This article is about the VOCALOID2 software known as a voicebank. If you are looking for the VOCALOID character then click here.
History[]
Pre-release[]
The first release for the the Vocal Character series, Hatsune Miku was the first VOCALOID developed by Crypton Future Media and the third they would distribute.[1] The Vocal Character Series was designed to be a set of vocals with specific characteristics to them; her software allows for manipulation in a variety of ways while maintaining a 'cute' sounding voice. In 2009 she was also offered alongside the Sonar8 software package.[2]
The idea behind her was first established as being "a cute female vocal that professionals can create with", part of the "CV" or "Character Vocal" series who were designed to combine recognizable characteristics in their voices and clear color schemes.[3] Immediately after VOCALOID2 was announced, the idea for a bilingual Vocaloid called "Hatsune Miku" was put forward. However, the original concept for Miku later became the Megurine Luka vocal, Miku at first only receiving a Japanese voicebank.[4] Wat wanted a simple and clear voice and had picked Saki Fujita due to her roles in anime. Though recording normally takes over 4 hours, she had great concentration and her first recording went really well. Hatsune Miku's voice was originally recorded using nonsense phrases; the script was changed over time to give more stretch.[5]
Hatsune Miku was unveiled on June 25, 2007, at which time only the name "Miku" was known. Her voicebank was at 90% completion at the date of her unveiling and was the first of the CV vocals planned for the VOCALOID2 software. According to Crypton Future Media, she was worked upon for more than 10 hours a day for 2 months.[6] Her last name, "Hatsune", was unveiled on July 7, 2007, after a 12 hour journey to Yamaha to gain permission to release the "CV01" voicebank. Due to problems with schedule, her VOCALOID2 software did not have time to go to public beta testing unlike most past VOCALOID vocals, although the same had happened to Sweet ANN released prior.[7]
She was originally expected to go on sale on 24 August, 2007, but due to problems it was impossible to ship physical copies by the 24th. When Hatsune Miku was on pre-order it was noted MEIKO and KAITO had no prospect of receiving updates and it was preferred to carry on with new releases. Hatsune Miku would be successors to the pair. However, in terms of sales of Hatsune Miku, Crypton Future Media would offer up preferential sales for users of MEIKO and KAITO if they were registered by the 9th of August, 2007.[8]
Post-release[]
When she went on sale, she proved to be an instant success and Wat kept calling Kenmochi Hideki due to his excitement.[5]
Her voicebank has received numerous awards:
- She was nominated for and won an award in the "All About" awards of 2007.[9][10]
- Crypton Future Media picked up an BCN award in 2008 for their productions, with their sales reaching a 211% increase thanks to several products (One of which being Hatsune Miku).[11]
- In March 2008, Hatsune Miku won the "Digital Content" AMD award.[12]
- In June she picked up the MM総研大賞2008 award.[13]
- At the DaiKon7 in August 2008, she received another award.[14]
- She was awarded the "Good Design Award 2008".[15]
- She won the Grand Prize at the BCN AWARD 2009.[16]
Final Retirement[]
At the end of 2015, it was announced that from March 31, 2016, VOCALOID2 was being retired and no new serial codes were to be issued by Yamaha.[17]
Product Information[]
Demonstrations[]
Demonstrations |
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| |
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First demo "Hoshi No Kakera" (Fragments of Stars) | YouTube Crypton |
Second demo "Kakurenbo" (Hide and Seek) | YouTube Crypton |
Third demo "Pops" | YouTube Crypton |
HATSUNE MIKU: DEMO SONGS (all) | YouTube |
System Requirements[]
- 2000 + more than Pentium4 2 GHz / Athlon XP
- (Recommended 64 2800 + or more Pentium4 2.8 GHz / Athlon)
- Windows XP (32bit) / VISTA (32bit) / 7 (32, 64bit)
- Operation 32bit compatibility mode (WOW64) in 7 (64bit)
- 512MB or more RAM
- 1GB recommended
- Real-time VSTi is recommended when using more than 2GB
- VST2.3 (32bit) / ReWire / スタンドアロン
Voicebanks[]
Product Information | |
---|---|
Optimum | |
Genre: Pop, Rock, Dance Optimum Range: A3 ~ E5 Optimum Tempo: 70 ~ 150 BPM Total Tempo (min-max): 80 BPM No. of Keys: W ~ 12, B ~ 7, Total ~ 19 | |
Versions | |
Trial/Demo Vers?: Yes | |
Package details as noted: | |
Miku's voice is intended to be a cute-sounding Japanese vocal and was designed to have a characteristic personality to her voice. As a result of the vocal direction, Hatsune Miku is not intended to be a realistic sounding voice. | |
Vocal traits as noted: | |
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Phonetic notes as noted: | |
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Software issues as noted: | |
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Voicebank sample | |
Hatsune Miku VOCALOID2
| |
A trial version has been released of this product.
References[]
- ↑ http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-16738.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2009/03/sonar8-1.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/05/vocaloid2-3.html
- ↑ http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0902/10/news036.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/vocaloid-feature
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/06/vocaloid290.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/07/vocaloid2-6.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/08/vocaloid2_8.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/11/-of-the-year-2007.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/12/all-about-of-the-year-2007.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2008/01/bcn-award-2008200710.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2008/03/13amd.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2008/06/mm2008-1.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2008/08/39.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2008/10/2008.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2009/01/-bcn-award-2009.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20180304054202/http://www.vocaloidotaku.net/index.php?/topic/64163-vocaloid2-support-import-tool-terminating-march-2016/ (archive)
- ↑ link (archive)
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/05/vocaloid2meiko.html
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/05/vocaloid2_1.html
- ↑ [1] VOCALOIDOtaku - Japanese VOCALOIDs Comparative Charts and Tips (archive)
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