Tim Follin - “Time Trax (PAL MD/Genesis)” Full Soundtrack [Improved Oscilloscope View]

Stereo Key: Top = Left, Bottom = Right
00:00 / Title Screen/Credits
04:36 / Mission Briefing
12:12 / Stages 1, 3, & 8
16:00 / Stages 2, 5, & 7
21:10 / Stages 4 & 6
26:02 / Game Over
Oscilloscope visuals created with nyanpasu64's corrscope program.

[@redpheonix1000]

2:08 Tim did not have to add that deep sine bass (on the middle right) to the track. Practically no TV speakers would have been able to reproduce that sound. There was no reason for him to do it. Yet he did and made it sound so much better!

[@TransistorizedCharlie]

It's so powerful in my headphones

[@Isoquant]

I always had my consoles connected to a large sound system in the 90s, some tracks were completely unlistenable but there were some great gems like this as well

[@iloveesr]

Plenty of people played Megadrive with headphones or a hifi, as the sound was so much better than TVs were back then.

[@Atlink]

Someone didn't have a model 1 genesis and it shows

[@iloveesr]

@@Atlink I know! I had to get a model 2 Megadrive to be able to use the 32X that I bought. The sound on the older games I had sounded awful compared to how they sounded on my original Megadrive. The model 2 didn't sit nice on the Mega CD base either. Oh well. It was fun though for its time, and I did have a blast.

[@tammura22letsplays]

This shows when a really, REALLY experienced chiptune composer uses YM 2612. After using C64, Amiga, Snes, Nes, ZX Spectrum etc. It really pays off, doesn't it.

[@GoulartGH]

and that's his only attempt at it (that i know of), imagine if he used it a lot like he did with other chips, he'd probably be a western Umemoto or something

[@tammura22letsplays]

@@GoulartGH I have had that same thought aswell.

[@tammura22letsplays]

@@GoulartGH But i can see this chip was really challenging for him. There's sounds that needs improvements here and there, still for the first time use, its amazing.

[@GoulartGH]

@@tammura22letsplays yes, the one thing i particularly didnt like is that, much like many other genesis OSTs, it kind of abuses high freqs way too much, sounding way too tinny (imo). but still pretty good, the only other genesis OST that i like as much as this one is Gauntlet IV

[@tammura22letsplays]

@@GoulartGH Things im not really big fan of this soundtrack, are in fact some of the high pitched sounds he uses. Best example is the stage 2 track where in the beginning there's this high pitch sound in the right side. Then there's the Guitar sound, don't get me wrong, it sounds really good and i actually do like it alot, but its not that clean. Specially when its on the low notes, sounds too distorted. Higher notes sound pretty good tho. All and all pretty good soundtrack still.

[@benjaminzuniga4911]

26:02 that is probably the best FM lead guitar that I have ever heard!

[@TailRecursive]

16:58 huh?? those bells sound terrifyingly realistic!

[@BillimanMCjon]

Innit

[@notbugberry202]

Tim Follin using YM2612

[@davidnulty6443]

Don't they just, reminds me of marble madness

[@mikosoft]

Bell sounds are actually FM modulation's claim to fame, so no wonder. Yamaha DX7 was famous for various bell and bell like percussion sounds (tubular bells, marimbas, xylophones).

[@SuperJet_Spade]

The soundtrack that made me realize back in 2016 that the YM2612 can sound great when it lands in the right hands.

[@redpheonix1000]

In my opinion, the same can be said about OPL2 and OPL3, used in the Ad-Lib and SoundBlaster sound cards on the PC. It's just too bad that, just like on the Mega Drive, so many games chose to just play crappy MIDIs with standard instruments through it, which means these rarely got used to their full potential

[@SuperJet_Spade]

@@redpheonix1000 that is true. I have discovered some really good OPL2 and OPL3 stuff in the years since making that comment.

[@ChaoticHoly]

The right composer makes all the difference, period. The SNES, for example had some excellent compositions that didn't bother to even try to bring out the full range of its chip (pretty much everything that was 1st party Nintendo). Then you got folks like the Follin Brothers & Yuzo Koshiro who do things that cause eargasms. It all depends on just how much they're going to depend on the generic sound driver. Lord knows the Genesis had both some bangers and a whole lotta hangers...

