Dreamtonics, AHS Official Livestream 157 Overview
The AHS Official Livestream on June 26th, 2020 was no ordinary one. It was a joint livestream between them and Dreamtonics to present the next generation Synthesizer V! Streamed on both AHS and Dreamtonics’ YouTube channels, there was a lot of new exciting information unveiled for Synthesizer V fans.
You can watch replays of them below, and read on for a summary!
From AHS:
From Dreamtonics:
※ The timestamps below are all for the AHS livestream
0:00 ~ 10:46 AHS Introduction
AHS began their livestream about 10 minutes earlier than Dreamtonics in order for LESS Kitayama and Tomohide Ogata to explain to their viewers the purpose and topic of the livestream, and invite them to ask questions. This is how their regular livestreams always begin, and this time was no different.
12:55 ~ 38:06 Origins of Synthesizer V
Then the stream changed over to Kanru Hua and Tetsuya Hara of Dreamtonics to begin the main presentation.
The next 10 minutes was a recap of how Dreamtonics and Synthesizer V began. Some of their main points were.
- What makes a good instrument – good control and sound output – are the same as what makes a good voice synthesizer
- Overload of information, long rendering times, and micromanagement of minute parameters can be frustrating for the user
- Kanru sought out to do better, and that’s how he created Synthesizer V
Kanru then demonstrated Synthesizer V with a Japanese cover of the song 涟漪 / Liányī (Ripples) with Dreamtonics’ new voice bank, Saki. Employees from resonant.design also chimed in to explain how they helped improve Synthesizer V’s user interface.
39:36 ~ 54:00 Synthesizer V 2.0
Then began the part that everyone was waiting for: what’s new in Synthesizer V 2.0!
- Live rendering system for faster rendering and playback
- Improved breath modeling and smoother sounding voices
- More flexibility for voice creation from future business partners
- Deep Learning application to save time
- SVPK system for transferring voices across different platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux), and for installing small updates without needing the re-install the whole voice package for each incremental update
- Support for Lua and Javascript for programming your own features, plugins and tools
54:10 ~ 1:19:26 AHS
The next part of the presentation switched back to the AHS representatives to explain what users can get from the next-gen Synthesizer V now, and how much it will cost. Ogata and Kitayama introduced the new software packages that are now available for pre-order on the official AHS Store which you can read about in detail here.
Worth noting is how the price slide also shows prices for download versions of each product that has a download version, which go as so (※ all prices are after-tax):
- Synthesizer V Studio Pro: ￥10,780 JPY
Find the download version (Synthesizer V Studio Pro ダウンロード版) at the bottom of this page - Synthesizer V Saki: ￥9,680 JPY
Find the download version (Synthesizer V Saki ダウンロード版) in the center of this page - Synthesizer V Kotonoha Akane & Aoi: ￥9,680
Find the download version (Synthesizer V 琴葉 茜・葵 ダウンロード版) in the center of this page
※Thanks goes out to xuu (ｼｭ−) for pointing out the link problems in a previous version of this article!
AHS’s download page has also been updated with pre-order links to each product’s download version which you can find the links to above. These will no doubt be very helpful to international fans interested in their products!
AHS also revealed is that they are planning a Synthesizer V promotion campaign. They will be taking applications in about a week or two for people willing to help get others to start using Synthesizer V, and the prizes up for grabs are Synthesizer V Studio Pro, Synthesizer V Kotonoha Akane & Aoi, and Synthesizer V Saki! Expect details to be revealed on AHS’s Twitter account soon.
1:19:59 ~ 1:29:00 Quadimension
Next came a video chat with Ddickky of Quadimension, a longtime partner of Dreamtonics and creator of many Synthesizer V products.
Thanks to Quadimension’s voice banks, there are already many Synthesizer V users in China, and they will be glad to hear that they can upgrade to the next-gen Synthesizer V Studio Pro at a discounted price of ￥200 CNY (regular price for new users will be ￥649 CNY).
Ddickky also confirmed that Quadimension’s first-generation Medium 5 character voice banks will be upgraded to the next generation Synthesizer V, and that their owners can purchase their upgraded versions for just ￥50 CNY (regular price for new users will be ￥749 CNY).
Finally, Quadimension confirmed that they are creating a new male Chinese Synthesizer V voice bank, their first one ever in fact! You can listen to a sample of his voice at 1:25:00 into the livestream!
Also coming from Quadimension will be a new female voicebank scheduled for the second half of 2020. No sample for her was played, but you can look forward to learning more about both new voice banks from Quadimension!
