ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[D.E.A.F]

I'm going to 5 this for the sheer coolness of you being partially deaf. I would love to hear your story and how you produce music differently as a result of your hearing

music69012 responds:

Of course! I would love to answer your questions at any time. How shall we start.

[Scourge of the Seven Seas]

Oh how far you have come. My critiques would sit on mix, particularly those stubborn trumpets and some verbs, but I think you know what to do with those. Great work!

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks! I originally had done like 60% of the work on the mix before uploading this originally, but I never got around to finishing/cleaning it up before moving onto other projects (story of my life haha).

[Clashing Palletes]

I don't have a lot of time to write a good review for this, but I'm going to rate higher than my NGADM judge score because I don't want to hurt your score on NG in the hopes you get exposure. <3

Writing wise this is a good piece, with blazing solos. However mix is hurting pretty badly. There is a lot of reverb masking the clarity of your mix, I can't really hear your kick and snare on big sections (yes I know this is characteristic of chip most times), and the balance between elements is pretty off across the board. If you have time, look up mixing tutorials for chip style and try to implement those in your work, as that would be a massive improvement.

I can tell you put a lot of hard work in this piece. Please keep sharing with your friends, family, and of course here on NG. The only way to get better is hope they tell you what they like and don't like. No matter what, never let the fear of not being good enough stop you. It's through conquering that fear, you will become great!

Much love. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

ButterBees responds:

Thank you so SO very much for this feedback! I must agree that mixing has been a bit of an issue when making songs on the platform I use, but whenever I find the time to find those tutorials you've mentioned, I'll be sure to add what I've learned to the mix.

I greatly appreciate the support and I hope to improve a lot more in the future! Thanks again!

[RobTop - Random Song 06 (SoTshu Remix)]

06 sec and YES. the 808 comes correct.

However I'm not sure how to feel about your snare. I think I would clip it harder. Perhaps save your kick sample for the drop at 41 sec, and use another until then. It's a bit long for the previous section.

For your second drop, those sidechained synths on the sides, I want more of the 500 to 2400 hz range to be heard on those.

I want just a bit more volume of your sub before 1 minute

Also, by the end of the song I finally realize what you remixed. Excellent job there. Love it.

Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

SoTshu responds:

Hey there!
Thank you very much for the feedback!
I noticed the sub problem way earlier but the song was already uploaded so i left it as it is.
Same goes for the synths on the second drop.
Again thank you for checking out my song!
Much love!

[Bathing while Boiling in Blood]

Solid structure, calm atmosphere. This is pretty olskool. Would blow down the house in the days of the Doors.

That drum loop is so familiar. I can't remember where I've first heard it.

I would say the area this song struggles is in lead writing, as well as from the first time the ... bandneon or whichever instrument for your solo is used comes in, it is virtually present through the rest of the song. I think a small flourish or two at the end of your solos' melodic lines would help push things along and really solidify repetitions.

Some experimentation with FX, transition sweeps, cymbal lines and hats and such would do well to keep things interesting. I found the lead on occasion to be a bit dry for the rest of the song but overall I think it fits. Something may be missing here, either in mixing or panning, I'm not sure.

The overall volume is quiet. Applying mastering compression or at the least gain in audacity would help quite a bit (do not allow clipping)

Otherwise, kudos for going out on a limb with this one. Keep doing what you do, and don't let anyone stop you. If you're interested in free instruments and FX, you can dig through my news posts. I post them when I get the chance.

Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

ScottJacob responds:

Thank you for taking the time to give feedback! I will keep these tips in mind with my music in the future

[Mijn en ambacht]

Writing 10/10, particularly drum writing and the section of 47 sec.

Mix and quality of virtual instruments could use revisiting. For instance hihats and rides could come down by 2 dB or so and still be perfectly well audible. Variety of crash cymbals could also use fluffing up.

If you are short on drum kits, I recommend checking out Salamander Drum Kit, MT Power Drum Kit, or for a heavier set of kicks, snares, and toms, Saudade Drums Remastered (an old kit that I cleaned in post after realizing all original sources were dead and the makers gone from the face of the internet! dw, it was free)

Options for crashes include Cymballistic, X-Crash, and I believe there is even a free set of orchestral cymbals floating around the internet.

For virtually any orchestral instrument you'd want, there is spitfire LABS, but I personally think you could get by with 80s synths and this would sound even more atmospheric.

Your synth guitar could use double tracking. You may be interested in Junk Guitar (free for sforzando vst), Ample Sounds' free taylor guitar and Bass instruments (and I think there's an electric too), and of course the host of free guitar amps and cabs you can find on the internet (though I recommend emissary amp and NadIR cab). There is a learning curve to these but I believe they will be of use to you.

