GUMI (Synthesizer V Studio)

## Megpoid

* Physical
* Digital

* Standalone
* Starter Pack

* Internet/SSW
* AHS & DLsite

**Physical copies**:

* Internet Co., Ltd. (standalone)
* Internet Co., Ltd. (Starter Pack)
* AHS Store
* AHS Store (user discount)
* Amazon Japan
* Rakuten Books
**Digital copies**:

* Internet Co., Ltd.
* Internet Co., Ltd. (International)
* AHS Store
* AHS Store (Starter Pack)
* AHS Store (Starter Pack; user discount)
* DLsite

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

## History

Planning for GUMI was begun by Internet Co., Ltd. in June 2008, before Gackpoid was even released, but there was nothing solid at this stage about her. The original *VOCALOID2* Megpoid was released on June 26, 2009.

Following the success of Crypton Future Media's Append series for Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin & Len, Internet Co. confirmed GUMI would receive an "Extend" edition in 2011, comprising four new vocals. The Extend idea was later dropped and instead the new vocals (named Adult, Sweet, Whisper, and Power) were launched on October 21 as new voicebanks for *VOCALOID3*, sold individually or as a pack and collectively called V3 Megpoid; according to president Noboru Murakami, "Extend" was dropped from the product name because it would cause confusion on whether or not V2 Megpoid was needed to use the vocals. Later in December, he mentioned he would like to go back and fix some issues affecting V2 Megpoid; a VOCALOID3 revamp of such old voicebank was begun early 2012, which involved adding triphones and adjusting/replacing WAV files of her old V2 recordings, resulting in her V3 Megpoid - Native voicebank which was released on March 16. Later in June, production of an English version of Megpoid was begun; it was confirmed it would take some time to produce because its database of recordings was 5 times the size of that of the Japanese voicebank; after showing several beta demos, fixing pronunciation problems and sound oddities, and making further adjustments to the vocal, Megpoid English was finally released on February 28, 2013, in conjunction with the "VOCALOID Trans-Pacific" event with the aim to introduce VOCALOID to the United States.

On December 1, 2014, when asked about *VOCALOID4* updates, Noboru responded that they wished to update all of their VOCALOID3s to the new engine but had no specific schedule at the time; however, it was noted that Megpoid would be the first to be worked upon. With growl samples, improved XSY capabilities, and some tweaks to her five Japanese voicebanks, plus the addition of 5 new voicebanks (for a total of 10 voicebanks), Megpoid V4 was released on November 5, 2015. Earlier on October 7, when asked about possible updates for Megpoid English, Noboru responded that the English bank would be updated at a later time but there was no schedule at the time, suggesting "this year or next" (2016/2017); in regards to making more than 1 vocal, he noted this may be too difficult, again due to the size of an English voicebank compared to a Japanese one. He later stated that there were no current plans to produce any VOCALOIDs, suggesting GUMI's English update was not in production at the time. On February 8, 2019, when asked about productions for *VOCALOID5*, Noboru replied that there were no plans for the engine.

### 2022

On July 29, 2022 it was announced that GUMI would be receiving a talk voicebank for the *A.I.VOICE* text-to-speech software. Later on October 13, *VOCALOID6* was announced and released to the public; AI Megpoid was introduced as one of the newly-released voicebanks and made to be compatible with VOCALOID:AI (a new feature for commercial VOCALOID) as well as with V6's new "Multilingual" function (equivalent to Synthesizer V Studio Pro's Cross-Lingual Singing Synthesis function for AI voice databases), which allowed lyrics to be sung in a mixture of Japanese, English, and (after the 6.1.0 update to the VOCALOID6 engine) Mandarin Chinese by using a single voicebank (regardless of the recorded base language). AI Megpoid's "mother tongue" was noted to be Japanese, and she could sing in English (and later Mandarin) through this "Multilingual" function.

### 2023

On September 14, 2023, GUMI's official Twitter account started to post some "complaints" about some limitations of the VOCALOID6 software along with a list of parameters and features she desired Yamaha Corporation to add to the engine. This led several producers and commenters from the vocal-synthesizer fandom to rumorize and suggest whether GUMI (or rather Internet Co. itself) was considering switching to a different singing-synthesis engine, to which GUMI responded that she only presented a feature request without drawing comparisons to other engines.

