ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Super implosion - geometry dash song]

Catchy, but the drums are absolutely buried. They should be side-chained with that bass. Fix that, and it's fun for everyone.

Poosac responds:

bebe I made this song 3 years ago x) This song is trash to me

[Honor]

Writing of this is pretty stellar, especially that lead line and the drum writing. The mix is a bit treble heavy though. I'm sort of looking for the kick and bass in the mix. It could just be because the guitars are so gained up. Still a great listen though! Reminds me of the olskool.

Ultramartyr responds:

yeah i noticed while mixing that the guitars were a bit too gainy, i turned it down for subsequent recordings. i'm glad you liked the writing, i was super proud of that lead melody for a while lol. i'll make sure James sees this review too because he did the drums. thanks for listening and reviewing.

[Venturescape - Episode 2: Memories]

Beautiful work. Happy to be featured. I've already told you a bit of what I think about this brilliant piece, but it's a little eerie that Jessica died on my fiancee's birthday, lol. Also just noticed Billy's mom stole my middle name.

Could use a little less mid and a bit more high end on young Billy and maybe better recording conditions with less 'verbing, but other than that, great work all around. I especially enjoyed the performance with Kathryn Cloud. Nice, clear, bright, and authentic. You've also done a good job of mixing a lot of diverse recording conditions along with several different compositions and making it sound good.

Nice work! Let me know if you need another piece or some spoopy SFX.

[Smash Dash to the Max]

Really, really repetitive! Decent sound, but it sounds almost like you're using loops. Is that the case?

ZoeW responds:

I use loops for some of my songs, this is one of them. Thanks so much for the feedback!

[Black Hole]

This sounds like you recorded audio output on a vastly overtaxed PC. Lots of skipping, artefacts, etc. Also, lots of issues with the volume cutting in and out. That needs fixed before I can really consider this listenable.

DJ-Silent responds:

Thanks for the review! Yeah i do not really know what happened with sound spikes but it was a test, i will take this for helping me on my next music, thanks :D

[See Through Darkness]

Not bad, but sounds like the entire song is smashed through a lo-fi filter. Drums need more compression, less reverb, and different levels. Snare needs to come up, and so do crashes. Bass also needs to come way up. Can hardly hear it.

Ultramartyr responds:

yeah i'm not too happy with the guitar sound, too much distortion and presence, not enough bass. the bass being low is my fault, i was afraid of the low end overpowering the mix. i'll pass your advice about the drums to my drummer. thanks for the review.

[Getting Started]

Oh, so much good-natured fun going on here. Lots of spacy synths, cute bass, good structures and fun flourishes. Mix is a bit muddy though. Bass could use a little more presence. Reverb and those super long note tails on your pads are bleeding pretty hard. Percussion is sort of buried under the entire composition, especially your leads.

Good writing, so-so mixing and mastering. Enjoyed.

Noisysundae responds:

Short but very useful for me! I regret reading this so late. I should've paid more attention on whatever is going on in the background. Many thanks.

Although you didn't complain about the composition, most of the time, I can't point out the flaw in the mix by myself when I don't have the clear final image of the track in my head. Not sure if this can be called the writer's block, but I can only think about one really catchy melody and nothing else lately, hence the repetitive pad, arps, and lead synths after 0:42.

[Vaeltaja]

I was almost thrown off by the extremely audible attacks in the right ear, but once things get going, this is a very emotional, evocative atmosphere. Especially enjoying the suspended strings and gong, and then you've got your driving rhythm. Key change caught me off guard. The audible attacks in the right ear continue to confound me for the lengthy of the track, although I'm appreciating the horn rips traveling from left to right, as if given actual sonic space.

This is a very pensive piece which almost lacks direction, but it keeps the same theme throughout, so I can't really discount that. Using your competitors vocals? I'm not even sure if that should count as a disqualification or not! Lol. Although, that is quite kind of him.

Good piece.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hey, thanks for leaving a review! It's a shame that most judges this year lacked the time to do it, since it's one of the main points and benefits of the competition. With attacks in the right ear, I assume you're referring to the piano. The mix might be a bit odd, I suppose! We kinda liked it that way :)

As for horn rips, there is no brass in the piece.

Well, the piece may lack a conventional structure. The title means "wanderer", so it's supposed to feel more as an adventurous journey! The thematic elements indeed are the ones that are intended to keep the balance in the piece.

As for using our competitor's vocals, we also provided elements to his track. Outside performances are allowed in the rules . And we ended up losing anyway, so no harm done! Naturally, we're back in because of the high score and some dropouts though.

Once again, thanks for reviewing!

[Willow Wasteland: Fantasia]

A very thoughtful, inspired piece. You're quite talented at portraying emotions and textures. This is coming very near the ten mark for me, and I really have no useful critique to offer.

Phonometrologist responds:

Oh, it took me a while to figure out who you were due to the name change. I'm just glad people enjoy it, and thank you for letting me know.

[After the Rain]

Just doesn't get old. Although those vocal samples are so strange to me, really. As usual, solo sections are satisfying. Strange bits are the key changes, as they come when I'm never actually expecting them. This keeps me on my toes, and the scat singing is interesting, but quite hard to get into. This is an interesting style piece, but I think it speaks more to you and ethansight than it does me. Still a good listen.

johnfn responds:

A LIL LATE EDM lol jk yea tbh this is like my favorite track i've done =D