MIX
The bass is hardly audible in your intro, and only is audible at 43 sec because it is doubled by a synth -- that synth could also use to be doubled, chorused, or panned around. The synths at 1:09 on lead are pretty loud relative to the rest of the piece.

Xylo solo after that is appropriate volume.

Strings at 1:38 are hiding in the mix and are bathed in reverb on the low end. I recommend hipassing/low cutting/eqing out reverb wet at 250 hz. Reverb wash is noticable at 2:29

MASTER
If you notice, your track is very quiet. You can use audacity to increase gain (do not allow clipping) to max value, if you want a quick fix. Alternatively, sausage fattener (your mileage may vary on how this will affect final mix -- I hope it is clean of any stray reverb or resonances). The proper way of loudenizing this would be to apply mastering compression. If you're strapped for time, you can try a free online mastering service. Otherwise, learning how to do it yourself is an invaluable skill!

Other than that, very nice writing, and I enjoyed the piece despite its limitations. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

SirSandman0 responds:

Thanks for the feedback! I'm not sure why this piece ended up so quiet. The actual audio file is much louder than it is on here. I'll try and find a way to fix that. I also appreciate your critiques on the mixing and I'll try and fix those issues.

Fun fact: The drum section you mentioned at 0:47 was actually ripped from a different track I made. I got lazy

[Seeking Light In The Darkness]

Nice detuned piano here. Or is that just tuning? I'm retarded in terms of that side of music theory at this point.

at 49 I can't quite hear what's going on in that bass and so it's a bit distracting as occasionally I hear rumble and other times I don't.

Castanets (is that what they are) could come down, as could your tubular bells, vinyl noise, and other accents. The main melody or counter melody is in your piano and drives the piece. It's a bit covered up with those accents. For the castanet specifically, or whatever instrument that is, an option with more varied velocities and attacks would be your best option.

Otherwise, fantastic piece. Wish there was a bit less abrupt ending.

Great work. Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

SomeGuyMusic responds:

Thank you!

[FACUNDO GARDIOL - Airborne ( Future Bounce )]

Drop at 1:56 is where I feel this piece really shines. Feels much more opened up and less centered. Beyond that I don't have too much critique. Kick could potentially come down just a little, .1 to .3 dB, and snare could come up around the same amount.

The vocal sits in a good spot in terms of volume but I would like more subtle volume on the lower octave double. Your samples also could be louder. Perhaps more compression or even clipping on the vocal would help it sit better in the mix, and some stereo widening/delays. I can hear some subtle FX. Actually, I think I'd like to hear that vocal pushed a dB or two harder and see the difference. It gets buried a bit. Maybe up the high shelf on an EQ and see if it sounds crispier?

I also have NO IDEA what the vocals mean, but they rhyme. I'm guessing we're going skydiving? Haha. Cheers.

Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

SPIRALi responds:

Thanks! I love your constructive criticism! really thank you!

also, im in?

[Before You Go]

Fantastic performances, mix, and writing. All I could ask is that vocals come up in the mix by a dB or perhaps a bit more, give a bit more space to them, perhaps a chorus or widener -- and take rhythm guitars down a tad. As it stands the rhythm guitar is more present than the most interesting part of the mix, your lyrics! Snare might also come up a tad for clarity.

Although I wonder if all that may happen just by bringing the guitars down a bit and then compressing. Worth experimenting with.

Well deserved front page. Thanks for coming out to the NGADM!

SpoonMix responds:

Thank you! I really appreciate your constructive criticism <3.

Yes, I get that a lot, people want my vocals louder in the mix.

My music "pegs" usually has guitars up front and the vocals just loud enough to be understood, also, I'm very self-conscious of my lyrics; I know there's a lot to improve :)

[INTERFERENCE 5]

Simple and effective. Crazy arpeggios, and those characteristic transitions. Takes me back.

I would recommend taking some reverb off of your strings, shorter release time, and timing the attacks a little early for each note as when you play multiple notes in a series they get so muddy!

The quack in your guitar at 1:52 could come down some, and for all future quacks. Otherwise, well written! Nice work.

The transition at 2:33 was unexpected and is like two songs in one. Yay!

This makes me want to go nuts and produce crazy old techno shit myself xD

What was I going on about, oh, the clarity of the mix is a big issue, as I would like more umph out of your kick, more space on your strings -- two separate instruments panned somewhat left and right respectively should help. That talking synth in the background is sounding great but could come down a bit in volume for your outro.

Nice outro keychange. Fits well.

Your arps are nice and nutty throughout. Overall, fantastic. Really enjoyed it!

Thanks for coming out to NGADM!

StormLight93 responds:

thanks for the feedback, mastering tips are really appreciated. I will keep them in mind for future projects ;D