Yamaha releases Vocaloid 5 - Drag and drop to create a singing voice, set any lyric

Yamaha Corporation has released Vocaloid 5, a comprehensive solution for virtual vocal production for macOS and Windows. This new software can be downloaded, beginning today, from the official Vocaloid Shop.
"Vocaloid 5 adds virtual vocalists to your music production environment. They can sing your lyrics and melodies in your favorite voices and desired singing styles. Enjoy the experience of being able to edit singing voices however you like" says Yoichiro Saito, General Manager, DMI Division of Yamaha Corporation.
The Vocaloid singing synthesizer makes it possible to easily produce any kind of singing voice you can imagine using just a computer.
For this product, the first new version of the Vocaloid software range released in 4 years, production flow has been drastically overhauled in line with the aim of having today's diverse music producers incorporate a wider line-up of virtual singers into their music. This new software helps increases speed and efficiency when producing singing voices.
The all new production flow makes it possible to create singing voices as simply as dragging and dropping from a choice of over 2,000 audio and phrase presets. Adjusting singing styles and vocal expressions such as vibrato are also simple to master – just select the icons. It's possible to create lyrics and melodies from scratch too. With a total of 3 new parameters to control vocal expressions added (making a total of 13), in addition to the standard dynamic and pitch parameters, Vocaloid5 offers finer control of vocal tone, amount of breath, and more. The software also comes pre-loaded with 11 powerful audio effects for vocal tracks.
Vocaloid5 Voicebanks
To help support artistic expression that suits a wide variety of genres, Vocaloid5 includes 4 voicebanks, both male and female and in both Japanese and English:

1. Amy: Expressive English-language female voicebank, ideal for contemporary singing. The versatile voice boasts natural pronunciation and varied vocal tones, suited to genres from R&B to pop music.
2. Chris: Authentic R&B English-language male voicebank. Capable of singing over a wide range from delicate, soft bass to powerful, sustained high tones.
3. Kaori: Japanese-language female voicebank with a soulful vocal quality. Long vocal sustains make it perfect for powerful singing.
4. Ken: Sharp, clear Japanese-language male voicebank, with a light vocal quality ideal for singing J-pop.

The voice databases are generated based on human voices. 8 voicebanks are included in the Premium version with the addition of:

• VY1 Japanese-language female voicebank.
• VY2 Japanese male voicebank.
• CYBER SongMAN II English-language male voicebank.
• CYBER DIVA II English female voicebank.

Moreover, to accommodate the diverse workstations of contemporary music producers, Vocaloid5 supports both Windows and Mac operating environments. The ability to coordinate with other music software, plug-ins, and input devices has also been significantly strengthened by allowing VST (Virtual Studio Technology), AU (Audio Units), and external MIDI input capability.
Features & Functions Overview:

• Drag-and-drop song creation: Over 2,000 preset phrases & audio.
• Allows for realistic vocal expression: Attack & release effects, emotion tools.
• Instant conversion of your desired styles & voices: Style function.
• Fine control of vocal tension and amount of breath: 3 new vocal expression parameters.
• Includes a wealth of voices for every genre: 4 voicebanks (male & female, Japanese & English).
• Create complete vocal tracks with a single application: 11 kinds of audio effects.
• Better external functionality, improved production efficiency: VST, AU, external MIDI input.
• Power up your favorite voices with Vocaloid5: Compatible with Vocaloid3 & 4 voicebanks.
• Includes support software for Cubase: The Vocaloid 4.5 Editor for Cubase, capable of importing Vocaloid features into Steinberg's Cubase DAW software, is included as a bonus extra.

Pricing:

• Vocaloid5 Standard (Windows & Mac, 4 voicebanks, 25,000 yen).
• Vocaloid5 Premium (Windows & Mac, 8 voicebanks, 40,000 yen).

Vocaloid5 Upgrade Editions are also available for those who have already purchased Vocaloid3 Editor (SE), Vocaloid4 Editor, Vocaloid Editor for Cubase (NEO), or Vocaloid4 Editor for Cubase:

• Vocaloid5 Standard, Upgrade Edition 15,000 yen.
• Vocaloid5 Premium, Upgrade Edition 24,000 yen.

YouTube.com/watch?v=716cs27a6aQ
YouTube.com/watch?v=2d42EonPCPg
YouTube.com/watch?v=UAtVGHl1AFM
 
Read more at&nbsp [link=http://www.vocaloid.com]www.vocaloid.com[/link]

The faces are flat out creepy.

The Japanese singers can only sing Japanese

Domo origato [pause]... Mata au hi made...

How does someone get the Mr. Roboto in there??

What's the price in US dollars?  Do vendors sell this?

An upgrade costs about $135. 
I bought Vocaloid 4 about 2 years ago and found that it was too awkward to use.  Unless you were using Cubase, you had to run it as an external program, create a wav file,  and then bring it into your DAW.
I see now that they are saying it is a VST, and if so, that will make a big difference...  I will wait for some reviewers who can give the definitive word that it actually works within DAWs.   Then it might actually be worthwhile.

Leee

not sure it's realistic sounding enough to use as a lead vocal.  But for backing vocals, with harmonies added, combining it with the entire mix of a song, I think it could be passable.   
It's nice to see that they are continuing to improve on this product.  For those of us that don't have great singing voices, maybe one day this can serve as a total replacement for main vocals.

Agreed on not sounding real enough for lead work. But for harmonies and background vocals it would pass I think.

And I love to sing. But I have yet to find someone who loves to hear me sing! So I really had hope for this! LOL! :)

Maybe get in on the ground floor now to be able to upgrade for a decent price? But that's betting/hoping they continue development.

The 15-minute official walkthrough cclarry posted is a good introduction:
 
youtube.com/watch?v=UAtVGHl1AFM
 
ETA the manual: vocaloid.com/en/support/download/

Realivox is an "instrument," but better to consider Vocaloid as a synthesizer-sequencer -- a really complex one. It has automation lanes for a number of parameters simulating vocal characteristics: intensity, how open the mouth is, inflection between syllables, formant-shaping, breathiness, growling, and so on. You can have multiple tracks in the program itself, all loaded with different voicebanks. Unlike Realivox, you can type lyrics in plain English -- or Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or Spanish. Vocaloid will convert them into phonemes you can tweak to make the pronunciation more natural. It will even automatically split syllables across notes.

So while it's way more flexible than Realivox, it's always been harder and more time-consuming to achieve a performance-ready sound outside of backing "ah's" and "ooh's". Vocaloid5 is a huge step in the right direction, though.

The other historical issue with Vocaloid in the West is a dearth of voices provided by native English speakers, or voicetypes that an average musician here would find, um, usable. Yamaha's been working on that since v4 with Cyber Diva and Songman, plus there are the new V5 pack-in voicebanks. Third-party V4 banks Dex, Daina, and Ruby are native English as well.

ZincTrumpet

Mesh
When does the Group Buy start?

I'm in if there is one 
 
Seriously though I have been waiting and waiting for a serious/usable version of Vocaloid to appear and V5 might just be it. I'm hovering on the buy button.

I thought by now you'd have a full orchestral choir (in full swing) after getting Melodyne Studio.