This is the original version of the Vocaloid2 Hatsune Miku character voice. This is the voice that pretty much launched a revolution in Japan's hobbyist music scene in the last few years. Some of their CDs have even broken into the top 10.
If you want to create music with it, you can do it right out of the box. If you're learning Japanese, I think this can be a really fun way to work on it.
Here are few things to consider before buying:
1. Before you buy, I would highly recommend listening to music made with Miku first, to make sure that this is the sound you want. There are other Vocaloids out there, and since they're all sampled human singers, they all have their own unique sounds to them.
2. All of the instructions are in Japanese. This makes registration is a bit of a pain, especially if your Japanese skills are weak. I speak the language just about fluently, and registering it was more complex than it should be.
3. This version of Miku will import nicely into the Vocaloid3 music editor. (Which is what I did.) The Vocaloid3 editor is a big improvement over Vocaloid2, but it is sold separately. In order to import Miku into Vocaloid3, you have to install and register Miku first, then register Miku with Yamaha to get an import code for Vocaloid 3. This is also a cumbersome process.
If you don't want to mess with Vocaloid3, you can just use the Vocaloid2 software than comes with this product.
4. You are limited to just one computer per copy of the software. (Kind of a bummer if you travel and use a laptop every now and then.)
5. If you want to use the Hatsune Miku Append software (sold separately!), you *must* have a licensed copy of this installed on the computer you want to install the Append software on to!
6. If you want to create songs in English... well, you can... kind of... If you have to have Miku speaking English, there are tutorials out there, but the results are going to be rough. You could probably get away with it in an EDM-style song where the vocals aren't that important, but if the vocals are the highlight, it's going to sound weird to most native English speaking audiences.
The Japanese-only Vocaloids like this version of Miku can only reproduce the native sounds of the Japanese language, which are far fewer than the sounds in English. So your songs will be missing large chunks of proper English pronunciation.
There is an official English version of Miku in the works.
If you want to make Japanese songs, Miku is great. Miku has a bright, distinctive voice that's well-suited to many genres (J-pop comes to mind, but Miku can do a lot of different styles), and generally has a good range. The Miku Append software is definitely worth looking into if you want to try different sounds. It has 6 additional versions of Miku, with changes in the timbre-- some subtle, some big.
Vocaloid2 Character Vocal Series 01: Hatsune Miku
3.9 | 106 ratings
Price:
Last update: 12-15-2024
About this item
The Character Vocal Series is the first step to generate a realistic singing voice by simply typing the lyrics and melody. Vocaloid (Vocal+Android) is the speech synthesis software that was researched and developed by the Yamaha Corporation Center.
Hatsune Miku, was built up on the basis of the character voices and cute pop by voice actress Saki Fujita
Hatsune Miku, was built up on the basis of the character voices and cute pop by voice actress Saki Fujita
Top reviews from the United States
honzuki
It's Miku, the Original Version.
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2013Juan M Ospina
Some trouble with installation (japanese)
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2013Jeffrey Pack
Very Much What I Was Wanting
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2013
Miku
MIKU
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2018Amazon Customer
will take some time to arrive
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2019Giraffe
She is very good quality for being the second Vocaloid2 voice
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2014