PPG Phonem (Advanced Vocal Synthesizer) official released

[ENV1]

double

[origwt]

I think trials would increase sales. Is it possibly because the demo version and full version require separate maintenance and he has such a small team? I'm not saying that's the case. More of a question.

yes, we are a small team

[origwt]

it is not decided yet, whether we will offer a trial version for Phonem.
there are so many demo videos and tutorials out, that should help you make a decision.
sales are final, yes. see our policies on our shop page.

This is disappointing to hear.

I am most interested in Phonem for virtual singing. As it says on the web site:

'PPG Phonem lets the user create expressive vocal synthesis beyond anything ever heard before. With its advanced routing system every aspect of the voice can be controlled and modulated in any conceivable way. Anything from a quiet whisper to a scream. Use the intuitive text to speech tool to make Phonem say whatever you want.' and 'Create your own singing style'.

So my question has been can Phonem sing intelligible lyrics for a whole song? Is it better or worse than say, AlterEgo or Vocaloid? I have yet to see much evidence of this. Nearly all the videos are about the sound synthesis and, while I don't want to take away from that, it's not what I'm looking for. Where are the examples of screams and whispers, or different singing styles? Is this very difficult to do?

Unless I have missed it, there is not an example of a song in any of the demo videos. There is one bit at the start of the show and tell video that sounds promising (a female singing: yea eee yeaaah), but that is all I could find.

Also how can I know if it will work with my system? I would like to place a request for a trial version so I can test this myself, especially as all sales are final.

one thing i can tell you: yes, it is not easy to create natural singing voices. it is like any other instrument: it need practice and experience. but with Phonem you have a very powerful toolkit, which is the prerequisite to achieve that.

[Aspects of Tone]

one thing i can tell you: yes, it is not easy to create natural singing voices. it is like any other instrument: it need practice and experience. but with Phonem you have a very powerful toolkit, which is the prerequisite to achieve that.

This is what I would expect, as you say, like any other instrument. Though one would usually get a chance to test one. For example, I would not want to buy a guitar without trying it out first. Especially if I could not return it.

So, hopefully you can be persuaded to offer a trial version

[Sampleconstruct]

There are other companies which don't provide demos, e.g. the latest Falcon, it's not that unusual.

[pdxindy]

I am most interested in Phonem for virtual singing. As it says on the web site:

'PPG Phonem lets the user create expressive vocal synthesis beyond anything ever heard before. With its advanced routing system every aspect of the voice can be controlled and modulated in any conceivable way. Anything from a quiet whisper to a scream. Use the intuitive text to speech tool to make Phonem say whatever you want.' and 'Create your own singing style'.

So my question has been can Phonem sing intelligible lyrics for a whole song? Is it better or worse than say, AlterEgo or Vocaloid? I have yet to see much evidence of this. Nearly all the videos are about the sound synthesis and, while I don't want to take away from that, it's not what I'm looking for. Where are the examples of screams and whispers, or different singing styles? Is this very difficult to do?

Unless I have missed it, there is not an example of a song in any of the demo videos. There is one bit at the start of the show and tell video that sounds promising (a female singing: yea eee yeaaah), but that is all I could find.

Also how can I know if it will work with my system? I would like to place a request for a trial version so I can test this myself, especially as all sales are final.

I have only been using it for maybe 8 hours of total time in the 2 days I've had it. My initial impressions...


If you want to make a robotic voice sing intelligible lyrics for a whole song, that it can do. If you want to make lyrics that sound natural like sung by a real human voice for a whole song, uh, no.

However, it can certainly accomplish some natural vocal sounds.

It does female voices better than male voices.

[Musical Gym]

I am most interested in Phonem for virtual singing. As it says on the web site:

'PPG Phonem lets the user create expressive vocal synthesis beyond anything ever heard before. With its advanced routing system every aspect of the voice can be controlled and modulated in any conceivable way. Anything from a quiet whisper to a scream. Use the intuitive text to speech tool to make Phonem say whatever you want.' and 'Create your own singing style'.

So my question has been can Phonem sing intelligible lyrics for a whole song? Is it better or worse than say, AlterEgo or Vocaloid? I have yet to see much evidence of this. Nearly all the videos are about the sound synthesis and, while I don't want to take away from that, it's not what I'm looking for. Where are the examples of screams and whispers, or different singing styles? Is this very difficult to do?

Unless I have missed it, there is not an example of a song in any of the demo videos. There is one bit at the start of the show and tell video that sounds promising (a female singing: yea eee yeaaah), but that is all I could find.

Also how can I know if it will work with my system? I would like to place a request for a trial version so I can test this myself, especially as all sales are final.

I have only been using it for maybe 8 hours of total time in the 2 days I've had it. My initial impressions...


