Vocaloid 4 Dex and Daina are released

[lingyai]

I got Blue and wanted to love its word building, but never quite could. Then again I did not invest a very long time with it because ... it seemed like it would require a long time! I also listened to a demo which the dev shared not long ago, and for me ... meh for realism.

I think really convincing, easy and quick word-building for nice-sounding solo vocal libraries has not been developed yet. I can imagine it's a bitch. The human voice is tricky enough; add consonant-vowel interactions and other dimensions we take for granted in "real voices", and ... well, I'd be surpised to see it within 5 years.

So for now, need a girl to sing? Get a girlfriend! Or breathe some helium and sing yourself

(Wouldn't it be cool if some of the real, proven innovative wizards out there, like the folks from Celemony, Orange Tree Samples and Soniccouture, got together on this? )

For now, the best I've heard are usable only for vowels. Ones I like for this include Blue, Realivox's The Ladies, and, kind of niche, Shevannai and the soooo lovely voice pads instrument from the new Imogen Heap Box of Tricks Kontakt library from Soniccouture.

I was also surprised how nice the Kontakt Factory Library's choral instruments sounded when you automate vowel morphing. Then again, that's choir...

[teacue]

An off topic comment to some comments of this thread.

Was the TB-303 aimed to simulate a string bass instrument?
Are Vocaloids aimed to simulate the human voice?
This is what one can do with the TB-303 or with Vocaloid Miku.
I love both and I am happy with Dex and Daina too

Land of confusion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q1MMx9fwDQ

Everybody needs a 303
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDHY-2n00Kc

Levan Polka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57mkfFdvREw

The disappearance of Hatsune Miku -DEAD END
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qkTpJAhywg

[lingyai]

Yeah, if you're into 303s and their vocal equivalents, fine, no attack on that. I guess we are both clarifying that this is what Vocaloid is about, not realism. Cool -- it's a niche thing with its uses for those who like it.

[baggagelizard]

(disclosure: I'm a biased vocaloid user and own both Dex and Daina)

Vocaloid is never going to fully replicate the human voice, and it doesn't need to. It's great for having a consistent voice, you don't need a microphone, need to be able to sing, or know anyone who can sing.

Vocaloid 4 english voices are much more understandable than previous generations, which is quite a plus in vocaloid music development.

It is a niche product to an extent, but many of us who are English Vocaloid users really want more people to use and enjoy the product! There's so much you can do when you do away with the notion of a singer having to be human, realistic, normal. This same type of stuff happened with the rise of synthesizers. people were hesitant because it sounded fake, cartoony, not real. And it was true. But synthesizers had much potential, and Vocaloid has so much potential.

Realivox Blue will produce a more realistic result, but it's more limited in what you can do. You can do so much more with Vocaloid because it isn't trying to be a human replacement.

(not to mention there's an ever growing fanbase of people who enjoy and consume vocaloid music/create derivative works/possible business oppourtunities/etc.)

At the very least, it's a great tool for sketching ideas and creating demos to show to clients/singers

[Dunbar]

Do you remember the Beatles? They sang American accented lyrics.

The Beatles were from Liverpool, they sang with scouse accents. It's a uniquely English accent.

[teacue]

Vocaloid is never going to fully replicate the human voice, and it doesn't need to. It's great for having a consistent voice, you don't need a microphone, need to be able to sing, or know anyone who can sing.

Vocaloid 4 english voices are much more understandable than previous generations, which is quite a plus in vocaloid music development.

It is a niche product to an extent, but many of us who are English Vocaloid users really want more people to use and enjoy the product! There's so much you can do when you do away with the notion of a singer having to be human, realistic, normal. This same type of stuff happened with the rise of synthesizers. people were hesitant because it sounded fake, cartoony, not real. And it was true. But synthesizers had much potential, and Vocaloid has so much potential.

Realivox Blue will produce a more realistic result, but it's more limited in what you can do. You can do so much more with Vocaloid because it isn't trying to be a human replacement.

(not to mention there's an ever growing fanbase of people who enjoy and consume vocaloid music/create derivative works/possible business oppourtunities/etc.)

+ 1 for all what you wrote.

I find also the fact that some new Vocaloid voice banks come with an increasing number of extends quite amazing.
Megpoid V4 (also known as Gumi) is out now and comes with 10 voice banks with corresponding growl samples for each extend!
The extends are called:
. Native
. Adult
. Power
. Sweet
. Whisper
. Native Fat
. Mellow Adult
. Power Fat
. Natural Sweet
. Soft Whisper

You can hear samples for each extend here:
http://www.ssw.co.jp/products/vocaloid4 ... index.html

Quite a nice bunch of articulations
Unfortunately, according to informations founded on vocaloidotaku.net, though it seems probable that Megpoid English will be updated to V4, there will be probably no extends for the english voice bank.
Maybe it's time to learn Japanese

[baggagelizard]

English Vocaloids are unlikely to have extensions because both of the longer time and money it takes to record an english vocaloid and of the lack of demand for them. I have heard that if Dex and Daina sell well enough and the demand is there, it may be possible for them to release extensions.