SynthV Synthesizer V Discussion Thread

[Infoholic]

Late to discuss this topic, but after reading the thread, I did want to leave my thoughts.

Dreamtonics has one core issue that keeps showing up repeatedly; they have nobody explicitly trained in business, communications, or public relations. As a result, they do not have an individual to watch their backs and handle situations like the recent feature rollout. It is a company of primarily tech-savvy individuals that is missing something crucial to a business.

While Dreamtonics eventually put out a formal statement regarding the AI Retakes feature and the issues users were experiencing during the feature rollout, they were not the first to do so. Regardless of their partner status, collaboration, or intertwined teams, this is unacceptable from a public relations standpoint. Dreamtonics is the driving force and face behind SynthesizerV; it should not be up to their partners to do damage control for them. Furthermore, this behavior reflects poorly on the brand's accountability, transparency, and relationship with consumers.

The recent statement, and their last statement on SynthesizerV business affairs, are not necessarily of quality either. This lack of quality is due to missing the individuals mentioned earlier who would be responsible for these aspects of a company. Dreamtonics issued their statements on Twitter, an excellent place for consumer outreach. However, they did not cross-post the most recent report to their main website.

Additionally, their most recent statement regarding AI Retakes and the consumer reception was too long for one text tweet. Therefore, it should not have been a text tweet at all. Tweets that are not text tweets (the business affairs address) should have a standardized format consistent with the branding of the company and for the benefit of consumers to remain updated on situations. A prime example of a culminated design for news would be the League of Legends patch notes. When there is a new patch every two weeks, there is a new graphic that lists every change in the same format, using the exact text, and the same colors, as the previous graphic. These adjustments are then cross-posted to the League of Legends website with another consistent and practical format to deliver information.

Compared to the Musical Isotope Twitter, Dreamtonics Twitter does not separate differently themed posts (updates/features/announcements) with specific hashtags. Hashtags are crucial for SEO and categorizing posts on an account more efficiently, allowing consumers quick access to certain content that may be necessary at any given time.

--

I want to like SynthV, especially with its history. However, there is serious negligence for transparency and consumer priority over "innovation" to be addressed. Dreamtonics has existed for five years and is no longer a basement startup, it is not an acceptable excuse.

With the allegations surrounding the company's behavior, poorly made graphics for voicebanks, and publishing content with no apparent quality checking, I feel less and less inclined to support the brand as time passes.

 

[peaches2217]

Late to discuss this topic, but after reading the thread, I did want to leave my thoughts.

Dreamtonics has one core issue that keeps showing up repeatedly; they have nobody explicitly trained in business, communications, or public relations. As a result, they do not have an individual to watch their backs and handle situations like the recent feature rollout. It is a company of primarily tech-savvy individuals that is missing something crucial to a business.

While Dreamtonics eventually put out a formal statement regarding the AI Retakes feature and the issues users were experiencing during the feature rollout, they were not the first to do so. Regardless of their partner status, collaboration, or intertwined teams, this is unacceptable from a public relations standpoint. Dreamtonics is the driving force and face behind SynthesizerV; it should not be up to their partners to do damage control for them. Furthermore, this behavior reflects poorly on the brand's accountability, transparency, and relationship with consumers.

The recent statement, and their last statement on SynthesizerV business affairs, are not necessarily of quality either. This lack of quality is due to missing the individuals mentioned earlier who would be responsible for these aspects of a company. Dreamtonics issued their statements on Twitter, an excellent place for consumer outreach. However, they did not cross-post the most recent report to their main website.

Additionally, their most recent statement regarding AI Retakes and the consumer reception was too long for one text tweet. Therefore, it should not have been a text tweet at all. Tweets that are not text tweets (the business affairs address) should have a standardized format consistent with the branding of the company and for the benefit of consumers to remain updated on situations. A prime example of a culminated design for news would be the League of Legends patch notes. When there is a new patch every two weeks, there is a new graphic that lists every change in the same format, using the exact text, and the same colors, as the previous graphic. These adjustments are then cross-posted to the League of Legends website with another consistent and practical format to deliver information.

Compared to the Musical Isotope Twitter, Dreamtonics Twitter does not separate differently themed posts (updates/features/announcements) with specific hashtags. Hashtags are crucial for SEO and categorizing posts on an account more efficiently, allowing consumers quick access to certain content that may be necessary at any given time.

--

I want to like SynthV, especially with its history. However, there is serious negligence for transparency and consumer priority over "innovation" to be addressed. Dreamtonics has existed for five years and is no longer a basement startup, it is not an acceptable excuse.

With the allegations surrounding the company's behavior, poorly made graphics for voicebanks, and publishing content with no apparent quality checking, I feel less and less inclined to support the brand as time passes.

