ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[night dream]

В основном, трек хорош. Слышу и понимаю сразу, почему ставили на ФП. Ответ на твой вопрос -- что менять. Я бы уменьшила громкость звуков воды -- кажется что это капли воды слева и справа. И тажке будь внимателен, чтобы не очень часто те же самые сэмплы повторять, если они легко узнать. И это все. Думаю что кроме них, все ровно сидит в миксе. Тщательно ты выбрал остальные пресеты, модуляции, параметры сайдчейн итд. Возможно я бы делали мелодии чуть погромче, но было просто класс.

Продолжай!

G2961 responds:

Спасибо большое за отзыв! Хорошо, я постараюсь учесть эти ошибки в дальнейшем.

[Eptic - Propane (Seven Chakras Remix)]

I think this is more midtempo than synthwave, but nailed it. Despite whatever mixing deficiencies -- studying some professional mixing and mastering will help you there - I like this version better. In general I think the 250 hz and below of the bass would do well to be centered, the bass come down just a bit, and snare come up in the mix.

SevenChakras responds:

this was from 3 years ago, a bit late for that type of feedback lmfao

[Evolution of Everything [G2961 Remix]]

ОФИГЕТЬ -- басс такой жирный, прямо в лицо ударит. Думаю что около минутки 1 надо исправить некоторые уровни громкости -- например ревербераций. Они должны падать вниз или немножко сокращать продолжительность, чтобы компрессор правильно звучал. Сжатие довольно жесткое, и думаю что также можешь его уменьшить лишь чуть чуть -- чтобы вторая часть трека сохранила свой динамический контраст.

Но в общем, мне очень понравился трек.

G2961 responds:

Хорошо! Спасибо за расширенный отзыв!
Да я в принципе знал про то, сжатие прямо жёсткое, просто я как-то делал ремикс нехотя и у меня не было идей на продолжение.

[zDk - Codex of Honor {UPD}]

Going to write this review in english -- there are some concepts I would have trouble explaining in Russian.

In general, this is nice, blazing fast DnB. A few things I would adjust -- take wet reverb down somewhat, apply slightly less compression so the track does not appear to be a sausage. In general this will allow for more clarity and the bass to cut through.

Needs a bit more sub/bass, and attention to detail of the phase of the bass -- see that when the kick and snare come in, if there is no sidechain applied, that it does not cause the kick OR the bass to decrease in volume. Deselecting random phase generation/position on oscillator can assist this. Then manually slide the start of the waveform until the problem is no longer present. I'm not sure if that's happening here since the waveform is so fat, but it could be, as I notice just a bit of thinness in the bass.

I actually would like a deeper, lower kick, and a higher pitched, more classic snare. Be careful also that your hihats and other percussion are a bit cleaner. The amount of verb on the track and instruments sharing this frequency range are clouding things up a bit. Great job not having them super sibilant. No ear pain achieved))))

Overall I love the energy of this track. Two thumbs up from me

G2961 responds:

WOW! Thanks for advanced review!

[ZDK - [Vengeance BEAST]]

Хардстайл мне очень нравится. Однако думаю что надо обратить внимание на фазу басса прежде чем ставить компрессор и тщательно исправить уровни инструментов, чтобы громкость басса и бочки не уменьшилась когда новые мелодии играют. Остальное мне просто класс и ностальгия!

X-500 responds:

Спасибо за честную рецензию! Я обрачу на это внимание)

[At The Seams ("Deathslab!" 's BOTB ENTRY)]

Liking the motion on that synth in the beginning. Feels like brauer motion -- could be generic rhode oscillating. I would like if that were to stop at some point, though it's interesting. The accompanying nnnnnnyeeeeaow texture could oppose it in terms of panning for depth.

On the drums in that opening hook I'd like to hear a bit more dirt on the snare, some crunch, and perhaps a bit more bite on the kick transient.

Vocals on 1:24 are not bad. Don't apologize. Could just a bit of de-ess on tweety s's. That's about it. I would also potentially apply harder compression, perhaps distortion even, to it. The choral portion hard panned reminds me of Queen. Lots of layers here and interesting choices in writing -- atmospheric. Potentially bring the lead vocal up by 2 dB.

2:44 is intended to be a massive section -- I can hear it. I would reduce cymbal and kick volume slightly, reduce reverb wet, and bring up the keys. Double track another patch for what is written in piano, and pan that left. More subtle oscillation on the rhodes for this section.

Compositionally speaking however, this is great. Lots of interesting progression and tasteful use of dissonance. I wish the snare popped more throughout, and the whole arrangement was more in your face. Really, I think there is room for low-tuned, high gain rhythm guitar.

Other than that, I quite enjoyed it. The section at 4:56 is gold -- again I would take up the lead vocal and perhaps drop wet signal on it some.

Guitar solos are a high point in this piece also.

Outro sounds great!

carboluka responds:

Wish we had that idea for 2:44, that would've sounded so nice... Thank you for the feedback!

[Nobody Will Listen To You]

I actually love the drums you've made. In BeepBox no less. I think the pads could come up a bit, but the sheer variety of wild sounds I've NEVER heard anyone do with this tool amazes me.

