Unpopular Opinions

[Rylitah]

FL Studio is used for much more than just making MIDIs with. It's a professional software. Comparing it to Synth V is like comparing apples to oranges -- they're not the same just because they happen to share a similar feature. (While I'm not saying that Synth V isn't exactly a professional software, it's kind of made entirely with the vocal synth community in mind. FL Studio doesn't because it's a DAW. With a ton of features. The trial is unlimited, so that may be why it's so overwhelming when you first try it out.)

That being said, I wouldn't recommend buying FL Studio just for making MIDIs in... but it's great to get used to mixing in (especially with the unlimited trial, though you can't open saved projects iirc. Still, good practice since you can play freely) and maybe even try producing some music of your own.

Synth V is still new in comparison and there weren't really other good alternatives aside from FL Studio to creating MIDIs easily with before it. Personally, I've always just made my VSQx/UST files directly in the Vocaloid editor since that's what's easiest for me, but what's easy for me may not be so easy for anyone else.

 

[uncreepy]

My unpopular opinion I've been thinking about a lot lately:
I feel like some people are actively trying to out-Miku other people. As in:

"My room is blue-green, every inch has Miku posters and dolls!"
"Yeah, well my room looks like that, but I wear Miku merch and go to every concert!"
"Oh yeah? Well I also own $20,000 worth of Miku figures, including a giant one!"
"So what? I married Miku! And so can you!"

I feel like they think it's okay to be extreme, because other people are doing it. But at what point are you having fun and liking a character vs basically living in a 2D world? Like, would extreme Miku lovers think it was cool if some teenage girl had a literal shrine of one of the Backstreet Boys and never stopped worshiping it and her life revolved around it?

I am seriously wondering if the next step in this race isn't some kind of Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster-level of actual organized Miku worship. It bothers me, because there are a lot of real humans in the fandom they could interact with, but choose idolizing Miku in the form of books/drawings/dolls/memorizing dances/whatever. I feel like if Miku was a real girl, she would be freaked out seeing displays like that (kind of like sasaengs with kpop idols), no significant other would feel grateful to be treated like a god when people need equality in a relationship. I feel like some people won't agree with me and think it's cute or something, but it seriously bothers me and makes me feel very sad.

 

[cafenurse]

Definitley feel that too, it's like a "oh you like this band? name all of their songs" but instead it's "oh you like miku? do you sleep with a life size statue of her every night and pray to your candlelit shrine of 10,000 dollars worth of figures everyday?"


on another hand...im very jealous of people that can have such beautiful miku themed rooms. my tastes are so eclectic that my room could never be as gorgeously cohesive as say, mama meeks. (this is the prettiest room ive ever seen omg)
I've always wanted a room thats that aesthetically appealing, but instead my room is a mish mash of anime figures, antique music boxes, sloth themed decor, and the blueprints of the titanic....

 

[DefiantKitsune]

I guess it comes down to do you want a miku themed room b/c you want to out-miku others, or just b/c you think it'd be the bee's knees to have a miku themed room

 

[Scarlet Illusion]

I'm not here to judge, and, tbh, I think it's cool that some people have entire Miku-themed rooms. But, I do start to get a wee uncomfortable when people start doing it as a way to "worship" Miku or start showing off their rather, erm, creepy body pillows. But, yo, having a nice room themed around something you really like just because you like it? That's the bees knees! I've always envied people who have an entire aesthetic for their room, 'cause mine's always been a mishmash of random things that I like!

I think some people get too wrapped up in this "true fan" mentality. Hobbies and fandoms are about having fun and interacting with people who like the same stuff as you, and it's no one's place to gate keep. You don't need to know all 100,000 Miku songs to be a "true fan", nor do you have to like all the synths and be a super ultra mega hardcore fan.

