MEIKO

MEIKO (メイコ) is a Japanese VOCALOID originally developed by Yamaha Corporation and distributed by Crypton Future Media, Inc.. She was one of the 4 known "Project Daisy" vocals. Her VOCALOID3 update was developed and distributed by Crypton Future Media. She was initially released in November 2004 for the first VOCALOID engine. There has since been a second installment developed for the VOCALOID3 engine, dubbed MEIKO V3. Her voice is provided by the Japanese female singer-songwriter, Meiko Haigō (拝郷 メイコ Haigō Meiko). 
As of August 31, 2019, it was announced that there would be no further installments with the VOCALOID program. Instead Crypton is focusing on their own program, .https://blog.crypton.co.jp/l/2019/08/n1908311/https://twitter.com/labopton/status/1167698329389551616?s=19 As of August 2024, however, a refined and retuned edition of MEIKO's original VOCALOID3 voicebank, titled MEIKO SP, was released for the PIAPRO CHARACTERS SUPER PACK; a set of Japanese voicebanks developed for the and VOCALOID4 engines. This release was noted to improve MEIKO's overall balance of tone and pronunciation.https://blog.piapro.net/2024/08/ms2408011.htmlhttps://blog.piapro.net/2024/08/ms2408311.html
==Concept==
===Etymology===
"MEIKO" comes directly from her voice provider's name, "Meiko Haigō" .
MEIKO's codename was "HANAKO";最初のコードネームは、MEIKOはHANAKOで、KAITOはTAROということですね。 it likely came from "Hanako Yamada (山田花子)", for female characters, and the Japanese equivalent to "Jane Smith". "Megumi" was also a name considered during her development.開発段階では「めぐみ」という案もあったそうです
She is often misnamed Sakine Meiko by fans. The name originates from the eponymous derivative character, depicted as herself in her younger days.
===Appearance===
MEIKO has no official given age. In Maker Hikoushiki Hatsune Mix she is usually portrayed as a middle-aged woman, however KEI mentioned in a magazine interview that what he depicts in the comic is not official.P-Tina.net - KEIさんの描き方について聞いてみた (Interview with KEI about drawing style)
Spurred on by the items held by Hatsune Miku and KAITO, it became popular to feature MEIKO with One Cup Ozeki (sake).
<tabber>
"V1"=
MEIKO's original illustration was done by Shogo Washizu, often called わっしー(Wasshi), a former member of Crypton.Meiko Haigou's official web siteMorio Morito Blog - MEIKOとKAITOのパケ絵描いた人について+α "Illustrators that illustrated Meiko and Kaito" Crypton placed this product on the market with a box art that depicted a female character. This character initially had nothing to do with the singer's image, but her anime-based appearance appealed to a mainstream audience and the software sold well.
This design hid the front of MEIKO's sleeveless jacket, making it difficult to tell what the design looked like. Due to this, there are many different interpretations, including depictions from the official company and accounts.Nico Nico Pedia - ワンカップp
The Microphone in her original V1 boxart is based on a variant of the Sennheiser MD421 model, one of the most widely popular microphones and was first released in 1960.
|-|
V3 = 
Wat described how different the intention of the CV series was to the concept of KAITO and MEIKO during the development of KAITO V3. Consequently, Crypton took a different direction with their updates in comparison to the Appends of Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin & Len, and Megurine Luka.
The microphone in MEIKO V3's release is based on the iconic Shure Brothers microphone, the model 55s, Multi-Impedance "Small Unidyne" Dynamic, which was first released in 1951. Her mic is based on the modern "55SH Series II" variant, which is much curvier than the original version.
</tabber>
===Relations===
* KAITO - A complementary voice bank with masculine vocals.
