VOCALOID3

Template:Technology

**VOCALOID3** (commonly shortened to just "**V3**" in reference) was the successor to *VOCALOID2* by YAMAHA Corporation. The new VOCALOID engine was revealed on June 8, 2011 by YAMAHA via NicoNico Douga live stream. It can be purchased at the official VOCALOID site.

## History

 File:Vocaloid3 DVD.jpg
VOCALOID3 was first mentioned by Wat of Crypton Future Media, Inc. in a tweet questioning whether Hatsune Miku's English voicebank would be *VOCALOID2* or *VOCALOID3*. The new engine's existence was made known in December 2010.

*VOCALOID3* was first announced mid-2011 at a special invitation only event. The release date was set for September 2011, however it was held back on several occasions until it was eventually released on October 21, 2011. This particular version had a large amount of early promotion, and there was almost as many new voicebanks revealed as there were in the entire *VOCALOID2* range. YAMAHA also showed great interest in promoting its well established Japanese VOCALOID producer fanbase while expanding the usage of VOCALOID itself.

New languages were prepared in Spanish, Korean, and Chinese along with the Japanese and English *VOCALOID* line up.

YAMAHA's first attempt to revive the voice of a dead singer was realised with Ueki-loid. Due to its complexity they confirmed that it will be a while before the same can be attempted with an English speaking voice.

 File:Yamaha v3e.jpg
Additional versions of the software were also released, including VOCALOID Editor for Cubase (including a "NEO" version), an updated "SE" (second edition) version and VOCALOID NEO. The SE version includes a larger number of Job Plug-ins than the original, all of which were previously downloadable from the YAMAHA website for free. Users who owned the original editor did not have to buy the SE edition, as all new content was supplied free of charge from YAMAHA in the VOCALOID STORE. Likewise, users who owned the Cubase version of the software did not need to buy the regular version of *VOCALOID3* or the SE version.

The Cubase version used any available vocal for the current *VOCALOID2* and *VOCALOID3* compatible versions. In the case of "NEO" and "SE", some of the previously released *VOCALOID3* vocals were re-released with new versions of the 'VOCALOID3 *Lite version to match the engine updates.*

In August 2014, a service called VOCALOID NET was released. For the first time this allowed users to exchange information between this version of VOCALOID™ to both the VOCALOID Editor for Cubase and iVOCALOID.

The engine introduced a version called the "VOCALOID3 API", which acted as a insert-engine into other software and allowed that software to build on top of a basic VOCALOID3 engine build. The engine was adapted for the game "Daigasso! Band Brothers P" for use with the game. This version allowed manipulation of the player's own voice into a rudimentary VOCALOID. Though results are low in quality, this is the first time a user has been able to use a version of the VOCALOID™ software to make a "VOCALOID". Piapro Studio also took advantage of the VOCALOID3 API and was released with the VOCALOID3 range of Crypton Future Media releases instead of the full VOC0LAOID3 engine.

### Impact on voicebank development

Some studios had expansion packs and updates intended for *VOCALOID2* in development. The VOCALOID voicebanks known to have been affected by the release were GUMI's Extend, English Hatsune Miku, Megurine Luka's Append, KAITO's Append and MEIKO's Append. After the announcement of *VOCALOID3* these were delayed and released for *VOCALOID3*.

SeeU was also intended to have an English voicebank, but was released early so it could meet the *VOCALOID3* initial release without it. Consequently some phonetics for English were included in her Korean voicebank, but not enough for full English capability. A full version of a SeeU English voicebank began production in 2012, but has since been put on hiatus.

As of the start of *VOCALOID3* more private voicebanks have been produced, as well as new "exclusive" vocals given limited release. Although private licensing at this level is new, several unreleased vocals were made in the *VOCALOID2* era. Further more, *VOCALOID* was not originally considered for commercial release at all, making the concept older than the engine.

MEIKO V3's "Power" vocal was confirmed to have only been made possible with the new *VOCALOID3* engine, and Wat commented that the original Kagamine package could be re-examined. This was owed to the engine improved wavelength capabilities.

