VX-β

VX-β is a prototype VST3/AU plug-in voice synthesis engine available as a free bundle to users of the full version of the VOCALOID6 Editor. An earlier version of this plug-in was originally included within the VOCALOID β-STUDIO research studio developed by the company Yamaha Corporation. It functions within various (DAW) applications. VX-β is equipped with AI-based deep-learning technology that uses singing voice synthesis technology derived from the research or "beta" stage that VOCALOID β-STUDIO represented.
The first version of the software, 1.0, was released via lottery application to eligible applicants beginning August 23, 2023;https://x.com/vocaloid_beta/status/1694288370757759028 version 3.0, announced on July 18, 2024,https://x.com/vocaloid_beta/status/1813815973004099876 was released (as 3.0.1) on November 27 to all VOCALOID6 users.https://www.vocaloid.com/en/news/vx-β-ver-3-0-1-released/
==History==
VOCALOID β-STUDIO was first teased on July 27, 2023, featuring a promotional image of the "β" (beta) Greek letter and a date of August 8, 2023 with no additional details provided.https://x.com/vocaloid_beta/status/1684111318679425024 Yamaha officially announced the project on August 8, revealed as a limited research studio to be made available to creators with the hope that they would use the rough prototype software provided that was still in the research stage and has unknown value, to create works that would open up new horizons in the field of singing voice synthesis. The first project, the VX-β digital audio workstation (DAW) plug-in, was simultaneously announced the same day. It was announced that the VOCALOID β-STUDIO services would have further details released in late August. The date of services to end was announced to be March 31, 2024 and the VX-β DAW plugin service was announced to end on April 1, 2024.https://x.com/vocaloid_beta/status/1688746863351222272
On August 22, 2023, Yamaha began accepting applications for participation in the VOCALOID β-STUDIO campaign and encouraged the creation of new music using the VX-β application. It was noted that in the future, Yamaha would recruit new applicants irregularly, and in addition to those who have won the lottery, the winning applicants who have been selected based on the answers to the questionnaire would receive the VX-β DAW plug-in, which uses singing voice synthesis technology that was still in the research stage, and would be distributed free of charge.https://vocaloid.beta.yamaha.com/news_001/https://x.com/vocaloid_beta/status/1693835388983427264 Music created using VX-β was subject to the individual character terms of use of each voicebank.https://vocaloid.beta.yamaha.com/character_guideline/ Users could freely publish within the scope of the terms. A total of nine voicebanks were announced for beta testing of the software including: prtv_0, prtv_1, prtv_2, prtv_3, Gazenβ, nagiβ, multiβ-N (which includes an additional seventeen individual voicebanks within the main multiβ-N voicebank package), Gekiyakuβ and Kazehikiβ.
Beginning August 23, the first round of recruitment began and winning applicants were presented with a download and serial codes for the VX-β plugin. Those who were not selected at the time would automatically be enrolled for the next recruitment.https://x.com/vocaloid_beta/status/1694227977318580355
===Development===
The first project of the VOCALOID β-STUDIO was announced to be the release of VX-β, a DAW plug-in based on Yamaha's research-stage voice synthesis technology. It was noted that VX-β was not considered a beta version of the next version of VOCALOID products. It was an experimental product that incorporated functions and elements that proposed a more futuristic world of voice synthesis. Yamaha's hope was that creators would challenge new singing voice synthesis with their own free ideas and make use of this product for their own creations. VOCALOID β-STUDIO would be available for all creators to participate. Random drawings were announced among those who applied for participation and serial codes to use VX-β sequentially would be issued to applicants. While Yamaha continued to enhance the project structure in order to deliver VX-β to as many people as possible, delivery times for new products would be limited. It was noted that after April 1, 2024, VX-β would no longer be available for activation due to the end of the usage period. Details on the application for participation would be available in late August 2023. Services offered by VOCALOID β-STUDIO would be limited to March 31, 2024.
===Lottery Application===
Applicants could apply to participate in VOCALOID β-STUDIO from the Yamaha Music Members campaign page. To apply, applicants had to (1) obtain a Yamaha Music ID and (2) answer a questionnaire.
