xxxZigZagxxx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Tripleton - Fragments]

0:00 Starts off with a short, punchy kick.
0:16 The glitchy hi-hats and the such like here are kind of jarring, and seem like a loop without any effects added on. It'd be nice if there were some little variations in the loop.
0:53 This bass synth is nice, but it has too much low end for my tastes. It sounds muddy. I'd work on EQ'ing it so it sounds more crisp and clean, and less overwhelming in the mix.
1:13 That transition came way too quick imo. It exploded, and then it settled down too quickly as well. The hi-hats aren't mixed properly imo too, they're too "wide".
2:00 By this point the bass riff is getting kind of repetitive, and it seems like it's not really tuned that well either.
2:20 I feel like the several components of this song aren't meshing well together. It doesn't really hold my interest either throughout the song.
2:50 It just feels like a lot of loops were put together.
3:05 Man, that bassline is getting so repetitive. Sorry, it's just getting annoying. I wish you would switch things up.
3:50 This really isn't progressive enough for my tastes, and it doesn't have enough interesting effects and harmonies to hold my attention. Plus that sidechained synth is really EQ'd wrong imo. It's too in-your-face, needs a little more subtlety.
5:30 I really don't have much else to say since the song has so much of the same elements repeated over and over.
5:45 That transition wasn't all that great either.

In my opinion, this track is quite repetitive without the introduction of many different elements. The bassline in particular is really repetitious, basically the same thing over and over again. The transitions aren't all that exciting, and for a supposedly "progressive" song, things don't progress all that quickly. I'd say a lot of work needs to be done on this before it's considered a great song.

Thanks for letting me review, this has been your ~Review 4 Review~

Tripleton responds:

I was, honestly, trying out an earlier deadmau5-esque style, where he has big, echoing synth bursts and keeping a simple drum beat going. As for with the intro, I was trying out a full-drum intro filler, like PR and Arty have in their songs.

Thanks for the review! Since this song is really my first mockup, I'll be sure to go deeper when it comes to fixing it. Again, thank you!

[SC 38 4 2]

0:00 Liking the riff you're using. There's some nice arpeggio-like synth riffs overlapping each other that create a mood of livelihood, uplifting vibes and contentment.

0:41 The kick fills your ear-drums. I think the drums in general lack a definite top-end, that gives the crispness to the percussion. This being said, I tend to compensate *too much* in that area, so you can take that as a personal criticism rather than an objective one.

1:29 I feel like the energy of the song should be building up more around this point. More "swishes", more build-up synths towards a climax, or if you are going more for the slow-burn Burial-style future garage, then it needs a bit more automation in terms of reverb and delays.

And yet even those styles of songs have drops.

So far, so good. I'd see this is as a work-in-progress level of quality, as in it can be improved, needs a little work. Keep up the good work and I hope to see more of you in the future.

This has been your ~Review for Review~

jawalker213 responds:

Thanks a lot for your advice! I'll play around with the top end of the drums and see where that goes! Totally digging your music too!

[8git]

Doesn't really sound like chiptune at the beginning.

I think the pitches of the synths are too harsh and they don't have enough interesting qualities. The guitar and drums in the metal part are really good though. You're good at recording them too.

But you need something more "rocky" than a sine wave imo. It's too soft and has a really soft delay on it like a fairy song.

1:08 Then right here you try to use it as chords but it overwhelms everyuthing else.

But you got really nice riffs especially they sound really nice on synth.

1:31 I think I've got the idea.

Could be improved. But a decent composition especially when the guitar gets involved.

3/5

laggy-luk responds:

hey, thanks for constructive feedback. I find it hard to combine guitar sound with chiptune synths, neverless I'm trying. I was planning a solo and mix could be better but I was in a hurry for the battle deadline :(

[Game Over Sucker!]

pretty basic. you could eq the thing to make it clearer. i don't think it's anything special but still fits the theme.

3/5

ComposerDylan responds:

Thanks for listening.

[Beacon]

please mind me while i put on a youtube video of "2001: a space odyssey".

0:20 i'm loving the washy synths. very emotive. there is some loneliness in the meandering chords.
0:45 i want to see "gravity" again. this time on imax.
0:53 single breath. i heard that. nice.
0:59 glitchy stuff. really nicely mixed. liking.
1:07 oh please please this melody is great thank you for gifting this to my ears
1:20 ok pls dont mind me i'm gonna skip just because i'm tired and this is getting too soothing
1:31 never mind it's getting interesting too. nice progression.
1:41 the equalizer thing is looking trippy right about now
1:47 new synth coming in. something doing some sort of arpeggios down a little grassy hill.
2:04 key change. kind of nice western-y pitch bending guitar/sitar things? interest.
2:21 i like the progression. usually i don't like such brutal transitions from one mood to another, i would have liked it to drag on a bit longer.
2:43 ok i'm gonna skip for real now.
2:49 nope wait i like how this is turning out. those hi-hat-lik things getting ever louder-ish
3:11 good riffs. i'm guessing you got some big pitch bending thing going on there it's really nice i wish i could do stuff like that
3:33 kk that breath is still as coo as ever
ok cool

REALLY GOOD. mixing was on point, command of atmosphere total. i am digging.

5/5

thanks for letting me listen hope i was of help

GdabZ responds:

Thank you for your very complete review and glad you liked it !

For the last lead "the guitar/sitar thing" (2:04/3:11), I used a real guitar. My good old Telecaster, with a metal bottleneck and a lot of aerial effects courtesy of Guitar Rig.

[Acid Trip [Chant]]

interesting. that chant's a pretty cool sample. and your piano synth is nice. i like the reverb on it. you go 1/3rds at 0:28 which is interesting. i would have liked a bit of variation in the melody overall, it seems kinda boring throughout. otherwise good. thanks for letting me listen.

Bafana responds:

Thanks. The whole song is 1/3... Just more noticeable when the beat kicks in :D Its a work in progress so I'll try and liven it up a bit more!

[Beowulf]

epic man, truly epic. i'd eq the strings to make them less overwhelming. but since it's just a composition for a full concert band it should be fine. good work b

JamDrmr1114 responds:

Thanks, epic is the best word that someone could use to describe. The poem itself is an epic so that's a pretty encouraging comment. Cheers!

[Imbissdeutsch]

this is pretty bloody well produced

Svenzo responds:

Hey thank you

[Lonely Lava Lamp]

Great mixing man, that kick might be a bit overloud I reckon, but I can totally see someone like Frank Ocean or The Weeknd singing their reverberated croons over this. shot.

Tzarnaz responds:

Thanks a bunch man! I just uploaded the full, hopefully even better mixed version to Newgrounds, check it out. :)

[Crazy]

Respeck. :)

BummerCityTown responds:

Thank you Zig. You're gonna love 2014 :)