Should I even bother making a English voicebank?

[Aali]

I was gonna make a CVVC but not only would that a very long time, but it seems a lot of existing banks are hard to understand...should I just not bother?

 

[❤️PuririnLuka❤️]

You should make a english bank Aali, those non understandable banks (I know a few) there just badly otoe'd or maybe the samples were recorded the wrong way. You should try recording a english bank, wait not try.... you SHOULD make a english bank imo. but the answer is up to you if you feel like recording a english bank, if you do ever record one, ask Jeremy, Adlez, or Ryan to oto the bank, those three are best people I can trust when it comes to otoing.

Honestly if you feel like it's to much, don't pressure your self to do it, it's not mandatory to make a english bank lol xD.

 

[Nat]

this might be some help : http://utaulanguageresources.weebly.com/chezziechans-cv-vc.html

 

[mangosiryan12]

to inspire you :'D

 

[shinami]

Ever listen to Minarai Mona? It's by my buddy Cola and was one of the first few CVVC Full UTAUs, so even early on some got it right - you just needed good pronunciation and a good oto.

Now if you're super worried about pronunciation accuracy for English I would wait for the new VCCV English reclist to roll out as it has more clarity. But if you want to make use of the many already existing CVVC English USTs out or make it available soon and not wait for the new one then there's benefits to just doing CVVC Full.

Honestly a lot of clarity is just effort put into pronunciation of the bank and then later the effor put into the UST and the mixing.

 

[partial]

I would say yes, for sure. Make an English bank.

Though, personally, I would wait for VCCV. It's supposed to come out this month. It seems much more understandable than CVVC ((though, like others have said, a good OTO helps with and you could certainly use this method.))

 

[Aali]

Thank you everyone! If VCCV comes out before I get my new laptop and headset, I'll try that, if not I'll give CVVC a whirl.

 

[수연 <Suyeon>]

If I may pipe in with my 2 cents: there is more to clarity than just the recording style. Clarity is the result of: a proper mic that highlights the voice (preferably low-end studio xlr, but I know a lot of people here can only afford usb - get more than one opinion and don't just buy the brand that everyone else does), clean samples that don't suffer from noise (digital as well as ambient), and a proper oto configuration. Due to the sheer size and scale of these banks (as well as the language in general), I would suggest becoming well acquainted with voicebank creation first with smaller scale projects if you haven't already (CV or CVVC Japanese for example or maybe CZ's English Lite, or Adlez' Lexys). Starting with English will be a lot of time and effort spent and you'll also want to be familiar with how PaintedCZ's phoneme system works (use other English banks that use CZ's system - NOTE: Teto, Ritsu, and other banks of Japanese origin do not use CZ's system. The Japanese community has its own system and it's quite limited in comparison).

This is not to dissuade you from making an English bank if you're determined to. By all means, give it a shot cause more English banks are needed. I'm just letting you know that there's a lot of factors involved beyond just CVVC vs VCCV and perceived clarity.

 

[Aali]

If I may pipe in with my 2 cents: there is more to clarity than just the recording style. Clarity is the result of: a proper mic that highlights the voice (preferably low-end studio xlr, but I know a lot of people here can only afford usb - get more than one opinion and don't just buy the brand that everyone else does), clean samples that don't suffer from noise (digital as well as ambient), and a proper oto configuration. Due to the sheer size and scale of these banks (as well as the language in general), I would suggest becoming well acquainted with voicebank creation first with smaller scale projects if you haven't already (CV or CVVC Japanese for example or maybe CZ's English Lite, or Adlez' Lexys). Starting with English will be a lot of time and effort spent and you'll also want to be familiar with how PaintedCZ's phoneme system works (use other English banks that use CZ's system - NOTE: Teto, Ritsu, and other banks of Japanese origin do not use CZ's system. The Japanese community has its own system and it's quite limited in comparison).

This is not to dissuade you from making an English bank if you're determined to. By all means, give it a shot cause more English banks are needed. I'm just letting you know that there's a lot of factors involved beyond just CVVC vs VCCV and perceived clarity.

Thank you, I've been thinking about it and I might pass on it. I only have my laptop's internal mic and I don't want to spend a bunch of money just for an Utau voicebank.

 

[수연 <Suyeon>]

Thank you, I've been thinking about it and I might pass on it. I only have my laptop's internal mic and I don't want to spend a bunch of money just for an Utau voicebank.

If you don't want to spend money, no one's forcing you to. I didn't have a proper mic when I began utau either, and the same can be said for the majority of members here. It would be silly in fact to spend money on a hobby you're not sure you're that into (the majority of people who voice only buy a mic months or years later after their first voice and after learning the ins and outs of the program). A laptop mic won't give you Ritsu levels of quality, but if you're satisfied with the voice you make and you have fun with it, then that's what matters. If you record a bank, it should be because you enjoy singthesis, regardless of how it's made.