ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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!

Aalasteir 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!

[3manon - Brainstorm (Mindscapes EP)]

Nice atmospheric beginning. I would say tone down your reverbs early on, at least the low mids, as they are somewhat distorting at 44 seconds and clipping. I don't think that's what you want in a dnb mix, as you want nice crisp breaks.

At 1:05 your writing is smooth and so are your choices in transition. Lovely chords and smooth leads. Very olskool and pleasant, but throughout your bass is overly present in the 200 hz range, owing to what sounds like reverb.

Section at 2:10 has nice melody and harmony. Great.

2:27 switchup and throat singing is a great choice. Keeps things varied. Mix is also sounding a bit cleaner here, but still really present with the reverb.

I would recommend switching out the strings at 3:08, up high, to something like LABS's free library.

3:30 is sounding good coming in on that hi-pass, notice a lot of the low reverb wash is passed out. Nice key change here as well. Overall I really appreciate the themes presented here in your track. Great work.

I think that guitar could use to be switched out with something that has more varied articulations, same as whatever bass that is. You can certainly find the same sort of tonality and keep that variety.

Beyond that, I don't think I have much left to say. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

3manon responds:

Thank you for your kind words and feedback! Did you know I recorded my own throatsinging btw?

[Nu Metal Instrumental]

Waiting for Jon to materialize out of thin air on this sick ass track. Niiiiice.

[Metal Up Your Ass]

Saw this out of curiosity, clicked, and proceeded to take an ear break from judging. I most definitely think you should do metal more often. Those harmonics at 2:10 were delicious.

The only thing I could find to complain about is your snare is down in the mix, I personally don't prefer the thin ringy sound of it, and I think your cymbals at 2:50 could come down a bit and potentially be more varied.

Otherwise beautiful in the extreme. Love.

[AIM - Final Frontier]

Definitely feeling the emptiness and vastness of space with this piece. The short bridge at 3:04 is much appreciated, as well as your chords of choice and modulations. Certainly far and away above anything I write these days. So my critiques, the few that I have, will be more relegated to mix.

I would prefer percussion, at least some elements such as the snare or toms that were not so dry. Your writing successfully drives the piece here, so this is a minor gripe. It would be nice if the kick and snare had a bit more presence, say .2 to .6 dB, and the hihats and cymbals had less. I would also appreciate more hihats throughout and various cymbals for transitions. The stepwise and regular shifting of chords at halfnote intervals can get old if the ear is permitted to focus on them for so long!

Speaking of your pads and other instruments, I do believe a more subtle volume or some ebb and flow of volume would assist you there. I found it hard to remain focused on your leads and where they were going between this and the percussion volume, coupled with the regular chord shifts to admittedly interesting places.

Other than that, enjoyed the piece. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!