xxxZigZagxxx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[REALLY]

this is impeccably mastered, good mic and EQ'ing

the beat just bumps along super well. you're next on the big come up :)

you'll be noticed soon :)

TazPrimo responds:

Much Love ZigZag...U da homie foreal

[+-[Faerie Lullaby]+-]

This is absolutely heavenly. Absolutely heavenly.

LadyArsenic responds:

^__^ Oh thank you so much. <3

[Eterna Comedia]

0:00 Has a lot of piercing highs. It's a really nice melody though. Like the melodies and harmonies you're using. There's a kind of flanger in there which "creeps" it up. It's a pretty tune.
0:32 Ouch. That hurts a little to be honest. The highs are a bit crunchy for me, but then again I'm pretty sensitive to the timbre of the bell in general. So adjust according to your taste.
1:02 The melody is nice though. And I'm liking those chords underneath by what I'm guessing is the tgsf21x? Either way it's a nice little memorial piece that I think holds great significance to you in particular.

If anything I would EQ the bell to make it less sharp. Other than that it's beautifully composed and brings feelings. I could imagine swelling strings even coming in later on, just holding the chords underneath. It'd hold a lot of that together.

Great job, btw.

LexRodent responds:

Thanks a lot for your feedback man, I'll check the EQ on the tracks and the compressor as well to lower the high frequencies, and try your idea of adding some strings or maybe a cello.

[The Heartwarming Harlot]

0:00 That kick is very bassy.
0:10 Not sure if I'm a huge fan of that melody line...
0:18 It sounds a bit like a horse galloping beat.
0:30 It sounds unique for sure.
0:35 OK let's see where this goes.
0:43 I do like the drum programming here but generally all the intricacies get lost under all dat bass.
0:57 That strings hovering under. It's quite passive aggressive.
1:08 Ooh. Strange. Interesting.
1:23 OK
1:28 The riff is quite repetitious though
1:35 Yeah it's getting stuck in my head though and that previous statement wasn't to say things weren't progressing because they are only ever so slowly
1:55 OK change soon pls this is getting annoying
2:01 OK that sidechained strings. Brings an interesting thing to it.
2:15 Yep you're right it's getting a bit more solemn. Hopefully it goes full solemn soon
2:27 It is pretty solemn. Still harsh and quick, but solemnity creeps in.
2:40 Yeah i like the strings by themselves sorry, the kick is too overwhelming
2:51 done

OK it was nice and interesting but perhaps your kick is too bassy. But I do like the sidechaining in the strings and other instruments. It's unique and original, but I don't really like the melody that much and it gets repetitive and even annoying just when it gets to the end. Perhaps change it up a little. Otherwise good, mostly well produced. The bass sometimes drowns all the other frequencies out. But it's inventive and new and cool anyway.

Thanks for letting me listen.

MelkorMorgoth responds:

Wow...um...that was pretty obsessive of you. Thank you very much indeed! I recommend you to turn your speakers or headphones up, as this was put together on quite loud headphones. In short words: This is meant to be played loudly.
About your opinion on melodies: Well, melodies are percieved very individually.
About the repetetive nature of the song: It's techno. Go figure. I took repetition as a stylistic measure to let people hear the individual lines and voices and better let them hear the timbres. Also it becomes kind of meditative. Just think of the bassdrum as a strong heartbeat which is kind of the purpose of a 4 on the floor bass.
Now, thanks for your honest opinion of neatly ordered epic length. I appreciate it and thank you, dear ZigZag, for listening.

[Cobicistat]

I think ciba43 was trying to say that this track gives him a feeling that something is following him.

I'm going to stop googling these drugs because they take the attention off the quality of the track.

0:17 I like the interesting little riffs you've got.
0:33 I can see the influence of the prime numbers. I think you like that "rhythmically weirder shi*" don't you lol. I feel bad that I had to *star* that out because I don't feel comfortable with swearing always. It's just me.
1:13 Taking the drums out... still sounds nice. And then when the come back in at 1:25 <3

I think I'm going to go up the road and buy some fried chicken now. Will review more when I have time!!! <33333

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Yeah I started having trouble coming up with names for tracks, so I'd go to, say, ATC code N06 substances (or whatever) and grab whichever one looked cool. Cobicistat's used for treating HIV I think?

I'm really happy with the drums turned out on this track. They sound really good to me. The part at the end where you hear just the drums -- I had some other kicks I stacked on top of the main kick, but they didn't sound good together, so I took the kicks and routed them into the snare track, which was sidechained for some reason. So when the kick hits, that breathy sound coming off it is the reject kicks reverberating out.

I had my triangle flute wav file (can't remember what synth plug-in it was, I just recorded a note of something off the soundcard) playing these two melodies on 2 tracks sidechained with each other. The delayed one would play some echo-y notes, and when it would fade out, the quick arpeggio thing would shoot in at the end of the barline until it was kicked out again by the main synth. Put reverb on top of it, post limiter, to smooth over the transition.

And that rhythmical weirdness. New trick I'm messing around with. Thanks for the feedback, dude!

[Bernzomad]

Lol i tried to google this drug and your submission was the first one that came up. So either this drug was made up or it's a nickname or shortening for something else.

