New Voice Banks for Tsurumaki Maki Announced; New Demos for Koharu Rikka Revealed
If you thought that AHS was stopping with the Kotonoha twins, Tsuina-chan and Kyomachi Seika, then think again. Now Tsurumaki Maki is the next to join the ranks of VOICEROID-turned-Synthesizer V and Synthesizer V AI characters! What’s more, she’s even following Koharu Rikka’s example and becoming CeVIO AI for her next generation talk bank!
Speaking of Rikka, we’re also treated to the first ever voice samples of both her Synthesizer V and CeVIO AI banks today, and also finally have a release date to look forward to! And if that weren’t enough, there are even major new updates to both Synthesizer V and Recotte Studio to open up a whole new world of possibilities for users of either software!
For a breakdown of all this breaking news, read on!
Synthesizer V Update 1.1.0
To kick things off, the first major announcement today was the new update to Synthesizer V that marks the arrival of Synthesizer V AI! You can read the full press release here and see a full list of new features below!
And on AHS’s side, Synthesizer V Saki AI and Saki AI Lite were released as the first AI-enabled Synth V voice banks! Listen to her new voice sample video below!
As previously reported, those who have already purchased Saki’s standard Synthesizer V voice bank will have free access to her AI voice bank for a limited time. So if you own Synthesizer V Saki, access the key match event page below, share your activation code, and enjoy Saki AI!
https://auth.dreamtonics.com/keymatchevent/1/Saki%20AI%20Campaign
Tsurumaki Maki Announced for Synth V and CeVIO
In the next surprise announcement, Maki fans who have always wanted to hear her sing have finally gotten their wish: the beloved VOICEROID character will be gaining both a Synthesizer V and Synthesizer V AI voice bank! Furthermore, her next generation talk bank has been confirmed to be CeVIO AI!
And as an extra, extra surprising move, all of her new voice banks will have Japanese as well as English versions! Now Western fans will soon be able to use and enjoy Maki more easily!
Watch the bilingual announcement video below!
Along with the exciting news, however, also came another important announcement. For her new voice banks, Maki’s voice provider will be Manami Tanaka instead of Tomoe Tamiyasu, the voice provider for Maki’s VOICEROID bank. AHS wants to assure fans that Tanaka will continue to bring the same Maki charm that Tamiyasu has provided all these years, and that fans have come to know and love.
Furthermore, AHS will continue to sell VOICEROID+ Tamiyasu Tomoe (Tsurumaki Maki) EX, so VOICEROID fans need not worry; they can still continue to enjoy Maki’s initial voice bank in the same way that they always have!
Demo Songs
For those curious about how a singing Maki would sound like, a total of four demo songs have been released to answer that curiosity!
Song: 何者でもない私から / Nanimono demo nai Watashi Kara (From Me, a Nobody)
Producer: azuma
Illustrations: ぜっきょ / Zekkyo
Song: FLASH BACK LYRICS
Music, lyrics, arrangement: だいすけP / DaisukeP
Drums: よよか / Yoyoka
Illustrations: ダリヤ御前 / Dhalia Omae
Song: (no title)
Producer: 稲葉曇 / inabakumori
Illustration: ぬくぬくにぎりめし / Nukunuku Nigirimeshi
Song: Jingle Bells
Cover by EHAMIC
Illustration by ナナキ / Nanaki
Official Illustrations
Finally, the box art for Maki’s Japanese and English CeVIO AI and Synthesizer V AI products have already been revealed as well!
The artist for Maki’s CeVIO AI box illustrations is 梅谷阿太郎 / Umetani Ataroo, a longtime artist for many of AHS’s VOICEROID and VOCALOID character designs. And the artist responsible for her Synthesizer V AI box illustrations is 大海ちこ / Ohmi Chiko!
But it doesn’t stop there. Here are even more illustrations of Maki that were made to celebrate the announcement of her next generation voice banks!
Artists:
文倉十 / Ayakura Juu (official illustrator for Yuzuki Yukari and Kizuna Akari)
江戸村ににこ / Edomura Ninico (official illustrator for Tohoku Zunko)
大辺璃紗季 / Ohenri Saki (official illustrator for Tsuina-chan)
吉田ヨシツギ / Yoshida Yoshitsugi (official illustrator for Kotonoha Akane & Aoi and Iori Yuzuru)
And here are some additional congratulatory artwork from both of her new box art illustrators, Umetani Ataroo and Ohmi Chiko!
