This is a question that has been asked continually over the last month, looking at my Google Analytics alone all of the my top 5 Google search keywords are different combinations of ‘Avanna’ and ‘Release’. As we have no official news from the powers that be I figured I may as well rant and speculate on the topic.

Personally I am placing the blame on squarely on Yamaha, as for their motivations, and how I came to this conclusion, we will go over through the course of this article. Before we begin speculating let us first let us establish what we do, what official statements have been made, and the ‘facts’ of the situation. First we will have a look at Avanna, her artwork redesigns, what progress has been made on her vocals, and then we will look at the past with Oliver’s release last year. Once we have established what we do know, then I will go into my speculation, and the conclusions I have drawn from the situation at hand.

Rant Sections

• Avanna, what we know.
• Oliver, what came to pass.
• Yamaha, cause of delays?

Continue reading “VocaRant: Avanna’s Release Date?” »

I have been following the Avanna discussion on VocaloidOtaku for quite a while and have wanted to blog about her upcoming release. This isn’t really news, more speculation and educated guessing, so I can’t post it on the main blog, so instead I post it to my (not so new) VocaRant column/sideblog and share my thoughts on the matter with you.

With Avanna’s release right around the corner, many people have become impatient, some even doubting if Avanna is going to release at all. I can say, with almost 100% certainly that Avanna is going to happen, things have been in motion too long to stop now. Its the dates and details where things begin to get murky.

Zero-G has suffered many technical difficulties in Avanna’s development, what they were specifically, your guess is as good as mine, but as long as nothing has changed (and I don’t think they have) they told us to prepare for a ‘Summer’ release date.

While the informal end of Summer is Labor Day, the actual end of Summer this year is September 20th, because September 21st is the first day of fall. So with that date in mind, I fully expect final details to begin rolling in sometime within the next 2 weeks, with the actual release following shortly in the fall, some time before Christmas.

This sort of Big Al Syndrome should be nothing new to Engloid fans, neither should a rapid info release schedule soon after those technical difficulties are overcome. If you don’t recall Oliver’s release and his many delays, the actual release took many by surprise as the date was not revealed untill the day before, not even a full 24 hours, he was set to go on sale.

I fully expect that if is releasing it will come by surprise, in a great wave of activity, a gigantic dump of information, and a physical edition & bundles some months later. I see her release as a great dam, now that the normally tight-lipped Zero-G is finally opening up we can finally see cracks in its great surface and feel the pressure building up.

She may, or may not, make that September 20th not-deadline, but I am willing to bet she will be coming out sooner, rather than later…

If you want to know more you can track all our previous coverage on the “Avanna” site tag.

What exactly is Vocaloid technology?

Vocaloid is a type of technology that has been developed by Yamaha with the purpose of synthesizing singing. This can then be added into a musical piece to act as the melody or as a small part of the whole composition. A physical singer is therefore not needed for this technology to be successful, with the production of singing possible simply using Vocaloid technology. It works by using fragments of voices that singers have already recorded. These samples are kept in the Singer Library, which means that many different voices, such as Miku Hatsune and Gakupoid, can be created.

The technology that Vocaloid uses is very advanced. Many songs that have been created using it feature voices that are very difficult to distinguish from those of real singers. Many people have tried their hand at creating songs in this way, from those who are fully-fledged musical composers, to those who have other hobbies such as playing sports or games like Partypoker, as well. Vocaloid technology makes composing songs a lot easier, allowing anyone to create basic pieces for entertainment purposes.

In addition to this, the technology is moving at such a fast pace that it is beginning to allow users to create full-scale pieces of music as well. This technology is relatively easy to come by and there have been few restrictions placed on the hardware. This means that basically anyone can use it, as long as they have an internet connection.

Due to its accessibility, the future looks bright for Vocaloid. It is expanding its reach to more and more people who will be able to use what it offers in new and exciting ways. It is a type of technology that enables music to be created at the touch of a button, as long as the composer has some rhythm and a sense of creativity.