ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[FACUNDO GARDIOL - Summer Fan ( Glitch Hop )]

I don't have a lot of critique to give for this track. Overall, the drops stay fresh throughout, the switchups are entertaining, and beyond a bit of overcompression and extra volume on the sub, it just works!

SPIRALi responds:

Thanks!! :D

[Obsidian Knight]

You were right, this is a sub bumper! I think you have the idea down for bass music, just need to get that bottom end sub under control, and get some mixing study under your belt. I think that is holding me back from fully enjoying this piece.

The melody is not bad by any means, and neither is the accompaniment, but it seems most of the attention was given to the bassline in terms of mixing and FX. The melodies are a bit dry and stay where they are in the left and right channels respectively. At 2:30 they open up a bit more, but the bass fades out of the picture. A bit more balance between these two moments I think would help a lot.

But no matter what happens, don't give up. Great work getting this far!

SednovaNova responds:

Appreciate it. I will take this into account.

[The Depths]

I think the mix on this leaves a lot to be desired. The choice to add a snare in the intro, 19, without leading into a drop following, and it feels like the snare is hiding. The high frequencies stick out most on it, also drawing the listener's ear to this repetitive snare line. I may have tried hats instead

at 1:06 I was also expecting a drop, not a pre-drop, another interesting choice

Now the drop at 1:24 legitimately has GREAT things going for it, such as the chords are so tasty, the lead works. I think some study of contemporary mix in your genre of choice will bring you up to pro level, as your sound design and composition are ALMOST there, and the mixing and sound design are 90% of the battle.

Great work getting to the final round. I'm proud of you, and you say this is your best work, but with ideas like these, I think the best is yet to come

Rici-Ellipsis responds:

Thank you!! I agree. I do struggle with the technical side of music production and I think my strong suit is the composition itself.

[DEMONIC SAVIOUR]

Wonderful work with composition, arps, and chord progression

Mix could use help! The hihats are up so, so high!

Lead also could use to be double tracked and have more wet applied to it. It would sound better panned as 2 slightly different performances, panned 5 to 15 percent left and right respectively

The rhythm guitar also should be two different instances, panned 100 percent left and right.

And note I have not much to say about your writing at all, as there is quite literally nothing wrong with it. It's nice and spirited. Great, great, great!

recme responds:

i was hoping for mixing comments, as thats my weakest suit. ill experiment more with panning. though i do not understand the rhythm guitar comment. wouldnt that make it mono? im guessing you mean pan some notes 100 left and right.

a different sample shouldve been used for the hihats, yea. now i notice it. shouldve done a deeper sound :P

thank you for the help!!!!

[A Fighter's Song]

You are coming out with damn near a whole album this competition. Great job, and great spacious chords. I think your mixing is sounding a bit better each time.

For this track, your vocal performace is great. I think the backing vocals could be compressed harder and brought a bit more to the front

best mix, 1:39

The bass drum is not sticking out heavily as on other more mid and top heavy sections. I think it could be brought down just a bit still

Vocal FX are also sounding better.

Great atmospheric lyrics.

Mischa-head responds:

Thank you! I've found the deadlines really motivating to get things written, and all the feedback has been really helpful. Really glad I entered the two audio contests.

[Run Away]

WILD dance track. Sounds like a DJ set all its own, which is an accomplishment for an original! Lovely blend of various styles of dance music. It works fantastically.

Could have a bit more clarity, but when you have a time constraint such as this, that's understandable. Great show of skill!

KayozKun responds:

Thank you so much for the feedback!

[Listen]

All I have to say is your percussion is a feast for the ears. I think the shakers could stand to come down some more due to their repetitive nature, but this is a groove. Nice!

Kassich responds:

Thank you for the review and for all your work in judging! I'm sure your ears are tired! Also, I agree on the shakers level now listening to it again.

[Drawing the Curtain (NGUAC FINAL ENTRY)]

Such a beautiful piece, and very tastefully written. I don't have much more critique beyond that there are a few swells in which the mix gets top heavy, and the piece as a whole could be just a tad louder for ease of the listener. Beyond that, wonderful

GlowBoyMusic responds:

Thank you so very much. I do appreciate your feedback. I will take your advice into consideration, too!

I loved being a part of this amazing competition. Full of incredibly talented and amazing people. And I am proud of so many of them.

— Glow

[Geekum - Too Long]

Really interesting piece. Does sound very KH like. I think it's in the wrong genre though -- hip-hop would be a better fit.

Your 808 is distorting it sounds like at the mixer level, not prior to it. This is presenting an odd effect where it almost blows out the rest of the mix. I think if you were to mix quieter, then apply compression, some of the inconsistency in leveling would sort itself.

I think you could do a bit more subtle treatment on the panning of your hihats, or add space to them like the rest of the track by applying a very small pingpong delay. I also like to treat them with action tremolo.

Snare also is hiding in the mix relative to 808 and hats.

Recommend removing a lot of the reverb wash off of your synthesizers. They also contribute to a muddy sound. You can dial up the low cut to help with that.

geekum responds:

thanks for the feedback! im fairly new to mixing and have mainly focused on composing since the start of my career and I appreciate the tips :)