ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A.I.M - Burning Witches Light My Way]

Fantastic arranging, only the releases on some of the instruments are a bit too short. I actually think the choir could have a bit more high end on the EQ.

Violins at some points have too short of a release as well and stick out just a bit more than they should, especially on shorter notes.

So other than some mixing problems and uncanny valley synth instruments, this was a beautiful listen. Great chord structures as well, and it fits the art perfectly. Salutes to you. :)

Shozi responds:

thank you very much! really glad you enjoyed it :) truely mostly i focused letting the piece harmonize with the artwork as much as i can. i hate mixing and thats why i suck at it. but well...a bit more practice and i should handle the mixing part some day :)

[A.I.M. The Way Home]

I can't hear what RF is saying about hihat. Sounds okay to me, other than sticking out a bit. Maybe it's too loud, or panned too far left. The song does very much sound like going home, but I'm not sure if it reflects the fantasy elements of the art.

Other than the above, the mixing of the song is pretty flawless. Very laid back. I like it. Just the hi-hat threw me off. Mic-ing on them is a little strange -- snare is far away from the hat.

I don't have much to say because I can't find anything wrong with the song. Considering it isn't my kind of staple music listening, that's saying a lot. Good work!

cody104 responds:

Thank you for your awesome review, glad you enjoyed the song. :)

[AIM - This is War]

Wow, have to say, this surprised me. There are points where it feels flat, or the leads overpower the guitar and drums. But overall, the guitar shines despite that. Lots of variation here. It's really interesting stuff. Sounds like your cymbals are suffering from a lack of high end though. Bass also lags a smidgen behind guitar at some points -- only a little.

Solo was abrupt but it was nice. With a bit more attention to mixing, some more low end, etc., this track would be flawless. Some reverb here and there and a second look at volume levels and compression would fix a lot of the issues here.

Great work!

NahuPyrope responds:

I'm aware of the lag issue, I don't really find what that is, I record in Reaper, and I oftend find, that after recording, I have to move the track like, 7ms, so it's sync'd with the other instruments, Thanks for the review, I'll have in mind what you told me.

Thanks so much!

[AIM - Unstoppable]

Mixing is pretty spot on until around 1:40, the musical content fits the art, and the vocals are a nice touch. Only think they could have been pumped up a bit or panned different in the mix.

Around 1:40, the melodic content of the synths is creating some serious dissonance with the choral sounds. This may be intentional. I don't know. It resolves pretty quickly. The sound actually made me tune in without wincing. I suppose that's a good thing.

Now that I think about it, the gated bass could probably be turned down a bit, and there's a bit of clipping toward the end. Watch for that.

All things considered, I do really enjoy the piece. It's short and sweet, and it's interesting. Beyond that, not much to say.

TIMETRAVL responds:

Thanks for your review:) will keep it in mind if ill write smth like this again:)

[AIM - Dusk of Eternal Night]

I understand what you're going for, although, it seems you're suffering from software lagging behind the creative ambition. Those MIDIs are killing me, especially the pipe organ in the high register and timpani -- as well as the attacks on the strings. Crashes are also written in a way that would be nearly impossible to perform. 2:52 is not too bad, but you're starting to get distortion in the mix.

There is certainly energy here, but I feel percussion and modulation suffered the most here. In 2006, this would be pretty par for the course, and I realize software for this sort of thing is often expensive even if it is sub-optimal.

Vibraphone wrapping up the end was a nice touch.

In short, you are a talented composer, but your instruments are dragging you down. You would have done better to simply have forgone the orchestral template and try deliberate synths, or added some reverb. Volume is also iffy at points. Lots of stabby high volume accents that stick out for just being suddenly loud, not really accented.

Could have done with a lot more percussion buildup, and I don't recall hearing a single snare or concert bass drum hits, which is a big thing in most cinematic music. Bangs and crashes. Lots of them. Cymbals were written weirdly as I mentioned already.

Could have done seriously with some double bass, cello, tuba, etc. It sounds like you wrote for a whole orchestra and sent the meat of them home. The sound pyramid should be a pyramid, not a lady Newt Gingrich silhouette. ;)

Keep writing, though. You'll get there!

Verdusk responds:

Yes. Unfortunately the MIDI tool seems like the best that I have right now and I also don't know anything about playing drums so I can't really tell whether what I write is actually playable or not.

Thing is I like orchestral music, and not using them also means I might have to find samples that may also not be free to use. I think I'll keep using them, but also figure out how to use them better. (Volume control, work more on bass, etc.)

Thanks for review!

[Walkin The Fauchard]

High ends sound a bit dull, but it's not a bad song at all. Transitions are fresh! May want to sidechain your percussion. It isn't sticking out very much relative to the rest of the song when it's in full swing. Hihats are playing lame duck!

BryceSummer responds:

Thanks for the review & advice :).

[Stutter Light (WIP)]

The stabby lead synth you're using isn't my cup of tea, but otherwise, I like it. The octaves in that lead make it sound pretty cheesy, and it sounds just a bit too loud.

Daydream-Anatomy responds:

Thanks, in the final version I did tone it down a bit, and cut off some of the higher end that was a tad ear splitting. I can't remember if the final version's on here or bandcamp only, pretty sure I put it on here. A lot of people noticed the same problem. Actually I probably could've toned it down a LITTLE tiny more. But it's finalized, but it's better, in mine and most opinions, than the lead in the wip version. (which is almost the same lead , only quieter and with some highend cut off.)

Glad you were able to look past that and the 'cheesy' lead and still like the piece overall, I appreciate the review^^

[Onion]

Well, some of the sound effects were nice. Other than that, the longer this drug on, the more annoying certain overused sounds became.

LavaRift responds:

Wow I was going for 1 star.