NickPerrin's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[BK] Rickroll (8bit Astley)]

Niiice

Masterfully 8-bit-ed. I like the Punch out, mario and megaman sounds thrown in, however they get annoying after the first few repetitions. I think the sound effects should be limited to certain sections of the song only.

Anyway, apart from that, this accomplished its aim perfectly, so good work.

[Castlevania 4 *Monster Forest*]

Sweet.

This game has a great soundtrack. I don't know how you did it, but you pretty much captured the exact sound of the SNES cart's music in this game, just now with better sonic quality. Sounds great. 9 rather than 10, because there isn't much difference from the original which makes it just a little bit redundant.

Anyway, all in all cool stuff. BTW if you're into Castlevania music, I've done a remake on here of Vampire Killer you'd probably like.

Keep it up!

SupraDarky responds:

Thanks Nick! I already listened to your Castlevania music, loved it! As for this one, I really tried to get as close as possible to the original on purpose. It was actually pretty hard to find/create the right instruments, but I'm happy with how it came out. :)

Have a nice day!

[Farmland]

Incredibly cinematic.

I really enjoyed this. This is by all means a VISUAL song. It presents strong images through and through, very cinematic. As such I think that this song would be best in the context of a film or other visual presentation.

There is a lot of emotion and atmosphere in this piece. The "wet"ness of the signal with so much reverb really fits you inside the music, and the song has a very BIG sound, like it's surrounding you.

At 3:40, the key change and instrumentation change feels a little off and too sudden. Everything was this big, wide stereo image and suddenly it feels like the song was switched into mono. Also, as I'm sure you're aware, at the very end, the instruments just cut off AND the tail of their reverb is cut off by the end of the song, too. Sounds wrong and adds to the "digital sampler" feel that detracts from the organic quality all us computer composers strive for.

Keep it up, great work.

[NG Podcast Theme Contest Song]

Cool track!

Nice catchy little rock theme song. EZDrummer being used to nice effect.
I felt there was a real lack of low end in this song, I didn't hear a bass if there was one, and the song would sound a lot fuller with that low end filled out and emphasizing the rhythm.

Anyway, cool stuff!

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Thanks man!
I did have bass in it, but I'm not a bass player..and it didn't sound right. So i just upped the bass in the rhythm guitars, and drums in the final eqing of the tracks.

I'd like to ask a bass player to help me out...but its only 50 seconds. Maybe you'd like to help? :D

[Downtown Strut]

Kickin'

Your music, from what I've heard so far, really possesses that professional sound. To be more specific, by "professional" I mean it has that self-assured musical confidence and solidity matched with great audio production.

I gave this one a 10 because, as you said below, this style may not be extremely original but you accomplished the aim of the scene without flaw.

SSM-NW responds:

Thanks for the great review...as I've said many times before, there is no greater compliment to a professional than to hear his work is as such.

I do hope that my work shows a certain confidence in performance and production--I'll paraphrase the great jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker, God rest his soul, who said (at a clinic for jazz composer/musicians) that any musician must take the stage knowing he's the best at that moment, that all insecurities are out in the open, as every musician's soul is naked on that stage. As a composer, this is part of my stage, and I feel I'd have no business being on this stage without exuding that kind of confidence.

Thanks again for the great review, and I wish you all the best!

[The Side Path]

Nice.

Nice piece. Interesting travel through several different textures.

Anyway, one thing I must protest. How pretentious can you be, not letting others know what instruments you used, as if you alone hold the secret to them? I know what instruments were used, by ear alone, and could very simply answer people's questions if I had the ability to reply to reviews on this song. You should do the same!

Anyway, keep up the music!

[Scherzo in F]

A little short, but totally enjoyable

Obviously, a little bit too short, but if you were to expand on this piece it would be fantastic. Like the reviewer below said, great use of counterpoint, and I agree with you that the most important thing is a good ear!

I really enjoy piano music like this, keep it up!
I can tell you must have been zero-bombed. I hate it when people vote good music down.... I'm 5-ing this one for sure.

[Sonata in C Minor 1st m]

Great piece.

Great piece, interesting and entertaining. Doesn't suffer from too much repetition and prolixity. This piece could HUGELY benefit from more careful sequencing to make it sound natural, as it sounds like point-and-click into a sequencer right now. Tempo rubato might help a little here as well, although I imagine it would hardly be used in this piece. OR, record this being played on a real piano! That would be the best-case scenario.

Keep it up!!

ClassicalFreak responds:

Thanks for the review. Yeah... it was all point and click, since I can't play the piano very well (so live may be out of the question). Might add a little more dynamics and shift notes a little bit left and right to make it more 'real'. Also, this is just a draft; if possible, I might introduce some modulations (since they are a key ingredient to sonata form D=).

[Marche au Château full version]

Excellent

Excellent as usual. Nice use of the March form and the French title (as someone who is half-French, I appreciate it haha). Great instrumentation, the whole thing was alive and moving, noble and passionate at once. I missed the snare drum a little bit though, the staple of the march along with the bass drum, but the song didn't feel like it really needed it more, so I'm not sure what would have been better.

Keep up the good work - as if I have to say that!

BTW I love Krayon's review and your response below, I got a laugh out of that!

Winterwind-NS responds:

Nick!
yeah I try to avoid using percussive instruments (excluding piano) as much as possible. I didn't have a bass drum but in it's place I have a timpani and a snare drum part quieted down. I try to have the strings and the winds trade off the parts that give the piece movement and rhythm without just leaving it to the percussion, which is the easy way out.

hahah yeah, those reviews annoy me
glad you enjoyed the piece
and that review response lol

-Winter

[_-={Machine of Judgement}=-_]

Cool!

The first minute of the song was by far the best composed and orchestrated of the song. So that's my only complaint - the climax of the track was at the BEGINNING!

Otherwise, great work. And good luck with that new website thingy. BTW are you using EWQLSO? Sounds like it!

MaestroRage responds:

Quite right Nick... quite right. I should probably do a remix of the song eh? I agree the beginning is my favorite too, I spent the most time on it, so it shows I guess.

Yes this is in fact largely EWQLSOG. LARGELY I say! A few things here and there like the choirs and the oboe were not from EW, but this is pretty much all that.

Thanks for your honest review Nick, always glad to hear from you, i'm glad you liked it!