ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[H4D_2_G0 (NGRMC Remix)]

Sounds kind of like an RnB instrumental to me, minus the glitches, which are occasionally too frequent for my tastes. Initially I didn't like the super slowed down tempo with the obvious artefacts, but it slowly grew on me. I would have preferred you recorded this with your own instruments or synthesized it yourself -- sounds much better and more organic.

Also, there is a loooot of low rumble reverb going on, which makes it very hard to hear the tonality of each individual instrument. Other than this, the mix is fairly clear, but the sample itself is up fairly high relative to the other elements, and I can hardly hear the bass. Solution, low-cut your reverb.

1:42 feels almost like a filler, or outro, though 2:02 does sound pretty nice to my ears. Much better than the main section actually. I was somewhat sad not to have heard the theme continued to the end with the re-introduction of the RnB elements.

Also, the track itself looks like it's un-mastered. No compression, etc. Not a huge complaint since I myself am not a fan of the loudness wars, but can't argue compression itself is the magic mix glue.

That said, nice chillout piece. It actually made me sleepy, haha.

Thanks for coming out to NGRMC!

GoodL responds:

Thanks so much! I totally feel where you're coming from on all points. I appreciate it!

[f*ck]

I like the idea here but this sounds pretty unbalanced. Normally the problem with new dubstep makers is the percussion -- not being able to hear it specifically. What this sounds like is the percussion is too loud over the drop, no side-chain, and backing pads too reverbed up.

Turn that reverb send on your pads down, cut the low end on it, and bring them down a little.

Kick and snare are okay until 0:24 where you can see we have some peak distortion. If this is just an idea you're doing some light mixing on, you can clap an emergency limiter on it as a bandaid but I recommend just avoiding it at all costs.

I try to mix everything so that the entire track peaks at no more than -6 dB on the master channel before I even touch it. This approach totally avoids the peaking problem is why, mostly. That and when you do apply compression -- which it sounds like this piece has not had, you also avoid over-compressing, to some degree.

Now to side-chaining, if you haven't had any experience with this, I recommend plugins like fabfilter C2 or sidekick6, but you can do it by hand if absolutely need be. Basically, you have your bass line, and whenever your kick/snare hit, you duck your bass and sometimes other synths so the kick/snare don't have to push THROUGH the low frequency noise to get to your ears. It's so prevalent now that a lot of people use it, even in genres like metal.

I also note the lack of a sub under your wobble synth, and the wobbles themselves aren't compressed. Something to work on.

That said, good dubstep standard composition going on. I'm excited to see you improve in the time to come. :)

TheVillagerPlayer responds:

Thank you very much for your advices :)

Dubstep is a music genre that iI haven't already tried it was my first time.
I made this in one hour because I was bored and I actually wasn't expecting anyone to listen to this. I'm ok on the point that the pads have too much reverb and low end .
I actually have experience with sidechain, I tried to do the compressor method, lfo tool, kickstart and gross beat, I also used automation clips on the volume (not in this) and I didn't think to add it so thank you vor the advice once again. I'm ok with the entire comment, you're right but I had two problems during the making of this music:

- I don't have a good computer and my cpu was dead at like 11 tracks on the playlist

- It was my first time experiencing the serum plugin and I didn't know how to create growls

btw I'm not english so if my response may have grammary problems (I mean It's still a problem) but I don't speak engliah fluently

Thank you very much for giving me good advice :)

[Supercell]

I nearly fainted when I thought I heard copyrighted Pendulum snare samples -- thank God I checked the reviews and it's just a sample pack.

This is crazy in a good way. My only complaint is slight sibilance, what sounds like really, really hard compression, and relatively no sub-bass to give those drums something to lock us into. I had to turn things down a bit to enjoy fully but still can't tell if that phantom pain in my left ear is from listening to this at 50% volume or not. These ATH-M40x's monitor headphones drive ridiculously hard and have a very flat response, no bass boost, so it's possible this may sound better on some commercial gear.

I'm actually listening on 8% volume right now and it's at the sweet spot between crisp and uncomfortably loud with that perc.

Compositionally, a great piece that keeps me guessing. I'm not a huge fan of the piano -- I could have gone for a more muted, foom-y lead with some delay, perhaps even an octave lower with higher octave doubled stab synths in places for effect. It would sound much more pensive and ominous. I do love the creative approach to sound design in general though.

That descending synth at 0:11 was pretty uncomfortably sibilant to me on my first listen. Maybe supplement it with a sine or ramp bass drop.

I think the piano leads may be a bit too loud, and perhaps that's why I'm not perceiving the bass as well. I took time for a second listen -- let's be honest, it still keeps me on my toes even after a third time through; you're very good with this, one reason of many I appreciate your genre switchups. Each time I noticed the piano leads, which don't really have an overarching melody, seemed even louder than the drums and bass combined. There's really nothing in that sonic space to compete with them either, so they seem doubly loud.

