xxxZigZagxxx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Delusionshy]

Very brony-y. This song uses kinda cheesy synths at the beginning, going in to full-on dubstep wobbles that make me bob my head so hard! Yes.

Your mixing/production is pretty top/notch. The wobbly synth at 0:20 is intense and fits in well.
There are other parts where things seem too harsh and not well-put together, for instance at 1:05. The wobbly synth actually just sounds too jarring and distorted for me to enjoy, or get into, even though I was getting into it at 0:20. So, mostly good.

So, I would cut the space between 1:05 and 1:45, because the part after that is nice. I think it's the combination of the harsh synths and the distorted drums that make it hard to listen to. I realise that it's supposed to represent the "argument" mentioned in your vocal samples, but it's simply not that great to listen to, imo.

5 stars from 0:00-1:15, -1 star for 1:05-1:45, and -1/2 star for 2:15 onwards. But that bass at the beginning alone, was awesome. 3.5*

silverblazebrony responds:

Thanks! Being the first time ever making a harder dubstep style song, I knew there were going to be some faults in it, and after listening to it allot myself, I can hear allot of problems that I missed the first time.

QUOTE: "for instance at 1:05. the wobbly synth actually just sounds too jarring and distorted"
Yeah, I figured there was something going on in that section of the song. I just couldn't put my finger on it. The drums I knew were a problem, and I was planning on modifying them during my revisit of the song.

After listening to the song a few more times, I also realized that it is just too short. and needs to be maybe a minute or so longer. to give room between the vocals. cause at the moment it kinda feels rushed to me.

Thanks for the review! You've given me allot to work with when I revisit the song. :b

[Lament of a Rusty Heart]

Hey Shanath.

This piece is a cover of another piece, a melancholic piano entry, with ornamental details and arpeggios running up and down the piano. The feeling that it brings across is one of nostalgia, rememberance, and deep longing. I love the composition, and you covered it quite well. So the composition is all good.

Your production of the piano is nice to hear, and it doesn't feel like it's synthesised that much. Your VST must be a very good one (or your mixing is very good). If you want, you can tell me which VST you used, otherwise you can just keep an artist's secret ;) But it is very nice and feels like you are in a tiny hall, such as a school hall, and playing by yourself under a dramatic spotlight. I can imagine this being played in a concert of some sort. Very nice.

Even though it's a remake of a song, it's still beautiful, no matter what. So congrats on remaking this song, because it's beautiful to hear, and probably a good exercise in learning production etc. But most of all, it's for the personal benefit, isn't it? ;) Yeah, I remade "Peaches in Regalia" for that purpose. Turned out pretty crap though.

Sweet song.

Shanath responds:

Haha, yeah. I'm guessing you've heard the original before. It's quite a beautiful song and I wanted to capture those same feelings as in the original. Maybe, I could have done better by adding a little more length to it but I'm glad of the end result.

Thanks for the review!

[asdlfkjjjt]

0:00 Hmm interesting riff.
0:15 It's kinda rocky, if a little too distorted to hear the motif.
0:30 Yeah, you're right, the second gat is not well-mixed. I mean, it's OK, but not good.
1:00 OK.

Yeah, that was OK. I liked the original riff, but as you said, the second gat didn't mix well, and it ended in kind of a catastrophe. Oh well, you live and learn, right?

Kewwwwwwwl.

ForeverJustTonight responds:

Right now we are just using newgrounds to share pieces we come up with. The recording equipment is shit but only temporary, so everything we post is going to sound like shit haha. But thank you! -Reece

[Forgoten Truths]

0:00 Hmm, interesting riffs. That bass is pretty good.
0:15 This thing is unexpected. Psychedelic.
0:30 Something about this doesn't quite *hit*. I mean, it's good, but it doesn't take me places.
0:55 I can't help but admire your esotericism though. It's very different, esp. for a site such as this. Good quality recording too. Good stuff.

So, yeah. Good loop. It loops well, too. The chords go nice, and riff is interesting, but something about it seems off a bit. I mean, I listen to avante-garde stuff, but it doesn't seem to be connecting with me at the moment. Also, I would like to see some variation in the loop. But the recording quality and mixing are pretty splendid. We need more recorded music on NG, so this is great.

Thanks.

Scrotaculous responds:

This is part of an ongoing series. Thanks for the input and kind words.

[What's Up, Midnight?]

