ZuwerWS's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Slope]

I just noticed that you seem to be uploading each of these every 7 days, or simply every Tuesday, so it's gonna be interesting to see the next part in about a week. I like the pattern, and I find it kind of funny how you made me sit there for about 3 or 4 minutes and try to count out the time signature, since I mostly compose in these uncommon signatures, so it's interesting to get taste of my own medicine. I also love the chords you went with for the main melody, they sound really nice. From what I could gather track is in 4/4, but with a very interesting spin on it. I don't really listen to much of Drum N Bass, but what this compositions makes me think of is a train station during a late evening. I really like how you chose to spice up the thing near the middle, it still keeps the original spirit but with a bit more minor and augmented chords. Overall I really like it

MauveDash responds:

It is indeed in 4/4 :)

Tbh it's kind of hard to work with one singular pad sample, which kind of attributes itself to the sort of goofy sound in the latter section

[Jagged]

I like the 6/8 shanty vibe the thing starts on. The main motif is really catchy. I think the transition from the beginning to the main melody is a bit too abrupt, mainly because of the change in volume. Like you said it's a bit too messy when it comes to audio leveling, everything seems to be too close together which makes it kind of hard to pick out anything concrete. I really like the arpeggios that start at 1:14, And it really nicely transitions to the same motif but in a different key, which makes it even harder to decipher. Overall I'd sum it up just like how you did, there's a lot of clutter here, but there's enough of the good stuff, like the melody or chords to make me like it a bit. I really like the ending.

MauveDash responds:

Funny thing about the ending, I had it slow down at the end only to make it the same length as it's "sister" track later down the line (which this was made off of the project file of).

[Quartz Isles (2024)]

Okay it picks right up from where the last one ended. I like how the mixing is done, with the loudness pf the drums giving the whole track a lot of tension. It's really hard sometimes to pick up what exactly is going on, and that works in the favor of what the vibe the track seems to be going for. I like the speed up at around 1:35. The guitar sounds just great and I don't know what you did with the ride (I think it was called), but it sounds like if the sound wasn't coming from my headphones but the surrounding area instead. Once again the guitar is the main star of the show, I'm a big fan of the melody you wrote for it, and section B (2:29-2:54), while it ends a bit to quickly, I think that could be handled better by played the note on the guitar a bit longer, is still good. The last minute or so has some really nice chords and I like it a lot. I also like the effect at the end. Great track.

MauveDash responds:

Looking back the guitar note ending early is the most jarring part, and the section B being too quickly kind of is a byproduct of me not knowing how to progress stuff that well :(

Half of the praise you gave I agree with! It's actually why I chose to "remaster" (I did a bit more to change the vibe for the album of course) the track in the first place! Very thanks :)

[Halls of Avulsion]

It's gonna be interesting to see how the theme works out in the game you're talking about. I like the beginning, although I'd maybe work on the audio leveling, since it seems to be a bit cluttered. I'm a big fan of the chord progression, and the melody in what sounds like the chorus. I don't feel like the drum pattern at 1:17 fits the overall atmosphere the composition goes for, maybe try going for hi-hat's on each eight note instead and see how that works, I think that could sound nicely along with a quieter bass drum and snare. The Melody at 1:26 at least to me doesn't work too nicely especially with the drums. I can see what you were going for, but I do believe there's quite a big mess present. I think that what follows at 1:42 is rather well done and while the overall problems are still present, the piece stays at the rather high note right to the end. i hope that what I wrote you found helpful and that it was a constructive review.

ButterBees responds:

Thank you so much! That's great, I really appreciate you putting the effort in, and I can sort of see what you're saying here. I'll look into it.

[Cyber]

I really like how it starts, it's interesting right from the start. I think that around 0:20-0:50 there could be some work put into how the chords sound, especially at 0:36 and 0:48, there's a really weird effect, which works some of the times but not as much in others. I really like how it sounds at times like 0:56 so I do understand why you went along with something like that. You use some really nice chords, and around the one minute mark the effects really hit home to me when it comes to building tension. I like how instead of going for a time change or something in the same vein, you decided to keep on building on the foundation you already had, it gives it a really nice progression. I'm a big fan of the track that starts to play around 2:16, I'd personally use it a bit less, but what you did is also good. The melody gives me vibes of fantasising about the past home that is now very distant to you, wonder if that's what you were trying to go for. Overall I really like this track and I think it's executed in a very nice way, with my only big problems appearing near the start. I do wonder if the cut off near the end is because it's gonna be an album of sorts, I guess I'll have to see with the next instalment

MauveDash responds:

Aye, this track was designed to be an opening to something! So I am glad to see that I at least got some sense of wonder/fantasy down.

