General Discussion Thread

[REDD]

Tbh i really just wanna know if Zero-G would be open to developing vocal libraries for other, more active synths (im mainly hoping for SynthV tbh) I know they might be hesitant to make a partnership with a smaller, more unproven company, but i think once SynthV gains a strong English lineup of voices, and gains a good reputation for those banks, and as a company, i think things would be ripe for Zero-G to consider switching over to them.

I really think now that now we know for sure we're not seeing any more collaboration between ZG and Yamaha, i think the questions that would prove more fruitful are "do you have any more plans for developing on other vocalsynth platforms?" and things along those lines.

 

[xuu]

I can confirm that they've expressed an interest in it. Right now it's basically just down to discussions between Dom and Kanru to see what sort of deal they can work out. Give it a month or two and maybe we'll see some results!

 

[mobius017]

The song contest winners have been announced! Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up, and the other participants as well!

 

[Rolo]

(I didn’t know where else to put this so I figured this would be the best place) Flower is leaving Vocaloid, she’s going to become a Cevio. I’m guessing the Meikas will follow in the future.

 

[Rolo]

Sorry to double post wanted to keep my personal thoughts out of the original post. It looks like all the big players are beginning to leave the vocaloid engine of course I’m sure that’s fine with Yamaha as they can always go back to doing what they originally did (focusing on instrumentation) but wow it really kinda does seem like the engine at least is going out. Vocal synths I think will continue to be around for awhile as everyone seems to be developing their own thing. But calling certain vocals “vocaloid” or even using that word may not be so accurate in a little while. It’s really weird for me to see this since I’ve been following vocaloid for so long, but everything changes after awhile I guess. As long as the music continues I’m fine with new changes it might be better in the long run.

 

[lIlI]

Looks like it's the end of an era, and the start of a new one.

Humans like to simplify things, so we'll probably demonise Vocaloid to portray the new industry as perfect at first. Then, down the line, we'll become annoyed by aspects of it and reminisce about old times through a lense of nostalgia. Regardless of the inevitable ups and downs, I'm looking forward to experiencing them with everyone that comes along.

 

[mobius017]

Humans like to simplify things, so we'll probably demonise Vocaloid to portray the new industry as perfect at first. Then, down the line, we'll become annoyed by aspects of it and reminisce about old times through a lense of nostalgia. Regardless of the inevitable ups and downs, I'm looking forward to experiencing them with everyone that comes along.

Yep, that sounds basically similar to the pattern for every new synth/engine, really. First excitement, then disillusionment, then at last acceptance ;) .

 

[Rolo]

One thing I do wonder about now though is since vocal synths are gonna be all split up is how much harder is it going to be to acquire them and use them together if they’re on different programs? Like V Flower will be a Cevio while AHSloids are moving to SynthV and then there’s of course Piapro studio with NT. The major benefit of the vocaloid engine is that it was a central hub of all these different companies but now there are like 3-4 different softwares with different ways you use them. I don’t use any of these softwares so maybe they’re all very similar but I just see that being an inconvenience that will arise from this.

 

[mobius017]

One thing I do wonder about now though is since vocal synths are gonna be all split up is how much harder is it going to be to acquire them and use them together if they’re on different programs? Like V Flower will be a Cevio while AHSloids are moving to SynthV and then there’s of course Piapro studio with NT. The major benefit of the vocaloid engine is that it was a central hub of all these different companies but now there are like 3-4 different softwares with different ways you use them. I don’t use any of these softwares so maybe they’re all very similar but I just see that being an inconvenience that will arise from this.

That's true, though as long as the old Vocaloid software keeps working, it won't be something that needs to be addressed all at once. And I'm not sure exactly how much different this will be from how it was before.

It seems like we're losing out on the interoperability of the different Vocaloid libraries, under the assumption that they're moving to one of the current major singing synths (Vocaloid 5, Piapro, CeVIO, and Synth V; there are some other synths, and I don't mean to impugn them, but my impression is that they're not as big as the others). But in that move, we're not really gaining new barriers so much as making existing barriers apply to more synths, because all of these synths are basically upgrades to platforms we had already.

It's true, though: depending on which voices you like and would like to use together, a person may have to learn to use multiple engines.

