ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Assault]

Really interesting piece. Would make for a nice trailer. I will say it sounds really centered on the right channel. I have a really hard time hearing the high violas in the left channel in comparison. Also question somewhat using what sounds like one instance of each instrument as opposed to an ensemble.

The piece is too short for me to really comment on composition. I'd have liked to hear more, but I do like what I hear.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[AIM2020 - Lord of Naxxramas]

Wow, I remember when EastWest used to be the holy grail.

Composition wise, this is really great. I feel the composition itself would be best served if it were written in FL, all the pains that would be to do. For some reason, every instrument I take into something like printmusic doesn't really alter velocity between instances of the same note, or intonate properly. I'm hearing a lot of that here with floppy attack on the organ, not any real humanization going on. If it were at all possible I would put ensembles or trios on those staccatos so they don't sound like a lone cellist, if that makes sense.

As for EastWest falling out of style somewhat, I would see if I couldn't get my hands on Kontakt and Spitfire's free LABS libraries, Native Instruments' starter pack, etc. There are a ton of free Kontakt libraries that will blow your mind out there. It's a sin not to take advantage imo.

Beyond that, enjoyed the listen.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

NativeNiles responds:

Thx for the review, I'll look into those libraries you mention.

[Silver Lining]

Wow, was not expecting that big open up into 45 seconds or so. Nice, driving chords. Great transitions.

My only critiques will probably sit on mix. The mix as a whole is really sibilant in the 16khz and up range, mostly on that intro is where I notice. I think this might be compensating for the way compression will round off highs. Be careful of that. There's also a huge jump up in volume for some of your sections. I ended up having to turn the track down when the drop came in. Take care also with your reverb that you don't get a low mid wash from 250 hz neglecting to apply low cut to individual instances.

If you still want that spacy sound, gated reverb is a great option.

Other than that, great, smooth listen.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Solize responds:

Damn that's really constructive feedback, thanks!

[Sicarius771 - Supercharged]

By 40 seconds, I think that quarter stab chord could come down in the mix. It's giving the impression of no breathing room.

Some comments on mix. The percussion is pretty muted sounding. Like I'm wearing ear protection, in comparison to those spacy highs. The longer the mix goes, by 1:33, we have lots and lots of reverb that doesn't let up. It also sounds like we have a piano synth that's doubling the bass, which I would cut. That's the overtones I was hearing on the reverb.

So, I would cut 250 hz and below on instances that aren't bass or percussion to clean up and make room for it to sit, shorten reverb tails, low cut to 250 on those reverb sends as well, and drop the send some.

Your percussion, particularly that gong, is either buried, in the case of kick and snare, or broom falling down a staircase in a warehouse scary loud. I think this is trying to compensate for when other instruments, like pads and leads on the sides, are also way too loud. Go back and see if you can get a handle on this mix, and make sure two things are good -- can hear the percussion well, can hear the bass, and can clearly make out the lead. Drop those instruments on the side down much, much lower. They're making the song sound like a high wash.

I love the composition, the mix is the only thing holding back my 5. Or at least like a 4.5. You've got a great mind for dnb writing. This would be a total banger with the mix fixed up on so there weren't these big discrepancies in loudness. Keep making music!

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Sicarius771 responds:

Awesome, thank you for the feedback :)
I’ll keep all this in mind and do better next time.
Also good job with the judging and dedication, I saw that there was a whole lot more compared to last year but you all kept going, you guys deserved that extension :)

[Spruce needles]

Nice opening chords. I like that arp.

I do agree that the mix is pretty far out of balance. Pull that bass down some dB and center it. It's almost totally in the right channel for me. Actually most of the mix is in the right channel it sounds like. You may have accidentally nudged the balance on your mixing rig at some point or have faulty headphones. Do a test on that and see what's going on. I had another entrant tell me this was what was going on in their own gear when a similar thing happened.

Other than that, enjoyed the listen.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Shanlix - Night Adventure [Drumstep]]

Pretty basic, relaxed bassline going on here. I'd encourage you to step out of the box when it comes to your wobbles. Keep the same notes, even, but try something beyond eighth notes!

I don't really have a lot of critique beyond that. The piece has nothing really wrong with it, it just tends not to take risks. Structure is fine, lead writing isn't bad, just as is the case with dubstep and drumstep, there's not a ton of interesting percussion or moving leads to pull your attention away from hey, there's no shock factor to this bass -- although if you listen, the genre is stagnating due to just how numb we've become to the sounds of transformers procreating.

Beyond that, I'd study a little bit on good mixing practice, just to bring your drums to the front -- they were sagging just a tad here, and you've got a nice, listenable track going for you. And no matter what happens, never stop making music. The more you make, the better you'll become. It sounds like you're well on your way already :)

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[i made ANOTHER song! it was fun this time]

Finally, someone who doesn't just sample the same freaking note all the time. My heart.

Gorgeous piece and lead writing. Most of my critique is going to be mix related. We have some instances where the track is distorting, not clipping because it sounds like there's a limiter in place, but because things are just too loud. Kicks in your intro for instance.

