ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[tinfoil & the window sink]

That droning intro is something I would love to sample. I'm impressed you've managed to record something like this on a cellphone and it sound entirely intelligible and manageable!

The gating at 39 seconds is sounding great, as well as what sounds like playing in harmonic minor. There are a few clicks and clips as cuts come in, but those can be eliminated by crossfade and micro fade in. I found this while editing in Mixcraft.

I think this is the most beautiful piece you have ever sent me. It has the same haunting quality I've come to know you for but also an air of tranquility. My favorite part surrounds 1:21. This is a great transition and a theme I wish would have been continued longer or repeated. The reverberation in the background almost sounds like a choir.

Take your goofy pride -- a single sample is an achievement!

The very few flaws I see in this piece as a whole, the clicking I mentioned as samples come in and out. You can either overlay a vinyl sample to play into this, or get a copy of izotope RX 7 to remove it (or just ask me and I'll do it in a few minutes). Beyond that, using Audacity's amplify feature to bring this up to max possible volume without clipping would be helpful. You can also chose to apply compression if desired.

I think a lot of these operations are in fact easier to do outside of audacity, though its pitching and scaling functions to me are about unmatched. For instance your gated guitar at 1:14 would sound even better if compressed and chorused, with modulated FX (changing over time). This is a bit unwieldy still in Audacity.

Otherwise, fantastic experiment. I encourage you to continue in this theme! You're really making me want to commission you for some of these wiiiild samples like at 2:15.

JimmyTheCaterpillar responds:

for the cellphone.... i honestly just set it directly in front of the... sound hole (poets have failed the guitar if that's really the name for it!!!!) and it picks up pretty clean. I neeeeeeeeeeed a tascam though I really wanna start implementing outside environmental noises into my work soo sosososo bad. I have an unfinished pure rhythm track that's been tossed in the back shelves that is the clicking of my electric scooter i have alongside passing cars and rocks and pebbles and stuff. lol i got stumped really quick on that one but i think there is sincerely something there once i figure it out....

i'm really glad you liked 1:21, that's my favorite part of the song too, and I really wanted it to be a little longer too, but that was a mechanical failing of me from the recording, as I was building around the sample and made that I scoured the sample to find ways to keep it pushing but nothing else sounded clean that I felt could continue in the same vein with. i definitely need to be better in my technical play and am slowly working on that as well lol.

as far as using another DAW.......... grahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i just want to do everything in audacity it's so accessible to me bc i've used it since i was 12 years old making whatever the fuck i was making on this site ten years ago lmao!!! i'm making excuses,,,,, i should probably get a new one but for the moment i honestly remain stubborn ':0

I do appreciate the advice on the clipping issue,, that was a big problem with this track, and while i'm satisfied with the level i was able to get it down to, it is something that will plague me until i get it right, so thank you for that as well.

as always -- the biggest appreciationz 2 you!!!!

[Long End Stutter / guitar knots piece 3]

I can hear the disquiet growing as we move further and further into this piece. At 1:01, that is some very creative sampling. I appreciate that by and large the volume is pretty level throughout. Very much reminds me of avantgarde, atonal, cinematic creep music.

Also, due to the stuttering nature, it loops rather properly here on Newgrounds.

Whatever the textures are between 0:09 and 11, including that near piano sound, I particularly like that. The mix is also very much improved since last I heard from you, with the recording fizz minimal. I still think there could be a bit more done to subtract it, as on quieter sections it is audible, but for this particular piece, it works.

Something I think that could be improved upon, a better stereo separation of guitar parts playing at the same time, perhaps oscillating panning for extra psychedelic effect, adding some reverb here and there for atmosphere, and applying modulated FX for progression.

What you do very well, distorting, stuttering, and glitching your instrument to sound utterly new and different. I really think you would be well served to grab a daw such as Reaper to import samples into and further mangle them there, now that audacity has a tempo/bar feature. It would work well in your favor. Especially at the sample around 54 seconds in, this could be turned into an all encompassing atmosphere with simple pingpong delay and some plate reverb.

The longer I listen, the more I grow to love this piece. So outside of my typical listening sphere, so foreign, but also organic and familiar. Thank you as always for sending me something to chew on!

JimmyTheCaterpillar responds:

the piano sound was just part of the guitar sample pitched and sped up, but to differing degrees :) thank you for mentioning it! it was one of the first little bits of the sample that i built from, when i was more poking and prodding at it before any sense of composition came into play. i almost nixed it out but thought it was fun and a good odd thing to hear early on in the track.

i agree with the more defined guitar separation, it can get a little muddled at times, huh. plate reverb and pingpong delay are awesome names i'll have to look into those

thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! above all else, i'm so grateful that you're willing to go this far in-depth on the work, and i'm even more grateful that you like it haha

[Parasite Butterfly]

This review is an excerpt from your request <3 To other readers, after I wrote this, and the section I'm talking about, any choir/metal noises I mentioned, are in fact the aleatorics mentioned by LD-W in this description, from Red Room Palette FX and 8DIO CAGE. The former is his preference and may go on sale around 99 bucks

The timpani mentioned is also WETTER than this out of the box and requires quite a bit of work to get sounding this good.

continuing to review

-------
Immediately, we are struck with chaotic strings in your intro, grandiose horror, lots of dissonance, tasteful writing.

