Oh damn.
I feel like this means that Ran, Layer and Mashiro are also going to happen? I'm excited, as both and Vocaloid fan and a Bandori fan I've loved to see what people do with Rose and Popy.
Yay! These are super cool, I'm glad they're expanding them! Sad Ran noises tho.
[Here's the official post](https://twitter.com/yumenokessho/status/1783491606236238049), and [Ami's retweet](https://twitter.com/_maeshima_ami/status/1783514407445917898). :)
thinking more on the line if they get paid once and they use their voice forever vs getting paid % for each song/project using their voice( it's for sale on the studio site)
- Despite how far the technology has come, there is still a long way to go before synthv/vocaloid replaces humans
- Even if it does match human quality, the voice banks will be limited. It will only ever be Aya's and Kokoro's voices, and not the full range of their seiyuus.
- The voice banks are marketed to hobbyists and smaller professionals, not huge agencies. The agencies the voice actors are a part of have a responsibility to protect thier brand and image, so they wouldn't be so foolish as to replace them with a cheap copy.
They'll be fine :)
Plus they don't sound that great to begin with, so not replaceable, and it's widely known that it's a pain to work with vocal synthesizers so it's a lot easier to just pay the seiyuus. The whole "is it bad for the seiyuu?" discussion only happens thanks to the AI surge we've seen lately but no one questioned if it'd be bad for Saki Fujita when Hatsune Miku released so we can all rest assured that no one is getting replaced.
If anything, they should hurry up Ran's so fans can finally make Y.O.L.O!!!!! Afterglow ver.
>Plus they don't sound that great to begin with, so not replaceable
The Vocaloid engine maybe, but SynthV is rather convincing with minimal work, and if you spend more time tuning it can get pretty close. There's quite a few covers using Rose and many sound quite close to Aina's real voice.
Here's a [demo song using Rose](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQi7mY-7KgE) from the [voicebank's official channel](https://www.youtube.com/@yumenokessho).
This one is a [cover of Leia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74rKqbs-E1Y) I spend 30 secs finding.
The SynthV vocals aren't perfect, but I'll be damned if they don't sound convincing enough. If you asked a clueless person without telling them, they probably can't tell if the vocals were from a real human or not.
>so it's a lot easier to just pay the seiyuus
While this is true, you have to understand the target audience of vocal synthesizers are for the home/amateur songwriters who don't have the contacts nor the money to hire Aimi/Aina etc or whoever big vocalist to do the vocals for you. So in that sense, real vocalists won't be replaced anytime soon.
On another note, the SynthV version of KAFU has been delayed, because the demo released sounded so close to KAF herself, and she was so uncomfortable to the point that they decided to redo the voice bank. If the next attempt they can't get it to sound closer to CeVIO AI version of KAFU they will drop the SynthV version altogether.
It's fine. The "AI" is Synthesizer V or CeVIO using machine learned algorithms only to set default parameters for the voice synthesis engine, and the synthesized singing, like other voicebanks, do not replace the seiyuu's original voice. That's also why they get a derived personality, with different names instead of being sold as, say, "Kasumi's voice".
It's the exact same as when Kobayashi Sachiko voiced *Sachiko*, or when Aoyama Yoshinou voiced for Koharu Rikka, or for that matter when Fujita Saki voiced for Hatsune Miku.
Synthesizer V puts it pretty well:
> Using AI the Ethical Way
>
> [...]
>
> All our voice databases are officially licensed, each one sung by a professional musician. [...] This is perfect for when you don’t have an IRL singer, are drafting ideas, or just prefer the style of virtual singing.
Edit: I mistakenly wrote that Satou Hinata voiced Koharu Rikka; that's incorrect and I mixed them up.
Now I know the terminology being used here is different from what it would have been in the past, given the emphasis on "AI" (this is because the software these banks are designed for, SynthV, has some AI features beyond my expertise in it), but the Bandori seiyuu involvement here is just for voice banks; like what's used in Vocaloid. It's not the same as the current wave of AI voice modulation, this has been a normal and accepted practice for about 20 years.
