bitflipper
Serious question for Craig...I doubt you know the answer, but I'm sure you know people who do. What is the backstory behind V-Vocal?
 
Was it developed in-house by Roland and then abandoned? Or was it bought from some startup? I suspect the latter, because V-V had so much potential and surely Roland had the resources to follow up if it wanted to. Roland is famous for buying into small companies but expecting them to fly on their own, doing nothing to prop them up if they get into trouble. Could V-V have been the product of some one-man shop who decided to go elsewhere?
 
What were the terms of the arrangement between Roland and Cakewalk? I know CW has (or had) the source code, because they did implement a few small fixes and added MIDI output.

Nope, all fixes came from Japan. 

Our move to ARA and Melodyne was done well before we left Roland. V-Vocal was already on it's way out. That's all I really know about the issue.

When I'm on a job (day gig) and need a phillips screwdriver, my pliers or hammer won't get the job done. I need a screwdriver. Also grabbing a flathead, or a torx screwdriver won't work even though it's a screwdriver..... and then there are the various sizes, because the job may call for a medium sized phillips driver, a small or large one won't work even though it's a phillips. See my point?
 
 
I think so.  If I have to knock a nail in a piece of wood I shouldn't use a screw driver.
Right?       

http://youtu.be/4vuW6tQ0218

bitflipper
 
...Was it developed in-house by Roland and then abandoned? Or was it bought from some startup?

I'm fairly certain VVocal may have started life here:
 
http://www.rolandus.com/products/details/271
http://www.roland.com/products/en/VariOS/
 
(check out the fifth image from the left in that second link)
 

I am gong to try out melodyne 3 editor and I will get back to you on if I like it, or not.
 
I am not going to rate it on the learning curve because I am sure there is one. I am going to rate it on how well it tunes my tracks and the timing manipulation of notes, (also stability) and once learned it is it easy to use and achieve results. 
 
I am not at all pleased with melodyne essentials and as I have already said, V-vocal kicks its butt. How usable is melodyne 3 editor, i am gong to find out. I am not going to approach this new version jaded but give it a fair and hopeful try as I have always done.
 
If I am wrong about the new melodyne 3 i will concede and immediately switch. I am just looking for the best product I have only tried melodyne 1 editor and it was completely usable...  

So I am behind by two versions, maybe it has been fixed and will work well. 
 
I will get back to you all on this.

CakeAlexS

Sanderxpander
I have three Twitter followers by the way.

I have 4!!!! ;)

Twitter is a Fad . . . only amateur texters use it . . .

No chance the OP could be LA2A with a new screen name taking his time setting the stage for an pro-Autotune assault? He hasn't bashed that yet!

SvenArne
No chance the OP could be LA2A with a new screen name taking his time setting the stage for an pro-Autotune assault? He hasn't bashed that yet!

Doesn't seem so....   He just stated he's using Essentials vs. Editor and admitted that when he tried Editor it was at v1 - that doesn't seem like something LA2A would have ever done.   Besides, VVocal isn't from Slate.   
 

Autotune FTW 

RexRed
I am gong to try out melodyne 3 editor and I will get back to you on if I like it, or not.
 
I am not going to rate it on the learning curve because I am sure there is one. I am going to rate it on how well it tunes my tracks and the timing manipulation of notes, (also stability) and once learned it is it easy to use and achieve results. 
 
I am not at all pleased with melodyne essentials and as I have already said, V-vocal kicks its butt. How usable is melodyne 3 editor, i am gong to find out. I am not going to approach this new version jaded but give it a fair and hopeful try as I have always done.
 
If I am wrong about the new melodyne 3 i will concede and immediately switch. I am just looking for the best product I have only tried melodyne 1 editor and it was completely usable...  

So I am behind by two versions, maybe it has been fixed and will work well. 
 
I will get back to you all on this.

While I'm sure you're confident with many programs and plugins, many people on here had a hard time switching from V-Vocal to Melodyne from a UI point of view. For me it went in the other direction and I never really enjoyed working with V-Vocal as a result. So don't hesitate to ask if there is something specific you're trying to do and can't find how.