 

[cafenurse]

that fact that luna from animove never got a voicebank like lily did......a crime

 

[hamano]

I feel like I'm compelled to chime in to the topic of extreme devotion to one's hobby, perhaps a bit more from the "other side" if you wish, though I'm not way up there in terms of devotion. I can only speak on my own behalf and from my observations of others, but I think there are fans out there who share my thoughts. I hope I can offer just a little bit of insight.

I believe that when it comes to the level of devotion to Miku or any other hobby or interest, it's to each their own. If one wants to indulge deep into the world of Vocaloid, boy bands, games, literature or literally whatever, go for it. If you want to do that and it brings joy to your life, no problem. If you want to fill your home with things you like, that's all right. How far you go into it is up to you, if you choose to go to the extreme, it's your choice, it shouldn't be anyone else's problem.

Personally, even though I have a ton of Miku merch and stuffs, I don't feel the need to compete against other fans. I mean, I do like to show people my new acquisitions sometimes, mostly the figures, but I feel it's more about sharing, or at least trying to share, the joy of getting a cool item I love. To me having Miku merch, CDs and so on, is what I like, it's fun to collect things, display them and decorate my home the way I want.

The topic of competing on how dedicated one is is kind of natural for people, that's present in almost any fandom. Car enthusiasts are always comparing each other's rides for example, the mentality can't be completely erased, I feel it's some kind of construct built in to us. You just jave to suppress it, or turn it into positive, encouraging comparing. How much of a "true fan" one is can't be measured through the amount of money spent or things like that. Sure, it's a sign of devotion, but it shouldn't be a way to validate oneself in the eyes of others, but rather doing so because you like Miku and you want to show your support. In the end it's a choice though, if you don't have loose money to spend, merch might not be your thing and so on. While I find the idea of a fan who's not willing to spend even once for a concert (which in my mind are one of the most important things to me) despite having the funds strange, it's your choice in the end. Anyway, when you're really into something, you normally want to show it, and go to great lenghts with it. I don't really see it ultimately as competing against others, but rather coming together within the "microculture" of the Miku fandom, sharing and spreading your love towards her and your knowledge. Sure, unfortunately some people will always be gate-keeping, but the whole community should acknowledge that no one knows everything and new fans simply won't have the same level of expertise in, for example, discography etc. And that there are casual fans as well.

The unfortunate thing is that having an ambition towards Vocaloid/anime/etc. still bears stigma among the so-called "normies". Some other interests are far more acceptable socially. Thankfully there's a slow change going on, at least I like to think there is, and hopefully people learn to accept it as an ambition like any other.

In the end indulging yourself in your interests shouldn't be a bad thing no matter what it is as long as you're not causing harm to anyone. Especially online you sometimes see people who might even be into Vocaloid, but have zero understanding of the fandom side and think it's ok to pass devoted fans of a certain character as something like sub-human. This is one reason why I'm keeping some distance when interacting with people in the community, there's a lot of toxic people mixed in with the cool peeps.

For me my Miku hobby has definitely enriched my life. Thanks to Miku I've met some nice people and made long lasting connections, traveled and had lots of amazing experiences. If I had never met her, I imagine I'd still be a person who has no real hobbies and whose life revolves almost solely around work. I've never been that outgoing or extrovert, and I think it's all thanks to Miku that I've managed to build confidence in myself and interact with people who share the same love for Miku I do. Having said that, I can't change who I am. I don't see constant 24/7 interaction with real people as a necessity and I like "escaping to the Miku world" and spending time on my own focusing on what I love. I don't see anything problematic in it. I don't need to see friends every single day and be online chatting with people all night, I'd rather spend time with things I like. I believe this applies to many others and not just me, I'm merely using myself as an example of an approach to the subject.

EDIT: Sorry if the text was long and a bit incoherent

 

[mobius017]

I don't know where the line might/should be regarding a level of devotion to any particular hobby or character/figure. I know there's a point where, looking at it, I feel uncomfortable. I think it's generally when a person is doing something that just doesn't seem like it could make sense, like it wouldn't even meet their needs as I understand them.