1:29:01 ~ 1:32:00 Animen
Regrettably, representatives from Amimen could not be present during the livestream, so we’ll probably have to wait for updates on AiKO. However, we won’t have to wait long to learn more about Genbu, as Kanru announced that he will be available for Synthesizer V Studio in just a few days! He also confirmed that Eleanor Forte is getting the upgrade treatment as well, and will be released when she is ready.
Like AHS, Animen will also soon start an order site for their Synthesizer V banks, so stay tuned for that!
1:33:20 ~ 2:00:36 Q&A Corner
Finally, the stream returned to AHS for them to answer questions asked by the listeners of their stream. Here are some of them:
- Q: Will the coupon that comes with the Synthesizer V Studio Pro Starter Pack be usable with Koharu Rikka?
- A: Yes, it will be when Rikka’s Synthesizer V bank will be complete and available, but for now, the only options are for Saki or Kotonoha Akane & Aoi. Plus, because she is still under development, Rikka’s product pricing might be different.
- Q: Is the early-bird discount available for the download versions of their products?
- A: Sorry, but the discount only applies to boxed versions.
- Q: [Question about license registration]
- A: After purchasing and installing software from AHS, you will need to go to AHS’s website to register your product and receive support from them. For Linux users, you will have to contact Dreamtonics for support.
- Q: Is Synthesizer V Studio Basic the same as the existing Synthesizer V Editor?
- A: No, they are different products. Synthesizer V Studio Basic is a simpler version of the next-gen Studio Pro with less features. It has all the functions of Synthesizer V Editor, but it still a different product.
- Q: Will the existing Synthesizer V voice banks (such as Eleanor Forte) be usable on Synthesizer V Studio?
- A: No, first-gen voice banks will not be usable on the next-gen Synthesizer V Studio.
- Q; Will auto-tuning be possible with Synthesizer V Saki Lite Edition that comes packaged with Synthesizer V Studio Pro?
- A: No, auto-tuning will not be possible with Saki Lite Edition, only her full version or Kotonoha Akane & Aoi.
- Q: Is Synthesizer V compatible with VSTi?
- A: VSTi compatibility is planned for future updates.
- Q: Do you plan to make Synthesizer V Iori Yuzuru? Will any of AHS’s other voice banks be updated to Synthesizer V?
- A: Whether or not AHS will give all of their voice banks the Synthesizer V treatment is currently unknown. However, they would like to make more Synthesizer V banks if more companies would collaborate. AI Inc. already gave them the OK to make Synthesizer V Kotonoa Akane & Aoi, as did TOKYO6 ENTERTAINMENT for Koharu Rikka, and AHS is in the process of getting permission from more partners.
- Q: Will Saki and Kotonoha Akane & Aoi be available for Chinese users?
- A: We hope to make them available in some way. Although they are available on AHS’s download page, users from mainland China may not be able to access it. AHS does sell their products in Taiwan, but not in mainland China yet.
- Q: Is the Crossgrade version discount only for users of other companies’ Synthesizer V products?
- A: No, the Crossgrade discount is available to users of any commercial singing voice synth product from another company, such as a VOCA-something-something, or a CeVI-whatchamacallit.
※ Translator’s note: they avoided saying the engine names from other companies probably because of how this stream was for Dreamtonics
- Q: Will there be more English voices or other languages like Spanish coming to Synthesizer V?
- A: We hope there will be a wide range of voices for all cultures, languages, genders, etc. We also hope there will be new businesses interested in making Synthesizer V voices. If that happens, then anything is possible.
- Q: Can Synthesizer V read UST and CCS files?
- A: Yes, it can.
- Q: How did you come up with the name for Synthesizer V?
- A: When Kanru started the project roughly ten years ago, he had rebuilt the software from scratch about four times, making the 2018 version the fifth iteration. Plus, he thought having a letter like V in the name sounds really cool!
- Q: What versions of Javascript and Lua can be used with Synthesizer V?
- A: Version 5.1 of Javascript, and version 5.4 of Lua.
- Q: How did you decide to turn the Kotonoha sisters into Synthesizer V voice banks?
- A: The main reason is because we simply wanted to! We also expressed that desire to AI Inc., and they said it would be okay. Yui Sakakibara was also enthusiastic about it, so the timing was good all around.
Thus concludes all the new announcements from the two-hour Dreamtonics and AHS joint livestream!
The next AHS Official Livestream will take place on July 30th, 2020 at 8:00 PM (JST), right on release date for the next gen Synthesizer V Studio and its AHS products! Kanru Hua and Tetsuya Hara will again be present!
We hope everyone enjoyed watching and reading about this monumental Dreamtonics x AHS partnership! Look forward to learning much more about what the future of this partnership and Synthesizer V will bring!
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