Other than that though, fantastic work. Congrats on the fp!

Quarl responds:

Woohoo, adr reviews!

Lol, 8% volume?? I must be deaf. I force myself to lower from max volume because my ears don't work that well and I dont want to make them worse. 8%, you ear saving person you.

It might be time I get some new cans. I've had the same AKGs for a number of years now. Id get some decent monitors but am currently living in an RV. The boyfriend and I will be getting a house soon though and 100 spare monitors will be the first things I buy.

Copy written Pendulum snares? They spam amen breaks, they dont own those fonts XD

[Sea of Love Tears 「恋水の海」]

That opening chord tho. Also, synths sound great there.

I could do without a lot of the reverb here -- cut low end, reduce wet signal, etc.

I'm impressed you managed to emulate the koto relatively convincingly. With a bit more humanization, modulation, and a less rigid gridded attack on each note, you might have me fooled. As is, it sounds like a pretty cool soundfont. You should definitely release a little preset file for us broke kiddos who can't afford giant sample libraries, heheh.

Compositionally, this is beautiful VGM/anime-grade music. Modulations in all the right places. Traditional flourishes. Dynamic contrast. It's great. The only real complaint I have is the slight lack of contrast between sections.

Otherwise, right up my alley, but I can definitely hear the time constraint in this piece. I was hoping for a solid B section in here. Still, gorgeous piece nonetheless.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Tennon responds:

Thanks for the review, will consider those in my VIP track

[Miston Music - Bombs All Over The Place]

Right off the bat, cool acid vibe, but that super loud reverb is doing you no favors. I almost always recommend against reverbing kicks; even when you cut the low end on the wet, damp it good, and lower the wet signal, you always get this low rumbly tin can hangover. It just doesn't sound good.

Super cool that you've gone out of the box and made your own sounds in Harmor rather than relying on samples. I just can't really make out a lot of what's going on with that reverb. If I'm not crazy, either, I hear some distorting in the right channel around 2:12.

Six minutes is also a lot of time to develop a piece. I'm unsure if this is intended to sound like a really long house set in which the DJ deliberately avoids touching anything for most of the goings on, but that's kind of what I'm hearing in between a lot of the same elements being repeated, no real deviation from the same home key, etc.

In short, I'm not really sure what you're trying to do, the super loud kick and reverb is covering up a lot of the good things you are doing, and though I actually like a lot of aspects of your sound design, it takes so long to develop, I can't enjoy it. By 4:33 I'm actually starting to get a bit of a headache from the heavy low mids.

I also feel like the melodic development there could have easily been cropped once you realized its potential, and the track condensed into the standard verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, etc structure.

I wish I had nicer things to say about this piece other than enjoying 4:33 to the outro. This piece did eventually get my toe tapping, but mix issues made it very hard to enjoy properly. Recommend taking a bit of time to study mixing, FX, best practices, etc. for your DAW. You've clearly got an idea of what you're doing -- otherwise, you wouldn't be bold enough to design your own perc -- just need that extra nudge in the right direction. :)

Also, congrats on making it this far in the competition!

Miston responds:

Thanks for the feedback.

[Chain Reactions]

Aaaand now I'll have to start looking into East West Quantum Leap.

The opening sounds like knocking a metal drain pipe with a soft mallet. 0:19 is a fairly strong entry but could probably be louder. Later development tells me yes, volume is what I was missing here.

String arps are machine-gunning a bit on those velocities, attacks, and releases. This occurs throughout. Be sure to humanize your attacks and releases.

0:52 is a strong section. I would bring that perc there down about a dB.

1:04, nice hit there. I would bring your strings in the right channel down 2-3 dB. They're taking away from the strength and dynamics of that hybrid hit.

1:37 is a great modulation, super creepy, but driving right over that cliff -- I wish you had placed a cymbal roll with a longer tail.

Throughout, I really feel like your strings and brasses have been just too loud for the percussion to dynamically sustain. 2:36 sounds really unbalanced with the left channel. I would have placed another synth in the right just to keep things straight.

The overall sense of edge-seat is right there, but it ebbs and flows a bit with the mix itself. Overall, however, I enjoyed the track.

Thanks again for coming out to NGUAC!

lukiaffe responds:

Thank you for the feedback! I had a busy period that made composing under deadline worse, so I understand a lot of the critique. Should’nt be an excuse though and I’ll make sure to learn from it to future compositions! Thank you again!

[illbefine]

Intro synths work well together, especially that perc, although I might have liked a different kick.

Vocals could have used harder compression. You're a little pitchy here and there, and I find the instrumental starts to overwhelm you at point. However, despite the talk-singing, I find this also works reasonably well.

Mix probably could have used compressing to some degree as well, but it does sound like you mixed everything very cleanly, which I appreciate.

Initially I would have been more critical of the lyrical composition, however, your diction and overall writing actually carried them well. Internal rhymes were fairly strong, as were your end rhymes in places.

