ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Long End Stutter / guitar knots piece 3]

I can hear the disquiet growing as we move further and further into this piece. At 1:01, that is some very creative sampling. I appreciate that by and large the volume is pretty level throughout. Very much reminds me of avantgarde, atonal, cinematic creep music.

Also, due to the stuttering nature, it loops rather properly here on Newgrounds.

Whatever the textures are between 0:09 and 11, including that near piano sound, I particularly like that. The mix is also very much improved since last I heard from you, with the recording fizz minimal. I still think there could be a bit more done to subtract it, as on quieter sections it is audible, but for this particular piece, it works.

Something I think that could be improved upon, a better stereo separation of guitar parts playing at the same time, perhaps oscillating panning for extra psychedelic effect, adding some reverb here and there for atmosphere, and applying modulated FX for progression.

What you do very well, distorting, stuttering, and glitching your instrument to sound utterly new and different. I really think you would be well served to grab a daw such as Reaper to import samples into and further mangle them there, now that audacity has a tempo/bar feature. It would work well in your favor. Especially at the sample around 54 seconds in, this could be turned into an all encompassing atmosphere with simple pingpong delay and some plate reverb.

The longer I listen, the more I grow to love this piece. So outside of my typical listening sphere, so foreign, but also organic and familiar. Thank you as always for sending me something to chew on!

JimmyTheCaterpillar responds:

the piano sound was just part of the guitar sample pitched and sped up, but to differing degrees :) thank you for mentioning it! it was one of the first little bits of the sample that i built from, when i was more poking and prodding at it before any sense of composition came into play. i almost nixed it out but thought it was fun and a good odd thing to hear early on in the track.

i agree with the more defined guitar separation, it can get a little muddled at times, huh. plate reverb and pingpong delay are awesome names i'll have to look into those

thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! above all else, i'm so grateful that you're willing to go this far in-depth on the work, and i'm even more grateful that you like it haha

[Parasite Butterfly]

This review is an excerpt from your request <3 To other readers, after I wrote this, and the section I'm talking about, any choir/metal noises I mentioned, are in fact the aleatorics mentioned by LD-W in this description, from Red Room Palette FX and 8DIO CAGE. The former is his preference and may go on sale around 99 bucks

The timpani mentioned is also WETTER than this out of the box and requires quite a bit of work to get sounding this good.

continuing to review

-------
Immediately, we are struck with chaotic strings in your intro, grandiose horror, lots of dissonance, tasteful writing.

I have some minor complaints for mix, namely very pronounced high mids on the upper string parts, what sounds like hard compression on the track bringing up reverb wash, and the attacks of brass occasionally falling behind that of sustained strings, more obvious with percussion. It is more obvious at higher volumes.

I would also like if string runs around 3:28 were drier and more distinct in the sonic space, perhaps doubled or tripled with separate panning. Against the orchestral percussion and the lead line in your face, they are a bit thin.

I think there is a bit much reverb on the percussion; it sounds as if the gongs, timpani, and perhaps 1000 dB bass drum and crash are all behind the cello, viola, violin, etc. The strings in contrast do not have nearly this much reverb and are for the most part all up front.

The panning on your percussion is well executed and does not go unnoticed, particularly in your treatment of timpani. I cannot hear if there is double bass also, due to reverb and what sounds like an emphasis on frequencies below 200 hz. I do hear a bit of low rumble around sub frequencies as well. I think on smaller sections, these could be looked at to ensure they are in the key you want, dynamically compressed, and so on. The notes of timpani I can make out clashing around 1:00 between notes, and perhaps note cutoffs could be tapered for cleanliness.

2:59, the bone stabs here are a bit lost, which brings me to problem throughout; accents from the rest of the orchestra and particularly woodwinds/violin chaos are lost in the cacophony and reverb wash, under the brass and strings. This follows throughout the track and lessens the impact of otherwise very well written and executed parts, especially percussion!