Ngl, the 2:16 track is mostly there to pad the runtime a tiny bit as I wasn't quite happy with how short it was.

The lack of change was a mixture of laziness, and that it didn't feel right for what this track was.

The weird effect at the start we may differ opinions on, but I can see where you come from as it does start way too slow and quiet to really have it sound the best...

I like the amount of criticism you provide as I'll try my hardest to take note in future tracks! Perhaps not this review I'll take into consideration, but the ones for the other tracks I certainly will! Very thanks :D

[Glass clocks]

You hooked me in right with the start. This time I'm gonna write the review from a point of multiple listens, some of my opinions might be constracting, but I want to experiment with new ways of reviewing
first time: I feel like it's fine, although I'd maybe work on some effects, since some samples seem to have much more of them than the others, it goes by pretty quickly but overall it's pretty cool
second time: I like the piano at the start, although it clashes around 0:20, maybe you could try putting on some different effects? I feel like everything afterwards is mixed pretty well, I really like the piano at 0:47, and the come back to the original melody at around 1:00. I think it has some nice potential for a full on 3 minute song, although if you don't have much of an idea, don't push it. this is good as well.
third listen: I think you put an instrument in the background that's really quiet? I don't think it adds much to the song. Actually, that might be what caused my dissorientation with the piano, since it seems to be gone afterwards. Maybe you could try and disabling it?
fourth listen: I think it's gonna be my final listen to it and also my one and only time doing this sort of thing, since I don't think this is gonna turn out as the best, or even good way of doing things. It's hard to wrap my head around the whole comment now and I think it's much more of a mess than any help. So if you want you can ignore this section and just write something from the start

ACTUAL REVIEW: I like the piano at the start, it serves as a nice leadway to when the song starts. I would maybe turn off the little chimes in the backgrounds, or whatever these are since they seem to be dissorienting, I'd maybe think of another way of adding some background character to the thing, although 0:20-0:47 proves that that's not really needed, since I really like that part, and even everything after 0:47 not including the chime. I like how you incorporated different instruments into one song, Although I'd maybe make them 8 bars long instead of 4, since it seems to be kind of tiring after a few times (if you want to count a few as 9 times in total, the issue is probably more on me than on you, It's still nice to experiment though). I feel like I totally lost my point by now, I like the song as a whole, although I think I went overboard this time, It's not tiring like you don't want to listen to it anymore, and after 12 times I still am not sick of the thing, I don't know what was the point of all of this. I bet this (my comment) is gonna end up as another one that isn't helpful and more damaging in the least, so if you feel like It's bad, then yeah you can ignore what I said.
After another 10 relistens or however many: It's pretty solid I like it. (that most likely was a shit comment)

DaxCamdaxian responds:

No worries pal, the fact that you have commented on each listen is great because that's exactly what I usually do to get a feel from the song and see where it can be improved, i truly think that extending the song could result in a much better experience, with a more refined mix and readjusting various sounds that are rather crudely arranged, again, there is no problem at all, keep with the cool reviews 👍

[Distant]

The opening is nice, although MAYBE try to lower a bit the volume of piano, because it sticks out a bit to the rest, and then the drums are also a bit too loud (this was only an issue during first listen, I'm going to keep it in because it might be me getting used to it, but I'd say the mixing is perfectly fine rn). I really like the quick pace of the whole thing. I also like the effects you used in this one, I'd maybe work on the drums a bit to make them less repettive, although I can see how that would lead to other problems. I like the slow down near the end.
After listening to it a couple times, most of the problems went away. I think this is perfectly fine and I'd say I kind of like it (was that alright? or should I change something about the way I write these comments)

Casper responds:

Drums (or at least the kick) is definitely too loud/punchy especially in the intro but i'll partially blame that on my headphones, for like.. a year and something I've been mixing on garbage bluetooth earbuds cause I don't got anything else and kicks don't usually have much presence in them D: re-listening to this it's definitely too loud, though i hear it fine after the drop. I could have fixed it but I dont spend too much time on these since I have to get them out before the day ends

[10 - Doomsday, Prophet Of Diamonds]

