ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Calamity]

I find that I want a lot more volume out of your kick and snare, and less on your cymbals. They're a bit muted and don't cut through the guitars quite as much as I'd like. On softer sections it's not as noticeable. That hihat is really up there though.

Bass could also use some hi-mid and potentially a volume boost on bigger sections.

As TL mentioned, transitions can be a bit abrupt, but I think it's fine.

Those strings are a bit thin sounding, and I think they could be fleshed out with either several other key instances in the background, or potentially tremelo pan.

2:50 is a great section. Strings there in the left are a bit too loud. Choir sounding good. I find myself wanting it to be a bit more centered, as well as the strings.

It appears this is unmastered to my eyes. A quick run through an internet mastering service might help here.

But your writing is FANTASTIC.

Overall really enjoyed it!

[G2961 - ZEROBOMBER [HYPERPOP]]

Normal scores incoming! :P

My only complaints are with a bit much reverb all over the track, and I want to hear more of your vocals. Other than that, getting better and better by the day!

5 stars because fuck zero bombers

G2961 responds:

Спасибо! Постараюсь сделать работу над ошибками. Я делаю новый Hyperpop-трек, там бит просто сумашедший.

[It's Back]

There are some great sections here and good composition, as well as chords, however it feels like a mash of a lot of elements that just don't quite go together, or are going together against their will.

Lots of bass notes that don't fit well in the chord, the reverb on the chords is so strong that I am having a hard time differentiating them from pads at louder points. Even for ambient I feel at times it is excessive.

Autopan and tremelo/gate effect at times sounds great, but it also persists throughout. My favorite section is probably the one between 3:40 and 4:35. I also feel the bass that pans back and forth right to left, if it can be called bass, is too loud relative to the other instruments, and there is a lot of high end distortion or saturation that permeates the piece like tape noise.

Just in general I am not quite able to appreciate what is going on due to wrong notes and some mixing choices, regretfully, as the overall idea is really cool, and I like the chords you chose for your pads and keys!!!

I wish I had more good things to say. But no matter what, I want you to continue pushing the boundaries you want to push. You will find what works for you and what doesn't, and it ultimately doesn't matter who likes it, or who does it better. The only person you should seek to be better than is who you were yesterday. Don't let anyone tell you different. This is probably the most original piece I heard all month, with daring sound design. Keep it up, and I know you will kill it. I'm excited to see what you come up with next!

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[I Get It]

I didn't get to review this when I heard it for NGADM, and here you are again. Being as I have already scored it once and using the same rubric, nitpicking a second time would not be fair.

Suffice to say, my only critiques were, sonically, this sounds unmastered, and would benefit from compression to be radio ready. Vocals are catchy, so is writing. It actually does not sound angry at all. Disappointed, but not angry. Vocal performance could have just a tad more edge for the chorus, or on I get it. It sounds as if we are holding back a bit.

Guitar performance, great solo. Could have just a bit more stereo play in the left channel with that delay, perhaps wider chorus or a light tremolo pan. The delay backslap at the outro could pan harder left at a quieter volume.

Beyond that, real treat!

[Your Own Traveled Path]

Enjoy the videogame element to your intro. Could be improved by moving the attacks of the strings backward so they do not TWAH attack behind the beat but instead sound like they're coming in on time.

I think the bass is a bit loud, but it is very nicely written. 58 sec sounds like it got an accidental wrong -- one semitone off where it needs to be for that chord. Check that and try bumping that note down one semitone. See if that sounds better. I F up all the time with that.

I want to take a moment to praise lead writing and phrasing. Very nice composition.

Mix notes
Drums are not cutting through. need more kik and snare volume, or take down lead and bass respectively. hi-hats at times a tad loud. There is not much sonically to compete with them
solo leads could use a pingpong delay perhaps, at a subtle volume
backing strings may benefit from double tracking with a different patch, panning appropriately, and a bit of reverb -- just a bit. They sound a tad dry. A high boost on the right side may give mroe texture, and can be added or taken away for sections.

Overall I feel the right channel is quieter on a lot of sections and fades in and out as other instruments come in. Not bad but something to watch for naked sections. I also feel some pans are just a little hard, maybe within 5% of the ideal range

I also just noticed this has been looping continuously lol. Great, because I enjoy it.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[JAMUARY2023 day 8]

Really enjoying the selection of strange sounds. Almost emulates wild animals and machinery at the same time. I think at 0:40 a bit less reverb on that sound and more clipping, as well as some stereo play or perhaps double tracking would help bring it to the front.

The mix is pretty clear, but your growls, if can be called that, are a bit out of place in that heavily reverbed empty space.

The glass taps in the left channel around 1:15 as percs should be down about 2 dB in the mix at least. Quite loud.

But overall I quite like the vibe of this piece. It manages to remind me of dark underground hiphop and industrial at the same time. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Contrasts. (AIM 2023)]

I must say I quite enjoy this piece and the inspiration thereof. I have zero complaints for melodic composition and transition, mostly for mix, for quite some time.

There is a boxy quality to the intro up through 2 minutes. I think I would do a bit of hi-passing instruments and reverb wet signals, or perhaps just cutting those ranges. When the bass comes in, it is not as impactful as it could be, due to the already heavy low mid range at play. I find with ambience, often times less is more, and less low end mud with clearer high end can achieve the illusion of wide open space.