Honestly, I think that’s part of the issue I’ve had lately: people still treat Dreamtonics like the tiny startup it was when SynthV launched in 2018. I get that it’s no Yamaha in terms of size and experience, but they’re definitely big enough that they need to be held accountable for mistakes and missteps.

Adding onto this! The response to Dreamtonics of late has been a lot less kind in the Japanese fandom. The Japanese community, from what I’ve seen, hold reliability in high esteem (which is part of why CeVIO AI is so popular: it’s reliable with updates and generally predictable as a whole). In response to 1.7.0, there’s been a combination of people concerned at how it will affect third-party development for Voicepeak, and people generally decrying how unreliable SynthV is and how Dreamtonics so readily screwed over their third-party banks, comparing them unfavorably to companies like Techno-Speech and Yamaha. Even Tsuina’s official Twitter, after dishing out heavy criticism towards the update, made an off-handed comment about potentially switching engines. SynthV was never hugely popular in Japan anyway, but Dreamtonics’ recent mishaps has reeeaaaaally stained its image and jeopardized its place in the Japanese market.

 

[Scarlet Illusion]

I'm glad to hear that the Japanese side isn't just letting things go and that it seems, in Japan at least, Dreamtonics is being held responsible for their poor choices. Not because I'm like "muahahaha SynthV must crash and burn because I'm tired of hearing about it" but because I know this is an issue with other "esteemed" companies/businesses as well, where people just let things go instead of telling it like it is.

I think it's best Dreamtonics' issues are brought to light because SynthV is an engine that I know has potential to be great, but in its current state, it doesn't seem Dreamtonics gives it the TLC it needs across multiple fields/areas. I genuinely hope they are able to get themselves together and face the music so as to improve themselves and the software.

 

[___]

There was definitely cultural difference as to what's held to a high regard in both industries and it could be seen in this situation, while Eclipsed Sounds gently hinted at it the person running Tsuina's twitter was having full blown meltdown ( no shade rtyui ).

clarification: not accusing ES of being sloppy, they communicate with the userbase well, just commenting on how the update had different implications in both industries.

 

[Infoholic]

Completely agree. Companies are held to much higher standards of respect and reliability than they are here in the west. Additionally, they take much more pride in their service and their "face".

Techno-Speech is a wonderful company and while their technology may be "less powerful", I would go to bat for them any day. I have had nothing but good experiences with them as both a consumer and through business.

Personally, I can not say the same about Dreamtonics...

 

[lIlI]

The response has been very negative across the English speaking fandom too, so I hope this motivates Dreamtonics to quickly improve the engine and take more care going forward. When a small company grows rapidly, it often comes with those teething pains as everyone involved figures out how to function in a very different realm of business. Fingers crossed that everyone working on the project has the passion and humility to learn from their mistakes: if so, they will go on to great things. A lot of SynthV's wonkier features (HDVM, instant mode) are excellent in concept, but bring the engine down through poor performance.

 

[PearlStarLight5]

I have found this on SynthV wiki
On one hand, this heavily implies Eleanor's vocal modes still exist
On the other, where the hell has Volor been?!

 

[peaches2217]

I have found this on SynthV wiki
On one hand, this heavily implies Eleanor's vocal modes still exist
On the other, where the hell has Volor been?!

Truth be told, after the chaos of both her boxes never sending out, Anicute recycling serials, and Volor going radio silent on all of it, I don’t trust a damn thing they say. I try not to be so outright cynical regarding these things, but they’re just… well, Not Trustworthy anymore.

 

[Rylitah]

They can reply to someone's DM (about something they can easily shrug off as being not their burden at this point, which is fine) but not give out a broad statement about the status of physical boxes + the other Anicute issues that everyone has desperately been trying to get anything at all out of them for...

... it's not a great look.

If they don't have any updates, then they can just say as much - they don't have to go into detail on why these issues occurred or are still happening (though it would be the best way to communicate with your paying consumer base!), but literally anything at all is better than just being radio silent. At least give some reassurance that something is still happening somewhere. Right now it just looks like things went to hell and they want to pretend nothing ever happened... which is the last thing you want to do when it comes to products that people already paid for.

That's not even going into the whole serial issue which is a whole other mess. I'm personally more concerned about that, but people wanting the product they bought and never received what, a year ago at this point?, have every right to be livid.

 

[lIlI]

In their current state, Anicute has effectively stolen a significant amount of money; I'm very surprised people aren't being louder about this.

 

[___]

In their current state, Anicute has effectively stolen a significant amount of money; I'm very surprised people aren't being louder about this.

No, no you have a point it's something I and Peaches have talked about, effectively, they're at this point in time, scammers.

The benefit of the doubt they've been given is underserved imo.

