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Hello, I'm sharing a wip for a remix of Tomorrow and Tomorrow after receiving live feedback on the OCremix discord. The goal was to mimic the style of Imagine Dragons (ie Warriors) Source from 0:00 - 1:05 of and below is a earlier wip to compare changes I've made (for better or worse)

Hey Xaleph, I think you've pulled some of my VSTs from the Discord server anyway, but here's a list of some stuff I use commonly: VST Instruments u-he's Zebra2, Hive, Diva. All the u-he synths are notable for having free versions with very limited paywall restrictions; the free versions don't limit settings at all, they just play static or randomize notes intermittently after 20 minutes of rendering/use. This can be worked around by reloading the instance, and it's obviously an easy workaround for final mixdown. FM8 by Native Instruments - goes on sale a lot FMDrive - very cheap Genesis/Mega Drive synth that can read the original instrument files Roland Sound Canvas - not free but essential for a lot of GBA/SNES type sounds. A lot of them make up GBA soundfonts unaltered; Golden Sun, Pokemon, etc. Sforzando and Samplelord are both worth bringing up as soundfont interfaces; the former is free and the latter can notably read some proprietary instrument files used in E-mu kits like the Proteus. Performance Samples has paid VSTs but also a lot of freebies; I use the strings and percussion a lot. They just require a certain version of Kontakt. VST FX Guitar Rig - I use Guitar Rig 5 specifically. Its amps/cabinets are really diverse and convincing and I use the reverb effects on pretty much everything. Convology XT has a free version with a lot of convolution reverb presets. I use them in conjunction with these Impulse Responses a lot to emulate how reverb effects were achieved on the PS1. EliteReducer 2 and CMT Bitcrusher are both free bitcrushers. MeldaProduction has a lot of versatile free FX; I use MCompressor for sidechaining and MVibrato for gated/tremolo effects. ToneBoosters has a lot of free legacy FX i.e. Barricade. Tokyo Dawn Records has some good free/paid FX like Kotelnikov; I use the paid version on my master bus pretty much all the time.

Oh man, you gotta add Famisynth to the list! Not only is it 8-bit heaven, it's 100% free. http://mu-station.chillout.jp/plugins/FAMISYNTH-II/index.html

