ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[~Time~]

My main gripes with this piece are vocal performance and vocal mix, and reverb mixing decisions. The vocal is not very present in the center, sounds like it needs to be de-essed manually or via plugin, and is not very uniform in volume. It also is somehow out of tune on lower notes with the instrumental. Whether this is because of detuning of the synths or otherwise, it's noticeable for me.

The vocal additionally may have sounded better with a doubled higher octave.

Lyrically, I'm having a hard time understanding the vocals, partly due to mix, partly due to what sounds like cramming the lyrics into an unusual (for those words) rhythm. This is somewhat common in trance so I'm willing to forgive it!

The bass also due to the level of compression, lots of reverb, and arrangement also does not shine as well as it could. I recommend reducing the level of reverb and reducing the low-mids of the reverb itself through hi-pass/lo-cut, changing the arrangement of your piano (the chords in the low register are a bit muddy), and potentially even changing out those keys for another instrument entirely.

Are those nexus keys?

Basically my entire review could be summed up to, good ideas hampered by a muddy mix. Still, the melody is catchy, and I love this genre. Really takes me back. Keep up the good work!

7.2

ImmyShack responds:

Finally, some actual criticism!

Other than adding an EQ (vocal preset from EQUO) to boost the high ends I haven't changed anything in the vocal.

The lyrics are nonsense, hence why I didn't add them in the description. Just what Dooky Mackey (credited writer) had been drinking?!

The piano preset comes from nexus, I wrote a double octave piano to add background in the bridge between lead section #1 and vocal section #2.

I'll see what I can do, thanks.

[PARTY HATZ! - SHUTTER$HADES]

Omg. This takes me back to like 2009 hahaha. Proof that the music of that era was ahead of its time xD This sounds disturbingly similar to some of the dance tracks that I remember from back then

The lyrics are on point and probably the best part of the song

Mix could use improvement. It sounds very muffled, owing to heavy handed compression on top of levels that are loud going into the master. To eliminate this, I mix at a lower volume until I like what I hear, export, and then master the resulting wav (mp3 if I'm lazy) in a separate project file. This also allows me to slow or speed up the file if I want in audacity before mastering.

The vocals are hiding in the mix for most of the song and very widely spread, resulting in them feeling less intense and in your face than they probably should.

The instrumental in general has a boomy/boxy quality in which the low mids are over-pronounced along with the sub, and the finer details of hi-hat and lead are unclear except in sections where the compressor is not fully engaged. In short, it sounds like a combination of heavy handed mastering on top of mixing that is not quite ideal. Most of it has to do with volume levels pre compressor, it seems.

But I loved the song through and through. Great lyrics and theme, good groove. Nice work!

7.7

PARTYHATZ responds:

thank u for the tips :3 im so clueless when it comes 2 mixing and mastering but im learning every day! thanks again this is extremely helpful:))

[-AnxiousBreaks-]

Great groove to this track overall and handling of FX initially. I really think the only thing holding it back is mix -- and 1:25 the choir is distractingly lo-fi

1:44 I think it would have paid to keep things chaotic and offbeat, using samples rather than synths. You appear to mix samples much better than synths -- the non-bass synths occasionally get quite loud, are not necessarily great quality, and they also clash somewhat with your bass.

At 3:09 the initial charm which drug me into this track is somewhat lost. You're bringing some of it back for the outro, but by then I know the track is over, and this makes me sad. I do really like the wild stuff you do at the end with samples though. Bring on the confusion lol.

In short, I think you had a really strong statement in your opening, with a little lapse in the middle. It's okay. Experimenting is part of what makes music a blast. No pun intended. Good work, and thanks for coming out to NGADM!

6.5

Creeperforce24 responds:

Thanks for the criticism! Yeah, I’m probably not making it past the first round lol!

[cORRuPTEd]

Mix is pretty quiet overall with what sounds like some clipping/clicks from zero crossings in the intro.

It also is pretty unbalanced in terms of both panning and levels of lead, percussion, and bass. The lead contrary to popular belief shouldn't be the loudest in your mix -- it actually falls behind the bass, kick, and snare. The bass should be just slightly louder than the kick, side-chained so that it ducks whenever the kick hits. Optional to sidechain to the snare as well.

Compositionally, however, this is fantastic. Your production and FX are creative and keep me engaged despite the flaws of mix.

I would give your bass more mono-presence. There are plugins that will allow you to mono-ize bass below a certain frequency. I usually choose 180 hz and below, or sometimes 150. This is because when you add chorus to a bass, you increase the chances of phase cancellation -- of weakening it. We definitely don't want that in 99% of cases.

