ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Gazing Ball]

Never heard of this composition software but praise your chord progression and approach to milling those keys through the chords. I would caution to use less reverb but genuinely surprised a mix in audacity sounds this good. If you do this well with it I would recommend trying Reaper, which is much more capable of suiting your needs. Also surprised to hear Wavetable sound this good.

I think the bass could be more centered than it is. It's washing out and causing a low hum wide in each channel. I would also change out your percussion instruments or apply some sort of filtering FX such as sample rate change to soften them to fit the rest of your composition. They feel flat in comparison to the spacious keys, choir, and tubes. Great closing chord, very satisfying.

Ellietonin responds:

Thanks! Aria is a relatively archaic midi editor that I dug up from the reaches of the past. At the time, the closest thing I could find to a tutorial was a video in a language I didn't speak that briefly mentioned it. This being said, it's very intuitive and a great peice of software. I'll probably always use it.

Audacity is actually a lot better than people give it credit for, and that's good, because to be honest, it's the only DAW that doesn't break my brain. I do have a bass-to-center plugin, but I forgor to use it this time.

Percussion is a bit difficult for me because I do everything through either the wavetable or soundfonts, and there isn't much selection on my device as far as that goes. This being said, the wavetable kit is actually pretty good in the right contexts, and I use a lot of sampled breaks which tend to add a lot of flavor as well.

[Superior Magnetic]

Gorgeous vibe at 53 secs, and great solo. I think the clarity of mix could be improved significantly however, less reverb, a centered bass, or double track two basses out to the sides, who cares. This one is already a wild step into the unknown. Great atmospheric work and chords. Sounds very much like FF13-2 to me, which I dearly loved.

Cresince responds:

I'm gonna have to look at those basses, they are centered on panning but i think stacking them gave an off center effect I will have to explore. Thank you for your mixing pointers as always! Now I have an FF OST to check out as well :P

[Une nuit proche des étoiles]

This is not a genre I typically enjoy, however, I praise your tactful mixing and arrangement. The piano sounds lush and atmospheric. Only a bit more sonic blending and contrast between intro and mid sections, and this would shine gloriously.

2:40 strings show as hybrid cinematic it sounds like. I think the choir past that point sticks out a bit as synthy and laying over top the rest of the mix. Needs to be spread a bit more. The rest of your elements sound gorgeous. Only need a bit more balancing, less reverb, and more attention paid there. The final chord choice is a confusing one for me. Could be resolved to major 1 chord with heavy 3rd

BAOWZ-Tobass responds:

Thanks for your comment. The final chord choice is on purpose 😈 I felt like it would have sounded to conventionnal with a major triad, so i changed it. And yea, the choir is kinda mid. First i wanted a solo soprano girl voice. It does exists in vst but it's not free...

[The Octagon - NGUAC 2023]

Fantastic writing for solos and driving rhythms. I find the mix is a bit off balance though. It's pretty high mid heavy to my ears. At points the bass is sucked out from under, perhaps by overcompression. Percussion such as kick and snare are not cutting through properly. Shakers and hats are cutting through overly. It is causing transitions to be not quite as impactful as I'd like. Still a rocking tune!

amishpimp responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Mixing the rhythm section has always been pretty hard for me so I will work on this more in the future!

[Ripples of Time (Reduce)]

Absolutely dope collaborative effort. I think I would like a bit more compression on CD's vocals, as well as on the overall master. @Hania kills the chorus. Could be panned a bit more between vocalists to provide more contrast, or widen the backing vocals.

ChordC responds:

Thanks dude! Also, appreciate the feedback things to improve on. Taking notes for the future!

[Ripples on the Ground (Ripples of Time - Instrumental)]

Excellent work on this. I'm surprised that it hasn't seen more recognition! The only thing it could use is a bit more compression on the master, and a tad less volume on the cymbals. Perhaps .2 more on guitars and some more obvious double tracking. I'm finding the guitar hard to hear in the left channel

ChordC responds:

Thank you for the detailed review! This is exactly what I need. Means a lot for an amateur music composer like me. Keep it up!

[Angels Without Wings]

I love when an old piece gets stuck in your head and won't come out. I find myself stumbling upon old motifs by accident, or interpolating an tune I wrote into a new context without meaning to. The best is having the motivation to go back and touch on a deserving idea, left in the drawer. That's the nature of music, I think, just waiting for the next execution, a breath of life, something natural. That sums up my feelings about this piece, actually.

ChronoNomad responds:

So beautifully stated, ADR3-N. Revisiting those old tracks is kind of like being reunited with an old friend. :D

[Because We Miss You]

What is it with folks dying and nearly dying these days? You're not the first contestant to tell us this week something horrible has happened and a loved one is gone. I'm sorry for your loss.

I'm shocked by the beauty of this piece and can't think of a better way to honor her memory.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you so much for your kind words! I definitely put my heart into this one.

[Tear Through The Sky (NGADM 2023)]

Shocked this doesn't have any reviews, and sorry to hear your uncle is no longer with us. Hang in there. You made no mention of how close you were, but that's neither here nor there. Death is all around us and no matter how much we say it doesn't affect us, it's there.

I think you made the best of bad circumstances with this song. I think the most that could be improved would be to bring the hihats and cymbals down somewhat, bring up kick and snare, and bass as well.

I'm not the biggest fan of the autotune effects on the vocals. Perhaps they could be used more sparingly, or more effects applied so that they sound like a transmission from space/to space.

I think this might have more of a place in Punk due to vocal delivery, but this is irrelevant to the rest of the review.

Solo at the end makes the track pop.

CrossCarrasco responds:

Thanks for the feedback!

And I was very close with my uncle. Thanks for the kind words.

[moonlighting]

Just putting this out there for any to see, but personally, I would be utterly crushed to have lost you, Trois. However selfish it may be for me to say that, it's there, and there are many of us here on NG who feel the same. You are wildly talented and always a pleasure to hear, and I wholly approve of throwing these feelings into song. It feels like the only way to get it out and have it stick.

Beautiful oldschool rock sound to this track. Reminds me of favorites of mine from the 80s in both arrangement and tone. Gorgeous result and very impactful. I would still love to hear a bit more of the backing vocals spread out on big sections (beautiful choruses there) but am loving the raw emotion of the lead. By all means, keep doing what you're doing. You're nailing it down!

Troisnyx responds:

I want to thank you wholeheartedly for the review. I deeply empathise with the words, with the intent, with everything.

I also want you to know that given what this song is, what we toiled through, and what has become of it, it rings hollow in my heart. "Keep doing what you're doing," but no, this round has shown me that this song, and the intentions behind it, and everything else around it, don't matter. I feel I'm getting mixed messages because clearly the results show that I shouldn't keep doing what we're doing. This is where I'm at.