ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Big Band Theory]

Some of the best music is made in fighting that damnable depression. I'm with you <3

I have to say, swinging piece. My few complaints are reserved for articulations of repeated staccatos, a bit of excess reverb on big sections, the double bass could use just a bit more string noise imo as it doesn't sound as bright as the rest of the ensemble, and some instruments sound a bit more centered than I feel would convey a big band setting. Aside from hihats, the rest of the ensemble sounds a little dark, and I think the hihats could conversely come down a bit in the mix as a result.

Writing wise however, you utterly destroyed that drum solo. Holy shit was I not expecting that. Beautiful. And your writing otherwise is standout as always. I envy you in the most positive sense of that word. Great work. This one was a treat!

[FACUNDO GARDIOL - One More Time ( Slap House )]

I think that clap in the beginning as well as transition noise (at least the white noise sweep) could be softer

Same at the drop -- want softer cymbals, softer clap, just slightly (or alternatively vary volume/velocity of 1st clap)

I think I would like less of the low octave double to that acapella, more high mid on the upper octave, and a bit of tremelo panning 17% left and right, if not an obvious delay/chorus/widening effect. as is it sounds a bit dry.

The length of this track is a bit of a detractor for me. I wanted one more drop. But otherwise fabulous house track. Great work!

[Following]

the intro is straight nostalgic NUT

at 29 I think your clappish sample could come down a bit, and bring up the break snare

I think your structure and transitions are great in terms of filtering. Maybe a bit off in terms of mix, as your sub is pretty loud, and growls are a bit down initially. At the drop prior to 1:30, I feel the basses and growls are spread a bit far in the stereo field. Yearning for more center and clipping/drive in the mids. Dropping a baby sub underneath them might help.

The transition at 2:11 was unexpected. Section is good there but would have liked a bit more obvious tip we were going to change genre for a sec!

I think the mix at 2:55 is suffering from over compression. It sounds pretty full in my ears with lots of verb that is muddying the clarity

At 3:18 the hihat is WAY loud

But otherwise, I think you've done a FANTASTIC job. Nice and varied piece with good themes and pretty solid structure. Great work! Don't be so hard on yourself <3

[Waiting For You (WIP) NGADM 2023]

A lot of great ideas here, and that vocal sounds great

I can sort of hear the unfinishedness in that beyond the vocal, the mix sounds a bit flat -- in the sense kick and snare are not at the front of the mix, there appears to be no side chain or synths on the side beyond the keys with which we initially began.

However, it is not by any means bad at all, and is worth listening to, for sure! I think you should revisit this piece and update at a later date. I really like it! The minor touch at the end was a nice move as well which I feel added new depth to the rest of the track.

Some things you can do to tentatively add a "finished" sound is to implement subtle crashes and reverse crashes, and the occasional percussion, rhythmic textures, etc. That will do a lot for that finished sound, even if it only takes half an hour to figure out where to put all of them. Crashes is the big thing, as I noticed the lack of them upon further listening. They add a sense of going places, and no one knows why, but they work.

Tbh I'm giving you the cheatcodes I use when I myself can't figure out how to finish a song, hehehe

MusicSashik responds:

Thank you so much for writing this review. It's always a bit "scary" to be judged, but I'm so glad to receive feedback. If it weren't for you, I'm not sure I would have received any tips. Having constructive feedback is very beneficial, and I completely agree with what you're saying. Thanks!

[Quantize My Heartbeat (NGADM 2023)]

Definitely very, very punk. Love it.

could use some more attentive de-essing of vocals -- simple enough with manually ducking the s's, t's, sh if needed.

There are some issues of clarity -- kick, snare should be up a bit more in the mix, guitars down perhaps a little, bass up on bigger sections, crashes down by a bit as well

throughout, guitars are a bit loud to be sustained by the rest of the mix

Otherwise, cute, catchy, punky. I dig it!

CrossCarrasco responds:

Thanks for the feedback!

[anxiety]

While I may not necessarily be in love with the intro to first bit of verse in terms of performance (I feel they could have been a bit more confident is all!) as soon as all comes together with the two of you singing proud, song is gold!

There are a few issues where on multiple takes I can hear dead mic noise. Noise reduction in RX7 or another softwhere which will allow you to learn deadnoise pattern and intelligently remove it from the signal will usually do the trick without damaging the takes as EQ or multiband might. I experimented with my own airconditioner ruined takes, and 2 passes did it, learning the silent portions between for each. The worry prone such as myself will do well to save a copy prior and save over the file with the noiseless version thereafter.

I actually think the balance toward Trois' choral portions could be a bit more open. At present she is hiding in the mix on the bigger vocal sections, when I would really love to hear that free, breathy quality there hiding in the mix. Potentially bring Chris and the guitars down just a tad to make room for her? Hmm..

