Kagamine Rin & Len

Released on December 27, 2007, Rin &amp; Len Kagamine (鏡音リン・レン, Kagamine Rin/Len) is the second product of Vocaloid2 Character Vocal Series developed by Crypton Future Media Ltd. (CFM), male voice (Len) and female voice (Rin).

History
At first, CFM projected a Vocaloid with low-teen girl's voice following Miku Hatsune, but there was a demand for a boy's, so CFM adopted a voice actress who can produce both sounds. The developer says that their family name was from the developing code combining Kagami (鏡, mirror) and Ne (音, sound), i.e., they are the mirror reflections meaning Rin "right" and Len "left." Despite the double voice banks, the package still sells at the same price as Miku Hatsune.

Updates
On June 12, 2008, Crypton announced that the updated edition, named "Act2", would be released in early July 2008. Users who had bought the old version got an expansion disc free of charge. On June 18, 2008, beta demonstration songs using the new version were released on the company's official blog. On July 18, 2008, act2 was released. The new version was released to address issues with the original voicebanks that effected their ability to sing clearly. It acted as an independent installation, coexisting with the initial software. The original version of the software is now retired from sale by Crypton Future Media themselves and it is now no longer possible to buy the software from them.

After Miku Append began, Rin and Len was confirmed to have appends being worked on. Len Append is now in the process of production and demos of its voice have been given out; (high voice demo), (low voice demo). Currently, they are known to have "soft", "sweet", "warm", "power" and "cold". The append is scheduled for release in December 2010. The total number of voicebanks for each one is currently unknown but 6 are expected in total with 3 voicebanks being assigned to each Kagamine.

Append confirmed so far;
 * Rin; Warm, Sweet, Power
 * Len; Cold, Soft, Power



Usage for Music
Since they are based on the same voice provider, both successfully harmonize with each other and therefore are often used in duets together. They also share a similar range and depth to their predecessor Miku. Len is the first male of the Vocaloid 2 era and the first male vocaloid able to hit high pitched notes. He lacks the ability to hit the lower notes less than Kaito, since he was produced as a young boy singer. Of the two voicebanks however, Len's is often considered the more difficult to work with than his counterpart, Rin.

As originally Rin/Len Kagamine were regarded as a product for experienced users, not like Miku, they were not easy to utilize for beginners and were criticized that some voices in the original voicebanks were not clear and had pronunciation problems of the Japanese language. Act 2 was released to solve those problems. Act 2 acts as a separate installation, for users with both versions, they then have a choice between four voicebanks overall: the newer voicebanks or the older voicebanks both with slightly different results. For having clearer pronunciations and milder voices Act 2 can sing smoother without skilled pre-settings and advanced editing for beginners, however, because of this it is less vivid and flexible and does not allow delicate settings and editing which gives a wider range of expression to experienced users. Users who own them both are enjoying choosing them in accordance with the intended use as each version has different features, just like having four different voicebanks; comparison of Act 1 and Act 2 edited in the same way (Rin Act1, Rin Act2), (Len Act1, Len Act2)

鏡音リン・レン カバーアルバム「Prism」 (Kagamine Rin/Len Cover Album 「Prism」)~ 鏡音リン・レン feat. 下田麻美 (Kagamine Rin/Len feat. Asami Shimoda)



 * Release Date: June 10, 2009
 * Number of Discs: 1
 * Label: Universal Japan.
 * Length: 57:22 minutes
 * Kokoro (Heart/Soul)
 * Daybreak
 * Rival
 * Ganbaro uyo
 * Otenba hime no uta
 * Rin Rin signal
 * Itazura Musume
 * Soundless voice
 * Zenmai shikake no komoriuta
 * South North Story
 * Meltdown
 * Gemini
 * Prism

Trivia

 * Their relationship with each other has often been a heated fan debate.
 * As they were under development, Crypton had the concept of making a pair of male and female voicebanks. The first idea of the concept was twin voices of a girl and her mirror image of opposite sex, just like twins. Also CFM had an intention to distribute them as twins, but this was not adopted either. Crypton did not decide to announce they are sibilings nor lovers, as they did not want to tie down each user's free creative activities.
 * After seeing many works that depict their relationships differently, Crypton announced on a magazine interview that those would meet their ideal.
 * DTM magazine 15(1) Jan.2008 This is, however, not an official announcement of Crypton Future Media.
 * KEI was given the concept Crypton intended, their approximate ages and an image of androids, but was not given any other directions when he was asked to illustrate Rin and Len by Crypton. Rin was the first one to be illustrated and Len was made to match her, following Crypton's concept. Their leg parts are designed to mimic speakers.