ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ryzmik - "Time Lapse" (NGADM)]

Clogged with reverb? I wouldn't say that. However I'd back the verbs off by about 10 to 15% on sections of whole notes and barring accents. Modulating reverb wet pays off (says the person who rarely does that, or uses delay to do what verb is supposed to do)

I find myself in general wanting about .2 to .3 dB more out of your basses

You've done a lot of sexy gating throughout. great work!

["WHEN CALLING"]

20 sec could use a perc on beat 2 to take some attention off the rest of the mix

1:17 the vocal sounds very centered and flat

However this approach is very unique and I quite enjoy what you've done!

Perhaps a different kick at times would serve this piece well. The current one contrasts a lot with the rest of the instrumentation, and I really find myself wanting a snare that sustains -- think an 80s shoegaze snare, an rnb snare, or something in that realm. The current snare could be a backing snare that pans left and right.

Overall, despite some mix issues and inconsistent approach, I love the overall theme, and the idea is very original and alive. Great work!

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thank you so much! Appreciate the kind words. It's just nice to have someone speak about your work in general like this, and I'll definitely take your feedback into mind... I'm going to mix this one some more, add some thickness to that line at 1:17, etc., and hopefully release it as part of an EP ^_^

Cheers!

[Lordant - Eönwë]

Intro legitimately sounds like it's straight out of a film. Actually, the whole thing

Mix-

shaker is WAY up. Could come down as there is nothing in that sound space

I think at points reverb gets to be a bit much, such as on the gong, and on your horns. Tin whistle can come down just a bit before 2:15

The FX at 2:22 abruptly cuts off. Can be taken down as well, and potentially a small reverb slap back after the cut off to fit in the space better.

The voice at 3 min as well as the lead doubling that line can be thinned out in the low-mids, shaker again is too loud. I want to hear a bit more of the 1000 dB bass drum on beat 1 and some low end.

Great work otherwise!

[bad thoughts feel good]

Really interesting beat. I think the kick could come up a bit

The section at 1:08 I think needs some work, that lead up top feels like it's in the wrong key

But overall I really like what you've done with it. Keep it up and don't let anybody stop you no matter what!

Billorusso44 responds:

appreciate it brudda💯

[Finnsfolks - N0VA]

I'm so happy to see how far you've come through the years. You're doing fantastic. Please keep it up!

A couple critiques on mix
Kick prior to the drop could have a bit of 10khz rolled off of it. On sections where snare is not present, it feels a bit top heavy

Otherwise, I think I would like some more sub on your bass

You are doing better and better at showing contrast between drop and builds.

I feel the leads and pads going into 3 minutes have a LOT of hiss on them

Also love the bigroom house snare you snuck in there.

3:40 sounds a bit thin and tinny

Otherwise, really enjoyed it! Fantastic job

Finnsfolks responds:

First off, thank you so so much for your support and feedback, it is incredibly appreciated!

Regarding the kick, yeah, I can see what you mean. Leading up to the drop, I do somewhat feel like it could have been a bit much, I guess I just got used to it, lol.

I'm a little surprised about the sub, I thought I was almost going overboard with it, but I can try and keep this in mind too.

I'm glad you think I'm getting better with contrast, that's something I've definitely been striving to get better at, so your comment on that is appreciated. And I'm glad you liked the snare, I thought it was fitting in that section.

High End is definitely something I feel I'm struggling to balance at the moment, avoiding too much hiss much keeping things sharp. I'm too under the impression, I think, that noise is good for filling the space, especially at the top end, but perhaps that isn't always the case, heh.

Regarding the thin and tinny comment, this is the only thing I'm not entirely sure how to fix. Fullness in mixdowns is the one thing I feel I struggle to find balance in, because when I think the mix needs something, my instinct is to add another layer, which is probably not even necessary, but then removing stuff and instead trying to boost one element just makes it overblown, I feel. Nonetheless, I will continue to practice and hopefully learn over time.

I really appreciate these points of feedback, I'll try and keep them in mind moving forward!