### Updates

In the past, the editor and voicebank were sold together. This meant that to get the latest version of the software users were required to purchase a newer voicebank. As of *VOCALOID3*, updates now come directly from YAMAHA themselves because the editor and voicebank are sold separately.

* **Ver.3.0.2.0**: Was released 2 November 2011 and was a general glitch fix update that repaired things that were making the editor crash.
* **Ver.3.0.3.0**: Was released on 21 December 2011, the fix reorganized the libraries of VOCALOIDs into languages and resolved a few glitches.
* **Ver.3.0.3.0**: Was released 26/01/2012 as an automatic update, simply running the *VOCALOID3* software on a system with an internet connection will allow the software to update itself. A few new features were added such as CTL+R; this will change the order of note from lyric to phoneme.
* **Ver.3.0.4.0**: Was released 21/2/2012 to improve various things, notably, keyboard shortcuts have been added for note placement and selection, and the ability to export tracks to their own separate sound files has also been added. The Alt key can now be used to bypass quantization settings, and various other improvements have been added. For more information check here.
* **Ver.3.0.4.1**: Was released on 23 March 2012
* **Ver.3.0.5.0**: Was released on 10 July 2012.
* **Ver.3.1.1.0**: Was released on 4 August 2014.
* **Ver.3.2.1.0**: Was released on 9 December 2014, which supported the loading of VOCALOID4 VSQX files and general improvements to stability.

### Unreleased voicebanks

As VOCALOID4 was announced it was revealed that Megurine Luka V4X was going to be released for the newer engine, rather than the originally planned V3. A temporary product page was added to the Crypton Future Media website before the announcement, listing several voicebanks for Megurine Luka V3, these vocals were Japanese/Power/Soft/Cute/Whisper/Closed and English. Many of the previously listed voicebanks were moved into the new Piapro Studio E.V.E.C. functions capabilities and were not released for VOCALOID™ at all.

## Requirements

* OS: Windows 7/Windows 8/Vista/XP
* CPU: Celeron Dual Core 2.1 GHz or more
* RAM: 1GB or more
* HDD: 200MB free space or more

Note these requirements only apply to the *VOCALOID3* engine itself. Users need to check each VOCALOID package and its requirements before installation as some variation may occur between releases.

If you own VOCALOID Editor for Cubase, you do not also have to purchase the full version of the VOCALOID3 software.

### Starter packs

Starter packs are *VOCALOID2* or, more commonly, *VOCALOID3* releases that are sold with the *VOCALOID3* software included. The idea is this cheapens the first voicebank a producer buys for the engine. Not all normal releases for *VOCALOID3* have been given starter packs. Below is a list of voicebanks that have been sold as "starter" vocals. A number of the starter packages have been retired, and can no longer be purchased.

Ofclboxart ahs SF-A2 miki.jpgSF-A2 miki starter packOfclboxart ahs Kaai Yuki.jpgKaai Yuki starter packOfclboxart ahs Hiyama Kiyoteru.jpgHiyama Kiyoteru starter packOfclboxart ahs Nekomura Iroha.jpgNekomura Iroha starter packVY1V3 Starter.jpgVY1v3 starter packSeeuboxart2.jpgSeeU starter packV3 Megpoidstarter.jpg*VOCALOID3* Megpoid complete starter packsV3adultmegpoidstarter.jpg*VOCALOID3* Megpoid Adult starter packV3powermegpoidstarter.jpg*VOCALOID3* Megpoid Power starter packV3sweetmegpoidstarter.jpg*VOCALOID3* Megpoid Sweet starter packV3whispermegpoidstarter.jpg*VOCALOID3* Megpoid Whisper starter packV3nativemegpoidstarter.jpg*VOCALOID3* Megpoid Native starter packBoxartTRion.jpgTone Rion starter packOliverboxart.pngOLIVER starter packCulV3starter.jpgCUL starter packIa1sted.jpgIA - 1st anniversary limited edition starter packLilyV3starter.jpgV3 Lily starter packLAPIS boxart.pngAoki Lapis starter packLapis First Press Limited Edition.jpgAoki Lapis starter pack (First Press Limited Edition)V3 Gackpoid Complete Starter.png*VOCALOID3* Gackpoid complete starter packGackpoidWhisperV3.jpg*VOCALOID3* Gackpoid Whisper starter packGackpoidNativeV3.jpg*VOCALOID3* Gackpoid Native starter packGackpoidPowerV3.jpg*VOCALOID3* Gackpoid Power starter packMegv3eng.jpgMegpoid English starter packVy2v3.jpgVY2v3 starter packYukaristarterV3.jpgYuzuki Yukari starter packYohioloid boxart by sartika3091-d7j9v9g.pngYOHIOloid starter packYukarimacstarter.jpgYuzuki Yukari NEO version starter pack.Kokone s b.jpgKokone starter PackZunkostarter.jpgTohoku Zunko starter packDUO package SP.pngIA Rocks duo starter pack.
### Starter Kit