2:45 I think I hear an obvious slow effect on those violins that to me that doesn't quite fit, and the transition to 3:05 is a bit jarring without any other sound. The breathing also I feel would sit better in the left channel at about 20 percent pan, perhaps gently rolling between. It sounds like a person sleeping. And suffering at that.

Great work. Thanks for taking me on a journey!

[Underdog tekno (wip)]

Oh, I'm feeling the olskool techno vibes. Loving pitch bends and wild ass play with overtones in that distorted SFX.

I'd like your bass to be widened a bit on the frequencies above 270 hz, and perhaps pushed with some saturation or harmonics. The kick, snare, and chords are blowing it out of the water, and techno is whether we like it or not, bass music.

The acid at 1:40 is making up for it. More aggression on that. I feel it goes down a bit much volume wise as it's being introduced. A simple low pass on that line with more volume at the more subtle portions would help introduce it better.

I think the hihats throughout have a bit much ring in the upwards of 13k range, and not enough substance around 8k. They also are phasing, I hear, which seems intentional. A wider stereo field may help them sound better, as well as hard compression, tamping down on that ring.

Overall, however, I do really enjoy your sound design. It's both old and familiar, while retaining authenticity.

I think your delayed crash would benefit from a wider pingpong delay and less feedback, or perhaps a lower wet level. It doesn't quite breathe with the track.

I think that would be my chief complaint is a bit of flatness to the stereo image and a laying there sort of feel. However, I feel like we're bridging the gap between techno and house here, and I love the olskool feel. Sounds like underground 90s nightclub/stripclub music. Digging the cyberpunk vibes.

Really enjoyed the piece. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Aistis responds:

A big thanks for your informative review! I'll definitely try looking into the issues you mentioned once the judging period is over :)

[Kentucky (Finale)]

Nice! I see a lot of names I recognize on that thank you list :) I love the community here.

I'm appreciating what you're doing with distortion in your intro, nice and cinematic. I think when the lead comes in at around 30 sec it could be panned around or pingpong delayed for effect. It and the distortion are quite bright tonally and stand out from your bass in a way that's not quite what I would expect.

The sidechain makes up for it some, but overall I think your side chain elements, lead, and bass, are too loud for your snare to cut through. Overall good chords through here and varied instrumentation.

At 2:07 that sax sounds a bit clumsy, the bari. It's very verbed out through here, we lose sight of the bass, and I can really hear how loud these are when we have them alone with the house bass/kick/hat. That bigroom kick should take up a lot more space!

I would take down reverb here by a LOT. But I praise the vision and the cross genre work, as well as your consistent theme.

This track shines in its variety and sticking to a theme. The reverb is really hurting it by a lot as the low end shoegaze wash is muddying any limiting, compression, covering up finer areas of mix.

Really though, I find your writing to be a treat. The kick at 4:39 could be tuned to follow the bass line so it doesn't clash with the bass. On the minor i chord it does fine but otherwise the sub clashes with the ... I forget what to call that chord oh well.

Otherwise, really enjoyed the track. Outro section was a pleasant departure there. Watch for clipping at 6:29.

My advice, mix at a quieter volume and keep things clean on your eq. Watch for frequencies below 250 hz on non bass instruments. They will get in the way of bass. Sidechain is your friend but will not fix all mix woes. Snare and kick should be loudest parts of mix, followed by lead and bass. The rest is to your personal taste as long as hi-hat and crash are not sticking out. Beyond that, reverb wash can be turned up on a long cut off or transition and back down for the rest of the track. It can even be sidechained on big sections, mind you. There is so much one can do for clarity.

Best of luck in all your future endeavors. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

50Steaks responds:

I went through, copied the file and implemented most of the stuff you mentioned here to hear how it sounds. I agree that the snare and kick do fall into the background at times but part of my goal with this track was to mix louder than I usually do for the purposes of filling the whole waveform at the guitar solo. Fine tuning the kick is actually a really good idea and helps make that part sound a little better. Given that I use the mobile version, I can’t really tell what hz is where on the little param eq they give you, but then I noticed that I actually boosted the bass frequencies on the sax which was just a bad idea.

Removing the reverb entirely from some instruments at the end makes that part sound cleaner, but at other points bringing the reverb back in for transitions and the guitar part doesn’t really feel right to me.

But your suggestion on sidechaining reverb gives me the best of both worlds. I get to have a cleaner kick while keeping the vibe and atmosphere of the song as it is. I just have to do it manually through an automation track on the mix. I will definitely be doing that in future tracks, that’s for sure.

I’m intrigued by your lack of feedback on the guitar solo, I guess that means I did a good job there.

Thanks for your detailed feedback. You gave me an extra half star as compared to my score from last year so that’s a plus at least. I still have yet to make it to the next round but I guess that’ll have to wait till 24.

[Track 1 - Dystopia in Utopia]

Sick chord progression, and I love the punchy olskool vibe. It takes a while to develop and I find myself wanting a bit more of an obvious lead line, but those synths through 1:24 are infectious. Nice work!