Once again I'm left with sounds I want to sample -- those drums are YES

JimmyTheCaterpillar responds:

thank you adrean :)

[napalm/hopscotch loop]

It looks like this is a bit quiet on the waveform, however going to turn it up for the sake of review. I think where this shines is actually in your percussion. It is quite dynamic for such a limited range of frequency. I think something could be done to get a bit more punch out of the kick, perhaps find a frequency that doesn't clip out so much at the bit rate.

As far as melody, the portamento shines atop the almost lackadaisical up and down arrangement. I think the supporting countermelody can get a bit busy, particularly at 12 and the repeated section -- largely because we already have fast moving hopscotch percussion and the melody is quite slow.

I would like to hear more of the bass on this piece, if you have the possibility to turn that up in I assume beepbox. I'm not very familiar with this tool. I also think that you could maintain this internal loop and change the break before 18-20 seconds leading into the new section. It sounds better as a true finale stinger before the swooshy transition, as opposed to leading into a B section. I hope I am able to make this clear.

What I typically do when I am making a short drop like this is start with 4 bars, copy. Change bar 4 and leave bar 8 as the final fill. To extend to 16, I do the same process, change bar 4, 8, 12, or 16 accordingly to keep the illusion I did NOT just copy and paste everything. And I generally make changes in the bass or the harmony instruments before I touch the lead. It keeps things fresh.

There is another principle to building a song structure -- add 2 things at a transition, then remove 2 things. Keeps things dynamic. Can be done with one element at a time of course, but it helps keep things shifting ever so slightly, and is a great exercise in creativity. You are already doing this to some degree in your guitar knots pieces, I see.

Again, great to hear from you, and happy to see you improving each time!

JimmyTheCaterpillar responds:

Yeah I think i'm starting to get a sense for when repetition is utility and how to organically sort out how to keep things moving.

i think your second paragraph really sums up where i faulted this song,,, i really just made it so busy and then i was like!!! shit!!!1 what now!!

mixing in beepbox can be weird, some instruments just want to be quiet. I have a method worked out for more specific mixing in the program, that being to just export every instrument individually to audacity and then mix and match from there but i think i'd have to really either like the track or be expecting something from the track to make that extra credit effort essentially lol

thank you so much for your continued support. i didn't always understand some of the things you meant abt production and stuff when we initially started talking, but i think i'm starting to click a couple things. i'm grateful!

[tinfoil & the window sink]

That droning intro is something I would love to sample. I'm impressed you've managed to record something like this on a cellphone and it sound entirely intelligible and manageable!

The gating at 39 seconds is sounding great, as well as what sounds like playing in harmonic minor. There are a few clicks and clips as cuts come in, but those can be eliminated by crossfade and micro fade in. I found this while editing in Mixcraft.

I think this is the most beautiful piece you have ever sent me. It has the same haunting quality I've come to know you for but also an air of tranquility. My favorite part surrounds 1:21. This is a great transition and a theme I wish would have been continued longer or repeated. The reverberation in the background almost sounds like a choir.

Take your goofy pride -- a single sample is an achievement!

The very few flaws I see in this piece as a whole, the clicking I mentioned as samples come in and out. You can either overlay a vinyl sample to play into this, or get a copy of izotope RX 7 to remove it (or just ask me and I'll do it in a few minutes). Beyond that, using Audacity's amplify feature to bring this up to max possible volume without clipping would be helpful. You can also chose to apply compression if desired.

I think a lot of these operations are in fact easier to do outside of audacity, though its pitching and scaling functions to me are about unmatched. For instance your gated guitar at 1:14 would sound even better if compressed and chorused, with modulated FX (changing over time). This is a bit unwieldy still in Audacity.

Otherwise, fantastic experiment. I encourage you to continue in this theme! You're really making me want to commission you for some of these wiiiild samples like at 2:15.

JimmyTheCaterpillar responds:

for the cellphone.... i honestly just set it directly in front of the... sound hole (poets have failed the guitar if that's really the name for it!!!!) and it picks up pretty clean. I neeeeeeeeeeed a tascam though I really wanna start implementing outside environmental noises into my work soo sosososo bad. I have an unfinished pure rhythm track that's been tossed in the back shelves that is the clicking of my electric scooter i have alongside passing cars and rocks and pebbles and stuff. lol i got stumped really quick on that one but i think there is sincerely something there once i figure it out....

i'm really glad you liked 1:21, that's my favorite part of the song too, and I really wanted it to be a little longer too, but that was a mechanical failing of me from the recording, as I was building around the sample and made that I scoured the sample to find ways to keep it pushing but nothing else sounded clean that I felt could continue in the same vein with. i definitely need to be better in my technical play and am slowly working on that as well lol.

as far as using another DAW.......... grahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i just want to do everything in audacity it's so accessible to me bc i've used it since i was 12 years old making whatever the fuck i was making on this site ten years ago lmao!!! i'm making excuses,,,,, i should probably get a new one but for the moment i honestly remain stubborn ':0

I do appreciate the advice on the clipping issue,, that was a big problem with this track, and while i'm satisfied with the level i was able to get it down to, it is something that will plague me until i get it right, so thank you for that as well.

as always -- the biggest appreciationz 2 you!!!!