ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[PRGX - Memories]

at 17 seconds the mix is hipassed it almost sounds like to a pretty big degree. It is very sibilant. I recommend turning down 15 khz plus for such sections

The mix is also pretty high-mid heavy

However this problem lessens to a degree as time goes on, especially on drops

Crazy drop composition. very nice! Still sounding very overdriven at 1:27

I actually think the problem could be overly compressing there the master. I cannot clearly hear your sub and low-mids. Wanting more bass!

Otherwise, great work in sound design and your panning is sounding pretty good on second drop.

I recommend somewhat less reverb throughout for more clarity and less tendency to push up highs uneccessarily

Lead at 2:26 is VERY loud, could come down some, as well as your pads, but it is not extremely bothering me

Enjoyed it a lot!

PRGX responds:

Oh thank you very much for the feedback, I'll try to avoid these problems next time

[Love-God Kobold]

So sad that people drop low scores because of a silly thing like disabled API. Rating usability in a game is not part of NG review process. I will drop a 5 because I hate to see it! My NGUAC score will differ.

For what it's worth, this is a great composition, with tons of great melodies

mix issues
- hihat is WAY up in the mix and I have a problem hearing kick and snare. thank you for not making crashes overly loud. hihat needs to come down a lot where it is holding notes -- the ghosts are fine

- reverb is all over the place which is interfering with my ability to hear your low strings and pads -- since your pads and strings have slow attacks, move the note beginnings before the downbeats, so that they come in cleaner and you can hear the chord before the beat ends!

instruments such as saxes have this issue too. You can modulate velocity and expression on these so they don't sound so cheapo synth. I actually recommend not using them at all most of the time -- but you can try the now free synful orchestra as a replacer and see how that sounds if you ever revisit this piece

Otherwise, good work. Enjoyed it!

Pheanir responds:

Thank you really much for your feedback! =)

I instantly got the synful orchestra plugin to try and see how it sounds but, unfortunately, the software I (have to) use is too old to recognize VST3, so I cannot use it for my music for the time being. :(
Nevertheless, thanks for the tipps and the advice! ♪

[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!