ZipZipper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Death of a Butterfly]

...what is that voice you're using?! That is the most fantastic program I've ever heard, if it is a program...since that is extremely convincing. In fact, I think everything about this is so very convincing and realistic. Well...I think the rain could use some tweaking. I thought it was a little harsh to be underlying the entire piece, though I did like how it was used as a sweeping filter like introduction. I'm just really blown away by the realism in this song. Yet, for some reason I wasn't really hearing it in an emotional sense. I don't know why. Maybe it is because of the rain kind of stealing from the instrumentals and making the mood kind of gritty. I'd definitely love to hear the instrumentals more in depth. But obviously you did a wonderful job. Much love <3

DesoloZ responds:

Best Services - Forest Kingdom (The Eternal Female Voice)

[A Night to Remeber]

I can see you really tried with getting those different characters, which I think you did a good job with. I have a feeling this was all one take and you were switching voices around in real time? It would help to record in bits so that you can focus on each character more. This could also help with projecting the voice of the characters more efficiently because they felt held back, perhaps due to thinking about transitioning. This could also benefit from at least some sound effects and reverb. With just a small echoy drone and a touch of reverb, I would further understand that it was a cave they were in, and then just cutting those effects off at the end would tell me that the atmosphere changed and the main character woke up. So in general, you've got the foundation of the story and the characters, I just think they need a lot more extra stuff to back them up. Nice work! I liked your Ryan character, I kinda wasn't expecting that demeanor or tone from him.

vinnw541 responds:

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I've been meanin to get around to adding the effects but have been rather busy. And I never even thought of doing them in segments. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks again!

[Nights to Ignore]

Awwww you trying to get me to read? Hee hee hee hee hee. Casey made me feel fuzzy inside and I just wanted to cuddle him while nerdy guy really brought out some annoying antagonism to the piece, and it's always a good job to create a character that one just has to hate. As just an initial first listen through, I was confused as to who was who...were there really only 5 friends? When so many opinions were being thrown around, I couldn't tell who was who. I guess especially since the plot of this piece was not so much one story but a discussion of different stories trying to make their way through. So a little cluttered but upon further thinking you do keep them divided in some way. Perhaps some more focus on dividing the ranges would help that too. But I think overall it's pretty cool. Nice ending hahahaha.

[Ignition]

Yeah that story can be seen in this. I definitely want to have intercourse with you.

[Sleep Wrapped in Love ~ T]

So that leaves the marimba and I think glockenspiel doing the twinkly stuff? And some extra strings near the end. Oh and a cymbal roll. It's great that you panned the instrumentals to leave your voice in the center, but I'm having difficulty picking out how this connects to the original lol, I guess because you transposed it. I think I can hear that melody line some...anyways, it is always good to hear singing, just wish it was clearer. I think a part of that is mixing issues, but at the end of the day the hardware makes a difference. But, overall nice work!

Troisnyx responds:

+ 4 brownie points!

Thanks for listening by the way! ^_^ And yes, I used a Samson Go mic for this (which is a significantly better mic than the integrated mic I used previously) -- so if anything: it's mixing and reverb.

Changes I made from the original: 1) transposed it from C maj to Ab maj, 2) changed the time signature from 4/4 to 3/4, giving me room to stretch the melody line out quite a bit. I only hope...... it'd be recognisable after a listen or two. o.O

[Minimalism Improv (Piano)]

Pretty good. Yes the last measures were really taking off from the starting idea and were very developed, a song based on that would be great. This improv session seems like a great start to a nice minimalist piece, though I do think the left hand could use some extra spice somehow. Perhaps even more tempo fluctuation would be great, and some more less-obvious dynamic changes. Also, I can't quite tell if you're using pedal or not...but I think it sounds flat and would benefit from either more defined pedal or more reverb. Of course, this is just a quick improv done in one take, so I guess these are just things to think about for the constructed piece. Yeah overall, a nice minimalist start. Nice work!

drumdude responds:

Great review! Reviews like this are especially useful considering I am self taught and know pretty much nothing about the complexities of music, so reviews like this make me think about things I never would have thought about otherwise. I definitely agree about the left hand needing extra spice. I already have a million ideas on how to add to it.
I definitely am using the pedal, but I agree that it sounds a bit flat. Not sure whether it's due to me not using the pedal very well or just something to do with the recording. I will definitely experiment with things like reverb to try to create a more defined sound.
Thanks for the great review! I will definitely think about your points whenever I start writing the actual piece.

[Salvation -> Suffering]

Love that beat. And the ethereal beeping filtering in and out is so mystical. What a perfect blend of hardcore and softcore. But, your idea just falls flat on its face in the end. Were you thinking of more or did you just give up? I felt like the suffering section was going to be the next advancement in the song but then it just said nope and ended. Anyways, nice synthy things and percussions. I really do enjoy this, I just thought it wasn't done speaking.

Anchorwind responds:

You are correct in the incomplete status. It is common for me to release a project that is part-way through its process, and get some feedback from it [I generally have most of my conversations with people via messaging or skype] and re-visit it when it feels right, update the track and inform interested parties of the update. In time, this will likely be longer and progress into harsher territory for the second piece. If you would like to be kept updated, let me know and I will do so.

[Zero Gravity Ballroom]

Omg stoooopppp this is delightful!!!! A waltz!!!! <3

Also, your musical writing is so developed here! The orchestration is perfect and your melodic lines weave around as mystical as a waltz itself. The piano definitely added a serene texture to it all. I personally would have added some percussion to the beginning then have it stop about 60% through. I also think that looping quality could be fixed, but not biggie. Just the timbre of the horns in the beginning is so triumphant and majestique. Excellent. I can't really resist a good waltz. Much loves <333

stunkel responds:

Haha, glad you liked it :D I love anything in 3/4 or 6/8 time. Yeah the looping sounded great in iTunes and logic. I think it might be an issue with newgrounds. But thanks for listening dude! And I'm glad you think my music writing skills are developed. That means a lot to me! Thanks for listening and reviewing!

-Ryan

[So long]

Oh ok bye :(

[Watercraft]

Wow take me inside this song Jesus. I simply die over the soft electronic beat. But I don't hear any backing vocals! DECEIVER! I can't buy myself something quite as nice as if this song had some skoob diddly pop a dop voiceings!