I have some minor complaints for mix, namely very pronounced high mids on the upper string parts, what sounds like hard compression on the track bringing up reverb wash, and the attacks of brass occasionally falling behind that of sustained strings, more obvious with percussion. It is more obvious at higher volumes.

I would also like if string runs around 3:28 were drier and more distinct in the sonic space, perhaps doubled or tripled with separate panning. Against the orchestral percussion and the lead line in your face, they are a bit thin.

I think there is a bit much reverb on the percussion; it sounds as if the gongs, timpani, and perhaps 1000 dB bass drum and crash are all behind the cello, viola, violin, etc. The strings in contrast do not have nearly this much reverb and are for the most part all up front.

The panning on your percussion is well executed and does not go unnoticed, particularly in your treatment of timpani. I cannot hear if there is double bass also, due to reverb and what sounds like an emphasis on frequencies below 200 hz. I do hear a bit of low rumble around sub frequencies as well. I think on smaller sections, these could be looked at to ensure they are in the key you want, dynamically compressed, and so on. The notes of timpani I can make out clashing around 1:00 between notes, and perhaps note cutoffs could be tapered for cleanliness.

2:59, the bone stabs here are a bit lost, which brings me to problem throughout; accents from the rest of the orchestra and particularly woodwinds/violin chaos are lost in the cacophony and reverb wash, under the brass and strings. This follows throughout the track and lessens the impact of otherwise very well written and executed parts, especially percussion!

I think a more prominent low brass line, tuba and bass trombone for stabs and points of emphasis would help pull this mix more into balance, make clear where the overarching horror of this piece is for the listener, particularly the final sections after 3 min. As is, I cannot hear if the timpani is performing this function throughout.

I am unable to make out whether certain vocal-like swashes throughout are choir syllables, or metal FX noises. I think they are in fact choir stabs around 2:19 – particularly enjoy their tonality, wish they were louder and stood out from the rest of the track a bit more in terms of being the only elements in that instance to have so much verb. Following orchestral slides similarly have great tonality, only in need of more clarity.

Writing wise I am impressed with the amount and scale of composition. It sounds utterly massive, organized chaos. I would keep watch in particular on brasses with soft intonations and long swells so that they do not sound entirely uniform and synth like.

I can hear what sounds like a bit of over-chorus or widening on the bones and horns. You may have better luck with spreading out two instances of your patch and round-robin functioning them – kontakt allows me to do this by transposing up 2 keys on the midi triggers and pitching down an instance in kontakt itself by 2 correspondingly. Other orchestral instruments may have round-robin transposing features baked in.

Aside from that, this track has kept me very, very well entertained through several listens now, always picking out something new to listen for. I think really all of my points of contention amount to minor EQ, gentle leveling, and reverb trimming, which is saying something for a dense composition of such breadth and scale. The variety of instrumentation you have put together for such a short amount of runtime is a testament in itself.

You have also managed to craft a recognizable theme amid a dissonant hellscape of horror filscore, competing with some of my favorites if not surpassing them outright. As I listen through another round, I’ve turned the volume down. Immediately, all the issues from before disappear almost completely. This tells me one thing, throw in just a bit more dynamic contrast, and this track will absolutely slam the majority of scores I can imagine and nail them to the wall. Fantastic work!

LD-W responds:

Thanks for doing the review for me, massive appreciated! I'll continue our DM chain abit later on this weekend

[The Tapes]

Aside from being a bit quiet, this is a great story, great job on the voice acting on part of thecakewasalie, and a good mix on the BGM against the rest of the SFX and vocals up front. Great writing, really sounds like sitting down and having a story told to you, props to both writing and delivery.

All in all, perfect for spooktober. Minor criticism, plosives on P could be edited out or otherwise prevented with a good pop filter. But beyond that, it sounds really personal, which is great!

Lizguy74 responds:

Thanks, I’m glad you like it! Thanks for the fallow too!

[0i00 - Ignition]

Фонк и DnB? Впечатляет. Пришла дать пятерки.

zeroizerozero responds:

спасибо))

[0i00 - Undead Mountain]

Слов у меня мало -- плохой день для писания, но хотела сказать что трек мне очень понравился. Я смотрела на вейвформ и сначала беспокоилась о том, как он будет звучить из за сжатие, но получилось у тебя вполне здорово. Чип элементы хорошо сходились с высоким уровнем сжатия, и микс чистый!

zeroizerozero responds:

Что-то случилось? Спасибо что всё-таки написала.
Очень приятно слышать. Я сам начал волноваться что сделал чтото не так когда увидел огромную рыжую кляксу вместо вейвформ (не знаю как склонить это слово, я его в первый раз слышу). Рад слышать что таки всё в порядке.