[For The Love Of Tax]

I'm amazed you got miku to sound this good. Holy cow

Production wise, I think the kick could come up a bit, guitar and synths are crowding out miku a bit, and I think her voice could be a bit less dry in the mix. Some chorus, reverb, delays, panning, etc would help contrast the verses and chorus. Harmony is hard to pick out but sounds good as is

Great work!

3xBlast responds:

Cheers! Hope to keep improving this type of sound, so your feedback helps a lot!

[Toy Soldiers]

So many moving parts!

There are at times bits which jump to the fore a bit too loudly, and others when I wish you had a more present bass. But holy cow the variety of this piece is staggering. Also, I love that it isn't reverbed to death, as a lot of layered songs are.

Great work!

[Battle of Mind]

I can hear the utter frustration with one's apathy throughout. As usual, compositionally superb. Great transitions. pleasant djenty noises

giving 5 because heart eyes. NGADM score will differ

Mix-
hihats about .4 db higher than I would put them, and at points 1 dB
snare could potentially use dynamic compression to bring out bottom head, and in general needs to be louder in the low mid
china cymbal, a bit loud, by .2 dB
I think actually cymbals for the most part could be either pitched down in kontakt, as some of them are tinny

Kick sounds pretty high tuned to me, which may not serve this piece. Maybe distort it some??? I like to use multiple kick samples sometimes on different pitches, because who cares if a kick only realistically detunes like that with heat and cold and otherwise takes half and hour to move two semitones LOL, kick go duddit-duddit-DUD.

Guitars, I want more low mid, especially on your fade out. Oh wait, that was a hi pass. Perhaps you can pare down chords somewhat but double track so the notes are still represented, just in different channels. I do this occasionally when I want extra dissonance but also clarity.

3:48 approaches perfect mix for guitars.

Section at middle of song, utterly godly work, and better mix overall (2:38)

3:18 it sounds a bit centered, but I think that is reverbs interacting in the center. Perhaps thinning the low end off the choir and pushing it up might help some. Without the solo, it sounds just fine however. So if you ever re-render and touch that, be sure to back off the cut for the next section.

As usual, fantastic work. Loved it in its totality, and always more than a sum of its parts. If you want me to write something to this some time, let me know.

[Psychadelic Junglegolf]

Insane, love the breaks. However, I'd like less volume on your non-bass synths, as they are covering up your intro breaks.

Those rhodes are yes.

The amen sections sound straight out of a MegaMan game I used to play on gamecube. Excellent work, and love your portamentos. But for mix, this is right up my alley! Great work!

[Into the Sunset - NGADM]

Really tricky getting those flubby trumpet articulations in the intro right -- I think taking some reverb off of it and a bit more low end down will assist, as well as manually modulating volume and pan. There are some articulations which sound a bit mechanical on the intro, sections where this instrument is used, etc. The muted bit at 1:45 is better in this regard but also has some rougher hard attacks that could also be tamed with a bit of manual ducking.

I find the western vibe of this to be quite interesting but think throughout the kick and tambourine are quite dry and upfront for the rest of the track to sound so wet and verbed.. I even think the tambourine could come down a lot and have a more obvious slapback delay in the right channel -- or a swung "_--_/" rhythm, where _ is the kick, and -- is tambourine notes similar to "dah-dit", followed by kick, and / represents a longer "dah." Text is woefully difficult to convey this through, but I hope that makes some sense. The tamb backbeat is so out there, it's obvious if it remains samey. It was easier to make out the articulation on it than it was to hear the guitar in the right channel.

Toms also are not offensive in the least, but I think they would benefit from 80's shoegaze to fit in with the rest of the track.

Compositionally however, quite enjoyed this song. Great work!

Irish-Soul responds:

Wow, thank you for the excellent mixing feedback! I'm going to try to apply your advice in my future tracks, especially your advice about the lack of reverb on the percussion, using slapback delay on perc, and cleaning up the flubby trumpet articulations.

Thanks so much! <3