In December 2013, a starter kit was introduced for both Windows and Mac users. This contained all the essentials to begin VOCALOID production. Included inside the box is VOCALOID Editor for Cubase and Cubase7.

**Note: VOCALOID vocals are sold separately and do not come with this version**.

V3neostkit.pngThe VOCALOID Starter Kit
### VOCALOID-P data packs

As well as the engine, it is also possible to buy the .VSQX files used for songs made by famous producers. The first of the VOCALOID-P data series packs was released with the *VOCALOID3* engine and can be purchased separately. Previously, the majority of .VSQ files had been recreated by fans and not the producers themselves.

Vol.2 of the series was released on the December 16, 2011, and a 3rd instalment with just GUMI songs was released on March 16, 2012 in conjunction with her update V3 Megpoid - Native.

VPDP1.jpgVocaloid-P Data Series; vol.1DataPack2.jpgVocaloid-P Data Series; vol.2Voc-p-vol03-jacket.jpgVocaloid-P Data Series; vol.3Voc-p-vol04-jacket.jpgVocaloid-P Data Series; vol.4
## Additional notes

### Examples of usage

An example of solfège using VOCALOID3 technology. See also, a listing of vocal stats here (fansite) and here (Vocaloid.com's guide) this is an archive for V3 releases.

To contribute an example- see this blog entry to download the VSQx.

### Features

A new feature in *VOCALOID3* is Triphone, these will instantiate a different sound if a particular set of three phonemes are pieced together, for example, allowing “ka” to sound different in “aka” compared to “ika” improving language quality. *VOCALOID2* voicebanks, even when imported into the *VOCALOID3* engine, will not process these sounds. VOCALOIDs of all languages can use triphones, it is not restricted to one language in particular, these sounds can also be cancelled out using the hidden phonetics if users do not wish to use them.

The software will also update itself automatically or manually, updates are received directly from YAMAHA itself. Compared to previous support, updates are free and much easier to gain access to.

There are now some updates to the list of hidden phonetics. *VOCALOID3* introduces the Glottal stop (written as [?]) and improvements to the vowel-to-vowel connector (written as [-]) to increase the smoothness of the actions between vowel carrying. One of the improvements to the *VOCALOID3* engine database was the inclusion of new voiceless sounds for VOCALOIDs (written as [\*\_0]), something they did not possess in *VOCALOID2*. When *VOCALOID2* voicebanks are imported into *VOCALOID3*, the engine has the capabilities to add these additional sounds to their voicebank libraries, making them from existing samples the VOCALOID had. Some voicebanks in *VOCALOID3* do not assign codes for breaths ([br1] to [br5]) and you can instead import various noises directly into VOCALOID.

The engine itself is now localized, so issues from *VOCALOID2* over language problems are absent, such as those present in Megurine Luka. Although she had an English voicebank, she did not have the English interface because she was sold to the Japanese market. Users can now select the interface language upon installation.

*VOCALOID3* saves in the new standard format of ".VSQX" and can save .VSQ files as .VSQX files. .VSQX allows more data to be saved than .VSQ, and lets the newer details of the *VOCALOID3* engine be more easily saved. UTAU did not support this new file type when *VOCALOID3* was released, though conversation into .VSQ is possible at the cost of some minor data loss. Therefore, it is still possible to transfer VOCALOID songs onto UTAU.