On November 21, Internet Co., Ltd. announced a Synthesizer V AI version of AI Megpoid, with release date set for December 20. Noboru went on record to say this was not a move from VOCALOID to a new engine, but rather a parallel product that he hoped can be used together with her VOCALOID6 version (as well as any of her past VOCALOID4 versions) to achieve "a variation of GUMI's voice quality and singing style to match the world view of your works". In an interview with DTM Magazine, he further elaborated on the reasons for Synthesizer V AI Megpoid, whose development was outsourced to AH-Software Co. Ltd.:

* The company has not switched from VOCALOID6 to Synthesizer V. They will continue to sell the VOCALOID6 version of Megpoid, which remains their main product. The Synthesizer V version is an addition to their lineup.
* The decision to develop Synthesizer V was driven by curiosity about how Megpoid would sound on it. The development was requested from AHS without any plans for commercialization at that point.
* The recording for Synthesizer V was not new. Instead, they used the data recorded for VOCALOID6, believing it would bring Megpoid closer to the desired sound.
* The Synthesizer V version of Megpoid was not immediately commercialized. After the development was completed in late September, they explained the situation to Yamaha and received their understanding. They also continued to sell the VOCALOID4 version.
* The Synthesizer V version does not replace Megumi Nakajima with AI Megpoid. Although the singing style is human-like, it is quite different from Nakajima's usual singing style. The voice atmosphere is still very much Megpoid.
* The Synthesizer V version of Megpoid comes with one voice database. However, it has Vocal Mode parameters that allows for natural changes in singing style.
* The Synthesizer V AI Megpoid will come with ABILITY4 SE as a bonus. At the time of its release, the Synthesizer V VST will also be updated to be usable.
* There are currently no plans to release Synthesizer V products for other characters such as Otomachi Una, Gackpoid, Lily, and Kokone. They will consider future developments based on how the Synthesizer V AI Megpoid is evaluated and used by users.
* They plan to release more VOCALOID 6 products in the future.

On December 20, when asked about a Lite version of Synthesizer V Megpoid, GUMI answered there were no plans for it "for now".

## Voice Database Information

### Voice Databases

Product Information
**Versions**

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

Megpoid is a feminine Japanese voice database based on the singing style of Megumi Nakajima. As expected of an AI voice database, GUMI is capable of singing with a more human-like and realistic voice.
**Vocal traits** as noted:

With Diffusion Probabilistic Models (DPM), GUMI 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: Romaji
* Through Cross-lingual Singing Synthesis, GUMI is expected to sing in not only Japanese but also in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese Chinese. This feature is only available in the Synthesizer V Studio Pro Editor.

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

* Megpoid comes with four variations within the Vocal Mode function:
	+ Ballade
	+ Cute
	+ Soft
	+ Vivid

**System requirements** as noted:

	+ Windows 11/10 or higher (64-bit only)
	+ Mac OS X: 10.13 or higher
	+ Linux Ubuntu 20.4 or higher (64-bit only)

	+ (Windows / Intel Mac / Linux) Intel Core i5 or higher (or equivalent AMD CPUs) recommended
		- For high-quality editing of AI audio: Intel Core series 4th generation i5 (i5-4xxx) or higher is recommended, or AMD Athlon X4 845 or higher, including Ryzen series.
	+ (Apple Silicon Mac) Apple M1 or higher
* RAM: 2GB or higher
* Disk Space: 1 GB or higher (for installing one voice database)
	+ The amount of space required depends on the number of voice databases installed.
* Display: 1280 x 800 or higher

**Other:**

* DVD-ROM Drive (physical editions only)
* Sound card
* Internet connection is necessary for activation and obtaining updaters.

**License agreements** as noted:

End User License Agreement and Character Usage Guidelines (in Japanese and English)
**Voice database sample**

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/282476246158434304
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/14339609009856512
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/85624251582910464
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/83839843829948416
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/111304993587478528
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/151614755474386944
7. ↑ Vocaloidism - Internet working on V3 revamp of V2 GUMI
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/156978225321492481
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/157394447158624256
10. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/217273354426650625
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/249069543773847552
12. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/283186572743032832
13. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/283209628597252096
14. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/285033308490985474
15. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/286089648302850049
16. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/283217416639623168
17. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/285038020049121282
18. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/286091513409204224
19. ↑ link
20. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/539884330722795521
21. ↑ http://www.dtmstation.com/archives/51920476.html
22. ↑ GUMI V4 SoundCloud
23. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/651671087126814720
24. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/652054959631003648
25. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/1093788531116335105
26. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/1093788531116335105
27. ↑ https://twitter.com/GUMIfromMegpoid/status/1552995862200336385
28. ↑ GUMI A.I.VOICE announcement press release
29. ↑  https://www.yamaha.com/en/news\_release/2022/22101301/
30. ↑ https://www.vocaloid.com/en/news/support\_11/
31. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/1580443214494023680
32. ↑ https://twitter.com/GUMIfromMegpoid/status/1701975337704521903
33. ↑ https://twitter.com/GUMIfromMegpoid/status/1702974283578998789
34. ↑ https://twitter.com/GUMIfromMegpoid/status/1726862937703542920
35. ↑ https://twitter.com/noboru1963/status/1726888911790858719
36. ↑ https://twitter.com/INTERNETjp/status/1727309115251462590
37. ↑ https://www.dtmstation.com/archives/63728.html
38. ↑ https://twitter.com/gumifrommegpoid/status/1737332356980293721
39. ↑ https://twitter.com/GUMIfromMegpoid/status/1737341140528242944