0:00 Oh my gosh that sample! So soulful! And the filters.
0:34 That drum loop is standard goodness. I was half expecting James-Blake-Unluck-style drums, which would have been perfection. But this is classic Jazz Hip-Hop.
1:10 Snare may be a little loud or something. But it don't matter much.
1:25 Nice little hi-hat touches.
1:30 Vibin' happily.
1:40 Just a *bit* stale, but nice flair. I'd like to see a change-up in the sample right about now. It might be laziness in switching it up, or maybe we're feeling the vibe a *bit* too long.
2:20 Yeah, this is going on quite a bit. You can switch up the sample here if you like.
2:40 Slightly repetitive.
*skips to 3:50* hmm... still the same thing
*skips to 4:50* still the same thing

Well, good track. At the beginning, I was wholly feeling the vibe. It was AMAZING. But repetition, repetition, repetition. This could have been at least 2 minutes shorter than it is. Or at least switch up the sample at least once. Overall, very good, but repetitive.

Smooth.

ThaKidd responds:

Taking your advice, I just put it song format for me, glad you liked it though!

[BP (Sky Trance Remix)]

0:00 Nice beginning, from the beginning, it's evident what type of song this is.
0:20 Wow! Is that a sample from a Disney movie? Cause that's really cool if it is!
0:45 Nice soothing part. Traditional open hi-hat comes in.
1:00 These chords remind me of Tiesto's "Elements of Life"
1:30 The vocals sound *slightly* cheesy. Even if they are very innovative.
1:55 Things are starting to sound kinda stale. Could use some spicing up.
2:30 Ah, yes. It's a My Little Pony thing. "I'm a little pony every pony should know". Too bad I haven't watched the show.
3:00 This part is nice and soothing. Still feels a *little* stale.
3:25 This drop was kinda yuck. I'm just not feeling it by this stage. Maybe this track is too long.
3:55 This tune is nice. I like this riff. It's very happy-go-lucky. The whole tune has this idealist vibe. It's very nice.
4:30 Ooh, nice change! The major chord is very cool.
4:45 This is a good change.
5:00 OK, the vocal sample is kinda annoying. But ah well. Good track.

Overall, good track. I like your mixing/mastering, and your chords are very uplifting. It's got a sweet vibe. Sometimes it may be *sickly* sweet, combined with the vocals, but overall very good, in a cotton-candy-cottage-mary-mary-quite-
contrary-how-do-you-do kind of way.

Well done.

TheBellmaker responds:

Thanks for the very detailed review! My primary motivation for making this track was in repayment for a friend who had bought me a lot of (yes, pony) stuff. The original song is one of his favorites, so I decided to remix it for him. Thus, I couldn't make it as "unstale" as I would have liked, due to the constraints of the original lyrics.

As for you review itself, I find it very helpful, especially with the time markers. Also appreciate how you're not afraid to through in generous criticism, as it does help me out in future songs.

Thanks for listening!

[Ayaklanma Bok (RAC 2012)]

Hey Rahmemhotep

I see that you are very interested with Turkish culture. I'm wondering whether you actually are Turkish, which might have made it easier to create that style of music. But either way, the instruments sound very true to traditional style. I'd say that up to 1:10 it is very serene and nice.

After that, distorted guitar is added, which I did not like that much. It seems like the proportions/levels are incorrect, or that the EQ is wrong, or something that makes it jarring to listen to. The way you put the Turkish voices in was good too, though.

This is very emotional and has a certain angsty vibe to it, probably indicative of the subject matter you are addressing. I thought that from 2:45 onwards, with the distorted riff, it was a rough patch for me. I think you might need to up your skill on mixing/mastering a bit for you to fulfill the intent of what you are trying to bring.

Overall, this is an emotional story-based song about war, unity, dissonance, and revolt. It is quite harsh and has a distorted vibe to it, which I think could be improved.

Thanks for letting me listen:
~
Beauty: 5.5/10
Skill: 6.5/10
Intent: 8/10
Dynamics: 7.5/10
X-Factor: 7.5/10
~
Overall: 35/50 (70%) [B-]

SoulSecure responds:

No, I'm not Turkish, I just have an intense desire to learn about the world, its music and cultures. Turkey is one of my favourite countries musically, because it's extremely unique and has tons of different styles. Even Turkish black metal sounds different from Nordic/Scandinavian black metal.

I love the guitar just the way it is. I made it sound the way I wanted to hear it, a bit dissonant and with a ambient room filling feel about it. It's definitely got rock distortion on it. I'm guessing you'd like something more smooth sounding like death metal distortion... Anyway, I think it sounds great, lol.

I also have the distorted saz sounding just the way I want it to. I could have softened it with reverb, yes, but I didn't, simply because I didn't want to muck up the sound.

[Life, Obstinato - skyood]

Hi skyood

From the beginning, the strings bring about an atmosphere of cool calmness, and the meanderings of a thoughtful piano. The background is very soothing, almost comforting. The dynamics are handled very well, I can feel it in my bones. When the drums come in the textures may not be at the right levels, but the overall composition is appealing.

Your skill in composition is fantastically good. The fluidity of the parts is amazing, and you flow from soft to loud with ease. The rough patch in the middle is fine, because it still sounds great. My instinctive guess is that you are a very good composer, but if you learnt a bit more about mixing, you'd be *fantastic*, professional level.

