ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Possible Conclusions (EP)]

Here at Act and Consequence, and your drums sound good -- except the hat needs some modulation. It really sticks out. This seems quite the morbid piece -- like the aftermath of a murder. Your composition is strong in the theory, if a little predictable once we start the falling progressions. Predictable, however is not always a bad thing. I feel as if there is something missing from this act melodically at the chorus. Like some buildup that stops right before the actual climax. Could be the organ not standing out as the lead in my ear.

Moving on, outro was nice. I sense we are at B. The melancholy theme and delay play as it sounds is serving well. Loving the drumset introducing melody. Very dark carnival sounding stuff here around 4:20. Your progressions do not disappoint. Clearly you are quite talented in transitions as well. The accordion-banjo sounding synth that I can't put a finger on at first seems out of place, but upon its second entrance, I realize this is because the attack sounds approximately the same on every note. Bass solo is excellent. Crashes and rides were sticking out a bit though. Modulation is your friend! Drum solo is also very well written and we arrive at our chorus shortly after. I quite like this piece. Outro is well executed again.

We seem to be playing with the same chords with each transition. Excellent stuff here.

And here we are at e, I believe. Effects on the drums here were very appropriate to lead in with, however what sounds like a deeper cymbal, two hits, was jarring due to sounding less reverbed, somehow. Less metallic is what I'm going for. Pay very close attention to cymbals in a space. They stick out so much without any help from a momentarily untuned ear. This being said, I also feel as if there is something melodically missing here. Makes for very good studying music, however -- or cinematic music.

Final transition here. This one was slightly jarring when it came in due to the attack of the synths, but once it was there, it was cleverly written. The sample caught me offguard. It fits the track well, however.

Drums come in and we are at our slower finale. Definitely getting the vibe of people being ridiculed on stage -- or just people laughing at others. I'd say you accomplish your goal well. This one is short enough that I don't feel something is missing, and the outro is nice. Laughter ends a smidge short of the bass, which wouldn't have grabbed my attention were it not such a quick fadeout.

Overall, your pieces stand together well, and the presentation is pretty fabulous. It was a pleasure to listen to. I do not know if it would have kept my interest if I hadn't been consciously reviewing during the listening process so as not to lose place. Listened to it once full through and spot checked where I made marks. Review is largely unedited so you get the full picture as I went through the piece.

Thank you for the request. A for effort, and A for content. Great listen. :)

LexRodent responds:

Thanks a lot for this highly detailed review.
The hats and cymbals are the part I had more doubts about, I lowered it's intensity, but I wasn't sure if it was enough, now I know they need some extra work, which I'll do asap, as well as double check all the details pointed. Nice to see you caught the "essence" on every "part" and the transitions intentions (which are indeed 3 variations on the same theme). You too deserve an A for such a good review. Thanks again :)

[theme of some guy]

Pretty decent for a phone app. The sound quality of the piano does kind of grate on me. Is this straight up programming the notes? Is it original? It sure is catchy.

diesezme responds:

(no programming experience btw)
Yeah, pianogato is a pretty awesome app. you just click and drag the notes onto the staves (plural for staff, I learned that like a month ago) and you have a little bar at the bottom of the screen where you can modify the notes, like make them sharp and flat. if you get the 10$ upgrade you can do basically everything possible in music, except ritardando and use an instrument other than piano
And then it can play it for you :)

and yes it's original all by me (i mean, the piece of music not the app)

[Psybot - pixel]

Never thought I'd see you again! This one would probably fare better in Dubstep (videogame is harsh on non-mainstream game tracks usually). Nice to see you've updated your style, and happy to see you're still producing!

I like this one a lot. The kick is strong, the growls are varied yet also keep a central theme -- and then you even seem to go between dubstep and dnb. Nice stylistic changes a lot of artists don't employ here. Could use just a bit of sidechaining at the last full-out chorus to help the percussion stand out a little bit and breathe some life into it. Excellent otherwise.

Glad to have you back!

Psybot responds:

Thanks alot for your fair words! I have changed the genre of it and I will take your suggestions and advice onto the next track :D

[Chased]

Your mixing is fantastic here, at least on my end. Could use just a bit more hattage. I'm not sure I would call this techno either. The drums and bass pull me toward dance, but it's too slow for that. New Wave maybe (don't trust me here -- barely know that genre)? Or simply Video Game?

Certainly would make a fantastic video game tune, especially if it were looped. Great work!

LexRodent responds:

Thanks, extra work on the hat its a good suggestion.
I know what you mean, I added a little of various genres, decided its sound was a bit more on the techno side , video game is a nice choice too.

[Backup part 2]

Sounds more like drumstep or drum and bass than it does dubstep, but I like it quite a bit. Nice use of samples. Very catchy feel-good stuff here. :3

EdKempeper responds:

Yeah, its clearly not dubstep, I don't know why I chose this category...
Thanks for your review !

