not super into the idea that geki and kaze are being put on v6 (if this is the case, i assume it is bc its on the v6 account?) and do not really sound like what they did in vxb? if vxb was a whole seperate software with a different engine etc, then these would just be a back port, no? using a different engine? im still very much wondering (and also confused) on what the development for vxb was, and when or it its improved qualities will come to anytime soon. itd suck and be really annoying for them to release geki and kaze in this 'lower quality' version on v6 only to at some point release vxb and release them again.
i only worry about this because v5 had a similar treatment of poor release amount and lack of any improvements only to be updated to v6, after almost nothing happening with it, making it redundant to own v5 at all, but but v6 was such an unexpected release no one could have guessed. i do geuinely still look back at that feeling like it was a waste of money lol. im glad v6 is going much stronger with voice bank releases but if theyre putting geki and kaze on v6 it makes me wonder the timeline of vxb-- whether or not itll be its own thing or will simply be an update to v6 (which i think would be best). another hope would be that if vxb is an update, that other banks will get an update to that as well (much like all the major improvements and additions to synth v just get added to voices and not the voices being rereleased)
(edit: wanted to add to my dislike on v5 and how its voices were handled compared to its lifespan before v6. for context there were 12 releases total (i am counting the 4 that came w the engine as one, as they came together) there were 3 new releases and 9 rereleases/updates of existing characters. in the span of ~4 years. compared to v6 in ~2 years which already has 11- some still to release...)
if there was more info on vxb that might answer some of my questions do let me know... i did not keep up too hard with it bc i didnt get to use it.
VXB was purely for research purposes, it was never intended to be a permanent product and there was a disclaimer on the website that the functions, features, etc. may or may not come to a full-released product in the future (whether that be V6 or otherwise).
However, there were some collaboration voicebanks made for VXB that got a lot of buzz, so I assume they're redoing them for V6 to satisfy, at least partially, those who enjoyed them. In this instance they aren't necessarily ports, even if using the same recordings, as V6 and VXB had two different phonetic systems [meaning they would've likely had to be rebuilt from scratch].
I do think they sound worse than their VXB counterparts, but that's to be expected with the way V6 is. I don't think we'll see a VXB solo-release any time soon, or at all. To me, it's more likely that they just release it as a major V6 upgrade (if they do). While they did go from V5->V6, it was sort of necessary since they fundamentally changed the software and approach. However, I think they could reasonably just continue updating V6 rather than making a V7, so I feel like it's likely the last iteration we'll see for a significant chunk of time.
As a software, I felt like V5 was fine/a good step forward...the problem is that we had basically no V5 vocals that took advantage of the newly introduced features....and lost features. FHowever, from a user-interface standpoint and the things they DID introduce, I think V5 was a good step. Them shooting themselves in the foot with 3rd parties really was the downfall of the V5 era, since we got basically nothing.
TLDR; VXB was always intended to be for research and development, and they had a disclaimer that the results may/may not come to any tangible software. V5 wasn't really that bad outside of the third party/release issue, and releasing V6 was necessary due to the program's nature and wanting to add AI support. However, now that AI has been added I don't think we'll see a separate VXB or V7 anytime soon, if at all, as it makes more sense to just continually update V6 (which we have been getting updates, even if they're not the quality we want...)
