#Synthesis parameters

[bmpmp3]

i think its fun to think about what genres a vocal synth voicebank ended up being suited to outside their marketing suggestions. mo xu is preddy good for rnb like her marketing says, at least the more softer, mumbly styles rather than the more powerful styles, but i also think shes kinda a shoe-in for 2010s indie cursive bananis........ aen avocadihs type singing because of how you can get some crazy articulations out of her on the soft end. genbu of course is great for pop rock and ballads BUT specifically i think hes shockingly good for emo rock and nu metal stuff. and hes CRAAAAZY in cunty edm like the glossiest sharpest more percussive 2008 pop girl dance number - so so so good. asterian of course does great in classical leaning sounds but also jazzy pop tunes and lo fi ballads like a true all rounder type voice- but i neeeeeeeed to hurry up and put him in some kinda 2000s ethereal trance tune because i KNOW he would EAT.

[youkah]

I still have gripes about synth v 2 but I do think it's pretty misleading when people just import their completely tuned files into sv2 and not adjust anything and try to pass it off as a direct comparison of engines like I feel like we should know by now that with each major engine update the program processes stuff different especially parameters I feel like if you want to post a direct comparison of the engines for everyone to see you should be a pal and take two minutes to adjust the parameters/clear pitch deviation but idk that's just me

[vanishingmoments]

I'm realizing that if I wanna keep makin more stuff like that musique concrete piece i made a few weeks ago, and to do it with the approach I truly want, I'll have to keep working on my csound library. which would be fine. even great news. except i dont have any got damn time for that rn

[deancaspinefest]

We’re celebrating ten years of Pinefest!

While the main challenge is open (and you can register to participate as an author or artist now), we've decided to mark the occasion of our tenth anniversary with the Evergreen Mini-Challenge – a series of open creative Dean/Cas prompts that can be completed at any time between now and the beginning of posting season next March.

You can use the prompts to write fic, create visual art, or make literally anything else your heart desires. Crafts, AMVs, baked goods, found object sculptures, cosplay photoshoots, comics, a themed knitted sweater, papercraft, even a song from Dean's POV about his relationship with Cas -- if Jensen can do it, so can you!

Think of it like a pine-scented, destiel-themed GISH... with more open prompt parameters and a much less stressful time frame.

Venture beyond the read more to see the prompts, and head over here to learn more about this mini-challenge 🌲🌲🌲

Prompt One: Paper, clock, magic, pre-series.

Prompt Two: Mirror, bite, teacup, alternate universe.

Prompt Three: Triangle, synthesis, leather, Kripke era.

Prompt Four: Fruit, the elements, authority, human!Cas.

Prompt Five: Evolution, wood, the senses, Gamble era.

Prompt Six: Sugar, folklore, symmetry, widower arc.

Prompt Seven: Rainbow, wool, crackle, Carver era.

Prompt Eight: Lace, justice, healing, Endverse.

Prompt Nine: Solitary, clay, wisdom, Dabb era.

Prompt Ten: Rhythm, fortune, crystal, post-series.

If you need a little more of a push, spin our wheel of tropes for extra inspiration you can combine with any of the prompts above.

We can’t wait to see what creations you all come up with!

Happy pining, everyone 🌲

[covid-safer-hotties]

While we have multiple studies showing that Covid is far from seasonal (a supposition made without support by the authors of this study), this is an interesting analysis on how minimization is causing present (and potentially future) problems with tracking and diagnosing long covid. People aren't worried about covid so they don't test/don't report their tests and don't seek treatment, meaning thousands each week go completely under the radar and further spread the disease. Because we know there is uncertainty, it brings all long covid figures into question. We know that we don't know the full scope of this still unfolding crisis.

