timaeus222

Here are some of my recommended tools I've used the most (I'll mark which ones were already mentioned as "*"):
Drums (Libraries) -
*ISW Shreddage Drums Heavocity Damage Drums (Samples) - I always go back to these
Platinum Percussion (great for world music) BHK D&B Rough Connections Vol. 4, Bladerunner Dread Drum & Bass (for fast music) Equipped Music - Smoker's Relight Vol. 1, Vol. 2 (for Downtempo music) Black Octopus Leviathan (for hardcore EDM) Goldbaby Drums (MPC60 Vol. 1-3, When Alien Drum Robots Attack Vol. 1-2, for general use) Synths - I always go back to these
*u-he Zebra2 (for practically ALL of my music honestly) *Xfer Records Serum (mostly for dubstep) Samples -
4Front TruePianos (physical model actually) *Spectrasonics Omnisphere, Trilian ISW PEARL: Concert Grand (truly an amazing Yamaha C7) ISW Resonance: Emotional Mallets (mostly for glassy percussion) Embertone Friedlander Violin and Blakus Cello (usually as solo instruments) OTS Evolution Acoustic Guitar (Steel Strings) Neo-Soul Suitcase (realistic electric piano, if I wasn't satisfied with just synthesizing that in Zebra2) Transitions (Samples) - I always go back to these
ISW Juggernaut: Cinematic Electronic Scoring Tools Effects -
u-he Uhbik (mostly "T" [tremolo] and "G" [granular]) *Guitar Rig Effects (free or nearly so) -
Variety of Sounds Density MKIII (compressor), NastyDLA MKII (delay) *kiloHearts Essentials (most notably, Ring Modulator and Transient Shaper) ISW SNESVerb (SNES reverb emulator, $20) digitalfishphones endorphin (compressor) *dBlue Glitch v1.3 (free) and v2 ($60) Lofi Plus (bitcrusher; hard to find, let me know if you need a link) Sonalksis FreeG Stereo (Gate Plugin) Misc (free) - I always go back to these
s(M)exoscope (spectroscope to check waveform loudness) *TDR Nova (Equalizer with Sum and Difference capabilities) TLs-Pocket Limiter (simple, soft knee limiter. Never got overcompression since!)  

That's what I've always loved about OCR. Y'all care about human interpretation, performance realism, personal touch, and other aspects of music that go underappreciated by the casual listeners out there. At first I thought the perspective towards AI-generated music was because of that philosophy, but I do understand that there is also the bit about unethical training practices.
Good to see OCR still going strong, and I hope to continue seeing real music coming out from real artists, using real production efforts and/or real studio time!

Here are some of my recommended tools I've used the most (I'll mark which ones were already mentioned as "*"):
Drums (Libraries) -
*ISW Shreddage Drums Heavocity Damage Drums (Samples) - I always go back to these
Platinum Percussion (great for world music) BHK D&B Rough Connections Vol. 4, Bladerunner Dread Drum & Bass (for fast music) Equipped Music - Smoker's Relight Vol. 1, Vol. 2 (for Downtempo music) Black Octopus Leviathan (for hardcore EDM) Goldbaby Drums (MPC60 Vol. 1-3, When Alien Drum Robots Attack Vol. 1-2, for general use) Synths - I always go back to these
*u-he Zebra2 (for practically ALL of my music honestly) *Xfer Records Serum (mostly for dubstep) Samples -
4Front TruePianos (physical model actually) *Spectrasonics Omnisphere, Trilian ISW PEARL: Concert Grand (truly an amazing Yamaha C7) ISW Resonance: Emotional Mallets (mostly for glassy percussion) Embertone Friedlander Violin and Blakus Cello (usually as solo instruments) OTS Evolution Acoustic Guitar (Steel Strings) Neo-Soul Suitcase (realistic electric piano, if I wasn't satisfied with just synthesizing that in Zebra2) Transitions (Samples) - I always go back to these
ISW Juggernaut: Cinematic Electronic Scoring Tools Effects -
u-he Uhbik (mostly "T" [tremolo] and "G" [granular]) *Guitar Rig Effects (free or nearly so) -
Variety of Sounds Density MKIII (compressor), NastyDLA MKII (delay) *kiloHearts Essentials (most notably, Ring Modulator and Transient Shaper) ISW SNESVerb (SNES reverb emulator, $20) digitalfishphones endorphin (compressor) *dBlue Glitch v1.3 (free) and v2 ($60) Lofi Plus (bitcrusher; hard to find, let me know if you need a link) Sonalksis FreeG Stereo (Gate Plugin) Misc (free) - I always go back to these
s(M)exoscope (spectroscope to check waveform loudness) *TDR Nova (Equalizer with Sum and Difference capabilities) TLs-Pocket Limiter (simple, soft knee limiter. Never got overcompression since!)  

I'm a sucker for some good Triplet action.  This was a groove throughout, and the slow section at 2:12 was super cool. ?