Before I start saying anything about the song, If I hurt you in any way with my comments in the last week, I'm sincerely sorry, for I have not realised that letting ALL of your emotions out in your comments about a certain media can lead to, well very bad results. And I did harm one person out there with my comments. Now I want to make sure if I should change the way I'm commenting, like are other people fine with the way they were or should I maybe calm down be more constructive rather than emotional and such. Even if I'll still try to tone the comments down because while most were fine, when I wasn't a fan of something I showed it, when I was I did as well.
I think the ms paint drawing is pretty funny, nothing out loud funny but yeah a slight chuck on, also it fits the goofy vibe. I really like the song. The entrance sound really nice. The mixing is on the spot I feel like, The melody sounds really fun and sounds like there was a lot of effort put into it. I really like how the song stops near the end of the bar, and how overall fast paced it is. Around 1:02 it gets into a really fun part. I don't know what else to say, I just really love the way you pulled this out. The tension is built up very nicely, and I think the jazzy ending is very fitting. Also the little add-ons near the end. For Jamuary this is some amazing work once again. Good job! (Hope that was okay, if you'd want me to change anything then please say it, I don't want to harm anyone with my comments never again, I won't be trying to be overly possitive, I'll still say what I don't like about each song, just try to do it in a more constructive way)

Scareev responds:

It's okay bro, relax! you didn't hurt me in any ways, i undertand that your intention is to give a good feedback, and sometimes, choosing the words to describe our feelings towards something becomes really hard, and i don't blame you for that, everyone mistakes at choosing words, but don't be guilty by that man, never! guilty is the worst feeling someone can carry along, stay good bro!

[Jamuary 10th - Beat]

After I realised many of my reviews weren't written well, I have to ask. Were you fine with the way I wrote my comments? And if not should I be more considerable? like less emotional and stuff because I did get emotional in the comments. I don't believe I've seen you be mad at those, but it's better to ask under everybody's songs I've been following rather to only ask the one person I know it affected. If you'd want me to stop commenting then I will. If you'll want me to change something about the comments then go ahead. The song itself I don't feel like is too bad, it isn't great but it's jamuary and it's still cool that you made something that day.

MauveDash responds:

So far, your comments have been fine! I haven't taken particular offense to any

[Indigent Dreamscape]

I'm really sorry if me and my 'tries' at honest reviews were a part of your stress. I didn't mean to cause any harm, but also I thought that if you let out everything you think of something it's gonna be fine. There was a discussion going on about my comments in the discord NGAP collab center, and what I did while unawarely, was a shitty thing to do. I'll moving forward try to be more aware of what I'm writing, I hope it'll change for the better. I'm not gonna say a lot about the song this time, I like it a bunch, just I need to know. Were you fine with what I wrote? was I too aggressive? Everyone has their limits and sweet points and I don't want to be too negative, if you'd have any ideas for how I could improve then I'd be very thankful. If you'd just rather not see me anymore, I'll also understand that. I did a lot of bad and I do need to make up for it now.

Casper responds:

I believe that this subject is a bit more complex than some people tend to realize, which makes me usually stay away from 'controversial' topics, discussions and communities that might interpret things differently and put me in a bad light. I don't believe your reviews were inherently malicious or had the intent to upset certain people, however some of them were worded poorly and, to me, at most slightly annoying in some regards. You asked me on one of my reviews to you why I 5 star every song and the answer is that I don't want to discourge anyone even if I do offer criticism because I know how much it can affect someone, especially if they're just starting out. I would rather encourage them and give them a few pointers as to what could, from a technical standpoint sound "better". That's not to say it's what you, or anyone else should do. I appreciate people like you that judge more, for lack of a better word, harshly and point out various issues one might have with a track and I definitely don't think you should change the way you act just because some individuals don't like it. Sure, you can be a bit nicer and friendlier in your wording but at least from my experience, if your remarks genuinely upset somebody it might mean that they're not 100% happy with their song and you might have said some things to them too blatantly. In my (strictly personal) opinion though, most people aren't qualified enough to criticize even if they have decades of experience in the field and next to no one knows how to provide improvements over a track beyond subjective preferences or generalizations. That's not to say no one should though, everyone can air out their opinions, you have to understand however that music is made up of more than one subject - mixing, composition, sample manipulation, sound engineering, sound design, an understanding of electronics and much more, which is why I've come to hate the term "producer" lol, to have a level of understanding in only one of those subjects is already impressive enough, but trying to critique a track based on all of those is not something that anyone should do with absolute confidence.

maybe i rambled a bit too much and you probably knew most of the stuff I mentioned but hopefully you can take something away from my point of view :D