The good thing in all this is that the above engines are still joined by two common languages in terms of their phonemes: X-SAMPA and arpabet. Vocaloid 5 and NT use X-SAMPA, and I believe CeVIO and Synth V (at least the current ones) use arpabet. So if you had reason to make synths from different engines swap phonemes, it's possible to do so if they share a common language. It should even be possible to translate between them, too; @uncreepy made a chart that does just that, at least for English.

 

[Rolo]

Appreciate the explanation! I’m glad to hear that it won’t be too much of a burden to use different synths just may require a little learning for inexperienced producers. Who knows maybe in the future when these companies really get off the ground cross software support could be a thing.

 

[mobius017]

NP! Personally, I've sort of wished at times that all the new platforms used arpabet, just for the interoperability, and because I've heard it's somewhat easier for people to understand. But if X-SAMPA went away, all the existing VSQs/VSQXs that people use for covers would be gone, too. (Of course, a software's ability to use Yamaha's VSQ/VSQX file format isn't strictly the same thing as being able to use X-SAMPA/arpabet, but the concerns are related.) Plus the fact that Vocaloid libraries will probably see use for a long time, even if V5 is the last "Vocaloid" platform to bear the name.

 

[uncreepy]

One thing I do wonder about now though is since vocal synths are gonna be all split up is how much harder is it going to be to acquire them and use them together if they’re on different programs? Like V Flower will be a Cevio while AHSloids are moving to SynthV and then there’s of course Piapro studio with NT. The major benefit of the vocaloid engine is that it was a central hub of all these different companies but now there are like 3-4 different softwares with different ways you use them. I don’t use any of these softwares so maybe they’re all very similar but I just see that being an inconvenience that will arise from this.

There are a lot of synth fans who already commonly use or have tried out multiple synths (UTAU, Vocaloid, NT, Alter/Ego, Cantor, Muta, CeVIO, NIAONiao, to name a few). Personally, I am in that camp. Trying out synths on different engines is pretty fun and I haven't really noticed an inconvenience when wanting to use singers from different engines. The way to tune in most is pretty similar, sometimes you find that one synth is easier to use for you/you can achieve the desired results faster than other engines. All you need to do to combine the singing from different engines is know how to use a DAW at least enough to be able to import each singer's wav files and export the song. When you want to use singers from different synths, you just open their respective programs without thinking too hard about it. It's not a very big deal and people have been doing it for a long time (making duets/choruses with different brands of synth characters).

 

[Gralydig]

Ya'll like French bread?

 

[mobius017]

Um, yeah, I do! Loaves like that can be a lot more fun than just eating bread that comes sliced. Real French bread has a lighter consistency, IIRC, and sometimes a more buttery taste? But lots of bread made like that can be good.

 

[Blue Of Mind]

Producers have been using multiple voice synths at the same time since both Vocaloid and UTAU achieved popularity in the late 2000s. (Some people might remember seeing Miku and Teto duets). For the time being, I don't think having to use two or more vocal synths on a regular basis if you like different voices will bother some producers, but I do think it will become an issue as the vocal synth market heats up, and Vocaloid either recedes into the background or attempts a triumphant return with V6.

 

[Rolo]

Ya'll like French bread?

It’s the best bread for a sandwich!! If you’re at a sandwich shop you should definitely get it.

 

[Gralydig]

It’s the best bread for a sandwich!! If you’re at a sandwich shop you should definitely get it.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[lIlI]

Just a heads up that this thread is for Vocaloid discussion, general chat goes over here.

 

[static-oceans]

I think i can switch this discussion over to make it vocal synth adjacent smoothly, then ;)

Speaking of french bread, Teto's character item, what are some of your favorite synth character items? Any less common and/or fan ones that not a lot of people know about that you like? Ones that you were rooting for to be associated with a character that never caught on? or even the character item of your own utau/dv etc? I think it's an interesting subject that doesn't get brought up often

 

[Rolo]

I miss character items so much! I think they were a fun part of the early character traits. One character item I miss even though it was super silly was Rin and Len being associated with road rollers. All the character items have basically gotten dropped now but the banana/orange thing lasted a lot longer than the road roller gag. Which I thought was really cute that they included it in project diva.