✶ The Laboratory ✶

Welcome to my voice synth laboratory! This is far from this page's final form, but I've been wanting to make it into something for the longest time, as the interests to which it is dedicated hold a special place in my heart.

As you might have read on other parts of my site, I've been into voice synths, especially UTAU and Vocaloid, for a while! I've been using UTAU and making my own voicebanks for over a decade now, though it's been on and off. I think I first got into it around 2011, and my first introduction to voice synths was seeing Kasane Teto videos online. That got me interested in UTAU, and here I am now :-)

✶ My approach to UTAU (and other voice synths) ✶

My philosophy when it comes to making my own voicebanks and my own covers has changed over the years. Before AI voice synthesis was so accessible, a lot of people in the UTAU community were aiming to get as close to realism as possible. Now that AI voice synths have achieved a very high level of realism, I've come to terms with the limits of "old school" synths, and embraced the quirks and the not-quite-human sound of their voices.

Of course, there are people out there that can achieve very realistic vocals with just UTAU and a standard DAW, but I don't really feel the need to strive for that anymore. I'm happy with the way the little android in my computer sings, and whether or not their voice sounds indistinguishable from a human's, I don't really care, as long as making music is fun and I like how it sounds :-)

✶ About KANOR ✶

Kanor, styled KANOR, is the avatar of the voicebank I've made using my own voice. Kanor comes from the Latin word "canor," meaning song, tune, or melody. I spelled it with a K to distinguish it from a company that sells amplifiers.

I imagine Kanor as an android with ball joints. They have two and a half designs: a futuristic all-white suit, an outfit with a dark suit reminiscent of the old Vocaloid designs, and something in-between that is more similar to their dark suit (the one I like the most). They have a USB type-C cable connected to their back, which is how they charge.

I plan to make KANOR downloadable in the future, but the voicebank just needs some more work, and I'd like to make a better reference sheet and some nice art of them to go on the download page :-)

✶ UTAU resources ✶

UtaFormatix — Online tool to convert voice synth file formats.

UTAU ユーザー互助会@ ウィキ — @wiki site with helpful tips, tutorials, and downloads for UTAU.

ARPAsing — Wonderful resource for ARPAsing!

utau.info — A great resource for beginners (and not) with a great resources section featuring download links for resamplers and samples of how each one sounds.

✶ To-do ✶

• Configure KANOR CV
• Fine-tune KANOR VCV for release
• Begin recording KANOR VCV appends