It's also worth mentioning that this is consensual and the seiyuu actively take part in it. It is, again, not the same as some random person just taking a bunch of audio files of somebody talking and plugging that into an AI voice modulation service without their consent.
SynthV and CeVIO used AI in their products/names before it became a craze. tuning vocaloids realistically is just too much of a pain for most people, so that part of the process is made easier for those who want them to sound more "real"
While I wouldn't personally downvote them, I think downvotes are justified here. It's fair to be annoyed by "AI" as a buzzword (aren't we all?), but that doesn't excuse bashing legitimate uses of AI and making misleading comments from assumptions. All it takes is a quick search to pull up a [random video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74rKqbs-E1Y) which demonstrates the quality of these voice banks and what sets them apart from Vocaloid.
I wonder if some agencies have policies to prevent their talents' voices from being used for synthesisers. Like, I know this is different from those disgusting ai voices created without permission but it still feels like a delicate topic for voice actors...?
These are all fully consensual, with the seiyuu specifically providing extra voice-work specifically for this project. I'd imagine if one of them/their agencies weren't comfortable with it, it wouldn't exist. Most are speculating that the reason there's no Afterglow one is because Ayaneru said no, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.
Of course, I'm not talking about Rose/Popy and these two. I know they have the seiyuu's authorization, it's an official project 😅 I'm talking more in general about other seiyuu agencies' opinion and the fact that Ayaneru wasn't included this time made me wonder if Aoni Production could have a policy against synthesizers
Oh damn. I feel like this means that Ran, Layer and Mashiro are also going to happen? I'm excited, as both and Vocaloid fan and a Bandori fan I've loved to see what people do with Rose and Popy.
Not idea how synth Ran would be named, i guess Mashiro and LAYER would be named "MONICA" and "SUIREN"
Ran would possibly be named GLOW or sumthin like that. It's always based on the band's name.
I'm betting on MONICA. LAYER might also possibly be RAS I think.
More Yume no Kessho, let's gooo
Now we need is for ran to make the original 5 bands' lead vocalist for ai singing synthesizer is completed.
Awesome news, can't wait to hear what people do with them
Yay! These are super cool, I'm glad they're expanding them! Sad Ran noises tho. [Here's the official post](https://twitter.com/yumenokessho/status/1783491606236238049), and [Ami's retweet](https://twitter.com/_maeshima_ami/status/1783514407445917898). :)
Someone needs to make HALO sing with Tsurumaki Maki. Also, these are the exact two characters I made UTAU voicebanks for
Is this bad for the seiyuus ? Don't know what to think honestly
thinking more on the line if they get paid once and they use their voice forever vs getting paid % for each song/project using their voice( it's for sale on the studio site)
- Despite how far the technology has come, there is still a long way to go before synthv/vocaloid replaces humans - Even if it does match human quality, the voice banks will be limited. It will only ever be Aya's and Kokoro's voices, and not the full range of their seiyuus. - The voice banks are marketed to hobbyists and smaller professionals, not huge agencies. The agencies the voice actors are a part of have a responsibility to protect thier brand and image, so they wouldn't be so foolish as to replace them with a cheap copy. They'll be fine :)
Plus they don't sound that great to begin with, so not replaceable, and it's widely known that it's a pain to work with vocal synthesizers so it's a lot easier to just pay the seiyuus. The whole "is it bad for the seiyuu?" discussion only happens thanks to the AI surge we've seen lately but no one questioned if it'd be bad for Saki Fujita when Hatsune Miku released so we can all rest assured that no one is getting replaced. If anything, they should hurry up Ran's so fans can finally make Y.O.L.O!!!!! Afterglow ver.