[@theharvardyard2356]

Just learned how he had to compose around the intervals of those harmonics he used on the title track. You can really see it in the visual representation, a challenging FM trick that paid off!

[@benjaminzuniga4911]

21:10 xdd I never notice that phone ringing sound at the hard right. I fu cking love it, incredible use of FM

[@benjaminzuniga4911]

more like an alarm clock maybe

[@GreNadeMusicNL]

This guy gets a Hammond sound out of a Mega Drive, that sounds better than some keyboards. Amazing

[@mikosoft]

Hammond was actually pretty easy to do with an FM synth.

[@GreNadeMusicNL]

@@mikosoft i guess, but most composers used it in unrealistic ways. This sounds like something an actual Hammond player would play. Even rock 'n roll racing (on the megadrive), which features covers of tracks with Hammond, don't sound as good as this. Funnily enough, rock n roll racing on the SNES aldo features Hammond tracks, and those sound amazing. And they were arranged by Tim Follin as well if I'm not mistaken

[@TheMuzykant]

Tim Follin is a master at music! Sounds very modern!

[@boombox3707]

I love how each stage has its own distinct 'mood' Mission Briefing : Chill af Stages 2, 5, 7 : Something out of Plok like Akryllic lol Stages 4 and 6 : Upbeat Stages 1, 3 and 8 : RIP AND TEAR UNTIL ITS DONE *and then becomes funky few moments later lmao*

[@coldsnap5742]

And the title theme? Gives me a real "Get ready for adventure!" vibe.

[@TheMuzykant]

I agree.

[@tealmuchwow]

hmm i wonder why it sounds like plok

[@MusicInMe754]

​@@tealmuchwow Same composer.

[@tealmuchwow]

@@MusicInMe754 sarcasm

[@TransistorizedCharlie]

Sega: hey yamaha, we need a sound chip for our new console, the Megadrive, AKA Genesis. Yamaha, for some reason: Ok, here's a professional fucking FM synthesizer chip Sega: jesus, ok

[@crimson-foxtwitch2581]

the YM2612 was made because it was comparable to the YM2512 FM synthesizer chip used in arcade boards, but Sega wanted something cheaper. they also wanted PCM capability due to the NES having a DPCM channel

[@iwanttocomplain]

@@crimson-foxtwitch2581 yeah they were _terrified_ of that. Because we all know that the Genesis only exists because Sega were jealous and spiteful towards Nintendo. Everyone knows that. They overdid it a bit if they wanted to compete with the NES. They are probably actually a really large tech and video game company so I guess it was likely seeing as they already had two home consoles with multiple revisions. The Master System was supposed to compete with the NES but Nintendo invented a new crime to stop them. It wasn't a crime at the time but after Atari and Sega and other angry companies took them to court they stopped physically stopping members of the public from accessing the Master System or any rival console if a competing Nintendo product was also in that store. Pure cheats.

[@crimson-foxtwitch2581]

@@iwanttocomplain actually the Genesis was always meant to be next-gen hardware. compare it to the PC Engine instead, it’s hardware obliterates that thing

[@iwanttocomplain]

@@crimson-foxtwitch2581 wtf i just said that

[@iwanttocomplain]

@@crimson-foxtwitch2581 I italicised 'terrified' so it's obvious I was being rude and sarcastic now.

[@Plasmariel]

When the bass that comes in at 1:44 it's pure eargasm with headphones

[@segaking5846]

I am just impressed at that FM Church/Tower Bell

[@mikosoft]

That's actually the easy sound to do with FM

[@supmattboy]

One of the best Genesis OST ! Too bad this version was cancelled...

[@Moshugaani]

Definitely! It would be amazing is someone managed to mod this soundtrack into the SNES version Time Trax via an MSU-1 patch. :D

[@talideon]

One of the few FM soundtracks that doesn't sound horribly grating to me. If only more people could do FM synthesis as well as Tim Follin!

[@alexisynthfm1988]

On Japanese computers there are quite a few FM soundtracks that don't sound irritating, but FM, being a synthesizer, is capable of playing up to 96kHz without filters! For that they added the Low-Pass Filter that makes it more enjoyable and reduces it without compression to 25kHz. Personally, although I like this soundtrack, it is somewhat overrated, and I don't agree with you, this soundtrack does sound more irritating to me than other Genesis soundtracks without going any further, plus it is not using the Low-Pass Filter and sounds directly at 44kHz.

