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Fukase VOCALOID4 | Songs Albums Notable Originals


This article is about the VOCALOID4 software known as a voicebank. If you are looking for the VOCALOID character then click here.

History

Satoshi Fukase reported that he spent 2 weeks in the recording studio recording the sounds for his VOCALOID. He had to record every single sound about 100 times so every possible combination could be used by the band. He later reported he erased the memory of recording it from his mind, however, his bandmate, Saori, described as a "nightmare". Saori sat through the entire 2-week recording session because Satoshi Fukase wanted her there.[1]

On August 4, 2015, it was announced that the lead singer of SEKAI NO OWARI, Satoshi Fukase, would be receiving a voicebank.[2] A design contest was held for him from August 4 to August 31.[3] On September 18, the winner of the design contest was revealed to be mikuma.

On January 8, 2016, four demos for Fukase were released. It was announced that he would receive two Japanese voicebanks: Normal and Soft. In addition, he received an English voicebank, which made him a Japanese and English bilingual VOCALOID. His digital download, physical copy, and starter packs were marked for release on January 28.[4]

Later, information about Fukase's development was revealed. Production of the voicebank began three years prior when Satoshi Fukase's office contacted YAMAHA via letter. The voice was always intended to be bilingual due to SEKAI NO OWARI's tendency to use English in their songs. However, there was only one native English speaker amongst the development staff with experience recording English voicebanks. They continued to create voicebank recordings even while Satoshi Fukase was abroad.[5]

The English voicebank took 3 times longer to record and was done in 6 or 7 sections. At the time, CYBER DIVA was in development and knowledge gained from this vocal impacted the balance of English vocals overall. "Soft" was chosen for Japanese to give a more whisper-like quality to the vocal. The Japanese "normal" draft was powerful in pitch, especially with G#3. A decision was made to not focus on power. The plug-in, "Electronica-Tune", was designed to be a snap-in pitch plug-in and mimics auto-tune, adding vocal effects within VOCALOID itself rather than via the DAW.[6]

Creator Pack

In June 2016, a "Creator Pack" based on Fukase was announced. This product contained a physical product called "UR12", a USB powered audio interface device. The package also included the "VOCALOID4 Editor for Cubase", a copy of the DAW software Cubase AI, and the Fukase vocal.[7] The Creator Pack has since been discontinued.

Product Information

Demonstrations

Demonstrations

アリス (Alice) NicoNico YouTube
Set Me Free NicoNico YouTube
僕がモンスターになった日 (Boku ga Monster ni Natta Hi) NicoNico YouTube
世界のはじまり (Sekai no Hajimari) (Captain Mirai song) NicoNico YouTube
I Knew You Were Trouble YouTube SoundCloud
トリセツ (Tori Setsu) YouTube
私はあの子の2Pカラー (Watashi wa Ano Ko no 2P Color) YouTube
悩める少年脱げ少女 (Nayameru Shounen Nuge Shoujo) NicoNico YouTube
プレパラートデイズ (Präparat Days) NicoNico YouTube
Fight for Pride NicoNico YouTube
龍の谷と太陽の砦 (Ryuu no Tani to Taiyou no Toride) NicoNico YouTube
ジ・オープン (The Open) NicoNico YouTube
ハウトゥー世界征服 (How-to Sekai Seifuku) YouTube

System Requirements

  • OS:
    • Windows: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 SP1 (32/64-bit)
    • Mac: OS X 10.11,10.10, 10.9
  • CPU: Intel Dual Core CPU
  • RAM: 8GB (minimum 4GB)

Voicebanks

Product Information
Versions
  Trial/Demo Vers?: No  Starter Available?: Yes  App vers.?: Yes
Package details as noted:

A young male voicebank designed to be an accurate representation of his voice provider. Fukase offers 3 voicebanks, two in Japanese and 1 in English. The resulting voice is "Fukase-like".

The product comes with it's own Plug-In called "Electronica-Tune" which allows to add distinct pitching effects to the voice such as a robotic sound. Though it is provided with the Fukase vocal, it will work with any VOCALOID. It is a tool designed to making pitch editing easier to create such robotic results than it would be to do the same freehand. The results of the tool are auto-tune like, but do not produce the same sound results as auto-tune.

It also includes a booklet with information about how to operate the VOCALOID4 editor and Fukase's vocal using SEKAI NO OWARI'S song "Starlight Parade".

For producers who want to use him for commercial reasons, they need to be aware that special permission is necessary as he has a special license condition. He cannot be used for profit without permission. Without it, their work can be only be distributed for free.[8]

Vocal traits as noted:
  • Is designed to have a relaxing/smooth tone of voice with clear entonation in both English and Japanese.
  • According to Yamaha, this product is intended to be user-friendly, and was designed to be easier for beginners in many ways.
  • The Japanese voice itself is quite solid built and clear.
  • Being a male voicebank, the mild timbre of the voice provider could lead the overall product to easily sound feminine at times.
  • He is best suited for electronica music.[6]
  • Both Sachiko and Fukase demonstrate successful attempts by Yamaha to capture the characteristics of famous singers.[6]
  • According to the Vocaloid shop, Fukase goes well with Sachiko and the Gackpoid V4 complete package.[9]
Software issues as noted:
  • Both vocals can struggle to maintain masculine tones in the higher ranges.[6]
Cross-Synthesis as noted:
  • XSY is possible between the two Japanese vocals "Normal" and "Soft".
  • In total the package offers the equivalent of 2 additional voicebanks achievable via XSY. The total tone variation offered by the package comes to a theoretical 4 voicebanks in total.


