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Weird differences in samples?/Need help from more experienced VB creators

DAYBREAKER

Momo's Minion
Hi! First time posting to a forum like this, but I'm really not experienced enough to know where my direction should be from here.
Be warned: this is messy. Sorry in advance.
So I wanted to make an UTAU vb. I bought a fifine AM8 and read/watched a bunch of tutorials and I kind of knew what I was doing. Kept the foam on the microphone (came with it) and I recorded an entire 7-mora reclist with the mic just sitting on my desk, which is in the corner of the living room and there's a vent right above it. Yeah, lol.
Then I saw advice to record under your desk for better results, and I just wasn't very satisfied with my old bank, so I tried that, but recording under the desk really was not possible for me. Got advice from an audio nerd friend who said I could instead drape a towel over myself, so I did that and recorded a few lines. The thing is, I don't have a 'best' version of my samples to compare with the ones I recorded/am recording, so I've just been slapping my old VB in UTAU and comparing the way the syllables individually sound.
While I was doing that, I found it really weird that 'ka' seemed to sound better in my old VB, and no matter how many times I rerecorded the new sample (now with towel) I couldn't get a result that sounded as good.
Now, I'm not entirely sure whether the old 'ka' is actually good or not. And I'm not experienced enough to tell what exactly is the thing that's making them sound different. The first 'ka' is an individual CV style sample, and the second 'ka' is pulled from a VCV style sample. I'm not sure if that would make this difference.
I've attached a recording of how the two sound (first is old, second is new) . Any experienced ears are appreciated. (Also any general instructions/advice is also very appreciated.)
 

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ennw1

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
The reason the CV 'ka' sounds better is likely due to the oto. The 'k' in the VCV 'ka' is being drawn out because either A) the preutterance (red line) is incorrectly placed, B ) the consonant (pink overlay) is incorrectly placed, or C) both are incorrectly placed.

You can also minimize consonant draw-out utilizing the "Consonant Velocity" setting under [CTRL+W -> Right Click Selected Note(s) -> Property -> Consonant Velocity (beta) -> Input A Number into the Box]{if its greyed out, click inside it and press space} (I'd suggest 150~180. Default is 100. Lower will lengthen the consonant between the green+red lines, while higher shortens them, and may also make notes choppy if set too high for the VB. The maximum that can be saved with a ust is 200, but it can go over 200 if you press your Enter Key instead of the OK button. It just won't be saved, and will default back down to 200 next time you open the ust)

To add, the samples do sound distant/tinny/echo-y. You can edit the samples easily/in bulk using Audacity Macros. HERE is a very basic walkthrough of how to navigate to it from an old post I made, though it won't help beyond showing you how to get to said window and adding steps into your own Macro.

Since I haven't heard the actual recordings of the samples I can't tell you step-by-step how to edit them, though they do sound similar to a VB of mine from 2013 I gussied up not too long ago, so they're definitely fixable. An example of it below:


I'm about to leave for vacation this weekend, but next week I can help more if you need it.

More suggestions for recording for the future: (for anyone that is struggling/in general)
Cover hard surfaces near you in soft materials (your desk, the walls, the floor, your chair, the door, etc. with blankets, clothing, pillows, acoustic foam if you have it)[reason; soft materials help absorb echo/prevents your vocals from bouncing off of them. it also helps prevent you from overheating while recording under a towel or blanket]
Record against a wall (with a pillow or hung-up blanket behind your monitor/over the wall)[reason; recording with an open space behind the mic/in front of you can cause echoing, even if everything around you is covered in soft things. Doubly-so if your recording space/bedroom is very open]
Record with your back against a wall (again, with something also behind your mic)[reason; same as above that it can cause echoing. to mitigate both at the same time without migrating into your closet is to put a pillow {or another fluffier/thicker soft object} between you and your mic while recording against a wall as in the above, as well as with similar soft objects to the right and left of your mic]
And, honestly, just experiment with your recording space. Finding what works best for you is most important so you can be comfortable while recording, and not straining yourself or your environment just for the sake of a VB.
 
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Mikhy021

Momo's Minion
i need help because i can't make them talk properly, or like they sound so robotic and some words don't sound like they really do... could you guys help me? (im new i started 1 day ago)
 

ennw1

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
i need help because i can't make them talk properly, or like they sound so robotic and some words don't sound like they really do... could you guys help me? (im new i started 1 day ago)
I'd suggest reading through some tutorials first so you understand the basics. There are plenty out there, but HERE is a link for some to make it easier on you.

And to actually answer your question: Most likely UST fitting (and/or lack thereof), or lack of oto.ini if it's your own VB. I don't know anything about OU so I can't help at all beyond this general diagnosis.
 

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