xxxZigZagxxx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[1982]

0:16 Bass feels a bit too clipped in my opinion maybe too compressed. Kind of like how my leads are dry lol
0:35 It is a bit distorted but that might just be how it's supposed to be. Still sounds good though
0:46 I do like that little phased guitar riff in the back.
1:13 That lick in the back is quite pretty
1:20 That cry. Pretty interesting. I like.The ambience of this is very strong. Super strong ambience
1:30 That riff is cute. Very nice.
1:55 You're still different man. That's why I like u ^_^

Love.

phosphorusprocedure responds:

First time using FerricTDS, so I guess I went overboard with everything. I kinda dig the way the bass sounds, even if it's overpowering as all hell. I only mix using headphones, so maybe through speakers it sounds like doodooberries, but I'll never know, haha.

I used to shit on over-compression all the time, but now, it's a way of life. I'll never go back. Not a fan of babysitting the volume knob while listening to jazz or Mahler. Thanks for the review!

[Julian Caesar]

0:00 It is pretty loud hehe
0:20 That bassline is interesting
0:27 I admire how you have so many effects on everything and you make these weird sounds, it's something that I never do. I always focus on melody and composition over everything else because I lack the experimentation to truly make different sounds but this is great
0:55 There's that glitchiness. I like the swagger on the rhythm. Tightness.
1:11 OHOHOHHHHHHHH sample is nice
1:18 GOOD sampling on the drums because it's chopped up very tightly and it has little silences between each chop

This is highlight as well. Brilliance. Much love.

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Thanks for all these reviews, man! I didn't know you'd go on quite the spree, it'll take me a while to get through all these.

Funny thing about the drums -- no chopping at all. Just that method I talked about in the description. I let the glitch plugin and the sidechain do all the work. With the drum loop, I just dropped it in there, and made sure it looped correctly. That's it.

The bassline makes me laugh, because it sounds better on my shitty laptop speakers than it does on my dope-ass headphones. Must be the compression.

[Cattle Prod]

Thought I'd review back because I've been slack and haven't been listening and reviewing lately so let's go through your discog a little.

0:00 Trippy.
0:14 Interesting sample. Reversed. Tight-ish.
0:25 Oh my gosh yes that drum loop. Very tight
0:33 YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS DYING
0:40 This drum loop is amazing what the heck
0:48 WOUODUUDUUDUUUGUGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
0:54 Those riffs and what is happening this is great
1:00 Nek level.
1:09 next. level.
1:22 Samples for days. jazz standards or what that might be

Yes that was tight that was ever so tight. No laziness. Super tight. I am super super jealous right now. Super jealous. Next level stuff right there. Not even lying. This is one of the best I've heard from you. Cheers.

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Haha, thanks, glad you dug it. I was trying to rip off Run the Jewels a bit here, with the crazy drums and everything. I feel like maybe I went a little too nuts with the sampling at the end, but otherwise it came out pretty good.

[wAter thing :P]

Hello I will review said song

0:00 Water sounds. Very soothing
0:14 Wow that loop is very very well mixed I like the sound
0:22 Oh very musical wow! I do like the musicality
0:32 Snare or tom is a bit clipped at this point? But what the hell this is great
0:44 Very good. Very musical.
0:53 Snare's a bit loud and clipped here
1:00 Chords are a bit random but still interesting
1:15 I don't fully get the progression but it still sounds nice
1:22 That riff of drums is nice
1:27 Ooh there was a little part where the instruments were cut out in a little pattern there
1:40 Yah distorted snare but all good
2:30 This is a nice transition. Things are progressing. Still that snare too loud but you know.
2:48 I like this riff kind of. I wish the chords behind it were more straightforward for some reason
3:18 Overall this sounds very good. Mostly very well mixed, every instrument is wholly present ftw
3:35 I would have wanted you to switch up the drum beat a bit by this point it's getting a bit simple by now
3:50 Still bangs tho
4:00 Dat clipping still happenin lol but nice loop
4:08 OOH i like dat fill dat is a nice boulder
4:22 such uplift!
4:31 I like the strings. it sounds almost cinematic or like something off final fantasy. very uplifting.
4:52 OOOOOOOEEEEEEE love this part right here very musical.
5:01 Nice. Very very musical. i know i keep saying that but it's hard to find something on this site that's musical. i mean, my stuff is pretty terrible i hardly ever use music ever. it's mostly just sounds on top of other sounds
5:37 Pretty bangin
5:45 For a long song it kept my attention for pretty long. Even though for a period of time the drums were quite stagnant, it progressed

As you said the mastering is not so great I think because the snare is too loud that it clips but still! Very coolly composed. Way more musical than 90% of everything on the site, well done. Deserves merit. 4.5/5. This isn't just a sorry for burying you. It's a nice track. I love you like a love song, baby. Selena Gomez.

Blackmajiick responds:

Holy jesus that's a lot of words

Yeah, you're right about the snare being too loud. I'll fix that when I get back from class to remaster this thing.

A few of those times, (like at 1:40) snare isn't clipping or distorting though; that’s a percussion sample I threw over top of the drum loop. It's actually supposed to sound like that

[Track Table Fields]

0:00 Nice melody
0:10 I think the strings are a bit harsh. You might need to find a deeper, richer sound.
0:28 The voices here are kind of harsh and create a dissonance as if they're not supposed to fit together.
0:44 A bit too busy here, with the arpeggios and such all happening at once.
1:01 Also your snare pattern is a bit subversive, the snare is very unnoticeable but not in a good way.
1:34 I wish this would progress into something different. I think part of it is that that string sound gets grating after a while.
2:16 Needs a little bit more of a progression in my opinion. Some of the sounds sound a little bit out of tune, too.

