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MEIKA Hime & Mikoto VOCALOID5 Gynoid Talk | Songs Albums Notable Originals


This article is about the VOCALOID5 software known as voicebanks. If you are looking for the VOCALOID characters then click here.

History[]

Pre-VOCALOID5[]

Kotori Koiwai did not initially wish to voice a VOCALOID, expressing interest only after hearing Hatsune Miku when she became a voice actress. The reason for this was the appeal to the inorganic nature of the voice in music performance. VOCALOID was noted for its inability to express emotion and simply sung lyrics typed in. Kotori saw it as an ultimate idol system with its own set of idols and wished to leave behind a voicebank someday.[1]

Initially, Kotori saw a public recruitment video on Nico Nico Video. Even though it disappeared, she heard enough about it and realised she could make a voicebank possible. At some point, she applied for a character but failed.[2]

Two years prior to the release of MEIKA Hime and Mikoto, Kotori joined Gynoid Co., Ltd. and helped with VOCALOID production. She was encouraged to try and make a VOCALOID. One year later, she received confirmation of acceptance though did not know the nature of the VOCALOID she was being used for. Many of those around her were using VOCALOID and told her the side effects of it, but she just wanted to make a good product that was easy to use.[1]

Entering the recording sessions, Kotori knew many voice providers found the process difficult. The VOCALOID captured certain aspects of how the singer felt at the time of recording, so she wanted to make the process as fun as possible. Many of those working on VOCALOID took the process of recording a voice seriously, but despite that, she found the process enjoyable. The pitch of the vocals was known as "Aimayei" (アーイマイー). She remained positive throughout the three-day recording session that was done for the two characters. After she finished, she was told to do more recordings due to the successful performance as the recording process was better than expected.[1]

A couple of days before the recording session, △○□× (miwasiba) began to draft a design similar to flower in style. One character was girly while the other was boyish.

For the recording session, several pitches were recorded with Hime being recorded in a usual voice. During recording, Kotori noted that she could produce a higher pitch, and though it was not a falsetto voice, it was higher than most women were capable of. Higher vocals were normally unstable and require a great deal of hard work. As a result, the voice had the ability to perform a higher range without needing clean up.[1]

During the recording sessions, the designs of the characters were worked upon as miwasiba listened to the recorded voices. Kotori recorded the vocals in an unconventional manner, with the final third day being head and "butt" vocals.

VOCALOID5[]

On August 16, 2018, Gynoid tweeted that a new VOCALOID was being planned.[3]

On February 8, 2019, Gynoid tweeted a photo of Kotori holding flower's VOCALOID4 box.[4] This was followed by a short series of tweets from flower and Kotori, giving hints of her being a voice provider but did not explicitly specify the character.[5]

On March 7, it was discovered on Gynoid's Japanese Amazon website that new voicebanks were to be released on March 30 under the names of MEIKA Hime and MEIKA Mikoto.[6][7] On Gynoid's website, a page was also created to introduce the two characters.[8] Here, it was confirmed that they were illustrated by miwasiba and their voice provider was Kotori.

Other announcements included Hime and Mikoto having speech voicebanks on Gynoid Talk,[9] a voice package,[10] MMD models by mqdl, and a set of 2D images by niijimaakiichi.[11] It was confirmed that they could be purchased together or separately.[12]

On March 26, Gynoid stated on Twitter that the trial versions of the voicebanks are not supported for fixes as they are not considered official, and purchase with an activation code is required for support.[13] Users who downloaded the trial reported silence when attempting to use the voicebank.[14]

Product Information[]

Demonstrations[]

Demonstrations

スペシャルガール (Special Girl) NicoNico YouTube
アンヘル (Ángel) feat. Mikoto NicoNico YouTube
バグラグ (BugLug) feat. Hime NicoNico YouTube
鳴花 (Meika) NicoNico YouTube

System Requirements[]

  • OS:
    • Windows: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (All 64bit, latest updates applied)
    • Mac: OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) or later (All 64bit)
  • CPU: Intel Multi-core processor
  • RAM: 8GB (Lowest: 4GB)
  • Hard Disk Capacity: 1GB
  • Internet connection.
  • DVD drive

Voicebanks[]

GENERAL USAGE[]

Product Information
Optimum
  Genre: Dance  Optimum Range: D2 ~ C5  Optimum Tempo: 50 ~ 220 BPM
  Total Tempo (min-max): 170 BPM  No. of Keys: W ~ 20, B ~ 14, Total ~ 34
Versions
  Trial/Demo Vers?: Yes  Starter Available?: No  App vers.?: No
Package details as noted:

MEIKA Hime and Mikoto are voiced by the same provider. The two characters can be purchased together, though are available for separate purchases if users only wish to have one of the two. They are intended to be vocals with different personalities and attitudes. The characters have no specified gender to represent, however, the vocals are classified as "female".[15][1]

Gynoid Talk features a support talk voicebank for both. This can be purchased alongside the VOCALOID release. The Talk product has MMD models included.

They come with 400 supplementary voice samples. These samples are available only for the download version of their release. The product also has an "Attack/Release" effect included which was designed to add extra emotion.

Vocal traits as noted:
  • The vocals can handle high notes well, reaching notes many females cannot reach, though were not intended for falsetto.
  • The pair suits Rock songs fairly well.
  • The intention is similar to past "duo" releases, such as Kagamine Rin & Len, in that one voicebank is each intended to represent a very different character despite being voiced by the same provider. Most multibank releases are intended to be voices for the same character but with different tones, and it has been very rare among VOCALOIDs for a clear distinction between different characters.
    • While this is the 3rd set of "twin" or "duo" packages of characters, this is only the second confirmed example from the same provider as anon & kanon's are unknown.



Individual Vocals[]

Product Information
Package details as noted:

Hime is intended to be more girly.

Vocal traits as noted:
  • Hime is the cuter voice type of the pair. This vocal was described to be cheerful and has a gentle voice.
  • Hime's tone is slightly higher than Mikoto's.


Voicebank sample

MEIKA Hime VOCALOID5


Product Information
Package details as noted:

Mikoto is intended to be more boyish and was created to offer producers a choice of vocal styles.

Vocal traits as noted:
  • Mikoto is the cooler voice type of the pair. This vocal was described to have a powerful and sharp voice.
  • Mikoto's tone is slightly lower than Hime's.


Voicebank sample

MEIKA Mikoto VOCALOID5



References[]

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