The engine itself is sold standalone or with additional voicebanks, which in turn can be bought as stand alone software. This is a departure from *VOCALOID* and *VOCALOID2* who had the engine sold with the voicebank.

In late April 2014 VOCALOID NET was announced, which had the ability to interact with the VOCALOID3 software directly.

### Software versions

* Lite
* Full

 File:Tiny Editor.jpg
Voicebanks come with a Lite version of the software that has one track and only 17 bars of music. This version's most common usage is as a "demo" version, or for those wishing only to use VOCALOID for samples and not as a fully fledged singer. It has no additional features, such as *VOCALOID2* voicebank library importation, nor does it allow plug-ins. This also cheapens the price of each voicebank greatly as the consumer is not paying for the engine with every purchase.

The addition of a Lite edition with every new vocal, as opposed to forcing the consumer to buy both the vocal and engine, also removes some issues such as those displayed by older *VOCALOID2* products such as Prima. There is less chance of coming across conflicts between versions as only the bare basics of the software is included.

 File:V3Editor.jpg
The full engine can be bought with additional voices or on its own, unlike the Lite edition which is only released with each VOCALOID vocal. The advantage of releasing it on its own without voicebanks is that the full version allows the importation of *VOCALOID2* voices. For those who do not wish to purchase any of the new *VOCALOID3* vocals, they can buy the engine for this reason alone.

The ReWire function is not supported in *VOCALOID3*, however you can import files into *VOCALOID3* removing the need for the tool. Alternatively, you can save the vocal file as a .wav and export to a DAW. Unlike previous versions of VOCALOID, *VOCALOID3* supports plug-in, although it is limited. While the *VOCALOID3* software comes with several plug-ins, additional plug-ins can be bought directly from YAMAHA's VOCALOID STORE.

The software comes with the following plug-ins, which can be purchased from the YAMAHA store at no extra cost:

* **AdjustGain**: If there is any gap between notes in a whole part, this cuts it off by extending the forward note to the head of the next note.
* **InsertRest**: This inputs a directed length rest(space) in the position you instructed.
* **Staccato**: This changes a note which is longer than sixteenth note (120Tick) to sixteenth note and make it staccato by setting the velocity value to its maximum.
* **TimingRandomize**: This makes a subtle movement to and fro on a note's starting position in a selected area with a random value.
* **VibratoTypeConversion**: This changes the type of vibrato of all notes in a whole part all together.

"SE" editions of *VOCALOID* come with more plug-ins. Once again you can download these from the VOCALOID store at no extra cost, though some were only listed on the Japanese plug-in shop:

* **DietPIT**
* **LyricOnmei**
* **TranspNote**
* **ConnectNotes**
* **ConvertPhonemes**
* **IdolStyle**: Tunes the selected notes in a manner similar to the style of an 80's Japanese idol singer, by tuning pitch bend up at the end of the note. Made by YAMAHA.
* **Lyrics2PartName**
* **MasterTune**: Master Tune is a simple plug-in designed to finely adjust musical scale in a whole part to such as 442 Hz. Changeable range is 412.0 - 455.0 Hz. It was designed by YAMAHA.
* **MetronomeJPNPiPo**: A Japanese-only plug-in (will not work with voicebank libraries of any other language). Fills up the selected portion with metronomic "pi" and "po" syllables.
* **NyanNote**: This is a plug-in that inputs the sound "miao" in the song position. You can choose the length of sound(note) to input from 2 types, that is, "short" and "long". This plug-in is made by YAMAHA.
* **PitchRandomize**: Rewrites a value of pitch bend in a selected portion with a random value. The random level is 「1(small)」～「5(large)」. This is made by YAMAHA.
* **QuantizeNoteLength**: This changes a length of notes in a selected area in one time. It will be the length of dotted note with checking Dotted Note.
* **SineVibrato**: Adds vibrato to all the notes in the selected portion, using dynamics and pitch bend instead of the built-in vibrato feature. Developed by YAMAHA.
* **StaccatoSelected**: Makes the notes staccato by changing the length of notes and the value of velocity in a selected portion. Furthermore, adjustment of the decay time and accent of expression note property is possible here. Developed by YAMAHA.
* **Transposition**: Shifts the key of all notes up or down according to the value you put in. Developed by YAMAHA.
* **TrimPartLeftSide**: Deletes the extra part on the left side from an imported sequence. Developed by YAMAHA.
* **V3KeroPitch**: This changes rise and fall of a note to a value of pitch bend and makes the sound "kero sound" (frog sound) that is like effected as giving a vocal pitch revise. This plug-in is made by YAMAHA.

