what makes you want to download a voicebank?

[thea_apianæ]

what makes you want to download a voicebank?

for me, it's usually the character art. although that probably sounds kinda superficial lol. but, generally, if the art for an utau is well-done and the design is nice, i'll probably download it, even if i'm lowkey running out of space on my computer haha

i've only gone through my downloaded voicebanks a couple times to verify that i wanted to actually keep/use them. i used to listen to the samples first but now i just download it if it looks cool lol. i'm more of a hobbyist than someone who takes utau seriously, so i guess it makes sense.

 

[Kiyoteru]

I've got limited space on my computer, so if I need to use a specific UTAU for some project, I'm likely to download the bank temporarily and delete it after I'm finished. It's safe for me to assume it'll still be available again in the future if necessary, especially if it's a friend's voicebank and I can easily contact them about sending it to me.

As for voicebanks that I hoard and never use... it's screaming banks. It's a unique vocal style that I'm a fan of, and I hope to see more voicebanks like that, especially in languages other than Japanese.

 

[ShyShroomii]

What makes me download voicebanks is how good it sounds.

 

[Lovely peaches chan]

the reason i like to dl a vb is because of its artwork and voicebank recording type and its accent like if its a jp vb with english r's than i will not get

 

[m170]

I'm quite picky. Usually I find UTAUs through recommendation posts, or whenever I find a cover that sounds good and it's a UTAU I haven't heard before, I check it out. After downloading, I test it out on a few USTs and I usually keep it if it's been Oto'ed properly, their pronunciation is to my liking(not too nasally, too pouty, etc) and if there's not too much static. I don't like banks that are too strong. If I don't like the bank enough I delete it. For me, artwork is not a factor at all as I only care about voice.

 

[LilyoftheValley]

I'm picky as well. When I look for a new voicebank to use I always look for quality recording wise and oto wise. I usually find them on Soundcloud or YouTube when I see someone do a nice cover with them. I do sometimes look at the art/character design, but most of the time if I'm making a cover and a PV I will make art for it myself so it's not really a bother for me. Though, the quality of the art does also point to the time/effort/money that was put into the bank (ex. they got character art commissioned), though this of course is not always the case.

 

[feelingiconiic]

When downloading a voicebank, its accent, tone, clarity, and over vocal "personality". Art does influence it a little but, but not that much at all. If a Japanese UTAU has, lets say Chinese accent, it adds to the personality of a vocal, and i usually like it. However if it affects the over understandability and sounds muffled or jumbled its an automatic no for me. I dont like American or British accents poking through a Japanese vbs either (if its extreme lol). Also multi-pitch banks are imo useless unless its a kire voicebank, and take up space on my laptop and i hate when ppl do them personally (im not bashing anyone's hard work, it just makes it so much more tedious to use). Integrated sound sources are annoying too, like Gahata Meiji doesn't have a standard "a か" u have to use a special kanji for her normal tone. Personally i like CV and standard VCV banks that dont have kanji for 6 different voices, or a million pitches. That's just me tho and i appreciate all of the wonderful vbs the UTAU community has created!

 

[FlowerPalette]

I will look out for a unique voices that i have not heard before.. Usually my favorite voices are POWER voices.. Like Namine Ritsu KIRE
Matsudappoiyo edge... Yokune Ruko Male Power... Konpekino Sora.. Gahata Meiji -fantasy- ... MEIKO V3 POWER.. Gakupo V4 POWER.. KAITO V1
I like the desing thing too.. But i will not focus too much on it..

 

[cloudyyskie]

Its usually just the way the voice sounds for me, and sometimes i just randomly impulsively download things just because im like "oH i love that"
but sometimes its character design and tHen voice lmao
it all just depends haha

 

[KrimsonDCLXVI]

-Has the abilities I want
-Specs/Amount of Info
-Vocal Quality
-I like the demo/usage

Can't think of anything else right now but that is pretty much it

 

[404idk]

what usually do is that I just scroll through the Utau wiki and select ones at random, I then go to the voicebanks website to see how it sounds, if I like it then I download it

 

[N.Zo]

There are three key things I look at when I download a voicebank:

1) Tone

Simply put, if I'm turned off by the tone alone, I'll likely never use the voicebank if it does not have a sound I can see myself using. I don't really have a favorite tone, and there's no one size fits all tone. I prefer light high registers and husky low registers, so if I see a voice with these two qualities, it's a safe bet I'll download them.

2) Range

Most multi-pitch utau have their core pitches in either the C3 octave or C4 octave, with some pitches to the octave above or below. I'm often really hesitant to download mid-range UTAU since the songs I cover tend to fit either the baritone to tenor range or mezzo-soprano to lyrical soprano range. Though, that's not to say mid range is not viable; they can work really well with high timbres and a lot of vocaloid songs. If an utau "frogs" at lower notes or low harmonies, I can always use a vocal to handle those harmonies better.

3) Design

This is entirely superficial, but if I don't like the design, then I will never download the voicebank. I draw a lot for my covers, but I can't force myself to draw something I don't like for myself. Though, I will often give the utau new outfits to make them fit the cover or concept better.

 

[dead_byte]

For me, it's the versatility, and uniqueness of a vocal. I'll always appreciate a vocal with a unique direction or tone of voice.

One of my favorite types of voicebanks are English voicebanks voiced by non-native speakers. They often have really interesting pronunciation compared to native voicers that make them really interesting to you. Nothing against native English banks, I use a lot of those too, non-native ones just have a certain flair to them I tend to enjoy. Voicebanks like Gekiyaku English, Nero Go-On English, Teto English, Makone Koto English, Anna Nyui English, Shione Lt. English, and others are all very fun for me to use. Bonus points if it's multipitch.

I also really like vocals of vocal types that aren't very typical for UTAU in particular. For example, in the past few months, I discovered an UTAU named "Isaac E. Altermond" - which is a very bizarre creation of an UTAU. He's a old UTAU ( 2009 ), he's voiced and managed by an older Japanese musician, his webpage is primarily in English for some reason, ( and of course, his name is very Western too ), he has no avatar, his samples come in .ogg format along with an executable to convert them to .wav for use in UTAU, his demo is in Greek despite the voicebank being Japanese. He's just... This UTAU is very weird. That said, I really like him, you don't get a lot of UTAU's from more mature voicers, and certainly not many from elderly vocalists. My only gripe is that he's monopitch, - I feel like he'd be fantastic for Enka if he had a stronger higher pitch. Still extremely interesting and fun to use. It makes me kind of sad that this is the only voicebank of this UTAU, especially since his voice provider seems to speak English decently well.

 

[FelineWasteland]

If I come accross one by chance with vocals I like, I'll usually download it, especially if they have a unique sound or a cool design. Or else I'll search for ones with whatever qualities I'm looking for at the time, usually for covers. I have a whole backlog of UTAUs I'd like to use but haven't gotten around to yet lol