But the thing is, that's really subjective, and really personal. I don't know what those people's personal needs are, or if they feel like they're being met. As long as they're happy and they're not hurting anyone else, I may not understand them, but I feel like they ought to be left to do as they choose.

There are some other points I considered, too, as I thought about this. For one, I think social media, where we get most of this information, is a place where there can be a certain amount of exaggeration. Even in face to face interactions, we only get a limited amount of information about a person; online, we get much less. We really only get to see what people want to show us. Beyond just being limited, some people probably intentionally exaggerate certain things to get attention or appear differently. Some fans might exaggerate just how into Miku they are for those reasons.

Additionally, for whatever it's worth, I knew someone with one of those music group shrines. Well, it wasn't that elaborate, but she had the kind of teen hottie fixation that is sort of like what uncreepy referred to. For however similar it is, teen hottie fixation isn't uncommon (The person in question grew out of it.), and something similar could be happening with some of the people concerned. Much of the fandom would probably fall into the age range for it, right?

To touch on the competition among some Miku fans, I'd like to start by summarizing some of the reasons why Miku/other vocal synths are important to me. I've discussed these and other reasons elsewhere, notably in my journal and hamano's journal, but here's the somewhat abridged version:

• They bring a surprising amount of happiness to people who are unhappy or depressed, and some kind of comfort to people who are having a difficult time. There are examples upon examples of comments to this effect on YouTube, and I assume in other places.
• There is also a culture surrounding them that is collaborative and mutually-supportive in nature, or at least has these core values. I can hear the counterexamples already, pointing out the various dramas that have occurred on Twitter or elsewhere. Those things are true (Though I could dispute some of them--some of the issues I've seen raised aren't even really vocal synth-related, they were just misdeeds executed by people who are affiliated with the vocal synth community.). It's not really fair or accurate to characterize any entire group of people as good or bad based on the behavior of just a few--groups aren't homogenous that way. That said, there is a large component of openness, acceptance, collaboration, and supportiveness in vocal synth culture--look at the userbase on VVN, the big group of artists/musicians/writers collaborating and/or making their work available for free on Piapro, or the other various places where VSQs, music, or artwork are made freely available. Consider also the knowledge sharing that occurs, via Vocaloid wiki, utaforum, or our resources on VVN, for example. If we were all truly purely self-interested, we would be delighting in the mistakes or struggles of our fellows while we hoarded what we've learned in order to surpass them. Instead, we share things we figure out with each other. From what I know, Nico Nico seems to be a good example, too--I don't go there too often, but the videos I've seen seem to be full of encouraging comments, even for producers who are uploading their first works.
• From that perspective, given the personalities CFM has tacitly (although never officially) given them to express, Miku and the other CFM 'loids are "living" symbols and embodiments of these values. I'd like to think that people go to them as an example of how people, in these respects, should be.

Given that this is how I feel about Miku, I don't care for the idea of labeling people as "true fans." Being a fan shouldn't be measured by the particular mundane worldly things you do as a gesture of your devotion. Fandom is measured only by feeling. And I don't care to or find it particularly productive to get into pissing matches about whose feelings are strongest/whose devotion is greatest. The one point I would make is that a "true" Miku fan doesn't get into the gatekeeping kinds of behaviors that uncreepy and hamano were giving examples of. They don't think that Spanish is somehow a language unworthy of Miku's utterance, or get into contests about who is the "bigger" Miku fan. Miku was given very little in this world--just an appearance, a voice, and (somewhat unintentionally, but unavoidably) a personality built on the ideals I mentioned above. It's my opinion that a "true" Miku fan should embrace the last at least as much as the first two; or, at the very least, at least not do things that stomp all over it.

Of course, that last point may be only my own opinion. If Adolf Hitler enjoyed long turquoise twintails and cute, high-pitched voices, would that make him less of a Miku fan than me? Or, to put it more simply, can you be diametrically opposed to 1/3 of the core of what someone is, yet still be called some kind of devoted to them...?