I was going to give this an official name (something better than "Tools we use"), but I wanted to start a post that lists some VSTs (free and paid) that I know a good number of us use for mixing. This is not intended to be a clone of a list of all possible VSTs, or like 2 people in our community use it so we put it here. It's intended to be a place to find out what others use in our space that we find particularly useful. Just replying with a simple name of a product isn't good enough for me to put it on the list (for the reason I stated above) - though you can always respond with plugins you personally found among the most useful (or just most used in each song). I want to avoid this being a junk drawer that has no real value. The value will come with a curated list of tools that we feel are worthy. For a list of DAWs we use and to find performers of specific instruments, please visit https://ocremix.org/workshop or ask in our discord. Sage Recommended 1. Instruments 1.1 Drums Addictive Drums by xln audio ($159 || complete: $869) [drums] ML Drums by ML Sound Lab (free) [drums] Steven Slate Drums by steven slate drums (free || $119) [drums] toontrack EZDrummer ($179) [drums] Superior Drummer ($399) [drums] 1.2 Samplers Native Instruments Kontakt (player: free || regular: $299) [sampler] [instrument building tool] Heritage Percussion by Impact Soundworks (free) [sampler] [tribal percussion] Super Audio Cart by Impact Soundworks (gameboy: free || complete: $149) [sampler] [chiptune] Shreddage 3 by Impact Soundworks [sampler] [guitar] Free -> Precision (free) [bass] & Stratus (free) [electric guitar] Hydra ($149) [electric guitar] - this one is my favorite of the Shreddage Line Impact Soundworks collection has a lot of instruments difficult to find, such as the Oud ($99) Spectrasonics: Keyscape ($399) [sampler] [piano] Trillian ($299) [sampler] [synth] [bass] Spitfire Audio Spitfire Labs - free [sampler] [textures] [orchestral] [live instruments] Notable Lab Instruments: Arctic Swells, Astral Forms, Frozen Strings, Strings, Strings 2, Amplified Cello Quartet BBC Symphony Orchestra (free) [sampler] [orchestral] 1.3 Synths Native Instruments FM8 ($149) [fm synth] Massive X ($199) [wavetable synth] Reaktor ($199) [modular synth] Odin (free and open source) [semi-modular synth] Phase Plant by Kilohearts ($199) [semi-modular synth] Pigment by Arturia ($199) [wavetable synth] Serum by Xfer ($189) [wavetable synth] Spectrasonics: Omnipshere ($499) [hybrid synth] [wavetable synth] Trillian ($299) [sampler] [synth] [bass] Spire by Reveal Sounds ($189) [synth] Surge XT (free and open source) [hybrid synth] VCV Rack (free || pro: $149) [modular synth] Vital (free || pro $80 || subscribe $5/month) [wavetable synth] Zebralette (free) [spectral synth] 2. Effects Deelay by sixthsample (free) Guitar Rig by Native Instruments (player: free || pro: $199) Helix Native by Line 6 ($399) [guitar amp] illformed Effects: dBlue Glitch (free but may require jbridge) [glitch] [stutter] Glitch 2 ($59.95) [glitch] [stutter] iZotope: Stutter Edit ($199) [glitch] [stutter] Vinyl (free) [vinyl record] Kilohearts Essentials by Kilohearts (free) Slate Digital Fresh Air (free) [vintage exciter circuits and advanced dynamics processing] TH-U by Overloud ($269) Valhalla Effects: Super Massive (free) [reverb] Vintage ($50) [reverb] Delay ($50) [delay] Xfer: OTT (free) 3. Utilities FabFilter (Pro Q 3: $169) iZotope Utilities: Ozone (elements: $49 || standard: $199 || advanced: $399) RX (elements: $49 || standard: $299 || advanced: $799) SPAN by Voxengo (free) [eq analysis] TBProAudio ISOL8 (free) [Mix monitoring tool] Tokyo Dawn TDR NOVA (free || ge: €60) [equalizer] Kotelnikov (free || ge: €50) [wideband dynamics processor] 4. Non-DAW Tools Brad the Mad's Tempo Calculator (free) [Chart, lists given bpm subdivisions as ms and Hz; chart goes from 60 bpm to 179 bpm] Tuneform's Tempo Calculator (free) [converts bpm to ms] MIDI CC List (free) [Chart, lists common CC uses] Virtual Instrument Delay Chart (free) [Google Sheet, lists delay offsets for most orchestral sample libraries] Tap Tempo (free) [Webapp, click or tap a key in time with a piece of music to get its tempo] Notes Native Instruments offers a starter pack with several of the recommended tools called Komplete Start (free) Free(ish) DAWs (https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2015/11/11/free-daw-software/ - he updates this regularly): Reaper Cakewalk Sibelius GarageBand Audacity (audio) Cheap Stuff / Sales Black Friday / Day after Christmas / Spring / Summer usually have sales Humble Bundle often has VSTs, sfx, and samples. Heavyvocity has some good textural tools (instruments & effects) Sample Packs: 99 Sounds’ (free) 99 Sounds’ two 99 Drum sample packs (free) To Add To Review SINE Player, Soundpaint, Musio Orchestral Tools, 8Dio NES VST

Thank you to everyone for the thorough criticism. I will definitely keep these things in mind when I have time to give this project another go.

Hey Vylent! As was mentioned in the live feedback, having space between vocal phrases is helpful for the listener to digest what the vocal passage is doing and saying. The guitar lead in the older version is a great example of creating that space between the vocal phrases! The intro in the older version has a stronger build than the current, though it goes without saying that your vocalist, Sirenstar, is absolutely wiping the floor with the AI vocal. Returning the levels to the drums on the out (as in the older mix) would better realize the vision of getting this mix close to Imagine Dragons. There’s some rough cutting on the vocals around 2:44, and the breath coming in around 2:48, 2:52 is a bit hot. I think that’s most of the feedback from last night! I am really looking forward to hearing this get polished and see it get submitted!!

