ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[When I Dream of You / あなたの夢を見るとき]

I feel like the writing of this far outshines any technical limitations. My only complaint is I would like less hi-hat presence, less of the fx in the 18 to 24khz as it sounds like my tinnitus (sorry!), and more present kick and snare/clap, with some FX on that clap!

Some things I would like to note, the song is quite long, and the instruments fairly dry. I think that is detracting from the vibe fore me personally, but if that's what you were going for, that's okay!

I think your structure is good, and your writing is imaginative.

Keep doing what you do! Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

V1ZION responds:

Thank you so muchhhh!! ^w^

[Doll Bals]

I want a bit less reverb on your piano in the intro, but it's sounding pretty right with those pizzicatos.

Writing wise, this is pretty standard, in a good way! There is nothing that particularly sticks out to me beyond I think you could adjust the midi timing and velocity of that flute line so it isn't so... fweh fweh with a slight delay on each attack relative to the tight pizz's.

Balance wise I think also that the upper pizzicato needs to come down about a half dB for the flute, and the bass approx .2 to .3 dB. The choir could also be stereo widened or doubled and panned a bit more spaciously. Those are really my only gripes.

Is that NST CHOIR also?!?!

Nevermind -- don't let me get distracted. Keep at it you two! Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Vanware responds:

ta bien, aunque decir decibeles con decimales igual es un poco penca de sabiduría

Pd: no es ese choir

[HTUOY]

Wild little chords there in your intro. Quite interesting. Definitely smooth olskool vibes here.

I think I would like slightly less volume on the sax and jingle shakers. Maybe .5 dB

The chop and screw before 1 min is niiiice.

Whatever atmospheric sample that is there as well I would love to be stereo widened or ping-pong delayed to give this some extra space. A lot of things sound quite centered.

Now, you have done a great job arranging all of this. The piece flows naturally and beautifully. The only issues are a few mix hiccups here and there, a pretty flat stereo field, and it doesn't seem to have been given mastering compression or loudness normalization. That can really affect listening experience if I were to say playlist this and listen in the car.

Otherwise, a real treat! Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

Viraxor responds:

Thank you for the lengthy review! The stereo field was flat because I had mono speakers at the time. I am going to experiment with that in the future, now that I have stereo ones. There's no compression, normalization is applied. I want to keep the mp3 file as close as possible to the original module source.

[Ritualistic Alchemy]

Nice droning intro -- few things I notice up to 30 sec, the reverb could be taken down a notch. Rain could probably be stereo widened to take up the same amount of space. By 52 we have epic percussion, but I can't make out your samples.

At 1 min, your production comfort zone is shining. Very nice liquidy and industrial vibes here. I love what you've done with clipping. Sidechain at 1:33 is pretty clean. I think the FL slayer type synth there could be swapped out for a grittier, more vibratoed similar sound of your chosing.

Transitions here are jarring AND smooth at the same time with the variation of genres. 2:31 should be a genre of its own. Very artful blend of those female leads with the drop.

At 3 min or so I again would like a bit more clarity and less wet UNTIL 3:20, for more contrast. Panning of the orchestral elements could be expanded upon for even more variety.

Overall, I very much love this piece. NUT.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

ESHRR responds:

Thank you very much for the in-depth review! I’ll take the criticisms into account for my future work. What you said about my transitions is funny, because other people have said similar things. The “jarring yet smooth” thing has sorta become a thing with my songs. It’s not intentional, but it’s fun when it works out!

[WAR OF ART]

Ooooooh breaks. My favorite. We're sounding just a bit tinny on those above your bass. I find myself wanting a bit less of the crash and hihat range and more kick/snare. Those are pretty mid range heavy.

The bass is pretty well written but I think side chaining those chords throughout would help give some vibrancy to the piece. Your use of samples is atmospheric and spunky.

The chords throughout could also change in volume and timbre -- oh, you read my mind at 1:54. Keeping them the same volume and dry is taking away from your excellent break chopping.