Are you excited for the new and improved Tsurumaki Maki? Whether you’re a longtime fan of her VOICEROID product, or are just finding out about her, there will no doubt be a lot more to discover about her, so stay tuned for updates!
New Koharu Rikka Announcements
Today wasn’t all about Saki and Maki, though. Sharing the spotlight was Koharu Rikka and some long-awaited announcements and demos for the new voice synth character from TOKYO6 Entertainment!
Release Date
First, we finally have a target release date for Rikka: the package and download versions for all of her software products – Synthesizer V Standard, Synthesizer V AI, and CeVIO AI – are planned for release on March 18, 2021!
We even have a price breakdown for all her different options!
※All prices below are before-tax
CeVIO AI Series
CeVIO AI Koharu Rikka Talk Voice: ￥9,200
CeVIO AI Koharu Rikka Talk Starter Pack: ￥16,600
CeVIO AI Koharu Rikka Talk Voice Download Version: ￥7,980
CeVIO AI Koharu Rikka Talk Starter Pack Download Version※1: ￥15,380
CeVIO AI Koharu Rikka Talk Voice, Special AHS User Version※2: ￥7,200
CeVIO AI Koharu Rikka Talk Starter Pack, Special AHS User Version※2: ￥14,600
Synthesizer V Series:
Synthesizer V Koharu Rikka AI Complete: ￥16,800
Synthesizer V Koharu Rikka Standard Download Version: ￥8,800
Synthesizer V Koharu Rikka AI Download Version: ￥8,800
Synthesizer V Koharu Rikka AI Complete, Special AHS User Version※2: ￥14,800
※1 Only available on the AHS Store
※2 Only for those who already own an AHS product
Demo Videos
Secondly, we also finally get to listen to both Rikka’s singing voice and her AI-driven talk voice! Feast your ears on them both below!
※All translations and transliterations of song titles and producer names are unofficial
Demo Song 1: AIのカタチ / AI no Katachi (Shape of AI)
Producer: たかぴぃ / Takapii
Demo Song 2: The Everlasting Guilty Crown
Producer: ryo; Koharu Rikka cover by タカオカミズキ / Takaoka Mizuki
Demo Song 3: オドッテ☆モロテ / Odotte☆Morote (Dance☆Both Hands)
Producer: ちょむP / ChomP
And below, you can hear the first voice samples created using her CeVIO AI bank! We get to hear her speak with Normal, Happy, Mad, and Sad feelings parameter at 100%, and then at 50% for the latter three!
What do you think? Does she sound like how you imagined her? Or perhaps even better?
New Merchandise
Finally, alongside all the new announcements related to her voice banks, TOKYO6 Entertainment also revealed new merchandise for Rikka that is scheduled for release on the AHS Store on January 8, 2021!
They are:
- Koharu Rikka acrylic figure
- Koharu Rikka clear case
- Lakiston leather sticky note book
All these new updates for Rikka have been a long time coming, but they were worth the wait! Stay tuned for more on Rikka as her release date in March 2021 approaches!
Recotte Studio v1.2.0.0
In the final new announcement today, Recotte Studio has received a new update, and it, too, was quite the surprise.
Now, on top of VOICEROID sound files, Recotte Studio is now compatible with CeVIO* as well! In fact, CeVIO representative, Sato Sasara herself, appeared in the announcement video to introduce the new features!
*CeVIO Creative Studio 7 and on
The video even shows Sasara as a 3D model in Recotte Studio itself, strongly suggesting that she and potentially other CeVIO characters will be added to the previously VOICEROID-exclusive cast!
This Christmas Day 2020 held many exciting announcements from AHS! We see a very distinct move to Synthesizer V for their character singing banks, and now to CeVIO AI for their talk banks. It is also clear that they see AI-enabled voice synth engines as the future for their company characters and products, and judging by the samples that we’ve heard, they know what they’re doing!
AHS CEO, Tomohide Ogata, even gave us a nice summary of all that was announced!
And as for what Synthesizer V creator, Kanru Hua, has to say about today’s development, we’ll let the following tweet do the talking!
We’re excited to see what the “final form” of all these voice synth engines and their collaborations with AHS will yield in the future!
Links
Official press releases