0:38 Either way this is good.
0:43 I like the way your progressions kind of go up up up up
0:48 Does that say "hurts so bad"? awwww :( or maybe
0:58 Never play again?

I want lyrics lol......... I might have it wrong..

Much love <3

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Lyrics:
Bernz (a person) so mad,
Bernz so mad,
Adrien Peterson will never play again.

(he's holding on to him for his fantasy team -- wishful thinking.)

[Trifluoperazine]

"Trifluoperazine (Eskazinyl, Eskazine, Jatroneural, Modalina, Stelazine, Terfluzine, Trifluoperaz, Triftazin) is a typical antipsychotic of the phenothiazine chemical class."

These melodies. These feels. These chords.

0:24 OO I like that little transition.
0:32 Back to the minor... or rather the slightly more "sad" portion. Not sure how these chords work actually because nothing is ever straightforward with you.
0:54 OO I LIKE. thanks for gifting me with this ending. pity it only lasts a few seconds.

<3

phosphorusprocedure responds:

This one, I just got lucky. Dragging notes in random spots and that first vamp popped out. I'll probably send you the midi file so you can look at it, maybe mess around with it or whatever.

[Quetiapine]

0:00 I like this loop a lot better. It's nicer and more happier than a lot of your other loops, and I like happiness!!!!!
0:20 OH BEAUTIFUL LOVE IT LOVE THIS PROGRESSION
0:30 This is very earthboundy i think. I've never played earthbound but I've seen people pointing out their influences.
0:43 I lied I played about 5-10 minutes of the first but got bored because traditional JRPG battles. sorry if you're an earthbound fan i think earthbound music is amazing. I have actually listened to earthbound music by itself and it's great.
1:12 Yes but this is actually going well
1:15 I LOVE the melody and progression which you are clearly focussing on. Anyway now time to google your drug.

Quetiapine (/kwɨˈtaɪ.əpiːn/ kwi-ty-ə-peen) (branded as Seroquel, Xeroquel, Ketipinor; Hedonin by G.L. Pharma) is a short-acting atypical antipsychotic approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and along with an antidepressant to treat major depressive disorder.

Aw.... a lot of depression related and antipsychotic drugs... these drugs. They can either be good or bad for you, depending on whether they are prescribed lol.

Have a good time! MUCH LOVE

<33

phosphorusprocedure responds:

That's the thing that bugs me about those old school JRPGs: the music is freaking amazing, but the game is (for me) a bit of a chore to get through. I played through a big chunk (what I thought was a big chunk) of final fantasy 3 or 6 (3 in america) and stopped at some jungle or something. Go to my friend who says I'm at like 2 percent of the whole game. Jesus. I do keep the soundtracks in my itunes, though. A lot of times I try to just do that: a 30-45 second loop that sounds good. Maybe throw a bridge in there or something. Easier than trying to make a whole 9th symphony kind of thing that goes on for 55 minutes or 2 hours or whatever.

[Lamotrigine]

Lamictal /ləˈmɪktəl/ by GlaxoSmithKline, is an anticonvulsant drug used in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder.

0:15 Lol... slurp? Hoping you not doing too many of these drugs if they're unprescribed... hehe. you might go crazy like me
0:38 BOULLIE is right, this is pretty funky
0:42 Those snares. Like the snares. More snare rolls. As you might already know, I have a <3 for the snare.
1:05 And I realize you have a <3 for the bass with a bit of that crunchy ATTACK on it. one that sneaks up behind you with a little warning but not too much warning because now suddenly ITS UPON U. that kind of bass.

That loop as well. Interesting loops you're making.

Word.

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Uh actually I was kind of iffy about how loud (and suddenly loud) the bass would get. I was going to "fix" it, but I said fuck it and wanted to get the track out the door to work on the next one, but that part with just the bass still kinda bugs me. I think it's just the triangle flute wav file in a low register, with Camel Crusher on it. And sidechaining. Everything in here was sidechained.
So much bloody sidechaining, lol.

[80s Love Theme]

0:00 Lol that keys.
0:12 It sounds Rhodes-y but I don't exactly like the melody/progression
0:21 But this part of the chord progression soudns nice.

"Bremelanotide Listeni/ˌbrɛmɨˈlænətaɪd/ (formerly PT-141) is a compound under drug development by Palatin Technologies as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction, hemorrhagic shock and reperfusion injury."

wowww interesting. :/

1:07 I like this part of the progression. Now to make it into a song with other instruments.

0:00 LOL IT LOOPED

KK cool. It's not very 80's though imo, it would need to be slower and have more delay and more cheesy reverbed-out drums. But the progression is slightly 80's, because of its sound musicality combined with interesting little interludes that don't necessarily push for the epic. What am I saying lol

Love you <3

phosphorusprocedure responds:

I came across Bremelanotide by googling love potions. I thought it was an aphrodisiac kind of thing, but I guess it's used for that other stuff too. Lel, this is the only one so far that looped successfully. I don't know if I'm messing up the FL export part or if it's just the ng player.

I think I took the DirectWave Suitcase keyboard and put flanger and delay (time way down, like under 10 ms) until it sounded Rhodes-y. It could definitely use more 80s instrumentation to get that vibe going though.

My friend said it reminded him of Dire Dire Docks, that keyboard sound? That's a great keyboard sound right there.