ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lucifer's Sewing Machine]

0:40 seconds, I'm having a little bit of issue with the clarity -- the rhythm guitars and guitars in general are too loud for the pads, which at that point are the melody. In general, the more movement going on in an element, the more volume it needs. The exception are bass, kick, and snare, which are the rhythmic foundation of the track.

The ritardando at 2:10 or so was brilliant.

I would actually not put so much compression on the master for this track, given that it's quite dynamic, with a lot of reverb and synths. I would also turn down the cymbals.

Your lead writing is slick, and I love shreddage. Rarely do I do much of anything as melodic as this with it. The leads sound a bit dry and could use some chorus/delay/reverb to make them standout. Backing off the dynamics of the rhythm guitars would give lots of room for the lead to breathe where it is present.

I think EZ Drummer has begun to show its age somewhat. You might consider switching to GGD Modern and Massive, Krimh Drums (which has free options), or potentially even The Metal Factory. Something about them just sounds out of place, perhaps too much low body on the snare and a short decay.

Great song structure and lead writing. The progression is very satisfying.

7.4/10

[(NGADM Round 1) i almost lost my laptop on the bus, and had to pay gas money and double the fare for]

I don't have much commentary due to high quality. Great work!

The few comments I have relate to mix and drum sample choice. As time goes on, I can really hear the focus on the guitar riffs, which while fantastic and super clean, the primary lead element of the track even, are just a bit too loud relative to everything else, particularly the bass and snare, which should be the loudest elements. They are about appropriate in volume on the big chorus though!

I have gripes with EZ Drummer cymbals, the exception being your ride. I think they could be swapped out for something a little less bright, with more articulations/round robins.

The snare just needs a little more compression and eq, plus a boost of maybe .3 dB in the mix to punch through. That might change if the rhythm guitars were taken down some. Manually modulating these levels for different sections would solve a lot of volume issues. Alternatively, you could crank the velocity of the snare some, then back it off later.

Masterful composition. Sounds like the spankiest anime rock I've ever heard, and I've listened to a lot. Great work!

9.2/10

[Fury of the Prog Alien]

This is wild!

I would back off cymbal volume in your intro -- with nothing else in that sonic space, it's not hard for them to stick out like a sore thumb in terms of volume.

Also, utterly nuts to hear LMMS in the context of a track like this.

In terms of the argent elements, I really think these guitars could be pushed even harder, or a sturdier, gritty bass laid underneath. For argent, it sounds a bit dry. But that's aside from my judging in NGADM. The track is perfectly serviceable in all other aspects, just a tad sibilant, and a bit sparser than I was expecting in terms of arrangement (the sibilance also lends to this somewhat)

Lead writing, chord progressions, pacing, and arrangement are all top notch. Great work! PS, congrats on the front page!

8.4/10

[Auryle - Ragnarok (NGADM/NGUAC Entry)]

I love the idea and arrangement for this piece, but I think that mix needs to go back to the drawing board in a few places, at the instrument level. The master is of suitable compression it sounds like.

1:16 that djent guitar has a great rhythm and tonality, however I can't tell if it's double tracked or simply chorused. For more drive, space, and grit, it's best practice to double track or even quad track, which is to play two separate instances of the same riff panned left and right. The difference in ms between attacks and releases of the two instances make all the difference.

This would also be important at 0:20, where I also can't tell if I'm hearing a chorused or spread mono signal or two guitars panned separately. I would hi-pass the guitars at that point. They could also be eqed to emphasize the high mids a bit more and supported with a cleaner bass and sub. Cleaning out space in the low mids and bass range to make room for those chugs will help to push them harder.

1:10, your double bass pedal is not cutting through the mix. Needs sidechain applied either manually or via automation.

Outro is solid with multiple great modulations that make sense. Though I would back off the volume of the vinyl noise -- nothing else is in that space.

Cutting reverb amount and low reverb freqs would do a lot to clean up this mix and help push it harder.

In general, though, I love the experimentation and combination of elements from dubstep, metal, and choral/orchestral. In several instances, particularly your dubstep growls and bass elements, I think reducing the stereo field and volume slightly would help significantly. Same with any colorization. Then it's a matter of making sure that any other percussions cut through.

I've listened to this 3x through and still am very much enjoying your arranging. Great work!

8.1/10

[La Mort D'Internet]

A well deserved frontpage -- and brilliant idea to have yourself get to doing a diary. I'm envious of your ability to speak off the cuff!