I think a more prominent low brass line, tuba and bass trombone for stabs and points of emphasis would help pull this mix more into balance, make clear where the overarching horror of this piece is for the listener, particularly the final sections after 3 min. As is, I cannot hear if the timpani is performing this function throughout.

I am unable to make out whether certain vocal-like swashes throughout are choir syllables, or metal FX noises. I think they are in fact choir stabs around 2:19 – particularly enjoy their tonality, wish they were louder and stood out from the rest of the track a bit more in terms of being the only elements in that instance to have so much verb. Following orchestral slides similarly have great tonality, only in need of more clarity.

Writing wise I am impressed with the amount and scale of composition. It sounds utterly massive, organized chaos. I would keep watch in particular on brasses with soft intonations and long swells so that they do not sound entirely uniform and synth like.

I can hear what sounds like a bit of over-chorus or widening on the bones and horns. You may have better luck with spreading out two instances of your patch and round-robin functioning them – kontakt allows me to do this by transposing up 2 keys on the midi triggers and pitching down an instance in kontakt itself by 2 correspondingly. Other orchestral instruments may have round-robin transposing features baked in.

Aside from that, this track has kept me very, very well entertained through several listens now, always picking out something new to listen for. I think really all of my points of contention amount to minor EQ, gentle leveling, and reverb trimming, which is saying something for a dense composition of such breadth and scale. The variety of instrumentation you have put together for such a short amount of runtime is a testament in itself.

You have also managed to craft a recognizable theme amid a dissonant hellscape of horror filscore, competing with some of my favorites if not surpassing them outright. As I listen through another round, I’ve turned the volume down. Immediately, all the issues from before disappear almost completely. This tells me one thing, throw in just a bit more dynamic contrast, and this track will absolutely slam the majority of scores I can imagine and nail them to the wall. Fantastic work!

LD-W responds:

Thanks for doing the review for me, massive appreciated! I'll continue our DM chain abit later on this weekend

EDIT: Did some changes September 2024. From peer-reviews across multiple individuals, I've elected to just focus on getting the spot-mic's in for the Timpani in as highest priority, alongside fixing some slight 'off' timings with Brass Legato late-on and also boosting the string ensemble's sustains. Compositional changes are basically untouched as I don't personally feel like I need to change the Brass Mutes (albeit, it's been made slightly quieter). Reverb levels have been adjusted up and down in certain areas for better consistency, but still pretty present as a necessity for blending different vendors products together.

[The Tapes]

Aside from being a bit quiet, this is a great story, great job on the voice acting on part of thecakewasalie, and a good mix on the BGM against the rest of the SFX and vocals up front. Great writing, really sounds like sitting down and having a story told to you, props to both writing and delivery.

All in all, perfect for spooktober. Minor criticism, plosives on P could be edited out or otherwise prevented with a good pop filter. But beyond that, it sounds really personal, which is great!

Lizguy74 responds:

Thanks, I’m glad you like it! Thanks for the fallow too!

[0i00 - Ignition]

Фонк и DnB? Впечатляет. Пришла дать пятерки.

zeroizerozero responds:

спасибо))

[0i00 - Undead Mountain]

Слов у меня мало -- плохой день для писания, но хотела сказать что трек мне очень понравился. Я смотрела на вейвформ и сначала беспокоилась о том, как он будет звучить из за сжатие, но получилось у тебя вполне здорово. Чип элементы хорошо сходились с высоким уровнем сжатия, и микс чистый!

zeroizerozero responds:

Что-то случилось? Спасибо что всё-таки написала.
Очень приятно слышать. Я сам начал волноваться что сделал чтото не так когда увидел огромную рыжую кляксу вместо вейвформа. Рад слышать что таки всё в порядке.

[Inktober #29 - Halloween In Sweden]

Dropping fire as usual! Have you thought of releasing these to spotify? Distrokid is cheap and your output is prolific

Cyberdevil responds:

Much obliged ADR3-N! :) Was thinking of that very thing very recently actually - though aiming to have all this material a bit better mixed and mastered before I do. I doubt it'd be profitable at this point but it definitely would be cool!

