ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Plesiosaur to meet you]

Wild, weird, and just what I expected from the text art.

I would appreciate a bit less reverb across the board, a harder distorted kick sitting higher in the mix, and watching your levels throughout to ensure no clipping before hitting the mix.

One thing I find lacking into 1:27 is hihats and crashes to punctuate transitions between sections.

I think you could sub out that piano in places for some sort of saw instrument and maintain the drama while fitting in better with the mix.

I also have no idea how you managed to get that ascii to look so clean.

Before 2:50 there is one or two notes out of the key in that melody. Not a severe problem but did distract me.

3:15 I'm feeling we are building toward a climactic drop and wondering how long it will take. Turns out to be an outro. I think you could have swapped out a section here from earlier on, or repeated it prior to the fade out.

Overall, interesting piece. I enjoyed it. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

dogsinmrimachines responds:

Lots of notes are out of key intentionally. See: Anything else I've released during the same time period.

3:30+ is a repeat of the melody at 0:35 and 1:45, it's just hard to tell because it's thoroughly layered.

The rest of your comments seem to be reducible to "create a song in a different genre with different musical techniques".

[overgrowth]

This feels like playing Donkey Kong on the SNES, if it was a mystery detective game.

Not much critique, with the exception I'd like a little less crispy highs on your instruments. Pan play sounds nice. Piece progresses nicely. Sounds quite literally like it could have come off of a videogame chipset with the exception of that lead, so points for artistic vision there.

Appreciated that glitch bongo solo.

I do think the song is pretty long, but that's not really an issue. Great work.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Dekiru - Shattered (NGUAC22)]

Great chord progressions and phrases here, sure to get stuck in my head. Mix sounds nice and balanced with the exception of the odd overly loud crash.

At 1:07 I find myself wanting some sort of percussion fill, snares, toms, something. It feels a bit empty until 1:32. Here the pads sound a bit overly loud.

At 1:48, drop the pianos down a bit. They are crowding out your melody until 2:08. I also think I hear some notes out of the key but who cares. It didn't really bother me there.

At 2:20 it also feels a bit naked. I think you might have been able to cut out some parts leading into your final drop for a more dramatic finish. Ah, key change, unexpected but appreciated. I probably would have had one drop and then that key change personally, rather than a build into the key change.

Nice work overall. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

dekiruGD responds:

Thanks for the feedback!

[VOID]

Ooh that bass arp -- sounds like Mass Effect. Please tell me what that is, haha

Like the transition at 49 and the chords here. I think the pad could come down relative to your other instruments.

I appreciate the glitching on the bass. Think that sounds fantastic.

Want to hear more of your choir stabs.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Mortal]

Watch those high frequencies on your stabs prior to your drop -- they're pretty up there.

I really appreciate how DISGUSTING your drop is. Would take just a bit of the high frequencies off.

Cinematic percussion at 1:00 is a nice touch. Might want a bit less reverb there to sit nicely with your clean dubstep snare.

I don't have much more critique than that. Piece is super nasty, and that's the way I like it.

Great work! Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[DatCat - Daunting Presence (NGUAC 2022 Knockout Round)]

You said something epic and LMMS in the final round and in that instant earned my respect. I've seen people struggle with it for years.

I don't have a ton of critique. I feel the piece progresses very nicely and is thoughtfully produced. I do think the lead prior through 1:40 can come down safely up to .5 dB. Same with 2:42. It simply stands over the rest of the production and seems a bit dry.

Arrangement and transition wise, you've done a fantastic job. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Heuristic]

Absolutely trippy. I'd like a bit more volume on your bass, slightly less on pads.

That trumpet line is supreme. Didn't expect to hear growls. Now I need to know what trumpet that is haha. Can't tell what sax that is after 8 years out of band, but it sounds great.

Your progressions and pacing are great, as well as those wild pads. 2:11 came as a surprise to me. I typically am not one for so much reverb, but as simple and uncluttered as the piano is, you manage it very well.

Wonderful work. Almost makes you forget yourself.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Cresince responds:

Thanks as always for the tips!

I used Session Horns Pro for the flugelhorn (sounds just like a trumpet except more, wide? lol) and baritone sax. It has a good amount of play options and some ensemble mixes as well.

Thank you again for all your hard work judging :3

[Critical Hypothesis]

Interesting choice to only use soundfonts! All things considered, I think it actually works pretty well.

Arrangement wise, this is fantastic.

I find it hard to hear any of your drums except the hihat. Bring up the kick, snare, toms. Throughout they are very quiet. I would also like to hear your hihat on the left or right -- depends on your preference, at probably 20% panning, just to give some space.

Everything sounds pretty clean throughout, no over reverberation, all elements excepting drums clearly heard. Very nice work.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[dynamism]

Perfect use of that sine in the beginning. When your lead at 22 secon7 ds comes in, I would like a bit less volume on it, and maybe a bit less FX in general. Something is overdriving and I feel it is supposed to sound smooth and unobtrusive.

By 1:07 I am fully immersed and waiting for more insanity.

1:22, those breaks are gorgeous. They sound like well organized ADHD. I would like a more centered sound for your bass just to sit inside the mix cleanly. Changing bass synths throughout I think does you many favors for variety, even if the bassline doesn't change much.

This is a long track and very busy, so the transition at 2:37 does you a lot of favors. In the future, working with similar arrangements, you may think about changing tempo for transitions. Which I'm not sure if it is happening under my nose or not, haha. Ah, I see by 3:34 you are already on this. Great work and fantastically varied piece. 3:55 is NUTS

Fantastic work here. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Dream, Run, Fly]

WUPWUPWUPWUP uwu

Super cute. I would like to hear more of your lead and tame the volume of surrounding arps and pads in that space. I think your bass and low passes sound great. Also guitar sounds fantastic. I was not ready for the track to be over and would certainly rate higher if there were more.

Great job. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!