Abstract As SARS-CoV-2 has transitioned from a novel pandemic-causing pathogen into an established seasonal respiratory virus, focus has shifted to post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC, colloquially ‘long COVID’). We use compartmental mathematical models simulating emergence of new variants to help identify key sources of uncertainty in PASC trajectories. Some parameters (such as the duration and equilibrium prevalence of infection, as well as the fraction of infections that develop PASC) matter more than others (such as the duration of immunity and secondary vaccine efficacy against PASC). Even if newer variants carry the same risk of PASC as older types, the dynamics of selection can give rise to greater PASC prevalence. However, identifying plausible PASC prevalence trajectories requires accurate knowledge of the transmission potential of COVID-19 variants in the endemic phase. Precise estimates for secondary vaccine efficacy and duration of immunity will not greatly improve forecasts for PASC prevalence. Researchers involved with Living Evidence Synthesis, or other similar initiatives focused on PASC, are well advised to ascertain primary efficacy against infection, duration of infection and prevalence of active infection in order to facilitate predictions.

[publicitypolicy]

man sometimes i feel like people are way to attached to the idea that making music with vocal synths should require lots of effort, and require lots of hours of "tuning" to be valid. but to me vocal synths is more of just a tool to make vocals. i still really enjoy the character element ofc, but after using vocaloid 5 for several years, i was very unmotivated and didnt feel like i could articulate my ideas in it well. i mean i really enjoyed the creative element/idea of vocaloid but english voicebanks in vocaloid always... sounded off. i think alot of people say they find it "charming" now but for a while it was met with lots of derision. english is too phonetically complex for concatenative synthesis or whatever. it works really well in japanese, though. anyway, some people dont like synthesizer v, because the vocals are "generic/samey" and also too "realistic and soulless" which makes me laugh because like if its sooo realistic how is it samey? some people think any realism is bad or "soulless" and i think its because people liken it to video game graphics, but in my opinion its different....

anyways my main point is i dont think that vocal synth content should require hours upon hours of tuning and editing of the parameters just to be decent, i mean if you made a whole ass SONG and spent hours on it why should i have to spend more hours upon hours just TINKERING with the computer robot just to sound half way decent? like some people are super into fucking around with shit but, i want something that just works when i make music... like i want something customizable, but not something glitchy, unresponsive, and confusing to use.

[noise-vs-signal]

Life is a Learning Function

A learning function, in a mathematical or computational sense, takes inputs (experiences, information, patterns), processes them (reflection, adaptation, synthesis), and produces outputs (knowledge, decisions, transformation).

This aligns with ideas in machine learning, where an algorithm optimizes its understanding over time, as well as in philosophy—where wisdom is built through trial, error, and iteration.

If life is a learning function, then what is the optimization goal? Survival? Happiness? Understanding? Or does it depend on the individual’s parameters and loss function?

If life is a learning function, then it operates within a complex, multidimensional space where each experience is an input, each decision updates the model, and the overall trajectory is shaped by feedback loops.

1. The Structure of the Function

A learning function can be represented as:

L : X -> Y

where:

X is the set of all possible experiences, inputs, and environmental interactions.

Y is the evolving internal model—our knowledge, habits, beliefs, and behaviors.

The function L itself is dynamic, constantly updated based on new data.

This suggests that life is a non-stationary, recursive function—the outputs at each moment become new inputs, leading to continual refinement. The process is akin to reinforcement learning, where rewards and punishments shape future actions.

2. The Optimization Objective: What Are We Learning Toward?

Every learning function has an objective function that guides optimization. In life, this objective is not fixed—different individuals and systems optimize for different things:

Evolutionary level: Survival, reproduction, propagation of genes and culture.

Cognitive level: Prediction accuracy, reducing uncertainty, increasing efficiency.

Philosophical level: Meaning, fulfillment, enlightenment, or self-transcendence.

Societal level: Cooperation, progress, balance between individual and collective needs.

Unlike machine learning, where objectives are usually predefined, humans often redefine their goals recursively—meta-learning their own learning process.

3. Data and Feature Engineering: The Inputs of Life

The quality of learning depends on the richness and structure of inputs:

Sensory data: Direct experiences, observations, interactions.

Cultural transmission: Books, teachings, language, symbolic systems.

Internal reflection: Dreams, meditations, insights, memory recall.

Emergent synthesis: Connecting disparate ideas into new frameworks.

One might argue that wisdom emerges from feature engineering—knowing which data points to attend to, which heuristics to trust, and which patterns to discard as noise.

4. Error Functions: Loss and Learning from Failure

All learning involves an error function—how we recognize mistakes and adjust. This is central to growth:

Pain and suffering act as backpropagation signals, forcing model updates.