If this wasn't already frontpaged, I'd have done it myself!

As you go along, I notice your mix improving -- this one seems to have a bit much of high end rolled off for my taste, but the arrangement's variety and crisp progression makes up for a LOT in terms of mix. The vocal mix is crisper than the rest of the mix, making for contrast, but I actually think you could afford to de-ess manually and/or with a plugin to lessen such contrast -- as it actually heightens the sense of high-end rolloff for me. I would afterwards pump the vocals a bit more.

Spacing and texture in the mix is great, also makes up for the EQ profile quite a bit.

The addition of a sludgy oldschool guitar breakdown also took this to the next level for me. I'm not sure what genre I'd put it in -- experimental is a mixed bag. This might even be considered poppy, by today's terms. But I do feel the cohesive blend of breakbeat, hip-hop, and classic rock/metal in full force. Blending the three is a feat of magical proportions.

The master is also of suitable volume. Could potentially be pushed just a hair more.

Lyrical content is 100% on point. Lots of pop culture references, general brilliancy.

5/5 for friendship. 8.8/10 for competition

SkankyMojo responds:

Thanks ADR3-N, that's amazing feedback, the detail is very much appreciated. <3

[Autumn Girl]

I hate to say this, but the bass is really, really out of tune. Like wrong notes out of tune. Other wise I would have rated much, much higher! I would also look into some tutorials for mixing anime opening rock, because you have the composition nailed down to a T, but the mix feels a bit centered and tin-canny.

Besides that, great lead playing, great writing overall, and master looks perfectly compressed for the genre. Fix the bass, and you have solid gold!

itskosama responds:

yea, I got carried away with other parts I drowned out bass and it slipped me by.

But in the spirit of turning something in, I worried I might not have the opportunity to fix it and re-turn it in time when I noticed it in my car (it has better bass to standout). It's like they say, don't only mix with headphones.

Either way, I'm extremely grateful to participate because it pushed me to make something, anything. The time constraint, community event, and seeing all the cool creations is what I needed to fuel me to make more music!

Thank you! :)

[Lightspeed (NGUAC Knockout Round + NGADM Round 1 Entry)]

@JFetius is asking for the ID for Geometry Dash -- as a lot of GD players who are new to the site tend to do. It's the numbers at the end of the URL for the NG track ofc.

Wish I had more time to leave a proper in depth review. This track is great. There are some incidences of crackle throughout (did you put vinyl noise anywhere??) The only thing I would suggest to change is to reduce level of reverb somewhat and not squash QUITE that much on the compressor on the master. The clarity is suffering as a result somewhat

[Fox in the forest]

@krasci, given that you have a fox icon, I assume you would know -- but this sounds awfully intense! I wonder what kind of sports they're playing, or if you mean by the extraordinarily hyperactive nature of foxes, this is just their fun-in-the-sun music... or rather, fun in the leaves and dirt.

But enough funny business, compositionally this has good flow, is crazy energetic. The hihats are cutting through fine, but the kick and snare could use extra help with sidechaining against the bass. The overall volume of the entire track can stand to come up. This is pretty quiet for a master!

[Keep Them Coming! (NGUAC Knockout Round)]

Having played a LOT of pokemon games on the Game Boy SP in my time, words can not express how much I enjoy the whiny strings and brass hahahah. Think that was emulating a french horn.

Your composition is striking, and your phrasing is fantastic. What could be improved upon is the mix on the bass, the transients of the gameboy drums to cut through, and bringing out the bass of the bassline in the mix, as well as overall mastering volume. A little googling along these lines goes such a long way, especially when it's the only thing getting in your way. Keep at it!

Voting 5 on NG for personal preference.

Interloping responds:

I definitely agree about the bass, Ive considered raising it a few times now because it really doesnt get a lot of chances to shine the way I want it to, especially since its constantly going hard as hell. Thank you for the tips, I need all the help I can get!

[(NGAUC '24 KO Round) Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen]

The only problem I have with this song is the bass feels squashed up and overly tight. The finger picking sounds FANTASTIC. You should do it more often.

But yeah, give the bass some more body in the low range so the kick doesn't stick out like a sore thumb as the only thing in that range, and this would get a near perfect ten from me. I might also swap drums to something with more snare body as well.

Excellent lead writing and phrasing.