ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[moonlighting]

Just putting this out there for any to see, but personally, I would be utterly crushed to have lost you, Trois. However selfish it may be for me to say that, it's there, and there are many of us here on NG who feel the same. You are wildly talented and always a pleasure to hear, and I wholly approve of throwing these feelings into song. It feels like the only way to get it out and have it stick.

Beautiful oldschool rock sound to this track. Reminds me of favorites of mine from the 80s in both arrangement and tone. Gorgeous result and very impactful. I would still love to hear a bit more of the backing vocals spread out on big sections (beautiful choruses there) but am loving the raw emotion of the lead. By all means, keep doing what you're doing. You're nailing it down!

Troisnyx responds:

I want to thank you wholeheartedly for the review. I deeply empathise with the words, with the intent, with everything.

I also want you to know that given what this song is, what we toiled through, and what has become of it, it rings hollow in my heart. "Keep doing what you're doing," but no, this round has shown me that this song, and the intentions behind it, and everything else around it, don't matter. I feel I'm getting mixed messages because clearly the results show that I shouldn't keep doing what we're doing. This is where I'm at.

[Be That As It May]

Popping by to leave a short review for this piece. Lovely application of shoegaze. I would like more of your vocals volume wise, less shaker, a bit less cymbal, maybe by a dB or two, a bit more bass. Beyond that, all fits together well

As you chase that fade out, cymbals are sticking out quite a bit, as well as shakers

SpoonMix responds:

Thanks, ADR3-N! You called it shoegaze!! I always look to shoegaze for inspiration but never dare call my work shoegaze. I'd try to knock down an extra dB or two on my high frequencies from now on, my tinnitus masks out those frequencies. I actually did notice the cymbals sticking out at the fade... but only on the waveform. That might be just the kick and snare though... I should just bring the whole drums and percussion down...

[Praia Apaixonada]

Great vibes. I'm not sensing it's very rushed at all, beyond the mix. There are some changes I would make there. The backing synths are very verbed out, and the bass volume does not feel quite uniform -- the high notes are louder than the low notes, leading to it sounding a bit off balance. It also sounds a bit flat or sharp on the upper octave. Would probably sound better centered.

I would cut away some of that verb so that it doesn't get too much of a shoegaze, and push some of your percussions and leads back just a little. The articulations are pretty sharp in contrast to the sweet, smoothly gliding along vibe you have in the writing. Trumpets are fine in that regard and tastefully utilized.

[meet me outside]

Like a fusion of lo-fi hip-hop, ambient, and I'm not sure what else. I wish it were longer. That's the only real drawback of this track to me, beyond perhaps a bit more volume on the bass would make me happy.

[Lagrange Point (NGADM '23 R2)]

I have nothing to say for the writing but good things, and about everything else, not too shabby. I really appreciate the attention to detail in arranging this piece. I think there is a bit much reverb throughout and would like to hear more bass frequencies. The verb is muddying out some of the higher end instruments and melodies, as well as a bit of the perc. If you prefer this verbed out sound, you can gradually increase it throughout, to give more of a sense of movement -- a thin intro to a vast, washed out final chorus. :)

[Somewhere I'll Find You]

The high points for me -- great guitar tone and for the most part articulations, mix is approaching fantastic during most portions, phrasing and variety of phrases within same style.

I would like more bass volume, a bit less reverb in portions -- and compression to dial back on your big drop impacts. They actually swallow up the whole mix. Every point at which you have a big sub or WHAM/WOOMPH transition, the mix gets very cluttered and muddy, and it actually takes away from the gravity of the piece.

Also, I personally didn't like the sax. Would have loved anything else. The articulations are very synthy, and the volume level is not quite there for it to be a solo. Any other synth would do just about.

Beyond that, great work!

BeyondOurEyes responds:

Thanks for the love and feedback! I have some bass drops in there that I think are contributing to the overcompressed impacts so I'll revisit those and try to fix for future, and make some other little tweaks for some more bass.

NO SAX??? :( I like how it sounds personally, though I do agree it would be even better with a more realistic saxophone VSTi versus the basic one I used, so i'm looking into that. The real thing would be even better, but I haven't picked up that instrument / skill yet haha - maybe one day!

[0i00 - Votamelon]

I can definitely hear your knowledge of theory. Simple in terms of orchestration but a lot more complex than what I write these days. Keep it up!

zeroizerozero responds:

Thank you!

[KARABINE]

Tight and crisp sound. I'm listening on my phone so can't say much about mix, but I can say from looking at the waveform you could use to compress the final result/mastering. Otherwise great!

[Caleb Carnell & MAXXJAMEZ - PG3 (Full EP)]

Minus the vocal mix sounding a bit thin and not quite pushed hard enough in terms of compression, saturation in places, this is fantastic. 4:59, those hihats are up pretty high, and the 808 could take up more space in the mix. I think what I might be hearing is a bit of a tinny mic or mix on it. Flows are on point though. I would love to produce to these <3