### Refinements

Smoothness is more noticeable in *VOCALOID3* whereas *VOCALOID* and *VOCALOID2* both became choppy or robotic sounding when they met some pronunciation issues. Furthermore, when entering into slurry words clarity is more easily maintained than past versions, though this is still effected by the vocal type and sample quality more than the engine itself. Other improvements include using the VEL to control the length of consonants much more significantly.

Results from *VOCALOID2* vocals will not be the same for *VOCALOID3* and improvements are noticeable with phonetic data translations being much smoother. However, it does not allow backwards compatibility with *VOCALOID* engine voicebanks. Glitches such as the noted "pluck" glitch continue over from *VOCALOID* and *VOCALOID2*, however, it is less noticeable in this engine even for imported *VOCALOID2* vocals, and is often rendered as a softer, quieter sound. The audio quality itself has been improved.

The importation of *VOCALOID2* into pirated versions of *VOCALOID3* has also been known to have handling issues, both from pirated and official versions of the *VOCALOID2* software. None of these issues were present with *VOCALOID2* and all related to new features of the *VOCALOID3* software. Users who do not own legal versions will miss out on many of the new features for *VOCALOID3*.

Wat, who was working on *VOCALOID2* versions of vocals that eventually became *VOCALOID3* products, also mentioned that *VOCALOID3* allowed for voicebanks that had previously not been possible for some singers. This increased exploration of vocal types in VOCALOID.

Noboru mentioned that he believed also that V3 added new sounds to English vocals. In addition, a new dictionary was added with improvements, making larger difference between VOCALOID2 and VOCLOID3 vocals.

### Known issues

Language handling still faces issues, for example, IA and OLIVER both slur their vocals at faster paces if not controlled. This event occurs because of a long-term problem VOCALOID still suffers from in regards to the VOCALOID's sample database, wherein the software has difficulty fitting all samples into the allocated space set for each word in each beat. This issue has been present in the software since *VOCALOID*.

Even the highest quality *VOCALOID2* voicebanks when imported into *VOCALOID3* have issues competing with the quality of the average *VOCALOID3* vocals.

Updated versions often do not contain new recordings (such as those of GUMI - Native) as it is possible for studios to re-use the data recorded from *VOCALOID2* samples for new voicebanks in *VOCALOID3*. Therefore, sometimes there is no rush to buy new versions of older voices from the *VOCALOID2* as the voice is virtually the same.

Although *VOCALOID2* is supported, *VOCALOID* is not compatible with this engine.

NeutrinoP also discussed some of the continued engine flaws duringthe pre-released of Megpoid English. Noting "its engine still uses some "obsolete" algorithms (like having the same set of samples for a specific range of notes), but that can be adjusted now in DAW". They also mentioned there were glitches in the engine which impacted all V3 English vocals.

In March 2013, an issue related to galaco appeared which impacted *VOCALOID3* when daylight savings kicked in. The engine would appear to "expire" and a pop-up would appear requesting the user to activate the software. As this issue was only related to galaco, uninstalling her or turning off daylight savings was the only solution to resolving the problem. Users in countries (e.g. China) which did not use daylight savings, did not experience the issue.