Beyond that on larger sections the dead noise does come into play where there are multiple takes and cuts, but again you are working with TONS of them in the project so this is understandable. You're doing an older chorus method, overdubs and so on, so there is going to be lots of noise, and it's hard to be rid of all of it!

In terms of instrumentation, composition, and lyrics, and all elements brought to the fore save what I have already mentioned, you two have brought to the table something so, so special. Working absolute magic over there across the pond. Fantastic work, and as always, lovely to hear from you <3

[LIVE THIS WAY (internet addiction)]

Banging lyrics. I think the vocals could use a bit less crisp, could use a bit of pingpong delay. At times they are too loud, but not offensively so.

Mix wise, it is hard to make out finer points of the instrumental -- bass doesn't pop, potentially needs more drive/clip, and more hi mid

Due to volume of vocals, is hard to make out side synths. Recommend dynamic compression on them and abusing sidechain tbh

the kick sounds pretty high. No one is forcing you to use a typical hyperpop kick. You can dig in your sample box for a lower, grittier kick

Snare seems to lay flat in the mix, recommend a sneaky delay slapback for space or tasteful reverb.

Otherwise, great song, and really catchy!

Ackee39 responds:

Thank you so much for the incredibly detailed mixing advice!! I wanted to revisit this submission when i get back from vacation to polish it more in the mixing department, so this was really helpful :D

[Skyrail Ascension]

I don't think there is a whole lot wrong with this piece other than things that would be due to your hearing loss (which I'm terribly sorry to hear about! I have it as well but not severely enough that it's hard to compensate)

I can't pick out a bassline throughout, it is difficult to hear kick and snare, though hihat thankfully is not too loud to compensate. Overall, there is a lot of reverb that creates a shoegaze, making it difficult to hear guitar and other instruments throughout. That's really all. Beyond that, the ideas you present are coherent and not at all bad.

Next time, don't be shy, enter with your mastering engineer of choice, or specify you will have someone do that for you because of your hearing loss. I think that's a really unfair disadvantage for one to have :(((

[Ghostly Grooves]

At first I was not quite won over by the intro here, but your chords and lead lines are funky indeed. My bones of contention sit on mix almost entirely.

The hihats are a bit loud and could have some highs rolled off of them.

Bass is a bit hard to make out and could use some high mid character, perhaps some drive

The rhodes could use a bit more presence in the stereo space

Leads such as 2:07 are very treble heavy and sit high in the mix. Turning them down a bit or having some more control on the very high treble would be great. The lead at 2:32 is a perfect example of proportionate volume and a nice mellow complement to the rest of your instrumentation.

Kick would actually do much better if you were to pick, say, a fuzzy boombap sample. The clicky kick does not have a lot of presence and is more or less hiding in the mix. It otherwise could use more volume.

It feels as if the drums are lying flatly in the mix. Some attention to stereo width, slapback delay, reverb, dynamic compression, and panning is needed. I think it is just their mechanical, gridded nature as well, contrasting the flowing solos. I would appreciate a different ride cymbal or more articulations. Clap/snare could come down some as it is currently acting as lead clap over the solos and bass, contributing to other mix issues.

Master compression for this otherwise flawless masterpiece would help this piece along a lot.

Beyond that I have no critique. I really enjoy what you've written a lot and think you did a great job, particularly with phrasing, chords, and lead writing in particular. That bassline is subtle and moving at the same time, and the piece flows solidly from end to end, which slick transitions between sections.

[Eclipse [NGADM 2023]]

This is about as good as house sound design gets! Excellent. My complaints are reserved to mix and volume level for various sections, as transitions.

Loudness at 1st drop is GREAT, but I am struggling to hear finer points of mix, particularly your clap is becoming buried (and I know, who gives a fuck about the clap as far as listening to it intently, but it's there for balance!) Also that perc that sounds like a low tuned guiro is mid heavy and sounds like it's sitting directly above my head like a ceiling fan. I might chorus that and spread it left and right respectively to about 25% left/right pan.

Now what is causing this apparent burying is not that your clap is too quiet, it sounds, but that the basses and side synths are too loud by perhaps up to 2 dB. I might also take down hihat by .2 dB.

Mix at 1:19 is approaching perfect. The gated chords/synths could come down somewhat and be autopanned slightly for more illusion of space. At 1:55 I want to hear more of them, with some creative filtering.

1:34 sounds a bit too oud for the preceding section. I would pull a gradual crescendo through here or make the preceding section louder.

that hey prior the final drop I would have loved to hear much louder

2:42 nearly nails the mix problems I was talking about earlier. They're better here. Not quite perfect but much improved.

I would have liked a longer final drop to pull off that breakdown you inserted at 2:48.

And with those nitpicks out of the way, I'd like to say what a grand slam of a track this is otherwise. Fantastic and driving piece. Great work!

Benji-G responds:

Thank you so much ADR3-N!