xxxZigZagxxx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dramatic Classical of Justice]

Really nice. I like the soothing feel of it. The strings are beautiful, and the arpeggios (?) are amazingly nice. Good job, dude.

[Prog Amp House Loop]

0:00 Nice start. Little synths rising out of the depths. Very paddy, and ambient-ish.
0:20 Things change a bit. This is pretty well-mixed. I like.
0:30 The drop is going to come soon, isn't it? Just kidding.
0:42 The kick is very good and thumps it along nicely. Not too present, but present enough in the places where it counts.
1:23 That's beginning to sound like a cheesy 80's guitar riff. It's beautiful :3
1:37 Nice change of riffs here too. Things get a bit disco-ey, which I'm always fond of.
1:52 It would be nice if it built up and settled down in some points,
2:08 Especially leading up to this. because i think it deserved a bit more hype up to this part, and then maybe quieting down.
2:42 You do a bit of it here, which is nice. but this part should have been before the big drop, imo.

Well this is really nice. Really beautifully mixed, nice synth lines, ambient pads, and general production know-how. It's also very soothing and... well, wide. Nice arps, beautiful little riffs going on there. Good job good job. Good job.

Cheers
ZigZag aka Ben

KittenBeat responds:

Thanks, Ben. This is a great review
Listening to it and reading your comments has me really agreeing with you. I might just re-arrange it like that and re-upload it, and that way I don't need the bass plunge at the beginning.
Also, would you believe that all the percussion in this is acoustic? I meant for it to be a place holding for adding synth drums, but I was so impressed with how well they sank into the mix that I just left it :P
Anyways, I'm really glad you like it c:

[Guetta - Titanium (Remix)]

Awesome bro! It's been a long time since I've been in contact with you... it's thatbennyguy, I just made a new account. Again, I'm not a great fan of David Guetta, but this is very good. It keeps it going right up until about 2:45, where I felt it fell off a bit. But you really have that skill of making something cohesive and nice-sounding. I wish I could be as good a producer as you one day :)

Cheers
Benny

PrEmoEffect responds:

Hey, how nice to hear from you again. Production hasn't been going on lately, as I've been getting busier and busier (it sometimes feels like I'm losing myself, but maybe I'll find a way to express that later), so I haven't really been developing my production skills. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

Best,

Han

[The Shaqtory]

Oh bravo bravo. Grand.

Gobblemeister responds:

thnx

[The Moving Island]

Wow. This is pretty gold, mate. Doesn't loop too well, though, but overall the guitar vibes are niiiiiiiiiiiice. This is good for a section of film or something, where the person is reflecting. I wish it were longer, and without that weird swell at the end, but other than that it's grand.

Cruzaflo responds:

I could ditch the whole loop idea and just turn it into a song. Would that be a good idea?

[Arid Love]

0:00 Interesting reverb here. Sounds like the sample is being played in a hall or something.
0:27 The drums are weirdly EQ'd, but mostly sound fine.
0:45 Nice drop in mood here. The calm before the storm, if you will.
0:55 Building up nicely. Can't wait for the drop!
1:06 Nice drop. Subtle yet noticeable. Not sure if I'm a big fan of the riff though.
1:27 Drums don't seem to hit hard enough, if you know what i mean.
1:40 They don't meld that well with this synth either. The reverb is interesting, though.
1:56 Needs a bit more variation with the riff, in my opinion.
2:13 silence? interesting.
2:25 Doesn't pick up quite as quickly as it should
2:34 Vocals sound pretty top-notch.
2:44 I would say it's a little repetitive. Needs some other stuff in there, to last it the full 3:21.
3:06 Vocals sound pretty Bjork-esque? Interesting, but not my flavour.

It's a pretty standard DnB song, with weirdo reverb effects and overall placid feel. The riff felt a bit repetitive, and the drop was kind of anticlimactic, but in a good way. The guitar sample (?) was poignant and soulful, but at the end it was starting to get annoying. This song could use a bit of mixing to make the drums stand out a bit more, maybe. Overall very nice submission, and hope you make more.

