ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Celebration]

Listening to this composition, it's clear your limitations are not in writing, in the least. It's mix and instrumentation. I'm not sure also if the clipping on the mix is intentional or not, but for sections like 1:13, it is detracting from my enjoyment of that otherwise clean section. It may even be occurring at the mixer, prior to the master channel. Unsure.

I think you could use more high end on your kick, or a stronger transient.

E-Bass is also pretty present relative to the rest of the track. Feel like it could come down a bit more.

I would switch your drum kit at 2:00 and similar fills out for a harder kit. For a few free recommends with good velocity controls, Salamander Drum Kit and Saudade Drums Remastered are worth a shot. I'm not plugging the latter -- it's a good free drum kit I saved a little under a decade ago and cleaned up once it fell off the face of the internet. I think the snare might have the snap you're going for.

Also pay attention to your french horn attacks and bones. Those attacks are slow, so drag them backward so they sound in time with your metronome.

The fx at 1:32 should be much louder imo

Chopping and screwing throughout is fantastic btw.

Overall, really like what you've done. Needs more attention, got straight soul. Think it should go in one of the hiphop RnB genres, probably modern. I would shy away from clipping on anything but your drums and samples for this one though. It sounds like it's coming through on the radio when it's about to lose a station to me.

Also, I would cut down on your reverb just slightly to help clarity, and cut frequencies on those reverbs up to 250 hz. A lot of muddiness comes from that range, when what you're really wanting is air.

I would also cut at 2:31 unless you were fading into another track on an album.

Great work. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

[Mijn en ambacht]

Writing 10/10, particularly drum writing and the section of 47 sec.

Mix and quality of virtual instruments could use revisiting. For instance hihats and rides could come down by 2 dB or so and still be perfectly well audible. Variety of crash cymbals could also use fluffing up.

If you are short on drum kits, I recommend checking out Salamander Drum Kit, MT Power Drum Kit, or for a heavier set of kicks, snares, and toms, Saudade Drums Remastered (an old kit that I cleaned in post after realizing all original sources were dead and the makers gone from the face of the internet! dw, it was free)

Options for crashes include Cymballistic, X-Crash, and I believe there is even a free set of orchestral cymbals floating around the internet.

For virtually any orchestral instrument you'd want, there is spitfire LABS, but I personally think you could get by with 80s synths and this would sound even more atmospheric.

Your synth guitar could use double tracking. You may be interested in Junk Guitar (free for sforzando vst), Ample Sounds' free taylor guitar and Bass instruments (and I think there's an electric too), and of course the host of free guitar amps and cabs you can find on the internet (though I recommend emissary amp and NadIR cab). There is a learning curve to these but I believe they will be of use to you.

MIX
The bass is hardly audible in your intro, and only is audible at 43 sec because it is doubled by a synth -- that synth could also use to be doubled, chorused, or panned around. The synths at 1:09 on lead are pretty loud relative to the rest of the piece.

Xylo solo after that is appropriate volume.

Strings at 1:38 are hiding in the mix and are bathed in reverb on the low end. I recommend hipassing/low cutting/eqing out reverb wet at 250 hz. Reverb wash is noticable at 2:29

MASTER
If you notice, your track is very quiet. You can use audacity to increase gain (do not allow clipping) to max value, if you want a quick fix. Alternatively, sausage fattener (your mileage may vary on how this will affect final mix -- I hope it is clean of any stray reverb or resonances). The proper way of loudenizing this would be to apply mastering compression. If you're strapped for time, you can try a free online mastering service. Otherwise, learning how to do it yourself is an invaluable skill!

Other than that, very nice writing, and I enjoyed the piece despite its limitations. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

SirSandman0 responds:

Thanks for the feedback! I'm not sure why this piece ended up so quiet. The actual audio file is much louder than it is on here. I'll try and find a way to fix that. I also appreciate your critiques on the mixing and I'll try and fix those issues.

Fun fact: The drum section you mentioned at 0:47 was actually ripped from a different track I made. I got lazy

[Ellora]

Great atmosphere in your intro. I feel like your first sample could be brought up by a dB or two.

The intro is a bit long for my tastes. Also, was not expecting that drop, was expecting something a bit harder, and to carry over that energy from the short build. Maybe some hihats over top as in the second half, or some wooshing sidechained white noise. Same phenomenon with the second drop. It feels like we instead of gaining energy lost it. Though your melodic writing is good. I'm having mixed feelings. Like I'm tapping my foot but out of rhythm aha.

Also, drop those samples into the drops, they sound good!

Otherwise, enjoyed it. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

[Twins At The Edge Of A Dream]

I appreciate the melodic and rhythm content going on here. A standard chord progression, a solid idea, and a vision. With some better libraries, I have faith you can bring them to life. Your pipe organ is already acceptable as is, and I would argue it carries the piece. I think it could use, in contrast to the other instruments, a reverb, chorus, or delay to it.

I find it a bit hard to hear bass elements across the board, and occasionally articulations. Due to the slow attack of a lot of the instruments in this piece, you will have to keep in mind to adjust note timings a bit behind in order for them to sound in time with instruments that don't have this problem.