It's emotional, it grasps me by the heart and fails to let go until the last note. You have poured emotion into the strings, which I feel are the saving grace of this piece. It feels like the music is a deeper metaphor for an inner revealing of self, finding strength to carry on. Encouraging.

In some circles, it could be seen as overly sentimental, as in the soundtrack to a Whitney Houston romance, but you handle it with such finesse that it is bearable. In the right circumstances, even kitsch can be art.

I like your statement. It's an uplifting motif, it speaks to me, it moves me. I like this.

Shot.

skyood responds:

Yeah, I spend probably put about 25% of the time and effort into mixing than I do into the actual writing of the song. This one even less so because I was so stoked about the feel of it I wanted to rush it out and get some feedback. The drums are particularly problematic for sure.

As for more metaphoric type things ... the reason it's called "Life, Ostinato" (oops, I'll have to go back and edit the title as I misspelled ostinato not obstinato. Doh) is because it's supposed to the kind of constant, moving along that life takes us on. Sometimes the steady pulse crescendos into true beauty ...

Back to reality, based on the little feedback I've gotten here, I'll definitely be spending time (when I have more. Yeay midterms!) mixing and perfecting it. Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated.

[That Mentality]

Hi SmellyCheeseMan

Synthy, distorted and padded to the max, it captivates you from the beginning but gives way to monotony later on. The repetition of the main pads is jarring to the ears, but it has that eerie feel to it that is redeeming. The textures do not necessarily complement each other, they are too same-ish.

The EQ-ing needs a bit of work, either that or your synths. The overall sound is harsh, as you said, "like a NES went horribly wrong". That said, the rough patches are complemented by very good patches, in this highly inconsistent song. I would cover my ears in some parts, and bob my head in others.

It is supposed to be highly emotional, but somehow the emotion seems to have been EQ'd out of the way. The drums are glitchy and super-8-bitted out, but I sense that you need to work on your mixing and synth-making skills to make this more like you wanted it to be.

It is unique in that it uses very distorted samples of 8-bit, but under the current production, its true genius fails to shine through. I can see the feel that you are going for, but it's a bit too distorted for my tastes.

Overall, your statement is a good one. But the production is lacking.

OK.

SmellyCheeseMan responds:

Hey! Thanks for taking the time to comment!

It's kinda sorta meant to be jarring, the feel for the game its designed for calls for it in certain parts. Admittedly yes, its way too distorted. The entire project was under a glitching VST and a "vinyl" VST. A lot of the low end was cut off because of the vinyl vst, and again was intentional for the project it's for. The synth used was a simple 3x Oscillator and the the main "pad" as you called it was a very distorted and crushed violin.

Thanks for listening and commenting :)

[Kr1z - Forever (NM Remix)]

Highly audible!

~~~xxxZigZagxxx's Listen-a-Trak~~~
0:00 Trancey start, with a hardcore tinge. Epic swoops.
0:30 Snare fades well into the kick.
1:00 Bass is muddying up the mix! NOPE.
1:15 Seriously, someone needs to EQ that bass.
1:30 So far highly underwhelming, but it could get better.
1:45 Ah well, at least it's melodic. You've got a nice lead line going on there.
2:15 This is starting to sound very epic. The addition to the lead makes it 5x better.
2:45 Ah yes, that kick is good. But might need a bit more high end, so you can feel the presence of the rhythm? I'm not sure, that or it might ruin the mix.
3:15 Very chill vibe going on here. Just cruising along the trance route. The hi-hats are a bit weird though. Sounds like they're going through a flange of some sort. Insane upon the membrane!
3:45 Amusing synth coming in here. A bit puny. Is that all you got, synth? Also, Y U GO OUT OF TUNE?
4:15 An overly loud synth that is clearly out of tune.
4:30 Get that annoying buzzy bee out my eardrums, ASAP!
4:40 Thank you.
4:55 Starting to get a bit boring.
5:15 Meh... yawn.
5:30 OK I'll stop the review here.

Very interesting rendition of a great song. I don't believe you nailed it like you could have. There were some minor mixing issues, including a major one at about the *ahem* 3:45 mark. ( I would mute that channel if I was you.)

But yes, overall, entertaining but underwhelming. Gets boring around the 5 minute mark, which is kinda good considering that 3:30 is the ideal radio track length. So your experiment kinda worked.

Production: 6/10
Listenability: 7.5/10
Creativity: 5/10
Style: 6.5/10
Reviewer's Tilt: 2.5/10

TOTAL: 27.5/50
GRADE: 55%
VOTE: 3/5

xxxZigZagxxx

MessanyRecordings responds:

Now that was a long and helpful review.
In fact I could try to improve this remix indeed.
But I will probably finish some WIPs before I get back to this one.