 

[Aia]

To be honest, people who gatekeep baffle me. They feel like they have good intentions, but seeing it they're just making a whole situation worse. This may be bad coming from me--a teenager, who in some fans' eyes, doesn't know any better-- but I find them more annoying than the said person they accuse of causing "drama". Just, who would spend so much time and energy yelling and writing almost 1000 reasons why this one random person on the internet shouldn't be in the community? It's so unnecessary, especially when it's about something so small as in the voca community. I can't understand it.

Like, you can't change how the world works, you can only change how you feel.

 

[inactive]

Miku's hair is too long.

 

[ikaroll]

Miku's hair is too long.

It is too long

To be honest, people who gatekeep baffle me. They feel like they have good intentions, but seeing it they're just making a whole situation worse. This may be bad coming from me--a teenager, who in some fans' eyes, doesn't know any better-- but I find them more annoying than the said person they accuse of causing "drama". Just, who would spend so much time and energy yelling and writing almost 1000 reasons why this one random person on the internet shouldn't be in the community? It's so unnecessary, especially when it's about something so small as in the voca community. I can't understand it.

Like, you can't change how the world works, you can only change how you feel.

The vocalsynth community has so much drama, and I feel like it would be much better off without it

And why would someone write all those reasons I mean come on

 

[Blue Of Mind]

Miku's hair is too long.

Cosplayers firmly agree with you. (I cosplayed Miku once as a teen, and the twintail wig I used was a bit too heavy for my head so I had to cut it a bit shorter so it didn't fall off.)

 

[inactive]

Cosplayers firmly agree with you. (I cosplayed Miku once as a teen, and the twintail wig I used was a bit too heavy for my head so I had to cut it a bit shorter so it didn't fall off.)

If that's the case, then Crypton Future Media should update Miku with either shorter hair or a thicker neck.

 

[Leon]

This doesn't really deserve its own thread, so I'll put it here...

My Gripes With V5

1. Scrolling up or down toggles off the auto sidescroll (with the stop bar, when the song is playing). This seems small but ends up ticking me off to no end. V4 doesn't do that, nor does V1.

2. You can't scroll side to side with the two-finger swipe on a touch pad. I'm probably in the minority of using V5 on a laptop(?) but it's just really frustrating that V4 lets you and V5 doesn't. (V1 doesn't either but I give that a pass for being 16 years old)

3. Rendering. Why isn't there a "play with render" mode? Unless I'm super blind and just missing it, but I haven't been able to find anything. Like someone PLEASE tell me if I'm missing it somewhere. If not? Puzzling how it's taken a step back from all 4 generations ahead of it, in this regard.

4. How long it takes to open. I guess there's something to be said about running it on a more powerful machine than my laptop, but it IS a gaming laptop that I bought specifically because its specs are able to handle programs like Solidworks and MATLab etc for university. V1/2/4 open fine, but V5 takes ages. By the time it does finally open, half the time it crashes if you select a VPR, and you have to wait again anyways.

5. Vibratos are hidden under release effects. I'm sure most people use the attack/release effects for most of their tuning in V5, but it's just a little weird to me. Doesn't really come to mind as something I'd categorize as a "release effect", you know? Probably, it's more intuitive to someone who didn't get used to V4 and back first, but for a while I was just right clicking the note, totally puzzled as to where the vibrato menu would be. Plus then instead of being able to go into a vibrato menu and edit its shape etc, you have to use the emotion tool to open a menu and drag it around a bit. Just very... inaccurate and frustrating.

6. Exciter is really cool, but it does add some pretty audible engine noise to a voice. I'm sure it could be improved upon, should Yamaha ever pick Vocaloid back up again.

7. Some parameters' names were changed needlessly and sound similar to new ones. Like now we have "Breath" and "Air". And "OPE[nness]" (which I think made some sense) is "Mouth" which... arguably is less illustrative about what you mean that parameter does.

