ZipZipper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Save Me]

The first synth sounds a little to glidey and wobbly to me, makes it a little cheesy I think hahaha. I also think your cymbal crashes and other hits that transition the song to bit by bit are a little strong, I guess specifically I'm talking about the stuff sounding like the 00:40 mark. Maybe I'm just hearing it wrong in my stupid laptop. Anyways, when the second synth melody comes in I think the gliding is much better, in fact I really liked what was happening in that section in terms of melody. Oh wow! Really nice slowing down at the end to close it out. As a whole, the song has an appropriate length, to me, and it is balanced in its sort of ABA style. While it does sound solid in its instrumentation as it is, I would like to hear extra instruments out of the ordinary doubling up over some melodies, especially I think the first one. But really nice techno/dance song here!

R4R

Everratic responds:

Yeah, I am having a very hard time with my crash sounds, its not your laptop. It's always too loud, or it doesn't sound right. Thankyou for the review.

[Same Flat Beat]

Great glitching effect! I love glitching. The heavy ambient transitioning effect that happens at 00:43 I thought sounded a little out of place in the piece, but I don't think that's a big deal. I hear it happens again later in the piece. There's a lot of nice twists and turns in this; ever changing. Though I can't say electronica or dance music is really my field to be making judgements, it all sounds good to me if it's produced well, and this sounds produced well even hearing it through my crappy laptop speakers. I did think the main glitching melody going on is a bit annoying, I would think more variation on that would be more interesting. I really loved the shift at around 01:40, that melody was interesting, as well as your cut in time with the beat, which...I guess is what you meant by your dubstep tag? Otherwise I'm not really hearing quintessential dubstep. Anyways, nice dance music. Would be cool to hear with some glitching vocal line too!

[Prelude/Fugue after Bach]

Nice arpeggiating with a very real sounding piano. Hmmm...it's an okay prelude in my opinion. I personally get bored of arpeggiating rather quickly, but what I think could be improved on is the sudden end to transition into the fugue. I think it would work better if the prelude at least ritarded a bit before suddenly stopping. That way the listener can expect the fugue easier. I even think a little more creativity on that half could be beneficial as well. The fugue itself is nice, just wish I could hear what happens next...I like your transitioning from minor to major, just like Bach does, so I'm expecting you repeat the theme in a major context after that. Overall, this is pretty good, I just wish the prelude was a little more humanized in a sense. But nice work!

[[Knox]Legacy]

Inspired by hold music? How very interesting. It would seem that you interpreted it as something meditative, not cheesy or annoying. Or perhaps this is to counteract that droning feeling of hold music. There are some slight variations in this that I think make the piece intriguing enough and hold its own atmosphere. Very worldly instrumentation, which I adore, and nice mixing and production in my opinion. Everything sounds balanced. I think this would fit well as the background to a forest world in Epic Battle Fantasy. A pleasant song that held my attention the whole way through, but I think it would be nice if it could loop a little more effectively, or rather have the ending not be so sudden. Anyways, really nice work!

[Short Hit - 105]

Very good! Definitely befitting of a chase. The heavy percussion and miscellaneous electronic hits are nicely done. I liked your string melody going on in the beginning and the general cinematic realness to the instruments and instrumentation. The hybrid sound at the end seemed rather sudden, a buildup from the brass and the strings before that point would have connected it better I think, perhaps even a slight ritard. You also let the hybrid sound drag on for a full duration and I think it could have been faded out much sooner to keep the song more concise, though I do enjoy the oceanic feel of its sustain. But melodically, it does harbor a good tension and isn't boring at all. I think you chose a safe route with this sort of scenario, but it does always work for what it is. Nice job!

[Discovery]

Fantastic use of time signatures. I really do have a lot of trouble counting the end because I'm pretty sure 5 and a half is not a time signature hahaha. I hear two counts of 6 and then this variation between 4 and 10 ughajkdfashf I don't know. Really clever melodies written. Even though I think 5 is sometimes not as hard as it seems, I liked your melodies and how they weren't so predictable. You've actually got nice mixing and production on this, I just really wish you had used a different instrument choice. The one you have actually works so very well, but damn it would be really cool to hear this on some less cheesy sounding instruments ahahahaha. Well anyways, really great job here. Impressive weaving through time!

Wilhiemthe2nd responds:

I will probably upload a different version of this but with me on an Actual Electric guitar, to add some drive behind this.
5 1/2 /8 Isn't a Orthodox Time Signature in truth, but it DOES exist. its basically like an Illusion. Towards the ending phrases of this song, The phrase ends half way through a Measure, hence it being 1/2
So instead of being 5/8 or 6/8 it is 5 1/2 /8
"Some composers have used fractional beats: for example, the time signature 2½ 4 appears in Carlos Chávez's Piano Sonata No. 3 (1928) IV, m. 1."
Its one of those Time Signatures you can't notice without changing a previous Time Signature.

