ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sinner]

Looking at that waveform, I'm scared to see what happens at a minute in!

This is freaking WILD.

I think there's a bit of over compression and sibiliance around the mix. The transients on the drums and the note bodies are getting a bit lost, and the sub is not taking up the space it should be. Crispness is good, but in general you don't want your bass to be crispy, your vocals to be ess-y, and your hihats to be too loud. I recommend finding a reference and side-by-side comparison as you go along. Make sure the volume is comparable to your mix so you can compare.

Otherwise, great switchups and an interesting theme! I appreciate the vocoder!

7.6/10

[A Dark Moon]

It's like nothing I've ever heard from you, and yet it very much is your gig! Solid instrumentation, great structure, and driving rhythm section.

Vocal FX are great and I don't have a problem with the volume for the most part. Occasionally they're running rough shod over everything, but that's primarily on the prechorus. I would recommend more compression on the master or simply to mix in 32 bit floating point (with dithering) and turn things up until you feel that A, the levels are all still balanced, and B, there's just a little peaking on the limiter. Just a little. Export and see how you like it. The 32 floating will keep it from truly clipping, and you'll get a pretty dynamic mix (seems to be your goal here!) that is competitively loud.

The result is otherwise very balanced. I find it hard to pay attention to the lyrics because my attention span is that of a goldfish, but thanks to you providing them, I can tell you that they're great in terms of theme and flow. And as I listened, your performance is great. Every line rolls off the tongue.

Ps, props to your dad! I wish I could do music with my parents!

8.6/10

Mischa-head responds:

Thank you for the feedback!

[Space Truckin]

Really interesting sound palette you have going on here! When the synth bass comes in at 0:20 it's a bit distracting though -- sounds like it might be due to chorus or stereo spread. I would recommend rolling off the high end on it, since there isn't a lot in that range.

This would sound a lot better as a smooth ride, with a more pronounced bass guitar sound opposed to the synthy fuzz. I can't even tell whether it's a saw wave or a bass on part of the fuzz/crunch. It also sounds balanced left.

Maybe it's that I have ADHD but it's distracting me from the otherwise lovely arrangement and writing. Seriously, save this idea for a later date, because it slaps. (I don't mean take this down at all -- I'm very much a fan of redoing your own pieces)

I'm usually not a big fan of EZ-Drummer, but you've used it well here. I would only suggest to turn down the hi-hat volume a little. There's so little in that frequency range that it sticks out a tad.

The master is also quiet. See all those little peaks on the waveform? You can in all likelihood push this piece harder with compression. Do some light reading and experimentation -- see what you like!

7.7/10

Percentblue responds:

Lot of stuff I didn’t even know I didn’t know, thank you for the feedback, a lot to consider!!!!

[Performer - NGADM & NGUAC submission]

I think this is a bit stereo spread beyond its limits, BUT the combination of samples used, arrangement, and overall sound stage beyond that is great. At some points, particularly transitions, I would mind the sibilance -- bitcrushed elements as well. Bitcrushing can create shrieking freqs up there.

The mix falls apart a bit when the metal drums enter, around 3 mins. This is in part due to clip, crush, and compression being just a bit too severe and those drums being hot against a shoegaze reverb wash.

Still, the lyrics of this song are entirely relatable, vocal performance is appropriate, and the overall mesh is a consistent product. Great work!

8.4/10

GameBoyFireworks responds:

Thank you for the thoughtful feedback!

[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! :)