Yumisekai responds:

It's quite rare to see a constructive critique like this.

I really appreciate it! I'll be sure to submit more songs. Thanks man!

[Time for Anxiety]

0:00 Nice. Very bombastic and riff-filled. Has an epic feel about it.
0:23 Not sure I agree with the percussion here, but oh well.
0:40 Here's a nice part here. I like the rising chords and the overall feel of symphony. It just feels a tad forced, though.
1:03 These riffs are very nice. They provide good contrast. However, those drums are annoying me, they don't suit the track.
1:28 Ah very nice interlude! I love it. Your riffs are excellent and well placed. This part isn't as busy as the rest of it, and kind of has a happy-go-lucky Pokemon feel to it. Kind of like the Japanese animation scores, or something.
2:04 Nice chords through here.
2:19 TEH EPIC RIFFS
2:28 You're right, the percussion does bring something though, but I'm not sure it's that beat. The Kick-hat-snare-hat trick isn't working for me. Maybe something more unique or suiting?
2:57 OK the riffs are getting overdone here. They are nice, but now it feels like general wankery :P
3:15 Ooh nice chords coming through here.
3:33 Nice changing up.
3:40 Sweet point, right here. The quick chord changes are beautiful.
3:49 Happy-go-lucky again. That's another sweet spot. This melody is achingly beautiful.
4:16 sweet chords to end off with. will it calm down enough before the end?
4:33 Kinda abrupt, but nice.

This song is very cotton-candy sweet, featuring plentiful riffs, and melodic play. Sometimes the riffs can be overdone, but overall it's a sweet touch. The chords here meld with each other quite nicely, especially when you go into the happy-go-lucky portion near the middle, and the end. Sounds like the theme for some Japanese anime show or something (in a good way). The drums didn't hit it for me (no pun intended). But overall very sweet composition with varying themes and motifs that keep the listener interested. Good job.

OcularNebula responds:

Really great review, thanks!

I wish more people would include the times on which they're commenting in their reviews, it's very helpful.

Glad you liked the sweet theme in the middle, it's probably my favorite part, as well.

As for the drums, I realized they might sound a bit misplaced in this sort of music, especially in the dense parts with all the arpeggios; however, the trade off is a bit more clarity regarding the beat and the pace. Also, the "happier" sections benefit a bit from the drums, I think.

[Chipsy Ft. Chile Dawg]

Haha pretty mean flow guys... I actually didn't mind Chile Dawg's verse all that much, it was pretty simple and effective... meanwhile Bummer you did a real good job of this one. The acapella at the end was pretty hilarious. Thumbs up :)

BummerCityTown responds:

Thank you ZigZag. You're the man. Love your instrumentals. Keep em coming. :)

[Evil dance]

Pretty good mixing. I like the low pass filter-ish intro. The glitches at 0:20 are pretty interesting. After that, though, the mix gets very wide. The drop at 0:36 isn't exactly nice on the ears. It has kind of an abrasive feel to it that I don't enjoy. Too many highs, or something, on that main lead.

Sometimes the reverb on your drums is so intense. But this song is very random.

Keep working on it, though, I'd like to see some structure implemented, so the listener doesn't feel crazy out of their mind when listening to it, trying to anticipate when the next part is :)

JrSpesh responds:

Thanyou very much, thanks for the advice :D

[high heaven (wip)(trance)]

This is pretty well produced. It has nice mixing on it, and it has a general happy vibe. It's got a nice atmosphere, and it works well.

Perhaps tone it down a bit so it doesn't overwhelm the listener, and maybe provide some progression in the song. Maybe have a verse where you put a low pass filter on some of the instruments, and then fade it in, or something. Otherwise it's good.

Cheers and keep working on this. It sounds good, just needs a few little tweaks and lengthen it into a song.

killerhoofd responds:

thanks allot bro and yeah you are right about overwhelming the listener. so stay tuned and i will take use your tips. thanks!!