Between the different sections, my mileage has varied. Watch that when you do use those vocal samples, they stay crisp and distinct.

There were also some sections that sounded crowded, maybe a little muddy with FX. I'm a fan of scooping out low end frequencies from instruments where they aren't needed. 250 hz and below I've found to be a magic number for making space in my mix on instruments that aren't bass or percussion. Although sometimes I will even cut those, depending on the situation, obviously not so aggressively.

My remaining critique would be structure, just that there doesn't seem to be a ton of cohesiveness to the piece, and it's quite short. I'd have liked to hear your favorite chorus or opening melody one more time rather than the sample you closed with. :)

Beyond that, you know what you're doing. It sounds like you can pretty easily throw a song together and do what needs to be done to make it sound good. I like the adventurous approach you have. Keep going!

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

scrambIe responds:

WOW this review has more words than all of my coloring books PUT TOGETHER!!!

THANK YOU ADREN

[Runa - Black Hole]

Intro reminds me a lot of Mass Effect. What was the name of the mallet sounding synths you used for arps in your intro?

My only real critiques are going to sit on the mix. On your orchestral and synth orchestra, as well as other instruments, there is a ton of unneeded reverb. I would not only cut the send down some, but also low cut up to 250 hz or so. Having all those frequencies with compression going on will push the mix out of balance and force you to mix top heavy. I'm hearing that here. The mix is very sibilant in the 15-20khz range. Even the high fizzle reverb is out of balance.

I find myself actually wanting a lot more low mid, talking range frequency out of your bass throughout. That's the range where it's crowded out. Percussion also has a hard time sticking through the mix. You can try to push it through that wall with sidechain, or you can just drop levels of other instruments until they push through well. By 4:47, they are drowned, and there is some not quite clipping -- sounds like a limiter is on, and we're getting distortion trying to keep levels down. Compress those drums. For a spacy feel you can probably apply gated reverb to the snare. Sidechain if you need to, but all those other levels are just too loud for them to compensate for.

Other than that, beautiful piece. I really enjoyed your rhythms. Thinking outside the box in a time signature always makes my day. Great work!

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Runanova responds:

Thank you very much.
I went through a lot of difficulties with the mastering because of the number of elements and i now understand the problems.
About the synth, it accidentally made a "water" pluck and decided to split the high and low frequencies into different parts.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[Into The Void (for Jenna Harley)]

Ooh, the good old standard drama chords, Interstellar-y.

I like the ideas going on here. Would probably pan the percussion out and ensemble it. Most of the track sounds a bit centered and flat without it. Those ascending arps could probably be autopanned say 33% right and left on a quarternote basis, with a pingpong delay for good measure.

The piece doesn't really feel to move anywhere beyond 2:53 so far, just to gradually be calming down from that high. Maybe take some lead writing study. You may find the videos of Signals Music Studios to be inspirational.

Mix wise, I find the percussion could be a lot more in your face, compressed. Bass could probably come up. Strings could go down half a dB and be brought in a bit more subtly. I find myself wanting a brass or low saw just holding out the bass note of each chord on a big swell, I would have introduced that before 1:38's horns came in. Those I also would want doubled in each channel so it didn't sound like only one voice.

But other than that, fun piece. Enjoyed the listen.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[RedWire ~ Chromatica]

Interesting idea. I feel like you could make this sound a lot better with paring down those piano chords and cutting reverb down. There's this thing that happens to chords in the lower register, when they're positioned with the notes so close together. They stop functioning and resonating harmonically the same way they would up high. I think it was Adam Neely that I was watching who did a video on this, but I could be wrong. Anyway, because of the frequencies they're resonating at, the harmonics are interfering with each other in the lower register, but not the higher register, so they sound chunky. This is further exacerbated by muddy reverb.

2:09 is probably the best sounding part of this track.

Overall as I listen it grows on me more. I like that little stuttering reverb you have on the snare.

I would recommend first off, some light study of music theory, lead writing, and song structure, just to get you on a footing where you feel more comfortable and spend less time figuring out where you want to go, more time working on chords and leads -- leading to consequently less relying on the same chords pasted into different instruments -- I suffer from this too. Some good channels for you are Signals Music Studios and Holistic Songwriting.

Then I'd want to study on some good mixing habits, like cleaning up excess frequencies in your low mids. I was introduced to the concept actually watching FakeSmileRevolution and Chernobyl Studios, through guitar mixing tutorials. But basically, cutting out the 250hz and below of any reverb sends or instruments that aren't my bass or drums helps to keep that low wash reverb gets on long sustains and make sure it doesn't get in the way of the rest of the track, forcing you to move levels around forever and not get why it still sounds gross every time the strings or pads come in.

But no matter what, keep making music. The only way to go from here is up :)

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

RedWire98 responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Ill be sure to apply this into future tracks. Also, I did take piano lessons, so I have done some study of music theory, at least in that aspect.