I would like if the bass had that same deep sub range but also were as gritty and biting as the breaks. It also seems to be very wide in the stereo field. What you can do is have a centered sub bass and a doubled bass on top for texture and easier translation to lower quality speakers (I am using my professional monitor headphones but it would not work well for cellphone speakers for instance)

One thing that sticks with me throughout is that the chord progression is mostly whole notes. This could work if you had more FX to add color to those synths, but as they are so present in the mix, right down the middle it feels like, it makes it hard not to focus on them -- thematically speaking the least interesting part of the song, and I don't think that's what you wanted to present.

Still I think you did a great job keeping breaks very interesting, and that moving bassline kept things interesting. Can't wait to see what you come up with next :)

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Winkwing responds:

I just picked whatever from my library at the time, since I've got a lot of stuff that's unfinished or just never uploaded due to laziness, lmao.

Glad you enjoyed it.
Also, I signed up to NGUAC with Early Bird?

[Shine Bright]

Great selection of chords and perfect emulation of disco feel. I think I would like a bit less presence on the backing chords and a bit more to your lead. Muted guitar is also just a tad loud.

Other than that, great arrangement and smooth transitions all around. I think I'd like a poppier snare with a bit less reverb.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

edit: yes, on my part lol. Sorry I'm retarded. I'm judging for both and get acronyms mixed up lol. I think there is still time for NGUAC cough

xanxoepico responds:

Oh yeah I rushed the mixing a bit, the pad in particular I struggled to compress well enough lol.

Thanks for the review, though I remember submitting this on the NGADM post, not the NGUAC, are they interlinked or was there a confusion?

[sinky]

I think I would like more presence on the drums in your intro. Otherwise, I have no real words of critique. I appreciate the jungle elements going on and the attention to detail with samples. Although, I am really getting a hankering for dialup tones after listening to this.

I think a fadeout for an outro would be more appropriate for this track than an abrupt stop.

I'm unsure if I would like more bass or not throughout. Probably the wildest track I've heard all week.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thank you! <3

[Utopia]

Gorgeous intro arp -- I think it would benefit from less low end on your reverb, if you can cut around 300 hz on that wet and below.

Your lead intro at 30 seconds is tastefully done

Sidechain at 40 seconds is also quite tasteful. I'm appreciating your panning work as well.

Overall, I don't think I have much in the way of critique. The mix sounds fantastic, and the piece glides smoothly from start to... 1:30

Chords tremeloing at 1:50 are absolute saaaaauce. Crashes nicely placed at 2:00. Chord progression is complex but not overly so, and very reminiscent of RNB.

Only detractor is there is not a smooth finish. I'm unsure if you meant this to loop or not. A fade out or a final chord would do more justice.

Excellent work. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Xyrul23 responds:

TYSM for the feedback!

[Far From Home]

Nicely done! Absolutely feels like an anime opening, lyrical composition and all.

I would appreciate pushing the vocals up by about 1 to 2 dB. The drums are nicely present, but they and the vocal should be about equally in your face, otherwise, it is difficult to separate the well thought and performed vocal lines from the "lead snare"

Fantastic work, however. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC! I can't wait to hear what you do next!

Zip-Zap-Official responds:

Thank you so much! Funny that you mention anime, because we have been working on a Japanese version :)

[Zoftle x Tokzick - Hellfire]

Getting some mad hype with that intro. Feeling very olskool trap there, lots of bass to go around.

Around 1 minute, that vocal sample could use a bit more push to the front, perhaps a bit less overall compression on the song itself, or back down some reverb in the 250 hz range.

In terms of arrangement, this is top tier ear destruction. Kudos to varied drops, tactful buildups, and thoughtful melody/counter melody. My complaints are very few barring aforementioned slight overcompression and a little mud from wet channels.

I think the snare around 3 min could be pushed a bit harder with clipping and widening, and very slight ducking of the bass volume down by .2 dB max. That is such nice formant manipulation. Well done.

Brass around 4 min could use stereo doubling with a different synth, slightly louder, and I was yearning for just one more drop.

Fantastic work overall. I look forward to hearing more from you!

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

edit: oops, wrong acronym, NGADM. LOL, but you should totally hit up NGUAC too if you haven't already!

Zoftle responds:

Thank you so much for the amazing feedback!!! This is the first time i've ever entered into a NGUAC and I'm so excited!