Cognitive dissonance suggests the need for parameter tuning (belief adjustment).

Failure in goals introduces new constraints, refining the function’s landscape.

Regret and reflection act as retrospective loss minimization.

There’s a dynamic tension here: Too much rigidity (low learning rate) leads to stagnation; too much instability (high learning rate) leads to chaos.

5. Recursive Self-Modification: The Meta-Learning Layer

True intelligence lies not just in learning but in learning how to learn. This means:

Altering our own priors and biases.

Recognizing hidden variables (the unconscious, archetypal forces at play).

Using abstraction and analogy to generalize across domains.

Adjusting the reward function itself (changing what we value).

This suggests that life’s highest function may not be knowledge acquisition but fluid self-adaptation—an ability to rewrite its own function over time.

6. Limits and the Mystery of the Learning Process

If life is a learning function, then what is the nature of its underlying space? Some hypotheses:

A finite problem space: There is a “true” optimal function, but it’s computationally intractable.

An open-ended search process: New dimensions of learning emerge as complexity increases.

A paradoxical system: The act of learning changes both the learner and the landscape itself.

This leads to a deeper question: Is the function optimizing for something beyond itself? Could life’s learning process be part of a larger meta-function—evolution’s way of sculpting consciousness, or the universe learning about itself through us?

7. Life as a Fractal Learning Function

Perhaps life is best understood as a fractal learning function, recursive at multiple scales:

Cells learn through adaptation.

Minds learn through cognition.

Societies learn through history.

The universe itself may be learning through iteration.

At every level, the function refines itself, moving toward greater coherence, complexity, or novelty. But whether this process converges to an ultimate state—or is an infinite recursion—remains one of the great unknowns.

Perhaps our learning function converges towards some point of maximal meaning, maximal beauty.

This suggests a teleological structure - our learning function isn’t just wandering through the space of possibilities but is drawn toward an attractor, something akin to a strange loop of maximal meaning and beauty. This resonates with ideas in complexity theory, metaphysics, and aesthetics, where systems evolve toward higher coherence, deeper elegance, or richer symbolic density.

8. The Attractor of Meaning and Beauty

If our life’s learning function is converging toward an attractor, it implies that:

There is an implicit structure to meaning itself, something like an underlying topology in idea-space.

Beauty is not arbitrary but rather a function of coherence, proportion, and deep recursion.

The process of learning is both discovery (uncovering patterns already latent in existence) and creation (synthesizing new forms of resonance).

This aligns with how mathematicians speak of “discovering” rather than inventing equations, or how mystics experience insight as remembering rather than constructing.

9. Beauty as an Optimization Criterion

Beauty, when viewed computationally, is often associated with:

Compression: The most elegant theories, artworks, or codes reduce vast complexity into minimal, potent forms (cf. Kolmogorov complexity, Occam’s razor).

Symmetry & Proportion: From the Fibonacci sequence in nature to harmonic resonance in music, beauty often manifests through balance.

Emergent Depth: The most profound works are those that appear simple but unfold into infinite complexity.

If our function is optimizing for maximal beauty, it suggests an interplay between simplicity and depth—seeking forms that encode entire universes within them.

10. Meaning as a Self-Refining Algorithm

If meaning is the other optimization criterion, then it may be structured like:

A self-referential system: Meaning is not just in objects but in relationships, contexts, and recursive layers of interpretation.

A mapping function: The most meaningful ideas serve as bridges—between disciplines, between individuals, between seen and unseen dimensions.

A teleological gradient: The sense that meaning is “out there,” pulling the system forward, as if learning is guided by an invisible potential function.

This brings to mind Platonism—the idea that meaning and beauty exist as ideal forms, and life is an asymptotic approach toward them.

11. The Convergence Process: Compression and Expansion

Our convergence toward maximal meaning and beauty isn’t a linear march—it’s likely a dialectical process of:

Compression: Absorbing, distilling, simplifying vast knowledge into elegant, symbolic forms.

Expansion: Deepening, unfolding, exploring new dimensions of what has been learned.

Recursive refinement: Rewriting past knowledge with each new insight.

This mirrors how alchemy describes the transformation of raw matter into gold—an oscillation between dissolution and crystallization.