[[Trap] Tremor]

Pretty nice, but I can pick out a lot of the synths right off. The lead is a little bit too harsh. It sounds a lot like some old video game music I used to listen to. Also, watch your mastering. There is some distortion where there should be none. Other than that, it's a pretty decent song. I like it quite a bit.

Vocals are pretty ace. Not sure if they are sampled or what but I don't care. Bass could use a lot more on the sub. What synths are you using?

culmor30 responds:

Good feedback, thanks ^^

Sorry I didn't repond for uh... 3 years. I still suck at mastering lol.

[Encapsulation]

I can hear Omnisphere and Sytrus clearly all over this, and it sounds great. Atmosphere is fantastic, and you two are working together almost seamlessly here. The only synths that stand out negatively are the choir, as I can hear the harsh, robotic syllables. This, however, did not destroy the atmosphere, which is an achievement in and of itself.

The transition around 4:30 is fabulously implemented, although I feel it was a bit of an abrupt conclusion to such a spacious composition, much like the staccato strings in the lower register also seem somewhat abrupt. I believe that adds to the theme of dangers existing outside the biodome, however. You both did a very good job of conveying theme.

I wish I had more to say about this piece technically than praise, however, praise is well deserved, even with the few technical flaws here. Very nice work, the two of you, and thanks to Step for pointing me toward this piece!

Step responds:

Thanks for dropping by, man. I'm flattered by all the praise you've given to the atmosphere. I don't consider myself particularly good at making atmospheres so it's great to hear there is hope for me after all lol.

Choir is kinda robotic :(. It's so hard to achieve a good choir through VSTs.

I assume you mean the 3:40 transition, not the 4:30 one? In which case, I am, to this day, torn about that ending haha. Some people tell me they'd end the track no other way, and others say it's a rather lame/abrupt way to end the track. I wanted to kind of cull away the "epicness" and let the piano synth play on its own for the ending, but maybe that wasn't the best way to go.

Thanks a million for the encouraging and insightful review.

[In a Dream]

You mentioned your difficulty mixing vocals, but I feel like you did so in a way that compliments the track. They could be a few dB louder, but that may just be my own preference -- and maybe a little bit more of the 8k range on the EQ. It sounds phenomenal otherwise.

Your synthwork is perfect, except for the obvious synth bass. Maybe work a little bit more on modulation so the attack doesn't seem so droll. Other than that, stunning work. I know it must have taken some time. Great tools help though, of course.

Stellar work as always, Step. Just don't be afraid to crank up those vocals a bit more, so the instrumental doesn't overshadow them. Background vocals were implemented perfectly, I must say.

Keep up the great work, and thanks for the request!

Step responds:

You are probably entirely correct on those vocals. They could've been louder, especially in certain sections like "there'll be no one else". When I listen back to this I always wish I'd pumped them up a bit more.

Synth bass could definitely use more modulation, if not attack then maybe some filter effect perhaps. It does get kinda monotonous. I was originally going for a more James-Bond-esque kind of bass, but I don't really have the right kind of VSTs for that, so I had to settle with a synth bass.

Super glad you like this. Thanks a lot for this review and for reviewing all the others I pointed you towards!

[Splash In Silence]

Sitting at the beginning, and the piano synth is grating on me. Your chord arrangements could be a little better spaced at first. They're clashing, which is probably not your point. By 1 minute, it's sounding a lot better, but this is a very, veeeery long intro. I'd shorten up that fade in after the silence and go straight into the business, personally.

Your melodies are not bad once the main hook comes in. Percussion is where it suffers. I'd try a harder snare. It's hiding in your mix. Also, as a whole, there could be a lot more play with reverb. Experiment and try to craft an atmosphere -- a soundscape. It should flow.

At around 2:30, your piano comes back in. Definitely try a different synth. This one doesn't have a bad sound, but it's very generic -- the same piano everyone's heard in a thousand other songs. Try to add more personality.

Your arranging and break are written well enough, and those arps sound hand-written as well. Very nice. Overall, needs a bit more bass, a little more variation other than your standard 4 or 8 bars until an added layer comes in, etc. It's catchy, but it's certainly a niche genre of DnB.

Overall, good piece. Don't take my criticism too harshly. It's good, but certainly could use some room to improve. Keep producing!

TonicTaste responds:

Nah, man trust me. It's all good. I need these types of reviews, haha. Thanks dude! Appreciated.

[Nymphetamine Overdose]

Sounds pretty great so far, except the drums definitely feel synthesized at points. It could just be my ears fooling me. It's mostly the crashes and kick. Bass also sounds like a synth to me. You mentioned having me go over the synth part and maybe replace it with a string midi or something. I can't quite figure out what chords we're going for though due to the tonal construction of the song itself. Nice work!

Ultramartyr responds:

both the drums and bass are synthesized, as i mentioned. not much i can do there as i don't have a drum kit or bass guitar. thanks for the review, sent you a message