ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Bleeding my Time]

Album cover and title are so accurate. We spend so little of our lives actually living, and so much wasting it. Your strokes around 1 minute actually sound like keystrokes. That's an interesting touch.

I think the mix is a bit heavy on low end, particularly low mids on your steel drum.

The offbeat and switchups throughout make the piece pleasantly unpredictable. I think I'd like a bit less reverb on the steel drum and less of the 10khz and up range there.

Contradictions in chord and tonality at 2:32 are nice atmospherically and contribute to the pleasant confusion. Think I would like a bit more out of your hihats and percussion, and less out of those top chords. Low pass on them and some auto-panning???

Otherwise, niiiiice work. Enjoyed it a lot! Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

[Fleck]

As I know next to nothing about jazz outside of the utter wizardry occurring here, I have next to no critique. I think however I'd like some more volume on the bass, a bit more out of your drums, and somewhat less spread on the lead in the outro solo. Perhaps have it panned slightly opposite the existing rhodes?

Otherwise, magic. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

[INTERFERENCE 5]

Simple and effective. Crazy arpeggios, and those characteristic transitions. Takes me back.

I would recommend taking some reverb off of your strings, shorter release time, and timing the attacks a little early for each note as when you play multiple notes in a series they get so muddy!

The quack in your guitar at 1:52 could come down some, and for all future quacks. Otherwise, well written! Nice work.

The transition at 2:33 was unexpected and is like two songs in one. Yay!

This makes me want to go nuts and produce crazy old techno shit myself xD

What was I going on about, oh, the clarity of the mix is a big issue, as I would like more umph out of your kick, more space on your strings -- two separate instruments panned somewhat left and right respectively should help. That talking synth in the background is sounding great but could come down a bit in volume for your outro.

Nice outro keychange. Fits well.

Your arps are nice and nutty throughout. Overall, fantastic. Really enjoyed it!

Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

StormLight93 responds:

thanks for the feedback, mastering tips are really appreciated. I will keep them in mind for future projects ;D

[Hyper Fern]

I think the new philosophy works for you swimmingly. Nothing stale, new elements added and taken away and nothing jarring about it at all. Some small critiques. at 1:58 or so, that lead isn't sticking out well against the reverbs going on. Some sidechained multiband compression there may help, as well as ducking reverb frequencies below 250 hz.

I personally am not a fan of the snare. I think it could be pitch shifted or warped a bit higher (snares have tonal qualities too, and resonances, and when pitched right, will fit more naturally in place!), or you could clip it more, or alternatively switch it out. Whatever you'd choose, I would also bring it up a little. It is sitting in the mix a bit flat.

Otherwise, love it. Great work! Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

supermelon-creations responds:

Thankss~ in my modern songs I tend to pay a lot more attention to those details, but still you are right, maybe I shouldve made an updated version, but thx for the critique

[The Promise]

My critique for this piece boils down to the occasional articulation that sounds a bit out of place/sharp, or the outtro that is a bit loud. Your use of your sound palette is artful, and your writing is a pleasure. Great work!

I do think the section after 2:36 could be a bit less abrupt and somewhat quieter. Otherwise, slammin score.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Baumarius responds:

Thanks! I appreciate the critique.

I assume you mean the NGADM? X3

[My World's on Fire, How About Yours [NGADM 2023 Auditions]]

Great job getting your breaks to cut through on that hard clipped section for your drop but I think a lot more variables in your FX could be controlled for to make it more intelligible. Could actually reduce volume of breaks and implement side chaining. I'm not able to make out most of the lyrics beyond my world's on fire, how about yours. Clipping could then be launched into headfirst by the last part of that drop.

Overall though, those were my only main gripes. In terms of chord progression, break quality, and structure, well done.

Also, legit had me on the edge of my seat waiting to hear HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALLSTAR at some point. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

[Death (Horseman) | SynnCloud]

Beautiful shreds. My only complaints, tune those upper bass strings, and perhaps lower. I can't quite tell. Something sounds out of tune when you hit that upper octave, like, real bad on octave jumps as well, sounds sharp by a quarter tone or more. Also, there is a lot of low end reverb wash it sounds like throughout. Hi-passing your reverb if you want a shoegaze always helps clarity.

I'm happy your bass however didn't get lost in the mix. Sounding good tonally.

Your snare very much would benefit from being brought forward in the mix. I have a hard time hearing it.

Otherwise, love the shreddage, great melodic themes, appropriate use of tolling bells. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

SynnCloud responds:

OMGGG THANK YOU SO MUCH <33, ILL TAKE THE TIP

[I Fly So High | NGADM | Wave | Royalty Free + MIDI |]

This is a nice composition with many unexpected melodic directions on your vocal -- at times I think it could be a bit more on pitch, spot corrected perhaps, or overdubbed for the occasional flub. As this is such a naked piece, your vocals being ON are even more important than ordinarily would be. It's worth investing in a pitch correction/vocoder or something along those lines if you don't have time to do lots of dubs, and perhaps a singing course. I personally recommend Ken Tamplin (and I am no great singer by any means, I feel you!)

The vocal mix is present at the right levels to be heard, but I am really distracted by the heavy low mids on it, and it sounds nasal. That could be from a common cold, OR from recording up close to the mic where your nose is above or past the diaphragm and as such nasal resonance can't be heard.

Besides that, great piece. I appreciated the lyrical themes, and captain plugins definitely came in clutch. Good work!

Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

BottleTopBillFanclub responds:

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your thoughtful insights into music, you are really knowledgeable and I respect you as a skilled musician.

[A Newborn Spirit]

Your piano is mixed quite nicely. The hammers quite audible.

I would like a bit less low mid on your high strings, a bit more in the airy string rasp range, and perhaps some less abrupt note transients as they come in. Ah, attacks, that's the word I was looking for. On fuller sections, that high rasp could come off some to focus on your mallets, as they are coming in with a very twah twah attack on top of them (adjusting timing early in post helps this). So in short, some EQ shifts as things move along, and a bit of attention to detail on those attacks, ensuring they link up with the mallets or any other lead material.

Still you have some sections like right before your end in which they come in beautifully.

Otherwise, you've done a swell job and crafted a nice score. Great work! Thanks for coming out to NGADM!