A random lottery was held for those who applied during the period (until March 31, 2024), and the serial code and download link of the singing voice synthesis plug-in VX-β were sent to the winners by email. It was noted that some of the winners were selected based on the answers to the questionnaire, in order to create many works that expand the possibilities of new singing voice synthesis with VX-β.
====About the Lottery Procedure====
The number and schedule of irregular lottery procedures and the number of winners have not been disclosed. Applicants could check the lottery status after applying from the "Application History" on the Yamaha Music Members website. Those who were not selected in one lottery would be eligible for the next lottery. The same person could not win the lottery more than once. If applicants would like to modify their answers to the questionnaire after completing the application, applicants were allowed to complete the application procedure again. If applicants applied multiple times, only the last one would be valid. Note that Yamaha cannot answer questions about the lottery process and content.
===Final release===
On July 18, 2024, VOCALOID β-STUDIO posted its very last tweet, announcing that the account would be closing soon and thanking everyone who participated in the program. It also stated that new announcements regarding the program would be made instead on the official Yamaha VOCALOID Twitter account. The same tweet ended with an embedded video announcing that the VX-β plug-in would be in the near future bundled into the VOCALOID6 editor and made available for use by all VOCALOID6 users, requiring only the same serial code used to authorize VOCALOID6 and its standard voicebanks (now called the Silhouette Series); it was stated that all AI voicebanks (both current and future) would be made available for VX-β as well. It also announced that two of the debut VX-β vocals, Gekiyaku and Kazehiki, were now available for VOCALOID6 and that the last four VX-β vocals (Ci-chan, Kanade Kanon, And Uge, and Kasukabe Tsumugi) would be in the future released for both VOCALOID6 and the upcoming VX-β plug-in.https://www.vocaloid.com/en/news/news_12/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Hp2FelysQ
On November 19, Yamaha announced that version 3.0 of the VX-β plugin would be released on the 27th, coinciding with the expected release of VOCALOID6 voicebank Kanade.https://x.com/vocaloid_yamaha/status/1858767164779753477 It was released as a free bundle to all new and existing VOCALOID6 Editor users on November 27 (as anticipated), slightly updated to version 3.0.1.
== Requirements ==
*OS: Windows 10, Windows 11; macOS 13 Ventura, macOS 14 Sonoma
*CPU: Haswell (4th generation) or later Intel Core series or Xeon series, or equivalent AMD CPU; Apple Silicon
*RAM: 8 GB minimum recommended
*HDD:
**Limited-access beta: At least 1 GB or more (including all voicebanks)
**Final release: At least 200 MB (plugin only)
*Graphic Minimum Open GL 3.2 or higher
*Other: Audio device, internet connection (for authentication, deauthentication, software updates, etc.)
*Monitor size:
**Minimum operating environment: 1024×768 or higher resolution
*Plugin format: VST3 (Instrument, Win/Mac); AU, AAX (Mac only)
*DAW compatibility:
**Cubase: Melody and lyrics input within the Key Editor (*Tested on Cubase 13)
**Other DAWs: Load external sequence files
*Compatible external sequence files: VOCALOID (.vpr, .vsqx), other singing synthesis software sequence files (.ccs, .svp, .ust, .ppsf), MusicXML (.musicxml, .mxl), MIDI (.mid, .midi), VX-β files (.vxf)
*Operating conditions: VOCALOID6 Editor must be authorized (*VX-β cannot be used with the authorization of VOCALOID6 Editor Lite.)
===Additional installation notes===
*VX-β cannot be authorized with VOCALOID6 Editor Lite serial code.
*VX-β is a plugin; DAW software is required for it to work.
Works created with VX-β can be freely published and can be used commercially. However, it was noted during the initial limited-access beta period that participants would need to comply with the VX-β terms of use when publishing songs, and also comply with the rules of each individual voicebank character.
====Usable Period====
The first prototype version of VX-β had a limited usable period. After March 31, 2024, the activity end date of this project, it will not start as a plug-in and cannot be used. It was encouraged that users save important work still being worked on by exporting it onto their respective DAW software until then.
The final release of VX-β, which only requires a valid VOCALOID6 Editor serial code for authorization, has no usage time limits.
==Releases==
There is no need to install separate voice bank data for the final release of VX-β. VOCALOID6 AI-compatible voice banks installed on your computer can be used with VX-β as-is.https://www.vocaloid.com/en/vocaloid6/vxbeta/
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|-|Limited-access beta = 
|-|Final release = 
|-|ANNOUNCED = 
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==Additional notes==
===Examples of usage===
An example of using VX-β technology. See also, a listing of vocal stats here.