I also think your strings at 3:40 need to come down a lot more and making use of multiple instances instead of stopping and starting on slow attack/slow release instances of the same note. That distracts a bit. Really, I feel you could have gotten by with this piece with obviously synthy instruments, kept the choir and organs, and it would have come out better.

But beyond that I will append some recommendations of instruments and libraries and places to find the same -- Spitfire LABs has lots of free orchestral stuff I would be remiss not to mention, somewhere in my newsposts I have a free xaxophone listed -- I get a ton of freebies from Bedroom Producer's Blog and it is a godsend -- and I also post a lot of free instruments in my news so if you get the chance, do peruse. Usually easy to identify by title.

Great composition. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

[Techno All Night]

I'm not a huge fan of your intro, as I'd have preferred offbeat eighth notes to straight 4 to the floor quarter bass, but you do a great job of solo writing and that I appreciate.

Something is happening at 1:09 and I don't know if it's recording software or a rendering issue. It sounds like the stuttering right before my project crashes, or when something isn't properly loaded. I had to double check it was really happening and I was not having computer issues myself to be sure.

It's hard to hear your tom rolls at 2 min. You can for shiggles pan them across the sound stage to give some space to the mix.

Beyond that I don't have much critique. The arrangement is fairly simple, with not a lot of elements changing throughout. Instead of the intro you currently have, I might have started with your pads and the intro riff, minus the bass. Nothing about your piece is inherently bad, but something about the bassline being straight quarters throughout, and the percussion being also pretty stepwise takes energy away from your blazing solos.

Same stuttering issue occurs at 2:34 also for note.

Other than that, good piece. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Bx7]

Going pretty hard. I could only ask for some more of the sub to survive the hard clipping and a bit less clipping on those upper range frequencies past 13khz. Fuzz is lovely but when each instrument has a lot of it, you can lose sight of percussion, melody, samples, and any other FX you're pushing through the mix.

I'm wanting a lot more mid and low mid and there's not a lot here.

Otherwise, this is super nostalgic for me and makes me want to jump around the house like a crazy person. Great work.

Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

[Seeking Light In The Darkness]

Nice detuned piano here. Or is that just tuning? I'm retarded in terms of that side of music theory at this point.

at 49 I can't quite hear what's going on in that bass and so it's a bit distracting as occasionally I hear rumble and other times I don't.

Castanets (is that what they are) could come down, as could your tubular bells, vinyl noise, and other accents. The main melody or counter melody is in your piano and drives the piece. It's a bit covered up with those accents. For the castanet specifically, or whatever instrument that is, an option with more varied velocities and attacks would be your best option.

Otherwise, fantastic piece. Wish there was a bit less abrupt ending.

Great work. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

SomeGuyMusic responds:

Thank you!

[FACUNDO GARDIOL - Airborne ( Future Bounce )]

Drop at 1:56 is where I feel this piece really shines. Feels much more opened up and less centered. Beyond that I don't have too much critique. Kick could potentially come down just a little, .1 to .3 dB, and snare could come up around the same amount.

The vocal sits in a good spot in terms of volume but I would like more subtle volume on the lower octave double. Your samples also could be louder. Perhaps more compression or even clipping on the vocal would help it sit better in the mix, and some stereo widening/delays. I can hear some subtle FX. Actually, I think I'd like to hear that vocal pushed a dB or two harder and see the difference. It gets buried a bit. Maybe up the high shelf on an EQ and see if it sounds crispier?

I also have NO IDEA what the vocals mean, but they rhyme. I'm guessing we're going skydiving? Haha. Cheers.

Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

SPIRALi responds:

Thanks! I love your constructive criticism! really thank you!

also, im in?

[Demolitios-Lost and Found]

Very nice chords and vibe coming into 30. I think things could be panned a bit differently to suit the space of your pads. Also think this would go into modern hip-hop for the overall vibe.

This may be unintentional but I also notice you adding 2 new elements as you go to each section. That was some solid advice I heard years ago. Good on you. I also think you could move away from that acoustic loop every so often, as it's pretty distinct and sits right in the listener's ear long enough to get tired.

Aside from the abrupt stop, a fine piece! Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

[Before You Go]

Fantastic performances, mix, and writing. All I could ask is that vocals come up in the mix by a dB or perhaps a bit more, give a bit more space to them, perhaps a chorus or widener -- and take rhythm guitars down a tad. As it stands the rhythm guitar is more present than the most interesting part of the mix, your lyrics! Snare might also come up a tad for clarity.

Although I wonder if all that may happen just by bringing the guitars down a bit and then compressing. Worth experimenting with.

Well deserved front page. Thanks for coming out to the NGADM!

SpoonMix responds:

Thank you! I really appreciate your constructive criticism <3.

Yes, I get that a lot, people want my vocals louder in the mix.

My music "pegs" usually has guitars up front and the vocals just loud enough to be understood, also, I'm very self-conscious of my lyrics; I know there's a lot to improve :)