[My Infinity]

The articulations on that ... ocarina... tin whistle??? are wonderfully varied and gorgeous. Same with the... pan flute?? Very natural.

Piece flows well into 55 sec and transitions are well done. I think the strings at 1:13 could have come in a bit softer, and the cello been just a bit more loose and languid. At times it feels a bit locked in. By 1:43 this isn't much of an issue. I would like to hear a bit more of the duet there. The piano by then is a bit loud. Same with the viola at 2:17.

Loving the complexity of the arrangement and chord progression. A lot of time spent outside of this genre has left me grasping for words on the finer technical details of this. Luckily for me, you don't actually need my commentary in that area to improve any. It is already a flawless piece to that degree. But for a few minor areas when we have moving parts at the bottom of the piano competing for space with a low cello line, it is clean, moving, and dynamic. Your transitions such as after 4 min are quite satisfying. I was expecting a terminus prior to 4:40, but I'm not upset you wrote what sounds like 2 outros there.

Without exception, great work! May be the finest composition I've heard all year, and perhaps longer, and I say that as someone who often hears people overcomplicate their work to the point of detriment. This piece is not in that category. It works BECAUSE it is complex. Great modulations, and great control of articulations for effect. Fantastic.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad you appreciate the articulations I picked for the woodwinds! One of them is indeed a tin whistle. The rest are an assortment of different ethnic flutes :3

You know, originally I wanted to perform them myself, since Jordi has a cool collection of whistles. I even manage to arrange it all for them with articulations and all. But it just would've been too difficult for me to learn to play well, on such short notice. I was contemplating asking Jordi, but in the spirit of the competition, I wanted to do every single thing myself this year. (In past years, instrumental performances have been allowed, if the direction is very explicit. However, I think there was some type of misunderstanding last year, so I've avoided it completely since then).

I agree with your point about the strings at 1:13. The tremolo things were actually the last element added to the piece, and I was running low on time. I like this composition well enough that I might go back and just fix those last little details up. I've said that before though, but only done it a handful of times, so we'll see xD

I couldn't help doing the "fake-outro" in this one. It practically wrote itself, on the piano. I've learned not to shy away from stuff like that if it screams out at me like that. Sometimes it's nice to just go all the way, and do it!

Wow, thank you so much for the praise, it means a lot to me <3

[Separation (NGADM 23 Semifinals)]

I think the vinyl scratches in the beginning are a bit too loud, but beautiful playing, chords, and blending when those strings come in. Gorgeous texture by 46 seconds.

I think the mix on that lead cello could be just a little less sibilant and low mid heavy.

1:19 was an unexpected change-up. I have no comments here beyond perhaps to reduce the cymbal volume just slightly, as little as .1 to .2 db, and give a bit more high mid to that bass, more presence and center it below 230 hz.

Your chord progression is great for easy listening

I'm hearing a fizz in my right ear through 2:48 that is pretty high up in the mix. At first I was unsure if it was my tinnitus (it is about this loud when nothing is going on) so I might lower that a bit. Speaking of, music is the only thing that allows me to forget I do have tinnitus. Glad to be here listening to you :)

Though the piece is 4 minutes long, I felt like I wanted more out of it, more development, more directions. I think you might have been able to pull of a key change for a final chorus, but otherwise, flawless work. I hate to be forced to choose between such wildly different, beautiful pieces!

papkee responds:

The fizz you hear was my attempt to bring back in the noisy radio traffic from the intro & midsection, but it got kinda drowned out in the mix and ended up sounding like, well, just noise. Whoops.

Thanks for the kind words otherwise! More electronic stuff like this isn't exactly my specialty so it's always fun to branch out even if it doesn't turn out amazing.

[Pixel Storm]

None of your ideas are bad, but I think the quality of synths is doing your arrangement a disservice.