8. In fact, why are the parameters hidden upon a fresh install? In that teeny "+" button in the bottom corner. Super easy to miss. At first I was genuinely confused and wondered if I'd somehow missed that they'd been removed.

9. Can't move certain attack effects around. For example, vocal fry often sounds like it's a little too early, and this especially mixes oddly if there are notes very close to the one you're adding to, but it insists it's at the perfect position and you can't move it any. Which seems strange to me, since vocal fry is essentially just fancy PIT that you can imitate in older editors with a little work. Makes me just not add it to a number of notes that tbh it would sound good on.

10. You have to edit phonemes within the attack/release menu that displays phonemes? At least, that's what it looks like. I was told a little while back that if you do Ctrl+R to get to phoneme mode, then you can click on the word and it'll let you edit the phonemes directly on the note, but it's strange that it doesn't do what V4 does where it displays the phonemes directly. Who would think it'll let you edit phonemes if it's still showing the regular words? I say we go back to the glory days of V1 where the word and phonemes were displayed separately, both on the note and edit-able at a click

11. Can only have one attack and release effect per note. Maybe I want a vibrato AND a decrescendo. Nope, back to manually editing parameters for you!

12. And of course, as your local V2 apologist (bank-wise, at least), that V2s aren't able to be imported. I've heard the reasoning that they're lower-quality, or that their lack of triphones is to blame, but TBH I don't... really care. Like I get it. But it doesn't make it up to me, when they work in V4 and V5 is so similar to V4 that early fileswappers were able to get V5 voicebanks to work IN V4. And there are a number of V2s that are honestly still good voicebanks. To this day I think Miku V2 holds up as a genuinely good bank. Yamaha's reasoning is their own, and it's their decision -- but I don't have to like it.

To sum up, V5 has a lot of great ideas and concepts that I just feel aren't executed well, and it's weighed down by a lot of smallish QOL issues that just make it annoying to use.
My personal heirarchy of general user-friendliness/enjoyment of use for the editors is V4>V1>>>V5>V2, and the only reason V2 is below V5 is because you had to go into Note Properties to edit phonemes (+ no [-] but instead of two notes with the same phoneme holding it out like V1 usually does, it restarts the sound. Makes for some really awkward vowel manipulation sometimes on Engloids. I'll never touch V2 if I don't have to).

 

[ikaroll]

If that's the case, then Crypton Future Media should update Miku with either shorter hair or a thicker neck.

I do agree. As an artist, it's a pain to have to decide HOW LONG the hair should be. It's super annoying

 

[Leon]

I like unrealistically long hair if the drawing is nicely stylized :>

 

[ThatGirlMyra]

I've been listening to CircusP a lot recently and have noticed the huge amount of positive comments he's gotten recently. Am I the only one who notices a seeming decline in quality from him in the past year or so? Everything he releases sounds very poppy and canned. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy and would defend him if anything came up for sure, but I feel so alone in this opinion. His old stuff (especially the stuff that was never released on YouTube) was so good and original. Now it just seems to lack depth.

 

[TheStarPalace]

Lmao I'm the only person I know that actually likes circus' new stuff

 

[Leon]

I like his new stuff pretty well. Some of it is a little hit or miss I suppose, but that's purely subjective. Someone once described a few of his newer songs as having the pace of something that was translated to English and doesn't have quite the right syllables to flow well, and I can kinda get that. But I think they're catchy and fun, and don't have all the bitter critiques that some people do towards western Vocaloid music :)

 

[DefiantKitsune]

To be honest, back in 2015/6 people were saying the exact same thing about his current music compared to Lucid-era.

Really, what I don't get is how he's still getting lumped into the "edgy" group. None of his current music is even remotely edgy tbh?
(I like both his current music and 715 era- there are a handful I don't like but none really consistently. Lucid era hasn't aged well imo)