Minus (Synthesizer V Studio)

* Standard
* AI

**This article is about the Synthesizer V Studio software known as a voice database. If you are looking for the Synthesizer V character then click here.**

## History

### 2020

During the Synthesizer V Studio Release Presentation on June 26, 2020, Beijing Photek confirmed that they were developing a new female voice database. She was expected to be released in the second half of 2020, but due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a specific date could not be given at the time. On August 1, Ddickky, the founder of Beijing Photek, noted that a demo for "minus" would be available later on August 12. Napstina, the company's annotator, confirmed that Minus was the female voice database that was hinted at in the initial Synthesizer V Studio presentation.

Minus made her debut on August 12. A design for her was shown in her first demo and used the concept for the Medium 2050 game, which was later made clear that this was her official design for the character and software overall. Her alternative name was confirmed to be "Xingchen Minus" (星尘Minus), but she was not voiced by Chalili due to major contractual issues that prevented Quadimension to record Xingchen and ZERO for Synthesizer V. Instead, she was voiced by Sawako Sui Hua Zi.

On August 28, Minus was made available for pre-order. Her final design was illustrated by ATDan and she was expected to release on September 10.

### 2021

On December 23, 2021, it was announced that Minus, Chiyu, Shian, Cangqiong, Haiyi, and Muxin were expected to be upgraded with AI voice databases and would be able to support Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and English (in correspondence to the Synthesizer V Studio 1.5.0's Cross-lingual Synthesis capabilities). It was clarified that the AI versions were trained by the Standard voice databases, and were not meant to be replacements for Standard nor would the update be available directly via the editor. As a separate type of voice database, the new libraries would need to be repacked in new installation packages, which required separate activation codes.

Ddickky commented that because Christmas was approaching and that Dreamtonics Co., Ltd. would be on holiday, it was thought that the voice databases could all be shipped on December 23 at 17:00 to directly align with the 1.5.0 engine update; however, he found this to be wrong. After Dreamtonics finished packaging the AI libraries, the activation codes were planned to be distributed by the Taobao agent, where users were to approach them, have their proof of purchase verified, and a new AI code would be sent. This was an entirely manual process and would have been done one by one. In addition, considerable time would have been needed to complete all six packages, so only one of them would have been finished on the 23rd, while the others would be finished later on. The upgrades would be distributed to existing users for free and prices would be raised for new buyers soon due to the new inclusions.

Later on, Quadimension commented that the release of the six AI voice databases was canceled for December 23 due to a lack of confidence about their performance as rushed products. A limited beta testing would run first. The voice databases would be released after their performances were proven satisfactory. By then, Quadimension hoped to find an efficient way to distribute the AI activation codes. On December 30, the voice databases were officially called "Synthesizer V Plus".

### 2022

Throughout 2022, Cangqiong Synthesizer V Plus and Muxin Synthesizer V Plus received multiple examples demonstrating their capabilities as Standard-trained AI voice databases, including the Cross-lingual Singing Synthesis function. However, news about the development and future releases in general for all six characters were not available. On September 29, in response to a fan's question about whether the Plus versions of the six voice databases would be released soon, Quadimension wrote that it was probably not likely due to the qualities being unfit for commercial use. On November 22, in response to a fan, Ddickky confirmed that the Plus series of voice databases were created with the intention of demonstrating the effects of training AI with Standard voice databases and were not meant to be released. The voice databases were sent to shareholders as a technology demonstration and not as a full product update. As these voice databases were to show the effects and technology of splicing AI training, they could not be noted as "Synthesizer V AI" as they would affect the brand quality of AI voice databases, thus the need of calling these "Synthesizer V Plus".

