ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Great Dictator (Vocals)]

I'm in love with the lyrics and delivery, as well as the chord progressions and playing. Fantastic and varied.

My complaints are reserved solely for mix and master.

Mix wise, there is a lot of reverb -- even for shoegaze. Harmony on the chorus could be pushed to opposite sides, say 35% to 55% left and right respectively, and reverbs on this section taken down considerably, say by 20% to 40%, or tails shortened.

The volume is quiet -- master compression needed. An internet mastering service may do to fix this, and the song is quiet enough to benefit from it

cymbals could come down by perhaps even a full dB. They are the loudest element it sounds like.

Lead vocal could be pushed up volume wise for clarity and chorused for more perceived width. Longing for a silky chorus on it tbh

Otherwise, great. Enjoyed it a lot!

[Damaged Data - MusicianNrd]

I would like to hear more volume on your snare and bass throughout, a lot less on your transition sweeps. hihats are about the right volume. crash is loud. Lead is somewhat too loud on some sections.

Beyond this, I think you could experiment with panning and FX more, such as delays and choruses, hi-pass, low pass, modulation. I feel like writing is solid, but more could be done to make dynamic transitions.

Also, more volume on your pads at larger sections, and perhaps more varied instrumentation, such as doubling 2 types of pads and panning separately, applying filters or envelopes, etc

Otherwise, good work. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[System Eta - Mind Rush]

Loving the vibe as we come in through 23 seconds but your hihats and your fantasia like lead are SO loud in the 15khz and up that it is almost painful. I think if you want to keep that timbre for them, you can turn them down by quite a lot and not lose anything valuable in the piece

This problem persists throughout so I am not going to mention more on it

Your bass has a good sound

Samples at 2:14 are not quite cutting through well due to excess reverb or lack of sidechain. They could be panned harder to the left and right for texture. It may even be delays covering them up

I want to hear more volume on the kick and snare to cut through more, especially kick

Otherwise, great!

MorphingThruTime responds:

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I agree with many points.
As for Kick and Snare, I can only say that I did not specifically single them out, so that the drums sounded all mixed up, so that the music would not look like drum and bass.

[Our World]

As mentioned, some minor mix issues, like the entire mix is quite heavy in low mids, sounds almost as if it has been low passed. This is nice that the hihats dont sound like static at 100 volume on the TV :) but also, I would like to hear a bit of high end too, like on your risers.

I would like more bass volume, and to be able to hear the high mids on bass for clarity at sections.

Overall structured very well, and great writing for genre

I would like a bit less reverb to hear that bass cut through

Beyond that, nice work!

[Mikaiah - Hesitation]

Just a few items of critique here for this monster of a song!

I find myself wanting more bass in the sub range throughout, occasionally a bit less sibilance on bit crushed instruments, the kick and snare to cut through more audibly, less reverb overall -- or shorter tails (especially on big sections where it can wash out the low-mids and bass)

Your lead writing is good, but I would potentially cut sections here and there, as the song is LONG and maintains the same feel overall. Ear fatigue is real. Such a long song is also easy to listen to over and over, want to get to the good part, and give up on mixing and writing new parts.

But beyond that you've done a great job!

Mikaiah responds:

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed it regardless, and i'll try to keep all of those things in mind!

[Iridescent]

There is plenty special about this song. What are you talking about?!

Great work.

I find myself wishing for just a bit more variety in vocal samples used throughout, and a bit more bass, like say .1 to .2 dB. That's about it!

[Divine Mother]

You have a wrong accidental note in your sine bass octave jumps. It's the 3rd chord shift. The top octave should come up or down one semi tone or be detuned slightly to fit into the chord.

The breaks are utterly insane btw. noice. I think the kick and snare could come up in the mix. The pads and strings are burying it, especially with the lots of reverb on them.

The final drop is sounding good

I really feel with as similar as the song is throughout that 7:49 is a long time to keep the song going. Perhaps you could cut some sections, or change up the bass instrument/line

The insanity of the drums is appreciated however could cut through the mix a lot better either with sidechain on the kick and snare frequencies to reverbs, or something along those lines.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

MangleDark responds:

thank you very much for doing such a well structured review. would love to receive more comments like this

[DreamStory]

I'm unsure why people are harassing you with these low ball scoring reviews. Going to leave a 5 here because F that noise. My actual NGUAC score will differ.

There are some issues -- the leads are VERY loud on drops and throughout. I clearly hear kick and snare, but also, I want to hear your pads too! 1:42, the bass is almost inaudible relative to the leads and counter leads.

In general, the longer a note is held, the less it needs to be in your face

Compositionally, I did enjoy the piece

2:20, the sub is almost inaudible. I hear it mostly because of a resonant ring in the 20khz range which should not be that loud. Bit crush noise?

3:07 is starting to sound closer to a good mix. Try turning those leads down if you ever revisit this, and bring the bass up overall. Perhaps low pass the bass to eliminate that heavy resonance, audible even at 4:16. See what happens!

LtFS responds:

Apparently, this year I won’t go beyond tryout... Thank you for your feedback!

[4. Spark of Life]

The song is clipping like crazy throughout, kind of sounds like black metal. Better micing equipment for those drums is a must

In terms of playing and musicality, I would give a solid 9/10, however. Very nice rhythms and runs. Lyrics are also confounding in a good way. Guitar tone is also good. Reminds me of dropkick murphy's

Would you mind discussing some of your recording equipment? Perhaps someone here has suggestions. I run a scarlett solo rig with their bundled mic. That may work for your purposes if placed in the right part of the room.

lokimiah1 responds:

I just used my phone. In the years between me putting this together and now, I have since found a much more favorable placement for the phone where things *don't* clip, so rest assured, at least that much will be fixed. Aside from that, though, the rawness is deliberate - hence why I continue to use my phone. Some albums I would recommend to get a feel for my preferred production sound would be Vincebus Eruptum by Blue Cheer, Zen Arcade by Husker Du, Damaged by Black Flag, Wild Beyond Belief by Satan's Satyrs, Songs About Fucking by Big Black, and the Brown Album by Primus.

[Apocalypse]

I think the drop around 50 is a bit overcompressed but I LOVE the rawness to this mix, and 1:10 when you did that quick fade in and out surprised me nicely!

Could so with a bit less static on your bass, and more growl in the high mids to identify pitch, but that's still such a cool sound!