 

[peaches2217]

No, no you have a point it's something I and Peaches have talked about, effectively, they're at this point in time, scammers.

The benefit of the doubt they've been given is underserved imo.

The main reason they haven’t been called out in the widespread is honestly, I think, because the SynthV brand loyalty is so strong. There’s a sizeable portion of the fandom that worships SynthV and everything associated with it and either genuinely believes that these companies can do no wrong, or refuses to acknowledge that they can, mixed with misunderstanding of the separation of first- and third-parties. It’s kinda like the people who say “Pirating Vocaloids is okay because Yamaha’s a huge corporation, it won’t hurt them!”: there’s a general lack of understanding that Vocaloid and SynthV alike contain both self-sufficient corporations and significantly smaller and more dependent third-parties.

Which is to say, I’ve seen the mindset of “Volor would never wrong us, SynthV’s always had our backs, let’s have faith in them!” when in fact Volor isn’t SynthV, it’s only a part of it, and a part that needs to be held accountable.

 

[lIlI]

I don't think it's loyalty to SynthV specifically, as community sentiment towards them has been negative these past few weeks - but I agree regarding Anicute/Volor.

For whatever reason, we often infantilised Volor, with instances of deep disorganisation treated as more of a "whoopsie". Even now I occasionally see the opinion that Volor are an innocent party being betrayed by evil corp SynthV, which I think ignores the issues within their control of communication and refunds. Perhaps the fact that Volor were never held accountable meant they were never encouraged to improve their methods of doing business, leading to financial issues that couldn't be corrected.

 

[Leon]

Even after all this time I would still be sympathetic 100% about delays or whatever other supply chain/shipping issues, if they just! Came out and said something! Silence is more incriminating. You'd think a company would rather its customers be somewhat irritable/impatient than believe that they've been outright scammed.

 

[kozet]

I’ve been living under a rock with SynthV lately, so the stuff going on with VOLOR right now is news to me. I hope this can be attributed to incompetence rather than malice and they sort their stuff out quick.

Given the latest version of SVS is still 1.7.0, I take it that the issues with the new update are still present, right?

 

[morrysillusion]

Given the latest version of SVS is still 1.7.0, I take it that the issues with the new update are still present, right?

yes, no updates on the existing version, though old versions of the software have been provided for people to downgrade if they are having issues with it.

 

[Infoholic]

I don't think it's loyalty to SynthV specifically, as community sentiment towards them has been negative these past few weeks - but I agree regarding Anicute/Volor.

For whatever reason, we often infantilised Volor, with instances of deep disorganisation treated as more of a "whoopsie". Even now I occasionally see the opinion that Volor are an innocent party being betrayed by evil corp SynthV, which I think ignores the issues within their control of communication and refunds. Perhaps the fact that Volor were never held accountable meant they were never encouraged to improve their methods of doing business, leading to financial issues that couldn't be corrected.

I've seem negative views to SynthV, most notably here, but imo there's still a huge loyalty to the program. Lots of big accounts on twitter make pro-SynthV posts [even when issues are brought up] and especially if they're trying to diss CeVIO.

 

[peaches2217]

I've seem negative views to SynthV, most notably here, but imo there's still a huge loyalty to the program. Lots of big accounts on twitter make pro-SynthV posts [even when issues are brought up] and especially if they're trying to diss CeVIO.

There's quite a few people who also use SynthV to demonize literally any other vocalsynth that isn't it (mainly CeVIO and especially Vocaloid, but I've seen it also pitted against Utau, Ace, and, of all things, NiaoNiao). There's plenty of people who have a healthy love for it, but there's also sadly a borderline religion that's been built around it on some sites. It's not quite as bad as it was I'd say a year ago, but it's still prominent.

 

[lIlI]

I've seem negative views to SynthV, most notably here, but imo there's still a huge loyalty to the program. Lots of big accounts on twitter make pro-SynthV posts [even when issues are brought up] and especially if they're trying to diss CeVIO.

The SynthV tag on twitter has been mostly negative since the 1.7 update, but I don't doubt people who follow development less closely still love it a lot.

Fandoms online tend to go through exaggerated cycles of love and hatred, wherein they initially idolise a new cool thing, hyping it up as perfect; then when the company/person inevitably shows flaws they feel a deep sense of betrayal resulting from that parasocial relationship they built with them. Imo, SynthV is definitely no longer in that idolised state, and is swinging back in the other direction. I do think they could have completely avoided losing the fandom's good faith simply by rolling back 1.7 immediately and apologising, but hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

A good example of general feeling is in the comments here and here.

 

[lIlI]

Dreamtonics just announced this:

The ability to switch between versions of a voicebank in the DAW is very useful, and it's good to see them be transparent about new features being in beta. But I really hope this fixes the pronunciation and stability issues from the past update!