Let me pause to explain what I mean as I realize that's vague. I think you need more instruments and contrast of instruments. Something besides the bare leads. Pads, clear bassline, etc. A little study of songwriting and arrangement will do you a lot of good in this area. And don't feel like you absolutely must create every single sound you use, down to the waveform. Some samples are perfectly okay as long as they are royalty free.

I run into the same issue you have in this track a lot, in that the rest of the instrumentation is pretty bare, so I completely rely on the lead to carry the track the whole way through. It gets so complex, so busy, that even my best lead lines go unnoticed.

Also never underestimate the power of offbeats and weak beats. Not every melody must start on a downbeat

Back to arrangement

It's quite busy and there seems to be an ambivalence in terms of structure. I would like to see more of this kind of ambition, especially the final big section, with just a little more structural finesse! You're getting there!

Sneep-Sn00p responds:

wow, Thats one long take on this. I'll consider it, Thank you for your feedback!

[castle deep south of nowhere]

This is a pretty sweet piece for beep box! It sounds like with your experimental works, you are taking it to the limit with pitch bends.

I can hear a little of what you mentioned to me in struggling to structure your piece. However, you deliver a pretty consistent melodic theme and a clear outro.

It sounds like what is the problem is not knowing where to stop stacking when it comes to complex rhythmic and melodic elements. For 1:20 seconds, you have a full minute of that with most or all of the instruments playing at the same time, and various quick pitch drifts occurring, taking up a lot of the attention of the listener. I am not immune to this myself, so I will listen through several times and explain what I mean.

In your intro, complexity develops quickly, with moving melody, bass bopping around quite a lot, and what sounds in between mallets and organs also entering and exiting.

The lead has several nice licks, but it can sound a bit disconnected perhaps due to a bit of muddiness in the chords below. If I am not paying direct attention to it, it sounds nice, but when I am paying direct attention, the mallets in particular are distracting from it by hanging out on a minor third and being quite busy.

You may have better luck by starting with fewer instruments at first, a bass, a lead, and a pad, and then further adding occasional accents.

Further, a study of song structure may help you organize these musical ideas and develop them into satisfying phrases – I actually think everything I heard would be catchier if parsed out like so: intro with mallets > verse with developing perc sounding instrument and mallet > chorus with your lead > verse with mallets and perc > chorus > bridge building into another > chorus > chorus into outro.

You have done some very nice transitions with your pitch bends and made with beep box what many don’t take the time to, so pride yourself on that!

Regarding your arrangement of chords, there is a phenomenon that happens with triads as you go down the keyboard – the lower a chord is, the more chunky and dissonant it starts to sound. Try to keep the low mid and low range of your tunes as clean and uncluttered as you can.

I’ll explain further. Notice the lead up top sounds very sonorant and clear, but if you were to drop that down an octave, it might lose that clarity. I think this is happening with the minor 1 and 3 in the bass in your outro, as well as with the mallet hanging out on the 3rd of the minor i chord a lot. If any of this is unclear, I’m more than willing to go deeper, but for learning applications, I recommend a channel called Signals Music Studio for songwriting in particular; Adam Neely is a step up from that into finer concepts of music composition, but both are great places to explore this terminology. And if you are an absolute nut who wants to make everything weird, Ben Levin is another great stop on your research journey.

For this piece as is, I can see it as a menu theme for a Genesis-like game or something similar, something involving building alien worlds or exploring new planets/prospecting. Perhaps even something like Minecraft. There is no kick/snare/hat, so it lends itself best to waiting, pondering, observing. Very chill stuff.

JimmyTheCaterpillar responds:

I really appreciate all of your words -- it's crazy! I'm not even sure where to begin with a response,, but the song structure bit has sincerely got me thinking critically about much of the music I hear lately. I listen very analytically to poetry, and i'm starting to do it with music too more consciously;; it's kind of exhausting lol but i'm trying! thank you so much!!