New UTAU

[Hisae]

Well, hello. I recently just started getting into UTAU and VOCALOID and thought they were both really cool. So I wanted to make my own UTAU. I'm very bad with naming...so I would like some suggestions. I haven't worked on a voice-bank yet. I was thinking of skipping CV and going straight to VCV because I like how smoother it sounds. I would also need help with art and designing...sorry if I am asking to much~!

 

[Obakebaka]

I'll help you out if you want. I do a lot of character design work and I know a lot about how to get good recording results. I don't have so much experience with Utau and I'm still a n00b at MMD and 3D modelling, but if you'll let me I'm sure you'll get good results.

 

[Hisae]

[size=8pt]@Obakebaka
Oh, yes please I would love for you to help me, any help is welcomed. I was going to use Audacity to record my UTAU but realized I get a lot static/back round noise and when I try to get rid of it my recording sounds....so weird. So I think I will record in FL studios instead but I still get background noise...I don't really know how to get rid of that, I have a good high-quality microphone

 

[Obakebaka]

Audacity has a noise removal feature but depending on the level and type of noise it can also negatively affect the sounds you want to keep
I think recording in FL Studio won't make much of a difference if you're not recording in the best possible place to reduce background noise first.

The best way to figure out where the noise is coming from and how best to reduce it is to do this:

1. Record your environment. Don't speak or move for one minute. Don't have anything playing on your headphones. Breathing is okay (obviously. lol)
2. After that, clap your hands once. Listen out for whether it echoes around the room.
3. Rotate your microphone around the room slowly.
4. Listen to the playback. As you do, remember when you did each of the above actions.

Pay special attention to when you did the clap. Because that determines how much reverb you have in your room. It's a BIG ruiner of vocal recordings. Because not only does it echo what you sing, it amplifies ALL background noise. You can't get rid of it completely (There's a room somewhere where they almost completely removed it and it was that effective that most people that stay in it for more than a few minutes get scared really, really fast. It's used to test acoustic instruments.) but there are a lot of things you can do to reduce it to a level in which it doesn't interfere with the recording.

When you moved the microphone around the room you were using as a sort of detector for two things:
The best parts of the room to do the recordings.
The locations of the background noise.

One you've done that write down as many different sounds as you can hear in the playback. Is it windy outside and should you wait to record on a less windy day? Can you hear what's going on in other parts of the house and can you wait for a less busy time of the day to record? Is there a machine running that can be switched off? Things like that.

After you've gone through all that, I'll put up more advice. Just post when you've done it. It shouldn't take too long. About 10 minutes tops. Two to record it and the rest to listen to it and take notes.

 

[Hisae]

:D Oh yay that helped, and also, I figured if I played around with the settings it would also work and it did ;u; That was a lot of help.. now I just need to figure out what I am going to do with a design and character structure xD

 

[Obakebaka]

That's great, but there's still a little bit more work to be done. It's better to record your bank first before you do the design otherwise it might not fit. Plus, utau may be focussed on art, too but it is mainly the voice quality that gets people's attention and what makes them  want to download your utau.

It's always a good idea to record a test bank first. Both to get an idea of what it would sound like finished, if there's more things you need to do to the room to reduce noise or reverb, and also to play about with how you want your utau to sound. If it's good enough you can even release it as a finished bank but that rarely happens. The first recording is never really the best because you're still new to Utau and recording for the bank.

A test bank doesn't need to be fully recorded but about a quarter or third of the available sounds should be enough to get an idea.

 

[littletea10]

Well.. Record your voice first THEN make the design! It will make your UTAUloid's voice and design... //howshouldisaythis blend better. I recommend Audacity to record, and you should get a high quality headset (mic would work, but you have to be a certain distance away) to record. There's a list of syllabes you HAVE to record. I don't have a link, but on a certain youtube video, she has the list in the despription.

 

[Hisae]

[size=8pt]Oh, I see. So does it matter if I record a VCV bank first? I saw most people record CV first but like I said, it sounds to...choppy and I rather have VCV

 

[Halo]

If you prefer VCV, it's not a bad idea to record it before CV (In fact, there are a number of UTAUloids that are VCV only!).

However! If you do this, you probably want to know how to use VCV banks and such first; So if you're unsure how to edit USTs or fit them to a voice bank, you should probably DL a few VCV banks and work with them first.

But if you already know your way around the program, I see absolutely no reason not to record in the style you prefer!

 

[Obakebaka]

If you want to record in VCV, then do it. But it makes things slightly more complicated when it comes down to the recording for it.

You need to know how to use aliases. It's both essential for separating the sounds in VCV recordings and for making sure that your bank is able to be used by computers that don't have a Japanese locale setting.

It's a good idea to record your bank in romaji and then add the hiragana aliases to do that. It saves the people that download your utau having to do all the conversions themselves, which is a bit of a put-off. For example: instead of naming your recording "あえかけさ" like other Teto-based vcv banks, name it "a e ka ke sa". There are other reclists for VCV like Ritsu's but no matter which one you use you should still do the same with each.

Record your test bank like that and then the next step is ready to start the aliasing can wait until after you've done your sample recordings.

 

[Hisae]

Oh boy xux This sounds so complicated, alright then. I shall start recording a Female UTAU in VCV as soon as I'm done making a few VOCALOID songs! Thanks for all the help

 

[Cdra]

Also, you might want to try recording in oremo.  It's quicker and doesn't have any different quality than Audacity.  Given the length of a VCV list, it'll save you a lot of time.

Though, I will say CV isn't always choppy.  It depends on how you oto it; I've done CV banks that sound way better than some VCV.  Still, it's about what you prefer, so do what you want (so long as you know what you're doing first, haha!).

 

[Obakebaka]

It is pretty complicated only when you're trying to make the best possible bank you can. I would recommend making a CV bank first to get used to everything and then make VCV, but why bother if you want VCV from the start anyway?
And even if some CV banks can sound just as good, that's with a LOT of tweaking. And even though it requires tweaking to get a VCV bank to work, you only have to set up the parameters once (most of the time) to get a similar result instead of having to do all that additional editing for each song PLUS the stuff you already have to do to it.

VCV also helps you to learn more about using Utau than just recording a list, dropping the sounds in the folder in "voice" and immediately releasing it without putting up any demos for review or requesting any help.
Sadly a lot of people do that. I dunno how many times I've heard a really rushed utau that sounds it.

You have to take your time. Vocaloids aren't thrown together in a hurry so why should your utau be?

 

[Taylor Savage]

I suggest using OREMO because it's the easiest program to use once you gat a romaji reclist.
Eternal the Hedghog does an awesome simple tutorial. thats how I got started.