ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Heaven]

blown away this is fl 5
wow, so nostalgic, sounds a lot like the old techno i listened to ages ago!

I will say there is too much reverb it sounds like happening and hanging around the low mids and sub frequencies. Transition noises are also really loud relative to the rest of the track, as well as subs too -- quite loud and audible over the rest of the track

The track itself is mixed really quiet. Can you turn it up at least in audacity? Recommend mastering compression after cleaning up reverbs, as well as taking down the hihats and crashes some prior to doing so

You've got great writing and phrasing here. The whole song flows naturally. Beyond issues of mix and no doubt some software limitations, perfect trance

X-ManOfficial responds:

I'm not friends with mixing and mastering, it's hard for me and I don't understand much about it.

There are not so many reverberations here, I only put Fruity Reveerb on some channels in the mixer, and Fruity Delay on some. The track is quiet because it is quiet.

I don't have Audacity and my computer can hardly stand it. In the project itself, I set the volume as high as I could, at 120% with Fruity Balance at maximum.

I would really like to be helped with the mixing. And so thanks for the criticism!

[Kill It | SynnCloud (NGUAC)]

1:56 sounds like a famous song I can't recall. Maybe Unforgiven, or potentially a song of Rammstein's that I can't remember either.

Other than mix, this song is great. There is a bit of overuse of reverb, the amp noise is at times audible underneath the music. Some guitars sound louder than others. I think it will help you when you mix to listen to a reference song in between mixing your tracks and try to match the overall levels of where guitars are sitting in loud sections, where drums are sitting in others. No two songs are alike, but it will really help you get the sound you want. I'm jealous of your immense talent. Ten years ago, all my music was trash! This is actually pretty freaking great. Really nice work!

SynnCloud responds:

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! <333

1.- I THOUGHT THE SAME, i dont know if there was an already existing melody or progression in my head but i thought "This sounds quite familiar" But i didn't had a better idea so i recorded it for this

2.- its probably because my resources are quite low, i've been mixing with headphones and i just put the mixes through my father's car to listen how it sounds in other speakers hehe, but thank you so much for the tips <33

i will try to do it better next time, idk, maybe someday i can be as good as you O.O

[Zero]

There is some clipping in the right channel on the low piano it sounds like

The ooh samples I'm not sure if I'm a huge fan of the exact same articulation repeating. Is there not a way to change where succeeding notes start on the sample?

I feel like this piece gets pretty muddy in the low mids, and there is some clipping occasionally. Sounds as if mixed too loudly prior to export/mastering

Your vocal lines could use more breath support, as well as pitch control. If you struggle to sing but still want your melodic ideas represented, using autotune is not illegal. Better that than the sharp/flat on "die" at the very end. Without breath support, you can get that nasal kermit sound, as well. Recommend the singing course work of Ken Tamplin for getting started. It's great for beginners and professionals alike.

Nerostratos responds:

I appreciate all your feedback!
1. i'm not sure i hear this low piano clipping you are referring to, i've listened to the track with multiple headphones and can't seem to identify it. Only clipping i notice is in some of the vocal lines peaking
2. the ooh samples unfortunately only have one attack articulation I even softened them up quite significantly

Even though i have been making music for years i still am not as talented at mixing and mastering as others so i appreciate your comments and will pay more attention to reduce muddiness in future works. Same with the comments on my singing, i refuse to use autotune as I feel it makes the vocals sound honestly really gross, so I have some practice to do if i wish to keep incorporating them. so thank you for the criticism

[Heart Made of Gold]

Pretty much everything but the vocals is mixed really well. Vocals could use more makeup gain, dynamic compression essentially, de-essing, and I'm not in love with his performance, but it will only sound worse by hiding it down in the mix and cutting the high mids on it, which is what it sounds like is happening.

More dubs of the adlibs of that's what you're born with etc would have been great to add as shouts.

The vocals can either make or break a song, and in your case they are sitting in a middle ground where they are not quite able to shine. I feel they are pushed off to the right channel for some reason, don't have a lot of chorus/delays to give space, and if they were not in the right channel would sound quite centered.

Beyond that, great chords, great writing, and really catchy!

MYYA responds:

All appropriate commentary. Thanks for the review!

[Taste Again]

27 sec, wrong note that repeats when this section does. I can also hear when this section appears to be copy pasted.

Otherwise, love the performance and pretty good mix -- perhaps take down hihat and ride just a bit. Something is going on with the low end on the guitars on the chorus. Feels like my head is full listening to it, probably a lot of reverb and low mids ringing out. Maybe check the sub as well.

Great lyrics that are difficult to take apart, angsty and grungy. Good vocal performance. Overall, only thing that'd make a massive difference to me is applying some mastering compression so it is satisfactorily loud and angry as its peers on the radio. :)

Mischa-head responds:

Thanks for listening and commenting!
I think your feedback on my last track helped me mix this one a bit better.
Hopefully they just keep getting better and better!

[Max Rena - Give me hope]

I'm actually not a huge fan of the way this genre bend was handled, in terms of there is not a lot of open space for the male vocalist to shine -- the mix is loud, heavy, and has a lot of other instruments in the vocalist's range. The piece as a whole other than that is fully listenable and enjoyable. I actually think you've written a nice bassline, the kind I myself am inclined to write.

I think if there were more contrast in terms of volume between sections, as well as instrumentation and range of the vocalist (i.e. higher octave) this piece would come out so much the better for it.

[Naghihintay para sa Hanging Amihan]

Fantastic writing, and amazing to have been made in musescore, which I consider quite limiting for being able to make a professional sounding piece, in terms of poor ability to manage mix, articulations sticking out like sore thumbs on occasion, and rapid jumps in volume. Those actually sum up any problems I have with this piece. I think you would do well to take the midi data from muse score and adjust it in places to fix that.

[Star Way]

I'm a little confused as the why there is a dramatic crescendo and decrescendo of what appears to be already master compressed sound as opposed to doing it the other way around.

As a composition, sounds fine. There are some issues of mix beyond simply looking a bit strange and not having contrast in volume throughout sections but instead everything instead being more or less the same volume and just getting louder and then quieter.

As you fade, remember that high frequencies get more prominent, and bass tends to slip away into the realms of inaudibility. So as you fade, your tinny sounds get tinnier, and your bass loses its clarity. Chasing the fade is important. If you can't recall what this is or don't know, google is definitely worth it! It's an old and nearly forgotten technique from the 60s and 70s if not earlier.

Now the reverse applies as you get louder. Low mids and bass get too loud as you push up the volume in a fade. You may find your snare is harder to place due to losing some of that high end clarity in the middle of the verbs coming up, and then you feel the urge to push hihats to get more clarity, when taking down your side synths some is the right choice.

The key change at the last bit was abrupt and left some wrong notes hanging in the reverb to clash for the first beat, as well as in the side synths. Otherwise, not a bad choice though.

Beyond that, great work. I really enjoyed your melody writing!

[Club Revolution]

Oh I miss this genre!

Some gripes right off, the hihats are very loud relative to even the drop bass.

1:07 the buildup snare is getting lost in the mix due to lots of instruments nailing the high mid freqs very loud, as well as overcompression -- the song is too loud prior to being master compressed. There is also a LOT of reverb going on and that needs to be handled more sensitively. I get the sense my head is very full listening to this song even on lower volumes, which speaks to me of overcompression, a lot of low mid hum on the reverbs that hasn't been tamed, and perhaps that that cello in the back also could be hipassed a bit to make room for bass.

Beyond that, very catchy and really suits the genre you were going for. Good work!