### 2023

On March 11, 2023, in response to some fans' questions regarding the production of AI voice databases, Ddickky said that the other "AI" voice databases were promoted with Xingchen Infinity and that the voice providers were invited at the same time in the prior year. He said that he had no issue with the funding, but that some of the voice providers were concerned that the AI would be "stealing their jobs" while some were procrastinating with the work until recently. There was also a concern that the databases would not sound like the previous R1 and R2 "Standard" versions. He explained that an update for Xingchen V4 was needed as it performed poorly, so it must be launched even under the pressure of changing the singing voice style. For the other characters, however, the voice style change was always uncertain and it may create a reaction of resistance similar to Xingchen Infinity. Regarding the commercialization of the AI voice databases, Ddickky noted that the commercial sales of the voice databases have never been so profitable, so there wasn't enough motivation before. The commercialization would be determined after the production was completed, but it was expected to be handled similarly to Xingchen Infinity and would be sold directly since the technical workload and input cost were completely different. The AI voice databases may be sold for hundreds of yuan, which was one of the reasons why he thought they may not be suitable commercially. He also said that it was not a good time to speak from the perspective of business strategy and can only make a reminder in two months rather than rushing to ask every day. If there were no issues or delays, Minus AI and Chiyu AI were expected for 2023. Ddickky reminded fans that because there was no product line for the Standard-trained AI voice databases, they should not be expected for release.

On December 8, Quadimension announced a new demo song featuring Minus AI who at this point was renamed to "Yongye Minus" to distinguish her further from Xingchen Infinity. Her official artwork was illustrated by ATDan and Hanasa. Pre-orders were also opened for the new AI voice database on Quadimension's Taobao store, with the delivery expected for either December 18 or before.

On December 17, some pre-order customers started receiving links to the voice database installer by email correspondence, with the activation codes being sent separately via Taobao direct messaging; it was also noted that overseas customers who pre-ordered her were having difficulties in receiving the activation codes, especially when their orders were placed through proxy services (due to Taobao declining direct customers with foreign addresses and/or credit cards since at latest 2020). When asked by a vocal producer who had pre-ordered her, Ddickky was surprised to learn that people outside China were no longer able to create Taobao accounts or even register foreign credit cards for use on Taobao stores, but fell short of promising a solution.

### Updates

MEDIUM5 Minus AI v101b1 - December 18, 2023
A free update for Yongye Minus was released following the Synthesizer V Studio 1.11.0b2 update. This implemented support for the Spanish language in the Cross-Lingual Singing Synthesis feature.

## Voice Database Information

### Demonstrations

#### Synthesizer V Plus

There were no demonstrations for Minus Synthesizer V Plus.

### Voice Databases

* Standard
* Plus
* AI

Product Information
**Optimum**

  **Pitch Group:** D4, A3, G4, C5
**Versions**

  **Lite Version/FLT Available?:** No  **Starter Pack Available?:** No  **Web Version Available?:** No
**Package details** as noted:

Xingchen Minus is a feminine Mandarin Chinese voice database.
**Vocal traits** as noted:

* Xingchen Minus has a soft type of voice database that is suitable for rock ballads.
* Her voice database is also considerably sweet.
* At times, her voice database can be modified to sound powerful.
* According to the official Dreamtonics webpage for Synthesizer V Studio, Xingchen Minus was described to have a calm and firm voice that is also emotionally explosive, bringing a rich emotional shape.

**Phonetic notes** as noted:

Phoneme format: X-SAMPA
**Voice database sample**

Xingchen Minus Standard Solfège:

Product Information
**Package details** as noted:

Xingchen Minus Synthesizer V Plus would have been a feminine Standard-trained AI Mandarin Chinese voice database. She was expected to sound more realistic and human-like similar to AI vocals, but may retain aspects of the Standard voice version.
**Phonetic notes** as noted:

* This would have been an AI voice database that was trained by the Standard version and would not have been based on new recordings. Thus, there may be similarities between Standard and Plus.
* Through Cross-lingual Singing Synthesis, Xingchen Minus Synthesizer V Plus would have been able to sing in not only Mandarin Chinese but also in English and Japanese.