To contribute an example- see this blog entry to download the VSQx. 
prtv_0 	prtv_1 	prtv_2 	prtv_3 	Gazenβ 	nagiβ
multiβ-N: 	multiβ-N: 	multiβ-N: 	multiβ-N: 	multiβ-N: 	multiβ-N:
f00 	f01 	f02 	f03 	f04 	f05
f06 	f07 	f08 	f09 	f10 	f11
m00 	m01 	m02 	m03 	m04 	
Character vocals:	Character vocals:	Character vocals:	Character vocals:	Character vocals:	Character vocals:
Gekiyakuβ 	Kazehikiβ 	Kanade Kanon β 	And Uge β 	Ci-chan β 	Kasukabe Tsumugi β
===New features===
For a list of VX-βs new parameters see Parameters
VX-β offers new features including: 
*Voice: VX-β does not require downloading of individual voicebanks, as all voicebank data was included in the plug-in. 
**Note that voicebank data may be added or changed in future version upgrades.
*Singer/Style: Typically, one voicebank represents one singer. This pull-down switches the singing style that was unique to the singer represented by a given voicebank. Switching between singing styles switches not only the pitch movement, but also the timbre of the singing voice. Selecting a voicebank would take time off of the sequence length, but switching between singing styles would be instantaneous. The exception was the voicebank multiβ-N, which contained multiple singers within it. multiβ-N uses this pulldown to switch the singer itself, not the singing style. f00 to f11 are female singers and m00 to m04 are male singers. Users are able to use the new editing tools to freely edit the accents, vibrato, rhythmic feel, and more.
*Various Parameters: By manipulating various parameters, users can increase the expressiveness of the sound. Each parameter can be intuitively manipulated and followed in real time during playback. Any of the parameters can be changed by dragging with the mouse, entering numerical values by clicking on the numerical value section, or restoring default values by double clicking on the knob or slider.
**Parameters include: Air, Formant, Attack, Vibrato, Power, Timing, Pitch, Fuzzy, Presence, Kero, Key, Master, Tune, & Output
*Use of Automation: All parameters can be dynamically controlled using the DAW's automation functions.
*Keep Voicing, Guide Tone, Visual Functions:
**Keep Voicing Function: When the Keep Voicing function was turned on, the sound of the song position position can be continued when playback was stopped. This function allows users to make adjustments while checking the changes in voice tone and strength/weakness caused by each parameter in real time.
**Guide Tone Function: A button that toggles on/off the guide sound for note input.
**Visual Functions: The waveform can be displayed or hidden. By drawing a waveform of a singing voice being synthesized in real time, the pitch and volume can be visually captured. Turning it off reduces the drawing load.
*Other Functions: 
**Breath Insertion and Cutting: If there was a gap between notes, it may be considered a rest and a breath may be automatically inserted. Similarly, when a note was separated, a breath was inserted, so if users do not wish to include a breath, users can input the lyric "っ" and it would be pronounced as a natural prompt. If users wish to force the insertion of a breath, users can do so by entering "BR" and the diacritical marks as shown in the list of special diacritical marks below.
**Vowel Voicelessness: You can silence vowels by adding a "0" (half-width zero) to the lyrics. For target notes that users wish to silence, such as "de shi 0 ta" or "so shi 0 te," add a "0" to the lyrics.
*Phonetic Symbols: 
**Basic Information on Pronunciation Symbols: VX-β does not allow the phonetic symbols for VOCALOID to be input as they are. When loading a .vpr file (VOCALOID5/6 sequence), the diacritics for VOCALOID written in the .vpr file are automatically converted to diacritics for VX-β. If you want to change the automatically converted diacritical marks, you can use the VOCALOID5/6 Editor's diacritical marks field for VX-beta You can directly write the diacritics for VX-β by prefixing them with a $. For example, To pronounce "fu" = [f u], enter $f $u in the VOCALOID5/6 diacritical marks field.
==Gallery==
===Media Gallery===
VX-β Overview
====Tutorials====
The reference manuals for this program can be found here.
==References==
==Navigation==
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