[@NEStalgia]

​@@alexisynthfm1988 0:35 What do you think of the sound of this guitar?

[@talideon]

​@@NEStalgiaYup! Now, it's not perfect, but it's rare even with Japanese composers for the MD (who had less awful tooling) to demonstrate the same degree of skill as Tim Follin. Now, this isn't a sight: FM is difficult, and to get the most out of a chip that does FM synthesis, you essentially need to be a programmer, which Tim Follin was and is. He just also happened to have a fantastic ear for music too. While I don't like all the songs on the Time Trax soundtrack, nothing on the MD was technically better. And yes, even counting the stuff from Japan.

[@talideon]

​@@alexisynthfm1988I have notifications turned off, but I do return to this from time to time, so I would appreciate you expanding on that. Personally, I'm not a fan of the use of a low pass filter. This is more that it tends to be the FM equivalent of tossing hops into beer: is a way to cover up mistakes. FM operators aren't easy, but you can cover up a lot with filters... so long as you don't make everything sound like farts while doing so. And far too many composers on the MD did just that. Not here though: the OPN2's filter is used sparingly and only to enhance things, and also in a more complicated and textured fashion because of that.

[@eclipseaus]

those waveform movements are sooooooo smooth

[@TransistorizedCharlie]

Welcome to FM!

[@mima85]

This is what I usually play on my old iPod Nano when going out for a long walk, since 2015 (I downloaded this soundtrack in that year) :-)

[@RWL2012]

This is more what I'd put on before leaving the house, but once I've *left* the house I put on "actual" music 😝

[@AlextheLioNet]

I would suggest some Mega Drive chiptunes characterized by unusual FM instruments patches: Wiz 'n' Liz - Name Entry, Bubble and Squeak - The Stardust Caverns, Daffy Duck in Hollywood (Genesis) - Options ~ Game Over, Daffy Duck in Hollywood - Stage 2 - The Duxorcist, Bram Stroker's Dracula - Stage 4-3, Splatterhouse 2 - Blood Puppet Boss & Library Song, Splatterhouse 2 - Basement & Containment Room, Splatterhouse 2 - Unholy Crystal Boss, Devil Crash MD (Dragon's Fury -US-) - OMAKEBGM04 (Shin Kyuugyokuden: Etude of Wind), Rolling Thunder 3 - Bad Fairy, Rolling Thunder 3 - DammBad, Rolling Thunder 3 - 5 Black Vol.5, Rolling Thunder 3 - Bad Night, Rolling Thunder 3 - Siesta and Rolling Thunder 3 - Bad Road and Darius II / Sagaia (Mega Drive / Genesis) - Olga Breeze (but also a Full Soundtrack Oscilloscope View video of the Darius II / Sagaia Mega Drive / Genesis soundtrack). Thanks in advance and congratulation for the channel!

[@ice6erg76]

YES I LOVE THIS SOUNDTRACK

[@ostradiemgi5469]

I don't care for most of the tracks here, but the I love the clean FM. Those patches are immaculate, I especially adore the crisp percussion. We are lucky that this one didn't get lost.

[@Kaizzer]

Aren't percussions sampled PCM sounds?

[@Kirbman]

@@Kaizzer Not in this song. Everything is FM.

[@rendderview5236]

This soundtrack is amazing!

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

A-tier soundtrack

[@ashkirby8896]

I love this soundtrack!😄🤩😎👌 One of my favourite Tim Follin soundtracks!😄🤩😎👌

[@camulodunon]

Wow, this looks way better than the original upload (no offense to Flygon). Great job man.

[@nawletorre7136]

mission briefing so groovy

[@SoyLuciano]

Even if he left, Tim Follin would still be considered _the_ video game music composer. Fun fact: I posted this comment on Windows XP.

[@arthurgamerpro6585]

Windows XP in 2023? what?

[@SoyLuciano]

@@arthurgamerpro6585 I used a Virtual Machine a watched the video on the MyPal browser.