Product Information
**Versions**

  **Lite Version/FLT Available?:** No  **Starter Pack Available?:** No  **Web Version Available?:** No
**Package details** as noted:

Yongye Minus is a feminine Mandarin Chinese voice database based on the singing style of Sawako Sui Hua Zi. As an AI voice database, this enables her to sing with a more human-like, natural, and realistic voice.
**Vocal traits** as noted:

With Diffusion Probabilistic Models (DPM), Yongye Minus can sing more realistically through changes in volume and breath, further enriching singing details, making each singing unique, and providing creators with more options. Through this mode, she can use AI Retakes to create multiple "takes" of a sung section to find an ideal vocal without the need for "laborious tuning". This feature is only available in the Synthesizer V Studio Pro Editor.
**Phonetic notes** as noted:

* Phoneme format: X-SAMPA
* Through Cross-lingual Singing Synthesis, Yongye Minus can sing in not only Mandarin Chinese but also in English, Japanese, and Cantonese Chinese. Since the release of her v101b1 update on December 18, 2023, she can also sing in Spanish with this feature. This feature is only available in the Synthesizer V Studio Pro Editor.

**Vocal Modes** as noted (Synthesizer V Studio Pro Editor only):

* Yongye Minus comes with eight variations:
	+ "Airy"
	+ "Chest"
	+ "Cute"
	+ "Dark"
	+ "Emotional"
	+ "Falsetto"
	+ "Light"
	+ "Open"

**Voice database sample**

## References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4KtdJ55rl4&t=4381s
2. ↑ https://weibo.com/2182360953/JdUNmqngn
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/haru\_jpg/status/1289563024659947521
4. ↑ https://vocaverse.network/threads/medium%E2%81%B5-updates-discussion-thread-quadimension-voices.1703/page-10#post-28559 reply by user xuu.
5. ↑ https://weibo.com/5599743152/JftNYn57L
6. ↑ https://weibo.com/6802075123/JhZ7PA5DQ
7. ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/607330761029394020
8. ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/607328123917360256
9. ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/607304690576678463
10. ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/607379895452471472
11. ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/609647028303295976
12. ↑ https://twitter.com/Imsupposed2/status/1586069151314870277
13. ↑ https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv19899475
14. ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/986786656084455434/1044406907152113664/image.png - Screenshot as of November 21, 2022
15. ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/771690836003913744
16. ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/695380056155095054/1084001776069525515/Screenshot\_2023-03-11-14-25-20-306\_com.png - "ai声库是和星尘ai一起推进的，去年就同时邀约了生源，这点资金我也完全没问题。只是有些声源会担心ai抢饭碗，有些声源单纯有点拖…而对我而言，商业策略角度现在出声库并不是很好的时机，所以我也只能做到过俩月去催一下，不至于急道周周催天天问。于是结果如你所见，但不出意外不是过于拖的话，今年minus和赤羽应该可以吧。"

"不过另一点是，不光声源觉得ai和自己太像，我也觉得如果这么像声源而非角色之前的声库。不是很合适。星尘一定要做是因为v4性能过于差，所以硬顶着声音变化的反对也做了。而其他几个角色是sv2带拼接式，性能过得去，那做了ai产生与星尘类似的声音变化风波，在外加商业角度（卖声库）不是那么挣钱，你能理解我逻辑了吧。"
17. ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/695380056155095054/1084001780926525450/Screenshot\_2023-03-11-14-25-45-806\_com.png - "回复 @覆雪繁花 :这个还是等快出了看情况才能定，不过基本应该是类似星尘ai的直接卖新的，因为和之前拼接式完全是不同技术工作量和投入成本上也完全不相干，所以会是大几百重新卖，这也是我觉得不好卖商业上不太合适出的一个原因"
18. ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/872674076818145337
19. ↑ https://twitter.com/quad\_stardust/status/1733035073513898420
20. ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/872684157087514629 - An example of a customer pre-ordering Yongye Minus, with the delivery date expected for before December 18 at 16:15 GMT+8.
21. ↑ https://twitter.com/irunabara/status/1736440872185606608
22. ↑ https://dreamtonics.com/synthesizer-v-studio-1-11-0b2-update/
23. ↑ https://space.bilibili.com/15817819/channel/collectiondetail?sid=304207 - A series uploaded by Quadimension that mainly demonstrates tuning. May be related to the tuning courses offered by the company. Many of these examples may be uploaded post-release of the voice database(s) and are thus separated from pre-release examples.
24. ↑ Noted in voice database information
25. ↑ https://dreamtonics.com/en/synthesizerv/
26. ↑ https://twitter.com/IrunaBara/status/1736435518420750414