I actually was not expecting "wanted" to jive so well with "quiet," but "all I wanted was some piece and quiet before I hit the bed" might ring better after "before they even crack" as "before I go BACK to bed."

Overall though, nice structure. Really surprised me with how well this turned out as your first time working with vocals seriously. Great work. Can't wait to see what places it takes you. :)

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

icantpronouncethis responds:

Thank you for the critiques. Compression is a very strange area to understand. I get the gist of it, like how softer sounds get louder, and louder sounds gets softer. But really applying it gets my head spinning. Plus, there so many uses for it; like side-chaining and stuff. Any tips about learning this beast? Is there like a video or articles you recommend to learn about using compression effectively?

One thing I realized about the vocals, is that "bad" singing is so hard to work with.

[To The Clouds]

Sounds like that harp may be mic'ed a bit too close. Also noticing a lot of instruments seem to attack at exactly the same millisecond when multiple notes are played -- humanize those ms.

Dynamics of the piece are already very pleasing by 0:33.

I can't tell if that's a koto or shamisen for not ever having studied the difference much, but particularly nice job with them. They sound very organic.

I could do with a bit less reverb on your bass.

Synth at 0:46 that sounds kind of auto-filtered could also come down a lot. There's nothing in that frequency range, so it ends up sounding hugely loud by comparison -- at least to someone my age who hasn't lost that 19k-24k hearing range.

1:50, I think the reverb/low end gets a bit out of control, starting to overwhelm your leads a bit. This presents a bit throughout. I think it's mostly reverb. I'm hearing a lot of low rumble, not an organic breath from either low organs or strings.

Vocals are very clean and of course distinct. I'm pleased they don't dominate the track and are tastefully interspersed throughout.

Compositionally, this is quite a journey, though I notice a relative lack of overarching melody.

2:04 to 2:07 chord modulation was unexpected and quite pleasing, as is the following development from 2:20-2:27. I'm wondering just how far you will push us before driving off the cliff -- and am disappointed somewhat not to have had a fortissimo swell anywhere.

3:06 sounds great.

4:07 to the finish line impressed me enough I didn't really mind the slightly high reverb wet signal, which of course, as you know, is every cinematic/orchestral composer's favorite cheat plugin.

Overall, awesome work. I think I've said most of what I could possibly say aside from that.

Quick note, are you sure it's your workstation struggling with the project load, or your computer? I used to think my DAW sucked until my actual computer started failing. Subsequent upgrade fixed all the problems I was having. For your sake, I really hope it isn't computer failure.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

etherealwinds responds:

Hey ADR3-N, hope you're all good.
I used the Flageolet'd samples on the Concert SAM harp that I enjoy using ever so occasionally as it gives a more percussive feel, especially working with rhythms :) I'll definitely look at humanising the attacks to give a more human feel when I return to this piece.

Yes, this is a Japanese Koto - good ear! I love the sound of them - perhaps I'll own one someday.

I'll take a listen to 0:46 with some different headphones when I get my hands on them. I don't use the best headphones or have access to the best speakers, so it's good to get some other perspectives on how the sounds are coming through on their end! Thank you.

Originally, I was aiming to compose something completely different and unexpected - a comment I read from Frootza on a previous thread in reference to my last submission was 'it's nice, but is it something new from him?' - I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and not rely on my go-to methods of composing that I know work for me. That said, as it was all coming together, I wanted to beef up the choir with some layers of real voice to add to the organicness of the piece. The ethnic vocals also seemed right and actually fitted with the piece so I kept them in!

I think Xuvero put it well in the last review when they said it was an 'orchestral exploration of different elements'. It wasn't intended to be that way, but I think I was just exciting to really be tackling a genre I've never tackled before. I've still yet to attempt a fully cinematic piece - I don't think I have quite the quality of libraries needed to make something to the quality of realism and emotion that I would like but I'm more inspired to take my music down a more orchestral route. I think my lack of overarching melody and my taking it to so many different places but I did try to keep certain melodies scattered throughout - for example, the melody played by the Koto, the vocal lines at 1:25 and 3:22 and the brass part, also making sure to scatter that flageolet harp part appropriately. I think I quite like it this way for what the track is, which is really my first foray into a track that is most heavily orchestral :)

Yeah, everyone's mentioned about the fortissimo! I think in my journey of exploration, I wasn't super aware of how far to push the fortissimo but there's definitely room for more. Ask and you shall receive. That's mainly what I'll be going back to fix - I wanna take this piece to the level it deserves.

Re the high reverb wet signal, I didn't know it was but I'll be sure to remember it in the future!

Probably miswording, it's definitely my poor l'il laptop or something with the soundcard. I kept having to restart and purge all the samples and sometimes the project became pretty much unplayable. I'd have to turn my laptop off and on and hope for the best! Luckily during the end days when I really wanted to work on the track, it was kind to me.

Thanks for your review and I'm glad you enjoyed the track! <3