Remember VOCALOID, the technology developed by Yamaha in 2003 to create artificial singing voices just by inputting words and melodies?
Especially in Japan, VOCALOID has grown and developed to become a part of the musical culture, whereas in the western world is still a kind of novelty software. This is why Yamaha just announced “VOCALOID4 Library CYBER SONGMAN”, a new PC-based software that can create natural singing voices in authentic English pronunciation.
CYBER SONGMAN is a new Voice Bank developed especially for users in the English-speaking world. This new Voice Bank is based on recorded sound parts taken from the singing of a native speaker from the United States, and the pronunciation is clear and crisp American English that fits in well with almost any musical genre (blues included, according to the company!).
Check out this interesting short interview with one of the developers.
Price and Availability
VOCALOID4 Library CYBER SONGMAN can be downloaded from the official VOCALOID Shop (https://net.vocaloid.com/en/). Price: JPY10,000 (before tax), approx. $95.
Yamaha also offers two starter kits. One consists of CYBER SONGMAN and VOCALOID4 Editor, the other consists of CYBER SONGMAN and VOCALOID4 Editor for Cubase. Both products are offered at discounted price.
Note: VOCALOID4 Library CYBER SONGMAN cannot be used on a stand-alone basis and must be used with VOCALOID4 Editor or VOCALOID4 Editor for Cubase. It runs on Windows and Mac OS X.
