General Discussion Thread

[LAZARUSCROSS]

Can i just say: I'm over the moon that Vocaloid is entering a renaissance period. And i genuinely think things can only get better from here.
Whether you love or hate Mesmerizer, (i love it personally) it did kind of ignite a huge wave of new Vocaloid content and subsequent trends for short form video platforms, which was INTEGRAL in getting the newer generations interested in Vocaloid. (That and proseka too to an extent)

For example, my kid sister knows who Miku is and likes her with almost no influence from me other than her occasionally seeing me draw her, because she knows her from all the content she gets online. There's no way its purely just a popularity resurgence from nostalgia because these are all mostly young people who have no nostalgia for old Vocaloid fandom and they're all consuming new trendy songs they see on TikTok and Shorts.

And as for the language barrier thing, i genuinely believe that once Miku V6 AI comes out, and Miku sub-sequentially gets much better English capabilities because of it, we're probably going to see such a complete wave of Miku content the likes of which we haven't seen in a very long time. Dare i say it might be the thing that makes Miku a serious contender in the West beyond purely being an otaku interest. And once the REST of the cryptonloids get on that same engine? Vocaloid as an engine might seriously become relevant again and reclaim its throne on top the vsynth industry and more. We might seriously be looking at a future where Hatsune Miku is a household name not just in Japan, but in the West too.
We are so freaking back.

 

[pico]

The renaissance has been ongoing! Far before Mesmerizer! It is just reaching new audiences overseas now!

 

[Leon]

And as for the language barrier thing, i genuinely believe that once Miku V6 AI comes out, and Miku sub-sequentially gets much better English capabilities because of it, we're probably going to see such a complete wave of Miku content the likes of which we haven't seen in a very long time.

Is V6 AI's cross language actually good? I don't tend to love how thin and nasal the V6 Ai voices can sound, so it's the only Vocaloid engine I never bought. I haven't honestly heard much of their crosslang! And haven't gotten to try it myself, ofc

 

[LAZARUSCROSS]

Is V6 AI's cross language actually good? I don't tend to love how thin and nasal the V6 Ai voices can sound, so it's the only Vocaloid engine I never bought. I haven't honestly heard much of their crosslang! And haven't gotten to try it myself, ofc

I had to search up some Hibiki Koto usages the other day: and i found this English usage of her: (gets good about the 20 sec mark)

Theres also this english Zola song i found today:

Pretty decent imho.

 

[morrysillusion]

Eclipsed Sounds has a survey asking for thoughts! go fill it out and tell em what you look forward to

Eclipsed Sounds Anniversary 2025

Eclipsed Sounds began our work in vocal synthesis on May 14th, 2021, and since then, we've broadened our horizons by creating a unique lineup of vocals suitable for users all around the world.

eclipsedsounds.com

 

[Natsu-P]

i want to make a vocaloid original

 

[Bookworm2]

This is random, but what y’all’s opinions on Vocaloid 6? I really haven’t heard much about it at all, and the price point is way too high for me to buy. Like, does it sound more realistic, or do you like the new Voicebanks? I personally don’t find them interesting, but I would like to know your opinions on it.

 

[Twillby]

With the right amount of care, V6 can sound pretty good in my opinion. (Random example) I like a handful of the banks in particular (Allen, Po-uta, and Fuiro mainly... also Koto but I decided to get her SV instead), and most of the others I'm indifferent to. My biggest problem with V6 is I struggle enough getting enough motivation to want to work on synth stuff from the get go, so having to learn how to use the new features of the engine inside and out to get the results I want makes me so much less likely to open it up and use it. The UI feels a bit clunky compared to older versions sometimes too. I still wish they'd sell the full editor without forcing people to pay for the silhouette series so the price could be a tad more accessible. Sure they're aiming to sell to professionals first and foremost but it feels foolish to me to price it out of the reach of a lot of hobbyists/casual fans that you don't have to work to get interested in vocal synths. Heck, you'd probably get more interest from professionals too if the price was lower, win/win. Offering the lite editor with a voicebank purchase was a step in the right direction, but I still feel they could do better.

TL;DR I don't hate V6 since I've heard great stuff come out of it in the hands of skilled users, but it takes a lot more work to get results I'm happy with compared to the other engines I use, so personally I rarely bother with it unless I feel particularly inspired to work with a bank not available on another engine.

 

[Blue Of Mind]

I don't own V6 myself (or any vocal synth for that matter lol), but I do know it has similar problems with V5 - mainly, it's too expensive for hobbyists and the Vocaloid engine still doesn't sound realistic enough for professionals, so it's caught in this awkward double bind where it alienates customers from all skill levels and price points.

 

[Natsu-P]

I like V6 for it's effects. Not it's AI voicebanks, really though. I don't own any.

 

[Leon]

I sadly don't care for the often thin and... "uncertain"? tone of the V6 AI banks. It's the only Vocaloid engine I've passed on. Maybe someday, if someone interesting enough releases

 

[lIlI]

Eclipsed Sounds has posted an anniversary blog reflecting on starting the company, pitching to Dreamtonics, a day in the life working in the team, designing their mascots and more!

Now Synthesizer V has matured as an engine, we're entering an era of saturation where it's hard for staple voicetypes to stand out among their many competitors. I think ES's decision to focus on genre vocals is very intelligent, allowing them to reach target markets who don't already have a vocal synth to meet their needs.

Both now, and back during V3 and V4, there were a lot of great but poorly considered vocal synths whose companies attempted to reproduce the success of popular products by targeting the same demographic with the same concept. What we've learned from their many failures is that, outside of a small group of collectors, most vocal synth fans buy a single voicebank and stick to it. They don't, for example, rebuy another cute anime girl if they already have a cute anime girl.

This makes seemingly 'niche' products a better choice to produce financially. Giga isn't going to switch from Miku/Rin/Len at this point in his career. But he will buy and use Galenaia, because what his current set can't do is opera.

 

[InstallGentoo]

the trends

Miku worldwide:

Miku USA:

VOCALOID the brand however, hasn't recovered:

I speculate this disparity is due to increased engine competition, subsequent reduced significance of engines to fandom identification, and increased influence of Project Sekai (which does not refer to its characters as 'Vocaloids', to my knowledge). No doubt another motivator that contributed to Crypton and Yamaha rekindling their partnership.

25% are loyal hardcore fans while in Japan there is a extra 25 percent waxing and waning on interest but also old-ish fans, for America it's a whole 75% that are new fans. That's what I got out of this statistic. It probably explain the new songs and the strange angle the community is going and its altering preference. uncertain if this will ultimately be a good or bad thing in the long run.