### Comparison examples

* Gackcomparison.jpgGackpoid vocal comparison; VOCALOID2(top) and VOCALOID3 (bottom)
* LilyV2V3.jpgLily VOCALOID2 (top) and VOCALOID3 (bottom) comparison
* V2V3.jpgVOCALOID2(top) results vs VOCALOID3 (bottom); Gachapoid
1/3
* Template:Song id
* Template:Song id
* Template:Song id
* Template:Song id
* Template:Song id

## Marketing

To help the development and promotion of VOCALOIDs within the *VOCALOID3* range, the VOCALOID STORE was opened up by YAMAHA. Furthermore, YAMAHA set up their own music publishing site much like Karen-T to promote Vocaloid music. Several events have also been arranged to showcase new products, such as the Vocafarre. YAMAHA's approach was to bring the *VOCALOID* software back into the professional realm through a more serious promotional tone.

Studios have continued to promote their VOCALOIDs. Internet Co., Ltd heavily promoted their VOCALOIDs with the launch of V3 GUMI Megpoid. AH Software also began heavier promotion, with Yuzuki Yukari having the widest vocal capabilities offered on sale of any new VOCALOID at the time. Bplats continued to focus on their VY series by relaunching them under the "VYv3" title with improved vocals. Crypton Future Media, who had established much of the VOCALOID fandom via Hatsune Miku in the *VOCALOID2* era, have opted to enter the *VOCALOID3* era in 2013 with updates and new additions to previous voices. They are still focused on selling their established VOCALOIDs to America, as well as re-launching the *VOCALOID* era VOCALOIDs in the newer engine with the releases of KAITO V3 and MEIKO V3.

Studio DEEN focused on the fandom side of VOCALOID by holding a competition for a fan to become the voice of their first VOCALOID, Aoki Lapis, and her successor, Merli. They have done a number of small promotional ads for Lapis. MoeJapan entered the VOCALOID market with Tone Rion, focusing their marketing on the Otaku side of the VOCALOID community, rather than professionals. 1st PLACE opted for a subtler launch of their first voicebank, IA being promoted as a more mysterious VOCALOID.

YAMAHA did not support the English version of the software at first, and did not launch an English language version of the VOCALOID website until close to OLIVER's release. PowerFX decided to focus its marketing at the now established English VOCALOID community and most promotions for OLIVER were done through the forum VOCALOID Otaku. Zero-G also entered the engine later, and decided to continue aiming at professionals with their newest VOCALOID AVANNA, a Celtic themed voice.

SBS Artech managed to gain interest from outside of Japan with their first VOCALOID SeeU, primarily a Korean vocal. They also promoted SeeU with the claim that she could achieve English as well as Korean, and included a Japanese voicebank. However, interest in her was more mixed among Japanese producers.

New company Voctro Labs faced a bumpy start due to the a backlash against the artwork of their first two VOCALOIDs. However, despite this they were able to gain some ground via a replacement artwork contest.

### Promotional CD

A CD titled "The VOCALOIDs" was released in conjunction with the launch of *VOCALOID3*. The CD contained 18 songs sung by Japanese VOCALOIDs and a booklet with information about the VOCALOID characters used. Mew was also featured on the CD for the first time.

### Official Guide Book

 File:V3completeguide.jpg
The official guidebook for *VOCALOID3* was also released in conjunction with the software.

### VOCALOID STORE

Run by YAMAHA, the VOCALOID STORE was one of the biggest new developments for VOCALOID. As well as an outlet for buying the software, it offered CDs of various songs, plug-ins and merchandise. It replaced the old website for VOCALOID in both Japanese and English, the latter having not been updated since the *VOCALOID* era, as well as adding Chinese and Korean versions. The English version is, however, hosted by Bplats. Originally, it did not directly sell English or Spanish VOCALOIDs, but did contain links to where they are being sold by the developers.

Updates and other information about current and upcoming VOCALOIDs were also listed on this website. Updates for the *VOCALOID3* software were sometimes released here as well. The website was open for world wide purchases.

In previous generations, the VOCALOID website only offered the workings behind the software, and did not host a store. The VOCALOID STORE played a significant part in marketing the VOCALOID software in Japan, and made many products easier to purchase. However, it previously only linked to the studios which made *VOCALOID2* voicebanks, therefore there were ongoing issues with gaining access to older VOCALOID products.

