timaeus222

Regarding "Time Traveler", I think the low bass is kinda flooded starting at 1:37, and would do a small cut (1 ~ 2 dB) on those low-drum samples at around 60 - 80 Hz. That may help give headroom for the guitar to breathe, since (and I'm guessing here) perhaps your car has the bass turned up? If you do that, I would suggest you do it in context (meaning, instead of isolating the drums and EQing, EQ the drums without muting all the other tracks). Another reference I like to use for low bass (sub bass, bass drums, gran cassa, etc), for cinematic music, is this.

You’re the first person to call out Colour of Time, which makes me really happy because imo it’s my favorite piece on the album as well.

It takes a certain mind to proceed with this kind of vision and invest in it; each song has a logical progression to it, in both textural development and arrangement. [For example, "Constellations" is largely atmospheric, and it can be hard to nail proper textural progression while maintaining interest. You got that balance.] There's a large amount of stylistic diversity here, but I can hear the jazz influence (in terms of the chord progressions and time signature modulations) and the attention to detail that I would attribute to you. In terms of mastering, the track flow also makes sense. Great job!
I think my favorite track is "Colour of Time".

tldr; you get out what you put in.
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A good way to verify this is to rip audio using Audacity's "Windows WASAPI" audio host, and then render as WAV; then, encode using WinLAME into an MP3 using VBR1 on the "High" Encoding Quality setting. That should be enough to allow for what should be the highest bit rate based on the current time in the song, rather than providing a flat bitrate for the song (like you would get with CBR).
[I do think that youtube is more efficient in its audio compression than soundcloud. I always hear a slight, or sometimes quite noticeable fidelity issue with the upper treble on soundcloud.]
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Here is an MP3 based on the steps described above, of the first video from 2007 I showed, a raw AVI recorded of a 160 x 144 dimension video:
https://app.box.com/s/r750tyd1hxufw6vda13j500qsanbewfw
The most prominent bit rate range it has in WinAmp is 112 ~ 160 kbps; it goes no higher than 160 kbps.
I think that sounds pretty accurate... it is just an emulation of a GBA game.
Here is an MP3 for the second video from 2016 I showed rendered using Adobe After Effects and Sony Vegas on the highest settings possible, with the audio stream before uploading being the original VBR1 MP3 file that would be distributed on OCR:
https://app.box.com/s/ytv60g8s766ban58qrx3iehjl3n3xr9c
The most prominent bit rate range it has in WinAmp is 192 ~ 320 kbps; it goes no lower than 192 kbps. The actual MP3 I put in, for comparison, can be found here.
Based solely on bit rate, these are nearly identical, with a few flashes of 160 kbps in the ripped MP3 above. Based on an explicit A/B comparison, I can tell that the actual MP3 sounds slightly better in the upper treble. But I think youtube did a pretty good job at keeping it sounding good, even if it's not identical.
And for good measure, here's a third test with a third video, this time from 2009 processed through Sony Vegas (instead of uploaded as a raw AVI) into 720p HD, but recorded in the same way of a 160 x 144 dimension video. The MP3 that resulted is:
https://app.box.com/s/bgq8bnn9as35tzyq7igpulgub5x87eh1
The most prominent bit rate range it has in WinAmp is 128 ~ 160 kbps, occasionally making it to 224 kbps and occasionally flashing 112 kbps; it goes no higher than 224 kbps.
This is fairly consistent because the recording input was the same as in the first video, so it makes sense that the bit rate ranges are similar, but the bit rate is slightly better because it was rendered at a higher audio quality ceiling instead of being uploaded as a raw AVI.
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So yes, the audio quality ceiling that you feed into youtube does "change" what bit rate you get out... because you get out the bit rate that you put in (more or less). I'd say, oh, about 95 ~ 98% of the original quality stays. I'd approve!

This is fine because you’re promoting the music by talking about it.