If you want to make a robotic voice sing intelligible lyrics for a whole song, that it can do. If you want to make lyrics that sound natural like sung by a real human voice for a whole song, uh, no.

However, it can certainly accomplish some natural vocal sounds.

It does female voices better than male voices.

I appreciate your feedback on it as I was thinking of buying it for the vocal capability, especially since it's billed as a vocal machine. I already have many good vocal production tools that sound very good right away, so I probably would not want to get something that takes days of work to achieve what I already can do with what I have.
On the other hand, I may think of getting it for its sound-making potential if that is where it excels. If so, perhaps it would be better named Advanced Synthesizer Featuring Vocal Creation and Manipulation.

[pdxindy]

I appreciate your feedback on it as I was thinking of buying it for the vocal capability, especially since it's billed as a vocal machine. I already have many good vocal production tools that sound very good right away, so I probably would not want to get something that takes days of work to achieve what I already can do with what I have.
On the other hand, I may think of getting it for its sound-making potential if that is where it excels. If so, perhaps it would be better named Advanced Synthesizer with On-board Vocal Mangling.

What sort of vocal production tools do you currently have? You mean stuff like Vocaloid? Alter/Ego?

I'm overall super pleased with Phonem sound wise (the preset/resource management needs some improvement)... What I've been looking for is a synth that does beautiful vocal sounds and it delivers.

[Sampleconstruct]

I have the impression the marketing blurb for Phonem is slightly misleading, if anybody wants vocal pseudo-realism, grab one of the numerous sample libraries, Phonem is a vocal synthesizer, totally based on formant resonators derived from the human voice, but it's a synthesizer, not a sampler. I haven't heard/used anything like it and for me this is clearly one of the outstanding/unique releases over the last years.

[jk-cream2]

Software is not a guitar.

[ZeePok]

it is not decided yet, whether we will offer a trial version for Phonem.

Please do. (Offer a demo i mean.) Getting some hands on experience is always the best way to find out whether you really want something, plus there is also the fact that not all software runs problem-free on all machines, which means this had to be ascertained before purchasing when sales are final.

"All sales are final"

I am not going to spend over 100 Euro's without being able to try it out on my system first.

PS: I could have sworn that i read that a demo IS coming. Guess it must have been late or something...

I read that too ...

Just stumbled on this and haven't gone through the thread.
Will there be a demo version?
Will there be introductory offer?

As of now the Price: 119 € ... {barring any potential "bundled" price, of which I am not privy}
The "RC" will be out today, and I am assuming there will be a 'demo' with that announcement.

[Daags]

maybe they meant audio demos, since this plugin was kind of 'pre-announced' without any audio demos to speak of and people were asking for them.


anyway, no demo (as in trial period/license) and 'all sales are final' ....

strikes me as walking a fine line on legality. ethically, it's pretty clear ... it's not very.

[camsr]

anyway, no demo (as in trial period/license) and 'all sales are final' ....

strikes me as walking a fine line on legality. ethically, it's pretty clear ... it's not very.

I don't see it that way. They admitted their team is small and that means they don't have the resources to implement every single flippin' request KVR audio has...
Sometimes Word Of Mouth marketing is the best, take it from the early adopters that they enjoy using the plugin and the results are worthy of consideration. But I have to say in this case, a little more transparency would be more comfortable, as I don't have hundreds of Euros laying around to gamble with and I don't want to make random changes to my computers file permissions either...

[Sampleconstruct]

A small early morning Phonem exercise featuring two alien voices:

https://soundcloud.com/sampleconstruct/ ... g-exercise

[Daags]

anyway, no demo (as in trial period/license) and 'all sales are final' ....

strikes me as walking a fine line on legality. ethically, it's pretty clear ... it's not very.

I don't see it that way. They admitted their team is small and that means they don't have the resources to implement every single flippin' request KVR audio has...
Sometimes Word Of Mouth marketing is the best, take it from the early adopters that they enjoy using the plugin and the results are worthy of consideration. But I have to say in this case, a little more transparency would be more comfortable, as I don't have hundreds of Euros laying around to gamble with and I don't want to make random changes to my computers file permissions either...

i'm very happy for you that you have your own point of view. you are a special snow flake.

it's really a special point of view, too.

as for me, I don't think providing a demo qualifies as 'providing every single flippin request KVR audio has' ... nor comes anywhere even remotely close to such a statement. plenty of solo developers can manage it. small teams too. and those that don't, provide the next best ethical alternative - a money back guarantee.

as for the rest of your statement...what does it even mean ? more transparency would be comfortable ? huh ? ... he's been perfectly transparent. what more transparency do you want, and how will it make a special snow flake like you more comfortable ?

anyways, the question of ethics may be moot. since I'm not even sure it's legal to declare 'all sales are final', especially without an opportunity to demo the software product. especially in Germany - land of the consumer protection laws.