I think the change in genres could work - but you'd need to add space for the transition. I have to agree with the other comments here though - would love to see more work from you, especially in that first genre (but I'm biased towards EDM haa haa).

The opening doesn't stand apart from the original much, so I'm interested to hear how it branches out; this is just viewing it from the lens of OC ReMix's arrangement standards. The female vocals have more outward power & strength compared to the original song (not better or worse, just a slightly different tone). Loved the lead strings up until 2:00; nice richness to it. Acoustic strings at 2:13 also sounded nice. Piano at 2:27 was obviously sampled, but had reasonable body to it, even if it was too obvious it wasn't real; same critique for the strings at 2:42. The dynamics are there; you could argue this should be even more dynamic, but within a relatively narrower range of contrast, it definitely does its thing, especially with the beats arriving at 3:26 for the big finish. This have a nice added level of intensity & density to distinguish it from the original. Cool stuff! IMO, go ahead and submit this, Mellow Sonic! :-) https://ocremix.org/community/submissions/

Arrangement: I second Liontamer's suggestion about expanding the instrumentation. The sparseness isn't selling the concept. Additionally, the drop at 0:46 seems like it was intended to change up the soundscape, but in execution, it's a big letdown because it throws all the energy you just spent the first 45 seconds or so building. It would be more effective to start with that more sparse, chordal bit and build the energy into what you've done with the intro. The false fade-out ending allows the interest curve to drop off too soon as well. Production: The lead synth at 0:16 could use a boost of about 1-2dB. Otherwise, the volume balance of your elements is well executed, at least to my ears. The solo violin at 1:45 is overexposed; if you have a higher-quality sample library you could replace it with or another texture for the lead overall, that would improve the sound greatly. It's a great relief to be able to recover some work after a crash. Keep pushing on this one, and you'll have something awesome.

Heya Seth, here's my thoughts on it so far: Arrangement-wise -- right off the bat, @ ~ 00:48, the two distinct genres between your EDM and Industrial / change-up jarred me. IMO, they both work separately but not together. I think if you were to introduce your remix with the slow dance-like beat, and then rise it up to the hype / fast-paced beat, it would work better. Perhaps start with the violin, drop it for the plucky synths, and then re-introduce it later on in a sort of interlude / mixing the two genres, before the end? That might make your groove feel more fluid and coherent between the two styles employed here. Instrument/Mixing-wise -- I had no issues with your synths, really. I found them all to be nice-sounding in timbre and appropriate, even though they might be a little basic, but I am unsure if that is because these are still your stems from your original work from 2016 project, or because you had to rework/rebuild this from scratch and some of the sounds are currently placeholder. The plucky synth around 00:15 is a bit soft as well, but unsure how mixed this remix is currently...or how far in production. However, everything sounds clear, I love the vol raise and contrast you have with the additional synth playing the same melody with the plucky synth, and your bass and kick/drums are hella groovy. :) Hope this all helps. :D I look forward to hearing more work on this. :3 Good luck with it! o/

Hi Seth! The 12/8 vibe for the opener is killer, though the energy drop at :48 was rough. The writing during that phase has a lot of promise by itself, it just feels disconnected from the intro and outro - is there a way to weave the melodic content from that section into the others? Or place the slower waltz bit ahead so that the change to the industrial bop feels like an upswing? Down to hear more of this!

I listened to this remix as part of a workshop event and I kinda like it. It's got a great groove to it and is pretty creative. However I feel the violin section is both thin and misplaced (it'd work better as an intro than in it's current placement). Also agree with Liontamer/Larry on not having enough of the melody of "Hidden Palace Zone". Still it's a good start and I'd love to hear a completed version of this on the site some day.