[@arthurgamerpro6585]

@@SoyLuciano ok

[@AzuSophie]

yo epic same im on xp

[@randomchannel9331]

@@arthurgamerpro6585 its very easy to get a modern browser on xp these days

[@tcscomment]

"I Feel Love" bass here

[@singinglawnchair]

It's very much that Giorgio Moroder type bassline. My mind went to the theme for Midnight Express.

[@garix77]

かっこいい！

[@pooperstinker]

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@statiz23]

The power from mr Follin and the sound engine Dean Belfield😎👍

[@AzuSophie]

the fact that this went unreleased is such a shame! its amazing!!!! tim follin is great. fun fact: i wrote this on windows XP!!

[@buckkaczynski1027]

Windows XP in 2023?? what??

[@buckkaczynski1027]

@AzuSophie ok

[@camulodunon]

Future request: R-Type Leo The soundtrack of this black sheep of the series uses the YM2151 to great effect. The main reason for this request is that it sounds strangely similar to Time Trax.

[@rommix0]

0:23 Tim got that Giorgio Moroder style bassline going.

[@loolinonilool]

love myself some 5/4 time grooving in the stage 2/5/7 theme

[@fusionsub]

This feels right

[@kqzo]

6:29 i just commented this on the 60hz video and i decided to find the same part on this one but this one bit sounds a little like the nes pictionary soundtrack

[@sunscraper1]

Interestingly enough, their OSTs are both made by Tim Follin

[@labtob]

whoa.

[@roshwyinstaicoon2593]

(5:43) Every chiptunist knows this part very well

[@OMundodosRetroGames]

Follin just created Synthwave while composing for Time Trax LOL

[@robsterlobsterr]

Compared to stages 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8… 2, 5, and 7 sound really calm

[@donaldthompson4044]

Sadly, Tim follin did not uncover the awesome power of the EXT Channel 3 mode.

[@tcscomment]

PCM samples (?)

[@shiru8bit]

@@tcscomment no, there is a cool special mode on the FM3 channel that allows to set a specific frequency for each of the four operators, which opens up a whole palette of unusual sounds, or at least 2-4 notes polyphony of 2-op or 1-op synthesis on that channel. It was very rarely used, if at all, tho.

[@statiz23]

Possible Dean Belfield sound engine wasn't feacture or was in use for sound effects...

[@seasonsalt3228]

🐐 ed

[@jaimelapolitique349]

S_a_T_i_S_f_Y_i_N_g waveforms :)

[@BikeNutt1970]

I prefer this to the 60hz tempo.

[@Moshugaani]

I would believe if you said that the first track was from F-Zero or Wipeout! :D

[@gamezvideos2]

I didn't know Mega Drive could do realistic bell sounds with FM.

[@statiz23]

That's how aggressive and sexiness that Yamaha2612 is😝👍

[@mikosoft]

FM is actually renowned for bell sounds.

[@Moshugaani]

I want an MSU1 of this soundtrack modded into the SNES version of Time Trax! :D

[@Stankboi]

the beginning of stage 1 sounds like a boss theme idk it might be just me 12:12

[@kenshigros3872]

Georgio moroder inspiration

[@noobtracker]

does he play two notes on one channel?!

[@acrouzet]

Technically, yes. YM2612 has a mode which effectively splits a 4op voice into 2 2op voices. The frequency of the 2 voices need to be multiples of a common base-frequency though.

[@noobtracker]

@@acrouzet Okay, that would explain what I hear. Since a quint is almost 3:2, that should work.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

@@acrouzet when does that happen in this soundtrack?

[@donaldthompson4044]

@@RyumaXtheXKing It's used in all the tracks. The pads use it a lot and there's some organ tracks in Stage 1 and Mission briefing that use 1 channel 3 note chords.

[@mikosoft]

@@acrouzet thanks for that explanation, I was wondering what was going on

[@thenumberquelve158]

As a Hololive fan, I would absolutely love there to be some type of adventure game featuring Ouro Kronii that uses this soundtrack. The amount of potential from this music and Kronii's personality is wild. (Besides, the world needs more GOOD games with Tim Follin music.)

[@thepeller210]

It's great but there's a lot of Megadrive tunes out there that outshines this by a mile

[@pschiptunes64]

Nice! I love this soundtrack, and the speed makes it better!