I felt a chill, and not just because it is overcast this morning, this remix definitely fits the vibe of a cold location.  The bells sparkle and shimmer in the airspace like snowflakes slowly making their way down to earth.  The percussion of this remix is definitely a stand out, super crispy and prominent enough to be impactful.  Excellent remix! ? ☃️

That's what I've always loved about OCR. Y'all care about human interpretation, performance realism, personal touch, and other aspects of music that go underappreciated by the casual listeners out there. At first I thought the perspective towards AI-generated music was because of that philosophy, but I do understand that there is also the bit about unethical training practices.
Good to see OCR still going strong, and I hope to continue seeing real music coming out from real artists, using real production efforts and/or real studio time!

Starting today, the sharing of music generated by feeding a prompt into AI-software is prohibited on OC ReMix, both here on the forums and on our Discord.
LLMs, AI, and other machine-learning technologies are both interesting and impressive, but the implementation of these technologies in popular usage rely largely on unethical training practices. Copyrighted works are used without artist consent to train commercial AI-models. Moreover, OverClocked ReMix has, over the course of over 20 years, established itself as a place for artists to learn about the composition and production of music and hone their craft. We ask artists to pay tribute to VGM through the art of interpretation; we're looking for the personal spin, the human touch. I, personally, don't believe audio generated by a machine-learning algorithm is doing that.
There are ethical implementations of AI-technology in the music sphere, such as sample libraries, physical modeling software, and audio production suites that use machine-learning to perform complicated tasks that an artist can use in the production process. Sharing music that uses this kind of tech is absolutely fine. But tracks generated wholly or in-part by services like Suno and Udio (among others) do not belong here.
And just to clarify, the discussion of machine-learning, LLMs, and AI here at OC ReMix is not prohibited, but should be tempered by an understanding of the goals of our community, which include artistic development and education and the appreciation of VGM through thoughtful exploration and interpretation.
Thanks.
-- DarkeSword

Feel free to share this with your friends :)     This is a 1 HOUR continuous mix of special picks from my collection of atmospheric / electronic VGM ReMixes that I've written in the past 13 years! Great for stream listening, vibing throughout the day, etc. It's also time-stamped all the way through!   Tracklist (all by Timaeus, but 1st track includes @Chimpazilla):
0:00:00 : Cloudhopping (Yoshi Touch & Go ReMix) with Chimpazilla
0:04:01 : Amorphous Freeze (Mega Man Zero 2 ReMix)
0:07:54 : Let's Bust Some Viruses! (Mega Man Battle Network series ReMix)
0:11:24 : Serenity & Grace (Chrono Cross & Chrono Trigger ReMix)
0:15:35 : The True Final Fight! (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers series ReMix)
0:19:11 : Progressive Memory (Final Fantasy 4 & 6 ReMix)
0:23:13 : The Oud, The Santoor, and The Sitar (Dungeonmans ReMix)
0:26:52 : Not Just Elevator Music (Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories ReMix)
0:30:00 : Contrapuntal Field (Fittest & Sonic the Hedgehog ReMix)
0:32:46 : The Kabuki Warrior Kicks Back (Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon ReMix) ~ not on OC ReMix yet
0:36:40 : The Arc That Spans The Heavens (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links ReMix)
0:40:03 : The Lost Explorer (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky ReMix)
0:44:36 : Big Brute Force of Nature (Mega Man 9 ReMix)
0:48:06 : Sky-High Rollers (RollerBall ReMix)
0:51:58 : Astral Projection (Globulous ReMix)
0:55:49 : The Art of Zoning Out (Pokémon Scarlet/Violet / Pokémon Mystery Dungeon ReMix)
0:59:19 : Thy Everlasting Winter Wind Blows (Pokémon X/Y ReMix)
1:02:04 : CONNECTED! (Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon ReMix)

Thank you! I made these on a whim at first but it turned out to be a really fun 6 month project. 

Good stuff! I'm a sucker for hymnals.
Nice work.

I felt like I was floating high above, drifting amongst a sea of digital clouds, reveling in the weightlessness due to the style and timbre of the synths.  Let no artifice consume reality, unless that reality bears no meaning.

What a great jam! I especially liked the drum fills and piano solos!

This remix has an excellent sway to it.  The arps in the background keep the steady pulse of the tone going.  I definitely enjoyed the ending chorus, what a great melody!

Thanks for posting this! And thanks for all of the Judges' feedback - I enjoy all the advice and critique. ??

I didn't vote on this but the production quality is an easy bar for this being accepted, as is the cutoff ending which makes it sound incomplete.
Aside from that it's very conservative, using similar instrumentation and an arrangement that only differs in how often it loops material, so that'd probably also knock this one down, too.
There are tracks that I respectfully raise an eyebrow to the overall decision (every judge has their opinion, it isn't always easy to make a choice!), but with due respect this isn't one of those tracks.