Individual Vocals

Product Information
Optimum
  Optimum Range: F2 ~ A3  Optimum Tempo: 80 ~ 160 BPM
  Total Tempo (min-max): 80 BPM  No. of Keys: W ~ 10, B ~ 7, Total ~ 17
Package details as noted:

The main singing vocal of the package. The vocal was recorded in a everyday tone of voice, was recorded in 4 pitches being F#3, B3, E4 and G4.

Vocal traits as noted:
  • Having the same tempo and vocal range allows it to switch mid-song more naturally.
  • Though he still suffers from loss of masculinity in his higher ranges, this vocal holds onto the male tones better then "soft".
Phonetic notes as noted:
  • His [b] sometimes weakened to fricative in the lower notes.
Voicebank sample

Fukase VOCALOID4 Normal

Cross-Synthesis as noted:

"J_Normal"s main role in XSY is to remove expression from "J_Soft" if used as a secondary vocal.

XSY can also be used to transistion between "J_Normal" and "J_Soft", the path is;

  • "J_Normal" ⇄ XSY ("J_Normal" x "J_Soft") ⇄ "J_Soft"

Product Information
Optimum
  Optimum Range: F2 ~ A3  Optimum Tempo: 80 ~ 160 BPM
  Total Tempo (min-max): 80 BPM  No. of Keys: W ~ 10, B ~ 7, Total ~ 17
Package details as noted:

This is a "whisper-like" vocal. The voice was recorded in a sweeter tone. It is an extension library and therefore a supportive vocal to "Normal".

Vocal traits as noted:
  • Having the same tempo and vocal range allows it to switch mid-song more naturally.
  • Soft has a sweeter tone than Normal.
  • Is reported to difficult to work with by itself.[6]
  • Is effective and easy to mix into orchestra.[6]
  • On higher pitches, Soft becomes more Falsetto-like.[6]
Phonetic notes as noted:
  • His [b] is weakened to fricative.
Software issues as noted:
  • In comparison to "Normal", "Soft" is even more prone to loosing its masculine tones, particularly when it drifts to sounding more "Falsetto-like".
Voicebank sample

Fukase VOCALOID4 Soft

Cross-Synthesis as noted:

"J_Soft" is noted to be able to give a colorful yet delicate expressive quality to the voice when used for XSY. "J_Soft"s main role in XSY therefore is to add expression to "J_Normal" if used as a secondary vocal.

If transisitioning from "J-Soft" to "J_Normal" via use of XSY, the path is;

  • "J_Soft"⇄ XSY ("J_Soft" x "J_Normal") ⇄ "J_Normal"

Product Information
Optimum
  Optimum Range: F2 ~ A3  Optimum Tempo: 80 ~ 160 BPM
  Total Tempo (min-max): 80 BPM  No. of Keys: W ~ 10, B ~ 7, Total ~ 17
Package details as noted:

The English version of the voice This voicebank was produced because of the use of English within SEKAI NO OWARI works. The vocals provide the much needed phonetics for English word construction.

Vocal traits as noted:
  • Is closer to "normal" in tone.
  • Having the same tempo and vocal range allows it to switch mid-song more naturally.
  • Like many other non-native English voicebanks, the voice provider's Japanese accent is still present. Fukase English is also intended to sing with a slight British accent.
  • Compared to the majority of past Japanese English vocals, the vocal is often considered by native English speakers as one of the overall "better" Japanese English vocal attempt.
    • Though he is not necessarily the easiest English voicebank to use overall, he is often recommended for those who want a Japanese vocal in English due to being one of the easier to work with.
    • The majority of English vocals from Japan either have had a number of issues such as small vocal ranges (such as the Kagamine Rin & Len V4 English vocals), far more glitches due to being made by non-natives with no experience (Such as Megpoid English), have no Japanese voicebank equal to match (such as Hatsune Miku V3 English with its more "mature" tone), or having a heavy Japanese accent (such as Macne Nana). Fukase does not either suffer these issues, or they are not as as bad enough to be considered a major concern, which is why he is often considered to be one of the better vocals.
Software issues as noted:
  • As noted by the production staff, they did not expect the vocal to be very good before development began.
  • The voicebank was intended to be an addition to the main Japanese product; in consequence, it may be limited in terms of English performance.
Voicebank sample



References

  1. https://www.nme.com/music-interviews/meet-end-world-japanese-band-behind-biggest-stage-spectacle-2018-2358705
  2. https://net.vocaloid.com/articles/sekainoowari
  3. http://www.pixiv.net/info.php?id=3388
  4. http://net.vocaloid.com/articles/sekainoowari
  5. http://www.dtmstation.com/archives/51968935.html
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1602/18/news085.html Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "itmedia" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "itmedia" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "itmedia" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "itmedia" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "itmedia" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "itmedia" defined multiple times with different content
  7. http://info.shimamura.co.jp/digital/newitem/2016/06/97547
  8. link
  9. link

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