I like that the beats have a kind of swung rhythm, but they do plod after a while. New section at 1:04 dragged a lot and the texture felt too empty; the overly fake-sounding string sustains, piano, and kicks all hurt this on a sound quality level. I like the string writing at 1:42 in principle, it's just an ultra fakey sound, and the placement is so loud compared to everything else. Cool rhythmic change at 2:01. I wish the textures were more sophisticated or better padded, because there's so much empty space due to how thin the instrumentation is. Could use more melodic usage of "Hidden Palace" as well. It's a start!

https://equipboard.com/xaleph if you want to know my gear DAWs Reason Studio Ableton Live Audacity Garage Band Notable VST/REs Objekt (Reason RE - paid) Serum Vital Kontakt (SAC, and others) Spitfire Labs Spitfire BBC Ugritone (Doom & something else?) Reason ( Kong / Radical Piano / Pangea / Klang / Mimic / Thor / Europa) Notable Effects Guitar Rig Pro Kilohearts Reason (Audiomatic / Scream / RV7000 Mk II / Echo / Pulveriser / Sweeper / Synch EM / Alligator) Notable Utilities Psyscope iZotope Ozone Advance / RX Musescore

I have a WIP that is finished as far as arrangement goes (happy to play with the mixing/mastering if necessary, it's somewhat loud at -9.08 average LUFS). My remix goes a little further than originally intended and includes source material from three tracks of the LISA game (Forever Turbo Heat Dance, Pebble Man, and Men's Hair Club). I will not be pursing a Knytt Underground remix at this point. Here's a terrible music video of my LISA WIP for your en"joy"ment! For those of you who haven't heard the LISA soundtrack before, it's.... different to say the least.

First off, thank you for formatting your post in the way that you did, it's very helpful to include the sources and timestamps like that. On to your bullet points, I'd like to talk about those. You're asking yourself the right questions, in the way to help be self-critical. Being self-critical is a very difficult skill to develop. So, asking these questions and thinking in this manner is a good place to start. On the first point, low quality instruments. You are correct, they are very low quality and sound very much like basic MIDI. This is most apparent in the guitars. Guitars are among the most difficult instrument to make sound realistic, especially when starting with basic sounds. The only things I could recommend would be to invest in some quality guitar samples (Impact Soundworks comes to mind on that, IE Shreddage), or search for a guitar player willing to work with you and record the parts. "Too much to my individual tastes". I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean that your arrangement won't be liked by others because it's in your own style? Nonsense! Besides, you should be writing for yourself, and not for others (Unless you're getting paid to do it! :P) Don't worry about what others think, do it because it is fun to you or brings you joy. As far as the percussion, I can barely make it out because it's much quieter then everything else in the mix. If you think that it's repetitive, it likely is. Trust your instincts. Koi-iro Master Spark is only used for 24 of 162 seconds. I don't know how to call that too long, you really bounce from source to source so quickly that the listener is barely orienting themselves to a new section before it changes again. Look for other tracks/remixes/songs that you want your work to sound like, and try to emulate that. Listen to them side-by-side and note the differences, see what you can change to make your work sound more like the other ones. Experiment, and try new things. It is possible to learn and improve, it does take time and practice though. General thoughts on the track itself: 0:36 sounds like it may be a key change, and that change itself is not prepared so it feels sudden when it happens. This is in the source for Koi-iro Master Spark, maybe best not to use that part of the track due to the direct and sudden key change? Throughout the track there's a lot of muddiness and general imbalance of levels between the parts. I can't really make out what the bass is doing, and the drums are buried most of the time. The guitar parts and organ-like sound dominate most of the track. Let them work together to create cohesion and support between all parts. Generally in medleys the represented ideas usually are developed and not just hopped on for brief moments. With how quickly each source is visited in this, I get the impression of disjointedness rather then cohesion. I'd really suggest taking a step back and evaluating what you're going for and do that comparison to other tracks to get the production to a place where it needs to be, then go wild with the arrangement and making medleys.