In short, I think your ideas are fantastic. It's just the mix and master that need a tune-up. Keep doing what you do!

6.7

rYANCOOPERmx5 responds:

I really appreciate the feed back, Thank you a bunch :D

[Illusion]

Yo, Audio Technica headphones are beast. I prefer the m40x for the sound profile

The transition into bassline was unexpected and probably could be either A, more smooth, or B, more jarring for maximum impact. Bass is throbbing in my ears pleasantly, but other elements could be darkened and obfuscated sufficiently to better fit with the bass. The lead through your initial drop is pretty clean and contrasts against the bass rather than providing lifting accompaniment.

As we go on, your wetter synths are sounding more enmeshed with the bass and thus better.

I think your kick could be a bit louder. Your snare is about appropriate in volume and sounds pleasant. Sample at 2:49 is a bit indistinct and a little sibilant due to bit-crushing.

For the genre, song is about the right length, since psytrance is generally quite progressive in nature.

Singing bowl/temple ding cymbals are slightly too loud at 3:27

3:42 was a pleasant drop of retro strings that made me smile. Your portamento laser synth could stand to come down and be wetter and further back

Your handling of perc next was an eargasm. Like literally spinning in the middle of a perc groove. It does go on for a while so I recommend modulating other FX such as tremolo, delay, hi and lo pass or flange to get more mileage out of them. Even just a subtle change in volume can make all the difference in holding out a groove.

I love your bass mix overall despite thinking there could be just a bit more hi-mid range to it.

Overall the track is much more than the sum of its parts and kept me engaged throughout. Great work!

7.8

burningmagma responds:

Thanks, glad you like it! :D

[Oso Viajero]

Sounds very 80s -- partially owing to the reverb -- a bit too much reverb and delay fx for my taste. I would recommend low-cutting reverb and delay wet signals up to 200 hz.

I would also keep the low end of your bass mono. It sounds like you've applied a chorus, which is fine, but the bass sounds very spread out and hollow as a result

Writing wise, you have very nice harmonies and good structure. The fusion of genres is pleasant! I heartily advise you to keep studying music production, particularly mixing, and keep pursuing your craft. This piece is one to save the midi and revisit with better technique <3

6.6/10

Force64 responds:

Thanks for your review! I will do my best to improve my work :D

[Plastic Bits]

Great groove and sound design all around. I think you could pump that bass just a bit more and reduce vinyl noise/wet fx's all around by 10-20% and come out with a cleaner mix. It seems like the mix is heavy in the low-mids and somewhat lacking in the air department, but props for tasteful hi-hat volume.

Great sounding ghost notes also

What I would appreciate is more mono-presence of the bass. As is, it's a bit spaced out and loses some thrust as a consequence. There is such a thing as mono-ing the sub and letting the rest of the bass spread out a bit, so see what you can do in that area!

You could also use two similar instances of your key synths and add more depth to sections such as 2:46 by panning them in opposite directions.

A bit of cleaning out the low mids of your synths and auxiliary rhythm synths would help this sound a bit more crisp

8.4/10

Jatmoz responds:

Thank you so much for the indepth review! Will definitely keep this stuff more in mind.

[The Big Bad Beastlands]

If the mix on this were fixed, it would 100% bang. As is, the hihats and cymbals are quite loud, the kick is hard to hear, and the snare is just barely peeking out. Beyond that, the elements in the mid-mid and low-mid could stand to be pulled out to the sides a bit to differentiate between near-notes. The horns uniformly sound like they're all balanced to the right, particularly.

I'm having a hard time hearing the bass and rhythm chugs.

Besides the mix and the twirly sounding attacks/releases on your horns occasionally trailing over each other unpleasantly, I think the writing of this piece is great.

I would turn up the master and see what could be done to clean it up besides. Good work!

6.6/10

Kman465 responds:

Yeah... I am a very rookie mixer. I’ve been trying to put in some more effort into it but growing pains and all that jazz. I got a long way to go I suppose. Haha

Thanks for the listen! I appreciate the feedback!

[Chunky's Song]

This somehow manages to have a lot of vibe despite the mix being close to destroyed. I would go back and clean it up, because it would make a smacking album intro or interlude. Extra half-star for personal preference. Sorry I don't have much else to say, just needs a revisit on the mix!

BlazeLOGC responds:

oh for sure, this was thrown together really in one sitting and I was more focused on the composition. 100% agree on the mix and thanks for the kind words!