==History==
===Marketing===
The original release of both KAITO and herself was noted for their lack of marketing. Aside from a DTM MAGAZINE article, both Japanese Vocals went largely under the radar. MEIKO fared better then KAITO despite this, with the reasons being contributed to the majority readership of DTM Magazine being male, she went on to be one of the more successful of the 5 original VOCALOID vocals. The most noted marketing that was done with MEIKO was that a competition was held in 2006, entries submitted original songs. Prizes were given out and 80% of all entries received a special "signed" version of the VOCALOID MEIKO interface.https://blog.sonicwire.com/2006/04/post_18.htmlhttps://blog.sonicwire.com/2006/06/post_32.html Despite her success, the prospect of MEIKO and KAITO receiving updates being impossible post-VOCALOID and it was expected that Hatsune Miku would take over their roles going into VOCALOID2. There was no plan to update the pair originally. Much of this had to do with the state of the market at the time of VOCALOID.https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/08/vocaloid2_8.html
The overall lack of focus on VOCALOID was still notable. Some focus was given to the older engine, but only after VOCALOID2 had gained popularity, with basics such as tutorials produced where there was once not anything at all.
However, despite this the act of putting a character on the boxart was popular, though the image was not of MEIKO originally. The act of putting a character on the boxart was carried over to following VOCALOIDs to encourage creative activities by individuals, expanding the characters based on each user's individual needs.IT Media News - 異例の売れ行き「初音ミク」「ニコ動」で広がる音楽作りのすそ野 (Extraordinary sales for Hatsune Miku as Nico spreads the music)Crypton MEDIA phage - [Vocaloid2情報] 出張終了のお知らせ。G-Search side B - バーチャルアイドル？ボーカロイド？今話題の初音ミクって何？ (Virtual Idol? Vocaloid? Hatsune Miku is the new topic now?)
MEIKO's V3 release repeats many aspects of what made the CV series popular, and she was already due a series of "beginners guides" in magazines such as DTM before release.
===Voicebanks===
The following covers the VOCALOID software, for future releases see Piapro Studio releases.
;MEIKO - Straight
:MEIKO's original release was aimed to be a professional and standard vocalist with no distinct traits.https://blog.sonicwire.com/software/vocaloid/ When MEIKO was updated, the voicebank had to be completely re-done with a similar tone to the original, thus some aspects of the vocal have changed in consequential versions. The vocal was also originally a counter-partner to the KAITO "Straight" vocal.
* HANAKO (Project Daisy), unreleased.
* MEIKO (VOCALOID), November 5, 2004
* MEIKO V3 (VOCALOID3, , VOCALOID NEO), February 4, 2014
* MEIKO SP (VOCALOID4, ), August 30, 2024
;MEIKO - Power
:A more powerful version of the "Straight" vocal. Its conveyed tone is similar to the "Power" voicebanks of Kagamine Rin.
* MEIKO V3 (VOCALOID3, VOCALOID NEO, Piapro Studio), February 4, 2014
;MEIKO Dark
:A more deeper toned vocal with allowance for more mature sounding yet emotional tones. It is a natural tone change for MEIKO.
* MEIKO V3 (VOCALOID3,VOCALOID NEO, Piapro Studio), February 4, 2014
;MEIKO - Whisper
:A soft whisper-like, yet natural sounding tone.
* MEIKO V3 (VOCALOID3,VOCALOID NEO, Piapro Studio), February 4, 2014
;MEIKO - English
:The English version of the vocal.
* MEIKO V3 (VOCALOID3,VOCALOID NEO, Piapro Studio), February 4, 2014
;Other
:It is known there was a "MEIKO Append" intended for VOCALOID2 but was unreleased due to timing of the retirement of VOCALOID2 in light of the VOCALOID3 development change. Details of the Append remain vague.
:A MEIKO "Hard" vocal has been mentioned.https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/420865420938067968
==Music featuring MEIKO==
==Reputation==
==References==
==External links==
Language	Description	Site
==Navigation==
Category:MEIKO
Category:Yamaha Corporation
Category:Crypton Future Media, Inc.
Category:SEGA
Category:E-capsule Co. Ltd
Category:Big Fish Audio, Inc.
Category:VOCALOID
Category:VOCALOID1
Category:VOCALOID3
Category:VOCALOID4
Category:VOCALOID NEO
Category:Feminine vocals
Category:Multilingual vocals
Category:Japanese vocals
Category:English vocals
Category:VOCALOIDs with updated voicebanks