On 8 May 2015, it was announced that the Japanese VOCALOID STORE would be shutting down on the 26th. They apologised for the sudden announcement, and thanked users for their support.

### VOCALOID3 Music Contest

On November 15, 2011, a music contest was announced. It ended on March 31, 2012 and offered prizes. To enter, users had to write an original song or cover and upload it to Nico Nico Douga by March 31, 2012. The contest was hosted by YAMAHA.

Producers are allowed to enter with the following *VOCALOID3* voicebanks:

* VY1v3
* Mew
* V3 Megpoid
* SeeU
* Tone Rion
* CUL

To qualify, your song must have the tag "VOCALOID3発売記念コンテスト" locked.

Prizes were determined by YAMAHA, Dwango and the studios releasing VOCALOID3 products allowed in the competition:

* **Internet co., Ltd** (Megpoid/CUL);
	+ 3 winners will get one VOCALOID product from Internet Co., Ltd
* **SBS Artech**(SeeU);
	+ 1 winner will get a ticket for two to Seoul in South Korea for three days and two nights.
	+ 1 excellence winner will get 32GB iPad with Wi-Fi
* **imyss Prize** (SeeU);
	+ Cosmetic Gift Set from imyss for 1 winner.
* **YAMAHA Prize** (VY1V3/Mew);
	+ Grande Prize: Cubase6 for 1 winner.
	+ 3 excellence winners of a VOCALOID3 library of YAMAHA of your choice
* **MoeJapan/Dear Stage Prize** (Tone Rion);
	+ 1 winner is invited to Akihabara (2 tickets)
	+ 10 winners will get a courtesy ticket for Dear Stage.
	+ 1 winner, YAMAHA's TENORI-ON "TNR-O"
* **Dwango Prize** (any library allowed in the competition);
	+ 5 winners will receive assorted goods related to Nico Nico Douga.

#### Extension

The competition was later extended to the June 30, 2012 and a new prize (special prize for participation) was added. **The prize in the competition is confirmed to be an exclusive voicebank that will be given to anyone with 3,000+ views**, this prize is the voicebank for galaco. V3 Lily and V3 Megpoid - Native have been added to the list of VOCALOIDs allowed in the competition.

The view count of '3,000+' needed for the special prize for participation was later lessened to 1,000+ views.

Aoki Lapis has also been added to those VOCALOIDs who can be entered in the competition. Since then IA and Yukari have also been added with additional prizes from the appropriate supporters of the software. This left Clara, Bruno and OLIVER unable to be used to enter the competition.

The list of new prizes:

* **i-style Project Prize** (Aoki Lapis);
	+ 1 winner will get Aoki Lapis original silver ring and Cubase starter pack.
* **PV category Prize** (any library allowed in the competition);
	+ 2 winners will get Wacom professional graphics tablet with wireless kit (medium size) Intuos5 touch PTH-650/K0 .
* **Rookie Award** (any library allowed in the competition);
	+ 1 winner will be interviewed by the chief editor in a feature article of Gekkayo Magazine, and the score of the winning song will appear in the magazine.
* **Lawson Prize** (any library allowed in the competition);
	+ 1 winner: The winning song will be played in Lawson stores for a month.

After the contest was over a further extension was given to allow more users the chance to get Galaco. This time, the rules were extended to allow any sold *VOCALOID3* voicebank in the competition, including VOCALOID voicebank libraries that had previously been unable to be used in the contest.

### 10th Anniversary

VOCALOID itself celebrated its 10th birthday during this version of the software, and several projects, one of which was ZOLA PROJECT, were run in 2013 to commemorate the event. The anniversary celebrations began on February 26, 2013.

## Cultural impact

This generation was more focused on making VOCALOID its own genre of music. There was also pressure to push into America, with the launch of projects like VOCALOID Trans-Pacific.