I'm trying not to be too harsh, but this song is a little repetitious. I, personally, would advise against using this as a trailer song, until you've mixed this with nicer sounding sounds. I could see this being a lot better if you chose more rich sounds, more layered sounds, instead of ones with a very short attack and short release, which makes it sound tacky and rather repetitive and annoying. I can tell this track has some potential, but I think it needs special attention before that potential becomes more fully realized.

[Storytime - Hopeless]

0:00 Moody strings. Interesting.
0:10 Oh, this is voice acting.
0:20 Hmm... the manipulation of the voice is a bit too harsh on the pitching I think.
0:38 I like the sound design though.
0:45 Except I can't really hear what you're saying. I hear "everyone is afraid". "Shame and lies." "-one another-" but apart from that I can't hear much. I think you need to mix it so people can hear your voice and what you're saying.
1:38 "-when in Rome-" I can't hear anything apart from that either.
1:50 "-let us sleep there."

So yes. I think the major flaw in this is that I can only hear about 20% of the words you are saying. It might be the way that you've pitched your voice up, or the EQ'ing, but I think one of the major things in voice acting is to be able to hear the voice, which is a bit of an understatement. Perhaps mix this again so that it is audible. That is of paramount importance.

thekmanproductions responds:

I'm sorry, I do have the best microphone. Money is tight. I do try to make the best out the limited supplies that have, you have to at least admit it's pretty good for what I had. I mean, I do try. I'm afraid I'm not going to redo this, however, I will try to keep this in mind the next time.

Also, my accent takes a toll on me, I do try to mask it....but it just doesn't always come out perfect. Overall, thank you for the review. If the next one also sucks, sorry...

[Bananadu | 2014]

0:00 Interesting melodies
0:10 I'm not sure if I like that melody so far
0:19 But I really like this melody a lot
0:29 I think the second chord for some reason seems a little out of place but not in a juxtaposition kind of way.
0:45 Very happy and nice. The mixing
0:51 OOH that riff is very beautiful. I like.
1:08 Indeed it is cute and catchy, as the tags imply.
1:20 I think you might have overdid it with the two-note riff there.
1:30 aaaand fade out

Really nice. it would be cool as a loop as well. Some chords and melodies feel out of place but overall it's a very fun and happy melodic track that would go nice as an Earthbound track or Donkey Kong or I don't know. Something cute and happy with cherries and bananas like the disc cover indicates. 4/5 from me.

Bertn1991 responds:

Wow, I've never seen anybody so particular before! Thank you for your lovely, in depth analysis on Bananadu! I am smiling : D

[At the Mall With Friends]

0:00 Interesting. Doesn't seem like your typical mall track.
0:10 Ambiences. Cool. This probably isn't easy listening jazz.
0:25 I can see enjoying a treat frugally to this music.
0:35 Hm for some reason I don't like the way this stops and starts randomly. I'd rather it fades in than stops and starts like that.
0:55 Cool reverbs tho.

OK These textures. They were kind of nice. I mean, nothing too exciting in my opinion, but they weren't that offending. There were some very dry sounds like the stopping and starting of that sample, and the 8-bit sounding SFX at the end that I felt detracted from the mood rather than added to it, but overall it was very dark, like being in a very dark, dank mall enjoying a treat frugally, as you say. I give this 3.5/5

[Up and Away (Tweaked)]

0:00 This feels like an old school club. I think I get what you mean when you modified the automation. Sorry I haven't heard the original song but the automation per bar is pretty cool.
0:28 I can see this being the dance music for that Trinity scene in the Matrix where she tells him the life he's been living is a lie or something.
0:45 It's like some super futuristic dance techno music where everyone is wearing black leather and typing into their hologram personal devices and stuff.
1:05 It's pretty lowkey, and that's what I like about it. The synth isn't all in your face. It knows what it wants to be.
1:20 This is like the scene in the movie where everyone's dancing and trying to yell over the music but then there's some misunderstanding or something.
1:38 Sorry I keep talking about movies but it reminds me of the scene in The Social Network where Mark Zuckerberg is talking to the founder of Napster and is just yelling over the cacophony "this is our time" and there's gogo dancers dancing downstairs and all sorts of unsavoury characters around sharing their sweat.
2:20 OK I'm gonna skip to later, I hope you don't mind.
3:07 skip again
4:01 Ok this is back to a real original beat. Cool. It's very nice. I like the automation.
4:24 This has a real awesome vibe to it. Singular note, but just pounding along. Props.
4:40 And it's gonna end. Cool. I wonder how it ends.
4:53 On a delay. Nice way to end actually.

So. This isn't my typical genre but I have to say I actually really liked it. It reminded me of many great movie scenes, as you can tell by my annotation. The repetition doesn't become *repetitious*, it keeps it moving along at a brisk rate whilst maintaining momentum. I mean, it's not my type of song, but what it aims to achieve it does with success. So... good job :) 4/5 from me.

madhousecreations responds:

Thank you, that is a very interesting way of thinking about the track :) I like the style of the review :-D

[Epicness Slow-mo Variety]

0:00 I can feel the walking speed.
0:15 This is the part in the movie when the entire squad walks in slow motion looking all badass and stuff? Seems fitting.
0:30 Well that was pretty short. I wish that it would have at least looped or finished nicely.

It's a cool piece, has a nice mood that it wishes to achieve and it does. You should make it loop seamlessly in my opinion, or at least finish it off with a flourish. I could see this in some kind of movie. I mean, it's a bit simple and generic, but it serves its purpose. 3.5/5 from me.

NerdRoll responds:

tiz short because i wish to use it for a very short scene in a video im making. and i like simplicity. i try to keep things relatively simple with all my music. i agree the ending wasn't fancy or anything. but i was not worried too much about the ending, just the main part of it really. thanks for the rating and your opinion. at least it gets the job done lol.