Kinda hard to explain, I only recently began delving into Odd Meters. I might be listening to too much Dream Theater. Haha

[The Maiden's Heart]

I can say that in par to mainstream expectations, I hear the song continuing with that faster paced theme for a bit, then a cymbal roll into a more legato forte climax of the strings, and then a dying out with the strings and the vox. Of course, there would probably be some supporting brass. Some unique instrumental additions could be a piano doubling over the strings' theme when it picks up, or a bunch of glissandos. Perhaps a sudden harp solo preceding the climax.

I personally would love to hear this song suddenly take a wrong turn, somehow subtly transitioning the mood to a darker appeal, maybe really take on the minor qualities of the melodies for a bit and then return back for the big finish. I might also add some percussion of some sort, a hardcore tribal conga thing would be interesting and would fit well...while I would probably inject electronic elements.

I mean, you've got a great start to a song, keyword being start. It could literally go any direction so it's kinda hard to suggest something worthwhile. But nice job anyways, something will come of it!

Bosa responds:

Excellent suggestions, Sir ZipZipper. I appreciate your advice and your encouragement. I will definitely consider your insight.

[Painted Dreams (Studio)]

Sounding like Pixar lol! Really nice stuff, you can't beat the sound of live players...funny because in the very beginning I wasn't sure if the strings were synthetic or not. Of course, everything got realer and realer as the song progressed. Interesting that you note the overlap technique, is that an actual term? I just thought it was only natural to record something long in separate takes. Though I suppose, thinking about the price of an orchestra it does depend whether you have the money to pay for a session long enough for a single take, and I suppose it depends on the piece of music too. The overlap was done perfect and thinking outside the end product I see how that logically works to record the song in those two parts...well obviously lol. Great music here, I really liked the jollity of the second part.

deadlyfishes responds:

Thanks! Yeah, in film scoring an overlap is ideal when cues are about 4:00 or longer... Imagine if something went wrong about 8 minutes into a 9 minute score... What a bummer... Especially when you aren't using clicks, and just using a projector/screen with punches and streamers (to help line up your conducting to the video) You'd have to start over again. A waste of time and money! It's practical to split cues up, write them knowing that they will be spliced together without making it sound that way is the challenge here. I am glad you liked it! I'll be uploading more stuff here soon, I've been neglecting my NG account since I've been really busy with so many writing/composition gigs. Thanks for your review!

[Determining The Stakes]

Ahhh more Yanterflum! I actually think the story could have been narrated over this music, the connection between them is so strong! With the scene of the Yanterflum's abode still fresh in my head, this encounter really took on a life of its own to me. The walls a reddish-orange, glowing because of a fireplace. The Yanterflum's...blue or green I think. He seems a little more tame here than I thought he would be, but I think that's a good character choice. Just, really great storytelling supported nicely with the music, which loops! That's a nice touch as well. Nice work!

WingoWinston responds:

As if you also think he's green/blue. Definitely on the same track with the Yanterflum.

And I just wanted to show how ruthless he could be, even to a friend. I think my next piece will be the actual battle of wits with naturally, the accompanied storytelling. Thanks for taking the time to actually listen, read, and review!

[Assault Drone]

Whoa! Really cool! Excellent epic fanfare rhythm and a neat melody. Nothing really popped over each other which is nice actually. It serves like a background music for the beginning of a videogame, featuring the tutorial on how to maneuver the Assault Drone through a replica city. That being said, I thought its consistency was perhaps too good. I mean...wow it would be great as background, but I think it could be even better with more foreground. Some break where a lead synth comes in and plays a sort of solo in the middle or something like that. I also thought the drums beginning at 01:33 came off as a little cheesy and anticlimactic, at least alone. They sound nice blended in with the other percussion, which evolves and translates over time anyways so I guess it's not that big of an issue. Overall, definitely paints that videogame picture in my head, for some reason I'm thinking old school Playstation games hahaha. Anyways, really nice work! Noticed that I'll be entering the contest with inspiration from a piece by EchoCharlieDelta as well awkwardddd <3

anthonyloprimo responds:

I had some issues getting a really awesome "pop" to the music. A section that not only stood out amazingly.. but actually flowed with the song. I do agree though - it's good for background but... even with what I did there could have been a more distinct sound to give it more of a foreground.

The drums were kinda 'meh'. I wouldn't say slapped on towards the end but nothing spectacular even after several attempts to get something kick ass.

Thanks for the feedback though, first and foremost. I always strive to improve and I appreciate the feedback. I'd love to hear your own entry when it's out! Hope you get a chance to note me a link!