Addragh's v-synth corner!

Addragh, what the fuck is a 'v-synth'?

A v-synth, short for voice synth, is a program that can synthesise the human voice. You may know these by the term 'VOCALOID'. If you don't know that either then have you heard of Hatsune Miku? Yes, she's a v-synth!
Please note that this page will be refering solely to singing synthesis, as that is what I understand best and have the most experience working with.

What is a voicebank and what's the difference between all these programs?

A voicebank refers to a specific set of voice data given by a voice provider. This data is then put into a format that is able to be used by the target software.

There are many different synthesis engines avaliable. Some examples include:

• VOCALOID - The most famous and one of, if not the oldest singing synthesis engine still recieving support. It's a paid software made by Yamaha, and all voicebanks for it are produced by large companies.
• UTAU - A free software from the 2000s with a large community of voicebank creators. It's unmaintained by the original dev, only recieving one update in the past decade to patch a security vulnerability.
• OpenUTAU - An alternative open-source frontend for the engine UTAU runs on. It has many modern improvements, like a dictionary system and not requiring a switch to a Japanese locale to use it (although it's still recommended for most voicebanks to function).
• Synthesizer V (Studio) - A singing synthesis engine with many (ethical) AI-based features. The first version of Synth V, as well as Synth V Studio Basic, is free with limitations on what voicebanks and features can be used. Synth V Studio Pro is a paid upgrade that gives access to everything.

Due to differences between voicebank formats, you cannot use a voicebank made for one engine with any other engine. Not without breaking the terms of use of the voicebank and/or engine, anyhow.

What's with all the anime characters? Is this some type of v-tubing thing?

Ever since Hatsune Miku's release and subsequent rise to fame, most voicebanks have had characters associated with them for marketing purposes (or in the case of UTAUloids, shits and giggles). These characters are done in an anime style due to most v-synth fans getting into the scene through an interest in anime/general Japanese pop culture. Most of the time, there is no obligation on the part of producers to adhere to the personality or design of the associated character.

No, v-synths and v-tubers are not related. While one of the earliest examples of a v-tuber (Kizuna Ai) was animated in a program called MikuMikuDance, v-tubing is a wholly separate phenomenon.

What are some real-world examples of v-synths being used in music?/What are your recomendations for Vocaloid music?

Here is a link to a Spotify playlist with a bunch of songs I like. Please note that some songs may not be appropriate for all ages, and may have triggering themes.

You'll be able to see that there's a lot of variety in music made with v-synths, contrary to popular belief. Chances are if you type "vocaloid [genre you like]" into a search bar, you'll probably find something.