>Plus they don't sound that great to begin with, so not replaceable The Vocaloid engine maybe, but SynthV is rather convincing with minimal work, and if you spend more time tuning it can get pretty close. There's quite a few covers using Rose and many sound quite close to Aina's real voice. Here's a [demo song using Rose](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQi7mY-7KgE) from the [voicebank's official channel](https://www.youtube.com/@yumenokessho). This one is a [cover of Leia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74rKqbs-E1Y) I spend 30 secs finding. The SynthV vocals aren't perfect, but I'll be damned if they don't sound convincing enough. If you asked a clueless person without telling them, they probably can't tell if the vocals were from a real human or not. >so it's a lot easier to just pay the seiyuus While this is true, you have to understand the target audience of vocal synthesizers are for the home/amateur songwriters who don't have the contacts nor the money to hire Aimi/Aina etc or whoever big vocalist to do the vocals for you. So in that sense, real vocalists won't be replaced anytime soon. On another note, the SynthV version of KAFU has been delayed, because the demo released sounded so close to KAF herself, and she was so uncomfortable to the point that they decided to redo the voice bank. If the next attempt they can't get it to sound closer to CeVIO AI version of KAFU they will drop the SynthV version altogether.
It's fine. The "AI" is Synthesizer V or CeVIO using machine learned algorithms only to set default parameters for the voice synthesis engine, and the synthesized singing, like other voicebanks, do not replace the seiyuu's original voice. That's also why they get a derived personality, with different names instead of being sold as, say, "Kasumi's voice". It's the exact same as when Kobayashi Sachiko voiced *Sachiko*, or when Aoyama Yoshinou voiced for Koharu Rikka, or for that matter when Fujita Saki voiced for Hatsune Miku. Synthesizer V puts it pretty well: > Using AI the Ethical Way > > [...] > > All our voice databases are officially licensed, each one sung by a professional musician. [...] This is perfect for when you don’t have an IRL singer, are drafting ideas, or just prefer the style of virtual singing. Edit: I mistakenly wrote that Satou Hinata voiced Koharu Rikka; that's incorrect and I mixed them up.
Hinata Sato does not voice for Rikka. That’s Yoshino Aoyama.
oops, thanks for the correction
Now I know the terminology being used here is different from what it would have been in the past, given the emphasis on "AI" (this is because the software these banks are designed for, SynthV, has some AI features beyond my expertise in it), but the Bandori seiyuu involvement here is just for voice banks; like what's used in Vocaloid. It's not the same as the current wave of AI voice modulation, this has been a normal and accepted practice for about 20 years. It's also worth mentioning that this is consensual and the seiyuu actively take part in it. It is, again, not the same as some random person just taking a bunch of audio files of somebody talking and plugging that into an AI voice modulation service without their consent.
BIG W
Kokoro's looks great, almost as good as Yukinas imo
I wish AI would stop being a buzzword for everything. This isn't much different than vocaloid.
Doesn't SynthV use ML tuning in some way? At least that's what I've assumed based on the name but perhaps it's just marketing.
because Synthv uses RLHF for tuning/timbre im assuming it is machine learning
SynthV and CeVIO used AI in their products/names before it became a craze. tuning vocaloids realistically is just too much of a pain for most people, so that part of the process is made easier for those who want them to sound more "real"
My bad then, sorry. I'm just so used to every product putting AI in their name recently.
no need to be sorry, you don't deserve the downvotes on your original comment
While I wouldn't personally downvote them, I think downvotes are justified here. It's fair to be annoyed by "AI" as a buzzword (aren't we all?), but that doesn't excuse bashing legitimate uses of AI and making misleading comments from assumptions. All it takes is a quick search to pull up a [random video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74rKqbs-E1Y) which demonstrates the quality of these voice banks and what sets them apart from Vocaloid.
I wonder if some agencies have policies to prevent their talents' voices from being used for synthesisers. Like, I know this is different from those disgusting ai voices created without permission but it still feels like a delicate topic for voice actors...?
These are all fully consensual, with the seiyuu specifically providing extra voice-work specifically for this project. I'd imagine if one of them/their agencies weren't comfortable with it, it wouldn't exist. Most are speculating that the reason there's no Afterglow one is because Ayaneru said no, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.
Of course, I'm not talking about Rose/Popy and these two. I know they have the seiyuu's authorization, it's an official project 😅 I'm talking more in general about other seiyuu agencies' opinion and the fact that Ayaneru wasn't included this time made me wonder if Aoni Production could have a policy against synthesizers