Compared to *VOCALOID2,* the response to new *VOCALOID3* vocals has been mixed. Some Japanese voicebanks like Tone Rion and Mew initially failed to match the previous *VOCALOID2s* in popularity growth. The reasons for lack of popularity in newer products appears to be varied. VOCALOIDs like SeeU have struggled in particular due to Japanese and Korean cultural politics and differences of feeling between the fans of the two countries. Popularity was also affected when no popular producer picked up the voice and made songs with them, some producers holding back for particular VOCALOID releases.

## Criticism

Initially, criticism was made by both Spanish and English VOCALOID fans as they had been left in the dark regarding the new software. At the beginning of the *VOCALOID3* launch, they faced less promotion and coverage than the other 3 languages offered. For instance, the CD released for *VOCALOID3* titled "The VOCALOIDs", which acted a pre-release promotion for the VOCALOID software, was solely focused on Japanese products. An English version of the VOCALOID STORE was later added, it was put up in beta format in Jan 2012; several months after *VOCALOID3* was launched and a month after the launch of the first English voicebank. Both Spanish and English VOCALOIDs were absent from the store, though later added in an "overseas" section. The previous incarnation of the English VOCALOID website which the store replaced had not been updated since the release of *VOCALOID*.

More criticism came in the form of the initial reaction to the avatars of Bruno and Clara. Voctro Labs responded by hosting a competition with the wining entry having the possibility of becoming the boxart, if the artwork was deemed good enough. It is speculated that the poor reception impacted VOCALOID AVANNA, who required artwork changes during her development phase. YAMAHA themselves rejected a realistic style of artwork for Avanna in favor of a more anime-esque approach. Though SONiKA had an Eastern-influenced appearance, Avanna's style was very different to the one Zero-G had used in previous *VOCALOID* and *VOCALOID2* vocals.

One of the issues surrounding the standard Vocaloids (*note, this is mostly regarding the "Yamaha" group which are considered the standard vocals*) up until this point and through out VOCALOID was how close in nature many vocals ended up being. This would lead to a change of approach for VOCALOID4 to make vocals more unique. Vocals at this point were fixed on being easy to use for music and the various vocals had the same processes worked upon them, resulting in vocals with very similar traits and few had "unique" qualities that reflected the character of their vocal.

Though generally the 3 new languages were well received, they were not always welcomed. There was some reported negative reactions to SeeU based on politics between Japan and Korea at the time of VOCALOID3 and resistance towards Chinese Vocaloids and in China criticism towards Vocaloid due to it being regarded as Japanese software.

Generally the engine is notable for its vast improvements over VOCALOID2, with it offering the largest variety of voicebanks overall with many new VOCALOIDs being introduced, offering more then the VOCALOID2 amount by far. The engine saw voicebanks both for new VOCALOIDs and updates of old ones. However, one thing that did become apparent was that too many voicebanks were released at some stages at once, particularly early on. This caused very few to reach VOCALOID2 levels of popularity with Yuzuki Yukari and IA being the only two to get a great deal attention for this era overall, with Yukari getting more attention over time then when she was first released.

It was not acknowledged by studios until VOCALOID4 that, perhaps due to the large number of female VOCALOIDs, many of these new releases sounded like previous releases. Common vocal types were beginning to form and this was putting off users buying a new VOCALOID and generally some had trouble standing out. Chika marked the start of this issue being fixed, but as she was among one of the last VOCALOID3 releases, there was little impact on voicebank development at the time. Though Chika sounded like GUMI, the new recording technique allowed to behave very differently to Megpoid and it would not react to changes the same way nor generally behave. It was a significant development for Internet co with more triphones n her voicebank their past releases. CHIKA's recording methods would be implemented in VOCALOID4 to many of the new voicebanks.

## Gallery

### Images

Vocaloidcom range and tempo img 05.jpgRange and tempo guideVocaloidcom range and tempo img 06.jpgRange and tempo guide
### Media

Vocaloid 3 introduction

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## References

1. ↑ link
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4. ↑ VOCALOID3 Editor V3.2.1.0 Update Release Notes
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6. ↑ mention of English triphones in Miku English beta
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## Navigation

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