Experimental is fine, but yeah, it can be hard to pull off. Redg manages to pull it off:
However, in this case, I do agree with @Cubeshark that this is a bit too sparse. You may want to add something to fill in the gaps, like a glitched drum loop to add interest, a pad to create some sort of tonal filler, or a bass to glue the mix together. Near the end of the mix, the glassy pad you had was doing that job.
Something else you may want to consider is finding a structure; I typically want to be able to skip 15 seconds forward and notice a forward change in something, whether it's faster hi hats, more bass, less drums, etc., rather than just a change. Something where you can tell whether you're in an intro, a "chorus", a breakdown section, an outtro, etc. 

The music is what got me into the Mother series as well! In early 2008, around the time Brawl came out, I loved the Mother tracks present in that game so much that I hunted for music from the series online. I download the official Mother 1+2 arrangement album and Mother 3+/3i -- those quickly became my regular listening material for months and they helped me through a really dark time in my life. When I played EarthBound for the first time in October of the same year, it singlehandedly changed my life. It's been nearly 10 years since then and I can honestly say the game truly, significantly influenced myself to become a better person. Definitely my favorite game of all-time. Mother 3 is a magical experience, too, and I love it just as much in some ways.
You're absolutely right about the Mother 3 soundtrack on that note--it's incredibly emotional and very intricate, not to mention it's as eclectic as can be in every way possible. For being a midi soundtrack running off the GBA's speaker, that's quite a feat!

Thanks a lot for your input. I was a little unsure about the drums, but now I think I'll replace them. If that's the biggest issue, then I'm feeling pretty confident in this remix. Thanks for sharing the song, too. It was one I'd overlooked, but I absolutely love WillRock's style and I try to download whatever of his I can find. BTW, I'm a big fan of yours too. 

As a passing remark, to me this sounds like you've used some 80's synths on top of distant cinematically-produced electronic drums. The drums sound a little strange IMO, because they're very low-passed. One example I can think of with similar sounds is:
Hopefully that provides a basis of comparison for the kind of drums you may or may not want to go for. Also, in the reference, the starting background soundscape contains a DX7 electric piano and a sine wave with portamento (not to be confused with portmanteau :P).

I think I stopped at X3, as this music wasn't familiar to me - rechecked the original and indeed, I never played X4.  Regardless, I really enjoyed this mix.  It has a nice melody, and perhaps it's the combination of strings and bells, but it sounded like a holiday festive track in certain locations.  Very nice!  Definitely saving for my offline listening.

You definitely don't hear many MM mixes like this. I really like it. Very RPG-esque

I was actually surprised to learn that the other judges had a hard time hearing the sources here.  The timing is slightly altered and the harmonies changed completely, but the progression of the notes in the melody is basically identical and up-front.  I'll echo Deia's criticism of the strings, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the humanization of the brass, either, but they're certainly good enough.
If I had one major criticism, it's that the section from 0:58-1:22 is really disparate with the rest of the piece.  I get that in this "flight," that's supposed to represent flying through a storm or something, but the transition into that section was a little too abrupt to really sell it.  I kind of get the transition out of it, though; I can imagine this peacock getting driven underwater or something, and emerging into the light at 1:34, but again that could have been a little clearer, if that was indeed the intent.
Anyway, great stuff, wonderful integration of the two completely disparate themes, and an easy
YES

I wanted to quote-vote Gario but Kris beat me to it.
Nothing much else to say, I remember this from the competition, and I thought it was pretty good back then.  Solid production, but I have to agree with the others on the tenuous relation to the source, I'm familiar with most mmx songs and even I have difficulties making the connection.  I'm very sure that this song will have some people scratching their heads in confusion, but we can't argue the source is there however disguised.
YES

Had to listen to this one a few times to really hear the source connections. I'm a bit on the fence here, because the connections ARE there, but they are not the most recognizable without some careful listening. That being said, I found this to be pretty creative in regards to really changing up the style and soundscape of both the original tracks.
Production-wise everything sounded clear, and the soundscape was fun, but I felt some sections seemed a bit mechanical, especially the string stabs. Not a deal-breaker, just a note.
YES

