it's the outro, may help.

Otherwise, I think you've done a fabulous job at sound design and made a good composition. Great work!

Question, does Nexus 4 still have the keys from the original Nexus? That piano sounds so familiar!

CloudNinja responds:

Nexus 4 is the same, it just changes the UI and adds extra buttons. Thx for the feedback! I didn't have enough time to really make it as good as I want so hopefully the full version would be better (IE "Lite" in the name)

[Sadistic Blood]

chord progression in intro is fire, as is the fx used.

I think the synths at 30 sec could be a bit quieter, as well as drums

Overall the weak point of this piece is production and instruments used -- i.e. mix levels and particularly that soundfont piano. I think a synth would have been much better suited there.

At 1:34, the instrumentation is sounding thin and under developed, and there is not a lot of contrast between it and the intro beyond some percussion parts coming in and a synth violin, which I think also would be better replaced with a synth. Still the ideas presented here are fantastic.

I do praise that I can hear your sine bass!

I think if you were to take this piece exactly as is written and with the same instruments, I would roll some high end off of your drums as a whole, i.e. low pass, apply reverb to the snare and a subtle pingpong delay to hihats and cymbals, and apply dynamic compression to them. Hihats and cymbals should be lower in volume. Snare and kick should be the loudest element of a piece and be balanced sonically -- listen to some references as you mix, chosen from the genres you most want to emulate, and try to approximate the sounds

Compositionally, I think there are some weaknesses in structure, not in terms of actual melodies written, but layering and choice of instruments, such that drops don't quite feel like drops. More contrast needs to be apparent in terms of volume and individual parts entering and exiting the stage per new phrase.

I hope you keep going in this direction however and that you don't lose your writing as you improve aspects of mix and instruments available to you. This is great :)

ClitBait responds:

thx you for the review, i'll keep in mind!!!

[Not Number One]

Really catchy chorus for this one

I think there could be more contrast in terms of volume between sections, and at 31 seconds and similar sections, your bass needs more presence, the lead could come down somewhat, and sides come up.

I praise that I'm actually able to hear the chip percussion throughout. Do think the snare could come up slightly and hihat could come down.

Overall, the vocal could use manual volume ducking of syllables with s and s like sounds. Great job all other things aside. Keep pushing your comfort zone! This is really nice!

[1up]

Utterly nutty tempo. Woh.

Level wise the song is pretty quiet until that final set of drops, and I actually would have liked if you did stick with the hardstyle drop to give it a chance.

Levels are all over the place. At times, I want more of your side synths, at others I want more bass. I did have to double check your vocal sample was not ripped from a Skrillex track and indeed was released as a royalty free sample pack as far as I could see.

Throughout there is a bit of issue with the kick and snare sitting far down in the mix, when they should be loudest.

I also feel that the melodies chosen would be better suited to a more relaxed tempo of say 180 to 190.

Other than that though, great work. 10 hours to put together 2:30 of music, not bad at all!