After a short hiatus, looks like Preyx and me are finally back to posting. Now we just wait for dave and drakken...

Anyway, for everyone who loved Hatsune Miku and the Kagamine twins and wanted to use the Vocaloid2 software to make their own songs but didn't have the Japanese knowledge to decipher the complex workings of Yamaha's infernal moe (萌) machine, there is hope yet for you to craft angelically beautiful songs (or if you're like me, make these girls say dirty words and chortle childishly... then cry myself to sleep). Zero-G, Ltd., of the UK is releasing Vocaloid 2 PRIMA (no, not Prima like the gondoliers in Aria, Prima as in the star of an opera or show), the newest addition to the English Vocaloid line that samples the voice of a "professional soprano singer." Unfortunately, the software seems to use a soprano opera singer rather than a soprano bubblegum pop singer but I'm pretty sure you can get a similar effect with a slightly deeper voice.

For those of you still interested, you can order it at Time+Space for a meager 97.83 pounds. You can also find demo songs on their page in the left column. One thing that you might notice is that unlike the new Rin songs, she still has some of the synthesis issues that Miku has, which can slightly detract or add to the listening experience.

You can check out a full rundown of her features after the break.

Found via ミクミク Blog

PRIMA is a virtual female vocalist modelled on the voice of a professional soprano singer.

Once PRIMA is installed into your PC she will allow you to create synthesized singing of unprecedented quality and remarkable realism.

Prima will hit those high notes every time with perfect accuracy.

Whether it's soaring leads, harmonies or backing vocals, Prima can sing any word from the English language (and other languages too with a little work).

Prima is also very well suited if you want to be adventurous and experimental, since her voice can be easily modified and shaped in many ways.

In addition to singing any words or combination of syllables or phonemes you can imagine, PRIMA will spread any sustained vowel (or voiced consonant) across as many notes as you like, with perfect legato. You can select from several different natural vibrato types and drag and drop your chosen type to any note or notes, and control the time-position and amount of the vibrato.

And that's just the beginning - you have control over all of the following parameters, which you can bring to bear on any part of your creation:

- Changing syllables/phonemes
- Timing of each note (precise position/length).
- Vibrato (you can change its type/position/amount/frequency).
- Volume
- Attack.
- Crescendo or diminuendo
- Pitch bend (amount, and positionable in time).
- Glide (portamento).
- Resonance (Frequency/bandwidth/amplitude)
- Harmonics.
- Noise.
- Brightness
- Clearness.
- Gender factor.

Key Features of VOCALOID2

VOCALOID2 is a new version of VOCALOID, which includes major improvements in usability and synthesis quality. Here are the key features:

* New GUI: The VOCALOID Editor (score editing tool) of VOCALOID2 has a cool new look with improved user functionality.

* A much more realistic and natural sounding vocal: The synthesis engine of VOCALOID2 uses a different signal processing technique from Version 1, creating a clearer and more natural vocal.

* Realtime Keyboard Performance (VST Instrument): Written lyrics can be assigned a note by touch of a keyboard. Now you can "sing" using a keyboard.

* New functionalities and improvements: Much easier to use functionalities are newly implemented, which reduce workloads in creating your music. Existing functionalities are also improved.

* Note auditioning: If you press a note, singing with lyrics and pitch will be assigned to the note. Instantly check lyrics and notes.

* Transparent control track: Control track for controlling timbre is transparent, so you can check two parameters at once.

* Toggling between Playback and Rendering You can specify playback/rendering mode for each track. By rendering the finished track, you can reduce CPU load in playback. Maximum number of tracks is 16.

* Expression control: You can easily specify musical expression (attack and vibrato) with this intuitive user interface.

Key features:

VOCALOID Editor:
- Piano-roll editor;

- Note editing / Automatic phonetic conversion / Phonetic editing / Note auditioning;
- Transparent control track;

- Toggling between playback/rendering;
- Expression control;
- Synchronization with host sequencer through ReWire
VOCALOID Playback VSTi:
- Playback sequence created with VOCALOID Editor
VOCALOID Realtime VSTi
- Keyboard performance with lyrics input in advance;
- 4 polyphonic

Supported Interfaces & Standards:
VST 2.0, ReWire

Recommended Retail Price:
$199.95 US Dollars (169 Euros / 114.95 pounds sterling)

System Requirements:-
Windows XP/Vista, Pentium 4 2 GHz/ Athlon XP 2000, 512 MB RAM (1GB of RAM recommended) (2 GB or more recommended when using VSTi realtime)· Approx 4 GB Free Hard Disk Space / DVD Drive.

Catalog (SKU) number: ZG-V4

All product specifications are subject to change without notice.

Availability: This product will be SHIPPING mid-January! - contact your local Zero-G distributor to order your copy now (Click on the flag for your country, on the right of this page).