Well, that's certainly different. Giving it a careful listen, the source is certainly there - but only just. You hide the melody and themes of the source behind quite a bit of orchestration, and you change up the harmonies completely. The sources are recognizable, though, and just where you timestamp it, too (thanks for that, btw). A suggestion for future arrangements, though, if you go a similar route: don't mix the theme carrying portions into the background too much. It's not only the judges that have to recognize the source, but also whomever is listening to it if/when it gets posted on the site.
The production is acceptable, and most of your instruments are humanized well enough. Not too much that I can add to what Deia said on that front.
Clever use of the source overall. Nice work on transforming the sources in this manner, it keeps us on our toes, over here.
YES

^Quote Vote^ (tm)  Gario nailed it.
It's really nice to hear this style from timaeus, the track itself is really nice.  I'm not having any issues with humanization, the harp sequencing is a tad stiff but I think it's fine.   The production is up to your usual awesome standards and this sounds great.  I have to agree with Gario that you're almost too good at disguising the source(s).  You're super good at self-policing in terms of source use, and you have the most detailed timestamping of anyone ever, and that is appreciated!  I'm not familiar with these sources at all, so checking your source use is particularly difficult for me.  I'm listening very carefully to both sources and your mix now, and it seems accurate, it's just a bit of a mind exercise to confirm.
Very nice track.
YES

Hey thanks for taking the *time to give me a run-down Tim.  I'll check em out posthaste! 
(edit)
Wow this is not some small alteration.  This is kinda exciting!!  Def going for it.  Gonna watch some more of the vids you linked in meantime!
Alright Star, I'll grab me plunger.  Gonna give this a whirl

I would go for it. I think the workflow enhancements are well worth the upgrade, but you'll want to read through the updates to see roughly what of the new stuff is useful for you. https://www.image-line.com/flstudio/history.php
Or the quick version:
FL 20 in 4 minutes / in 15 minutes
FL 12.5 in a minute / in 21 minutes
FL 12.4 in 11 minutes
I don't know where you paused, but in particular I found these notable improvements (and this covers pre-FL-20 to some extent):
Per-bar time signature change (you know why!) Live preview of recordings, and ability to consolidate MIDI into bounced WAVs with undo Stretch/compress entire groups of notes using right-Shift and click-dragging from the right-hand side. This can be useful for generating polyrhythms. Mini-playlist preview above piano roll, so you know where you are New Fruity Delay 3 VST (you'll love it!) Link a bunch of channels one each to sequential mixer tracks using Ctrl+Shift+L! Really helps when mixing with stems. Ghost notes (maybe new to you?), great for writing complex harmonies. Vectorial interfaces for certain VSTs etc.

Super Audio Cart has replicated SNES sounds (as well as exact samples from Famicom, C64, GB, SMS, 2600, GEN, NES), with an extensive 4-layer synthesis engine, mod matrix, fx rack, etc. Comes with over 1000 presets. May be worth looking at!
https://impactsoundworks.com/product/super-audio-cart/

Super Audio Cart has replicated SNES sounds (as well as exact samples from Famicom, C64, GB, SMS, 2600, GEN, NES), with an extensive 4-layer synthesis engine, mod matrix, fx rack, etc. Comes with over 1000 presets. May be worth looking at!
https://impactsoundworks.com/product/super-audio-cart/

I think Callum put up a particularly solid vocal performance---with good clarity/enunciation, and the mixing by Jorito is overall fairly clean. I also like how the lyrics contain to-be-expected rickrolling references, but not in a forced way. I really dig the intentionally crunchy production, and I appreciate the dedication to fine-tuning this packed soundscape. Eino kinda has a thing for controlled chaos, it seems! Plus, who can deny the swagger in the half-time rhythm?

I'm ecstatic, for literally all of the updates in the video, especially the track bouncing, time sig change, return of the graph editor, and pre-computed effects.

Image Line finally released FL Studio 20 today after a couple of weeks of kicking around release candidates. As an FL Studio and Mac user, I cannot begin to describe how happy I am for native Mac support!

Since this mix is a couple years old now and as far as I'm aware nobody has found the easter egg:

The demonic chanting, when played backwards, says "You found the secret message. Have a cookie!"

Damn son, where'd you get this? Sick beat, yo!