FarFromSundown's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Smile - Instrumental]

This has such a cool, chill vibe to it. I love that almost staccato strumming in the beginning there and how it comes and goes throughout the track.
Is that a pan flute I'm hearing or what kind of VST instrument is that? It fits really well in here. Very well mixed too!

Aalasteir responds:

Ultra thank you, Mike!

The flute sound is:
Omnisphere 2
D50 - Glass Blower

[The Moment Before You]

this sounds a little better, mix-wise. it seems that certain elements are getting drowned out when all the instruments are all playing. Are you EQing each track?

One thing I learned way too late was to cut more low end from my guitars to let the bass fill that space. Even if it doesn't sound as you'd like it when it's "solo'd", it's how it sounds when it's all together that matters more.

With my tracks, I'll cut the low end pretty steeply on my main guitar tracks, then layer it with a 2nd track that has a different tone, (with a little less mid, but higher end boosted slightly) panned about 60-70% Left and Right. A quad tracked guitar riff sounds so much fuller and when you let the bass take over the low end duties, you get a nice balanced mix (back to the frequency balance I mentioned in my previous review).

Good tool to use (AND FREE!) is SPAN. It's a frequency spectrum analyzer plug in that will give you a visual aid as to what I'm talking about.

Hope this helps! Great track! I like your style of music. Much different than my own, but I appreciate the calmness of it. :D

Mersailian responds:

Thanks for taking the time to give such good advice. No, I haven't doesn't much time EQing each track, but that is a good tip that I will do on future recordings.

To be perfectly honest, I only stayed putting stuff on here because my oldest son wants to use my music on Geometry Dash, if you know what that is. He put some pressure on me to get 3 songs on, so I posted some old recordings. Been a while since I've done any recording, but I've got one I just need to write lyrics for and record vocals, so I'll incorporate your tips into that and maybe even clean up these ones.

I listened to some of your songs. You're very talented and the production sounds great! I was actually quite the metal head back in the day (still kind of am at heart), so I can appreciate heavy music. Really good stuff, keep it up!

[Whirlpools]

This is a cool composition, and solid vocal takes. I like the overall sound, even though the quality could definitely be better. First tip I'd give you on mastering, is if it's a muddy mix, no amount of mastering is going to help it.

A couple things I'd recommend learning more about that are simple and easy that I think would go a long way:
- Gain staging
- frequency balancing (basically the concept of achieving a flat frequency line across the spectrum vs having extreme highs or lows)
- Check out "in the mix' on you tube. Even though he exclusively uses FL Studios, all his advice are applicable to all DAWs.

You have the talent, time to hone it to do your songs justice. <3

Scouted. feel free to reach out to me on DM, I'd be happy to help where I can. Looking forward to hearing more from you

Mersailian responds:

Thank you so much!!!! This is exactly the type of feedback that I find helpful. I will certainly take your suggestions to heart and appreciate your willingness to help.

[A CRY]

love the chunky ass tone! Nice playing. That shrill tone for the lead is pretty slick. What're you using for your tones?

Napt responds:

Well, I actually use a VST called Ample Metal Hellrazer. First I added some good saturation, then I EQued it (nothing too crazy — smoothly cut lows, brickwalled highs (~15k Hz), emphasized the high-mids). Then I compressed it.

I am glad you liked the track. Thank you!

[CLOUDS DIVIDE (PENULTIMATE MIX)]

Love it! Usually not into this genre, but it's diverse enough that it's caught my intrigue. Well mixed and composed as well. Love a uniquely interesting song. Props to all involved!

ADR3-N responds:

You can thank Trois for *most* of the compositional aspect. The entire piece is worked into her endless feel-good chord progression. The rest is just me riffing on it and spitballing ideas in a musty basement, plus @Tapestoppa making some REALLY interesting glitches on my vox

[Dancing With a Stranger (RU Metal)]

this = awesome

ADR3-N responds:

Tyty <3

[Escape The Abyss]

this is has a pretty nice build up and a steady groove that flows well through out. No real spaces that feel wasted or out of place. Everything seems to have its place and be put there meticulously. Respect. Love it.

SpeedoRH responds:

Yoooo munkey, it's been a while! Thank you so so so much for the compliments! I appreciate it a lot <3

[SHATTER]

Alright, this is low key a banger, lol. I really enjoyed the lyrics, too. I think they're done rather creatively. I'm not a huge fan of a repetitive drum beat throughout most of a song, but I found myself more focused on the words/vocal cadence to be bothered by it (and really that's just a personal preference if anything). Love it

ADR3-N responds:

Thank you! You're right about the beat being simplistic. The vocals were the initial inspiration, the structural basis and the focus of the song, so I tried to keep things pop-EDM not to distract from them. Without the vox as a starter, this song would not exist

Also, if you ever want to turn your voice into a bass, I still have that riddim bass voice model I used throughout. The only thing I used for this track was vocal AI, chopped samples in melodyne, Vital, and my own 808s. I think there might be one or two midi lines for said 808 and a lead synth. The rest is retooled and reharmed cut loops/samples for texture.

[ADR3-N / 10 / A200]

Overall, really enjoyed this interview. A couple odd spots but for 4 hours of content, you can't really expect a 100% all the time, haha. I feel like I learned alot about everyone involved.

To answer your question @Aalasteir the account that first inspired me to do all the audio production myself was Wahhsin (i'm probably spelling that incorrectly). I don't think that his original account exists anymore, but I loved his work.

ADR3-N responds:

You'll have to send me some of Wahhsin's stuff!

I was concerned after 4 hours plus of talking that we would go completely off the rails, and ofc we did. But I think in the end it's pretty interesting, at least to the types of folks I'd get along with and have something to offer anyway. Like autistic folks, other creative, and people who like internet oddities, or 90s kids. I put podcasts on while I'm doing chores or walking so it's the kind of thing I'd be down to listen to and that's enough for me!

It also made me think maybe I should do a podcast, since I clearly love to talk lol

[Scrapped Metal Projects]

i absolutely love the thickness of your guitar tone. I need to work on my tone game

Burn7 responds:

Thanks dude!! I swear to god I learned this too late but for me it's about giving the bassline space. If I mute the bass and the guitar tone is the exact same there's a problem lol.