That does it, this is going in my Middle-Eastern playlist.

Closed the thread as per request of the OP.

Hello!
I did have a lot of non-digital music experience, mainly playing piano and singing in choirs, but surprisingly I didn't have a great ear when it came to writing or listening to music, and I was a complete newbie in mixing/mastering. OCR definitely contributed a ton to developing that in only 2 years. You can find me in discord or twitter anytime!
@JoshWiniberg

Happy New Year, everyone!
Just wanted to check-in and let you all know that we've got a new submissions process for remixes. Since the inception of the site, we've been asking you to host your file somewhere and send us an email with a bunch of information about your remix. This has lead to a lot of headaches on both your end and our end, but now we're finally moving forward with a more modern method.
Introducing the new Submissions Tracking page! We've used our forum software to build out a custom form where you can upload your track directly to us. This post will get a status and linked to a decision thread, and it also features a comments section where judges can communicate with you about issues with your remix. Submissions are private, so only you and the judges can see them. In the coming months we'll be retiring the old email method of submitting remixes with an auto-response that'll direct folks towards the new system.
This new form, combined with our recently revamped Currently in the Judging Process dashboard, will help you keep tabs on your submissions.
A big shout out to all of the ReMixers and Judges who helped me test out this new system. I've had ideas for years for turning our submissions and judging workflows into a fully integrated piece of software, and while the limitations of our forum software prevent us from hitting that goal 100%, this is a huge step in the right direction.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you all are going to send us. ?
— DarkeSword

I dig it. A minimal soundscape that basically has the occasional ear candy to maintain interest. It had to have solid production to justify it, which it does. I like the breakdown at 3:25 - 4:39, although I would maybe have liked a bigger payoff afterwards, like a larger lead sound than one that is low-passed plucky, or one that is more interesting than a supersaw. Something to keep in mind for the future!

Definitely a boomy sound, duly noted. Haha, I like how the Volt Kraken bassline reminds me of Double Dragon II's "Mission 2" music.
Not a fan of this piano at :30, no sir. Very thin and mechanical sound, but it thankfully only lasted a few seconds. Wack claps too from 1:33-2:03, booooooooooooo. Never a fan of parts that present a quality disparity.
Track got way beefier with the beats after that though. The levels are too bright, but not gonna hold it back for that. Arrangement is strong with nice tradeoffs and interplay between the themes, and the production's loud but reasonable, so get outta here.
YES

Very unusual intro!  Not my favorite part of the track (although with repeated listens it is growing on me), but it quickly transitions into some smooth, funky beats that marry the two themes completely seamlessly.  Lots of detail in the mix, and the production is good.  I like the piano solo quite a bit, wish there was more of it!  The arrangement is terrific.  I think this mix is great except for one problem.  The master is hitting +5db peak.  I don't hear compression artifacts, but I think it's a good idea to revisit the mastering and make sure there is a reasonable ceiling set so there are no issues when uploading the track to YouTube.
YES (conditional on setting proper final limiter ceiling)

Well, this is neat.  It opens up with an eclectic mix of synths, then drops in a piano and some classic EDM bass.  Nice mix of traditional and unique sounds throughout, always with clean, crisp production.
It's a solid blend of the two sources, too.  Great work for this kind of compo; you'd never know this was a mashup if you didn't know the source tunes.
I can't think of anything to complain about.  Just a good job all around.
YES

haha, super weird opening. not bad, just immediately made me smile because it's weird. the big beat and swirly keys right away were a fun sound. drums are probably a bit loud over the piano lead, but it's a fun beat and i love the bass blats. there's some more rhythmic synths added at about 1:00 and then it opens up more at 1:15 to a more traditional electro/rock feel. i agree with MW that you'd never guess this is a mashup.
there's a piano break at 1:42ish, with some fun panned verby synths and a recap of the super scooper lead from the beginning, and we're back to a bigger beat at 2:19 or so. this felt similar to the opening, but there's some new stuff added in around 2:35 that mix it up, especially in the keys. 3:06 opens up again and i really dig the descending countermelodic synth work there. there's a swell to a keys-driven outro, and it ends comfortably.
this is a fun track. it sounds good, does a great job with a preponderance of source, and doesn't overstay its welcome. nice work.
 
 
YES

Superb stuff right here. Drums sound punchy and clean, but have a tight groove to them with those lovely crisp hi-hats.
Strange choice to open with that G-funk style lead synth noodling, which was about the only thing I wasn't sold on in the whole piece. Love the synth at 1:03, and the tremolo flourish at 1:11. Loads of ear candy like that is sprinkled throughout, just to give you a tickle. Piano sounds a bit on the thin side, but it's a cool idea to get a solo in there and there's a nice handoff to the synth for the big chorus finish. When the chorus all comes together (1:18, 3:06), it's got such a great flow, I kinda wish that part lasted a bit longer. Ah well, there's always the replay button.
YES