[Inktober #29 - Halloween In Sweden]

Dropping fire as usual! Have you thought of releasing these to spotify? Distrokid is cheap and your output is prolific

Cyberdevil responds:

Much obliged ADR3-N! :) Was thinking of that very thing very recently actually - though aiming to have all this material a bit better mixed and mastered before I do. I doubt it'd be profitable at this point but it definitely would be cool!

[My Infinity]

The articulations on that ... ocarina... tin whistle??? are wonderfully varied and gorgeous. Same with the... pan flute?? Very natural.

Piece flows well into 55 sec and transitions are well done. I think the strings at 1:13 could have come in a bit softer, and the cello been just a bit more loose and languid. At times it feels a bit locked in. By 1:43 this isn't much of an issue. I would like to hear a bit more of the duet there. The piano by then is a bit loud. Same with the viola at 2:17.

Loving the complexity of the arrangement and chord progression. A lot of time spent outside of this genre has left me grasping for words on the finer technical details of this. Luckily for me, you don't actually need my commentary in that area to improve any. It is already a flawless piece to that degree. But for a few minor areas when we have moving parts at the bottom of the piano competing for space with a low cello line, it is clean, moving, and dynamic. Your transitions such as after 4 min are quite satisfying. I was expecting a terminus prior to 4:40, but I'm not upset you wrote what sounds like 2 outros there.

Without exception, great work! May be the finest composition I've heard all year, and perhaps longer, and I say that as someone who often hears people overcomplicate their work to the point of detriment. This piece is not in that category. It works BECAUSE it is complex. Great modulations, and great control of articulations for effect. Fantastic.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad you appreciate the articulations I picked for the woodwinds! One of them is indeed a tin whistle. The rest are an assortment of different ethnic flutes :3

You know, originally I wanted to perform them myself, since Jordi has a cool collection of whistles. I even manage to arrange it all for them with articulations and all. But it just would've been too difficult for me to learn to play well, on such short notice. I was contemplating asking Jordi, but in the spirit of the competition, I wanted to do every single thing myself this year. (In past years, instrumental performances have been allowed, if the direction is very explicit. However, I think there was some type of misunderstanding last year, so I've avoided it completely since then).

I agree with your point about the strings at 1:13. The tremolo things were actually the last element added to the piece, and I was running low on time. I like this composition well enough that I might go back and just fix those last little details up. I've said that before though, but only done it a handful of times, so we'll see xD

I couldn't help doing the "fake-outro" in this one. It practically wrote itself, on the piano. I've learned not to shy away from stuff like that if it screams out at me like that. Sometimes it's nice to just go all the way, and do it!

Wow, thank you so much for the praise, it means a lot to me <3

[Separation (NGADM 23 Semifinals)]

I think the vinyl scratches in the beginning are a bit too loud, but beautiful playing, chords, and blending when those strings come in. Gorgeous texture by 46 seconds.

I think the mix on that lead cello could be just a little less sibilant and low mid heavy.

1:19 was an unexpected change-up. I have no comments here beyond perhaps to reduce the cymbal volume just slightly, as little as .1 to .2 db, and give a bit more high mid to that bass, more presence and center it below 230 hz.

Your chord progression is great for easy listening

I'm hearing a fizz in my right ear through 2:48 that is pretty high up in the mix. At first I was unsure if it was my tinnitus (it is about this loud when nothing is going on) so I might lower that a bit. Speaking of, music is the only thing that allows me to forget I do have tinnitus. Glad to be here listening to you :)

Though the piece is 4 minutes long, I felt like I wanted more out of it, more development, more directions. I think you might have been able to pull of a key change for a final chorus, but otherwise, flawless work. I hate to be forced to choose between such wildly different, beautiful pieces!

papkee responds:

The fizz you hear was my attempt to bring back in the noisy radio traffic from the intro & midsection, but it got kinda drowned out in the mix and ended up sounding like, well, just noise. Whoops.

Thanks for the kind words otherwise! More electronic stuff like this isn't exactly my specialty so it's always fun to branch out even if it doesn't turn out amazing.

[Pixel Storm]

None of your ideas are bad, but I think the quality of synths is doing your arrangement a disservice.

Let me pause to explain what I mean as I realize that's vague. I think you need more instruments and contrast of instruments. Something besides the bare leads. Pads, clear bassline, etc. A little study of songwriting and arrangement will do you a lot of good in this area. And don't feel like you absolutely must create every single sound you use, down to the waveform. Some samples are perfectly okay as long as they are royalty free.

I run into the same issue you have in this track a lot, in that the rest of the instrumentation is pretty bare, so I completely rely on the lead to carry the track the whole way through. It gets so complex, so busy, that even my best lead lines go unnoticed.

Also never underestimate the power of offbeats and weak beats. Not every melody must start on a downbeat

Back to arrangement

It's quite busy and there seems to be an ambivalence in terms of structure. I would like to see more of this kind of ambition, especially the final big section, with just a little more structural finesse! You're getting there!

Sneep-Sn00p responds:

wow, Thats one long take on this. I'll consider it, Thank you for your feedback!