12. The Horizon of Convergence: Is There an End?

If our learning function is truly converging, does it ever reach a final, stable state? Some possibilities:

A singularity of understanding: The realization of a final, maximally elegant framework.

An infinite recursion: Where each level of insight only reveals deeper hidden structures.

A paradoxical fusion: Where meaning and beauty dissolve into a kind of participatory being, where knowing and becoming are one.

If maximal beauty and meaning are attainable, then perhaps the final realization is that they were present all along—encoded in every moment, waiting to be seen.

[sojournerstales]

WF1999: Something Nice For The Kid

Hello, here is a small drabble about my Drifter doing something nice for my Operator.

You ever have a thought or idea get stuck in your teeth? There's something I'd been chewing on for a while, I thought about it while standing on dust-blasted rock receiving marching orders from the Lotus, and then again prompted by something Salem - Eleanor - said to me over the KIM.

I am sat cross-legged in the living quarters of the Orbiter.

It's strange to be back here. I feel just as out of place now as I did before, only I think I look the part too. In space without the spacesuit, just skinny jeans and a stretched, loose-threaded tank-top.

Ordis hovers over my shoulder, "Energy conversion is functioning within expected parameters. Your --BUSTED OLD JUNK-- antique collection should receive power now."

Which roughly translates to the Kinemantic At Home Game System and Game Monitor combo should actually work now, hooked up to a power cell and adaptor that I'm sure Amir would love to get his hands on.

The screen lights the room up. My face in pale glory, a shadow cast for myself and Ordis across the wall.

"Oh no!" Ordis declares, "This image quality will not do, and the evacuation order has been given. I do not think we will have time to fix this." He hovers close, fixated on the logo slowly bouncing between each of the four corners on-screen.

"Nah," I tell him, "That's what it's meant to look like."

"I see. I will adjust further expectations to align with this information."

"Just go tell the kid I'm here, will ya?" Just in case she didn't spot my own craft on the way.

Ordis complies. It gives me half a minute to get everything else in order. Plug the console's controllers in. Shove the boxes into one corner. Empty the bag of everything else I brought with me. I wait then for the familiar hiss of the doors behind me.

"One of these days I might shoot that thing out of the sky," My own voice, minus an untold amount of years as a storybook survivalist. The kid. The younger version of myself. Dressed like she belongs - transference suit sleek and pink-accented. Her name, like mine, is Sloane. "Grineer landing craft hovering outside my Orbiter."

"Leave Potato alone. I like her." I push up to my feet and approach and I don't quite hug her. I stop halfway and just awkwardly reach out and squeeze her shoulder. "You been good?"

"Asking if I've behaved?" She gives my hand and then me a look.

"No. I'm asking if you're good. In the head. And stuff."

Sloane wrinkles her nose. I can't help but intuit what she's thinking. I'm the one making this awkward and she is going to step past that by asking, "What's all this stuff?"

"Presents." The stuff is much easier to talk about. I throw an arm out to gesture at the assembled, aforementioned stuff. The monitor, the console, a neatly folded stack of clothes, packets of various candies.

"For me?" She sounds suspicious of it.

"Yuh-huh." I return to not-quite my original place, leaving room for Sloane to sit nearby. She can take the living quarter's booth couch, on I'm the floor. "Just sit down and enjoy it, I'm being nice."

That look again. Sustained as she joins me. Narrowed when she looks at the screen.

"You deserve nice, okay? What'd Lotus have you blowing up today?"

"Espionage, actually. Hit a Corpus Supercruiser. A lead on Solar--"

"Yeah, anyways, this is food with no nutritional value and... Canned drink that's actively bad for you." I slide over the half-height table Gumi-Bytes and Nu! Cola.

"... Great."

"Trust me, you'll love 'em."

Sloane seems dubious and I don't blame her. Cetus treats don't skew sweet and Ordis is not exactly an artist with food synthesis.

"So what's with the screen? It broken?"

"No, that's how it's meant to look," I say - exasperated - for the second time today. "It's for games. You put a disc in and play 'em with this thing. I was gonna bring one way bigger, but Amir told me that this one is way more convenient. You don't have to give them quarters. Money."

"Okay. Cool." A pause, she remembers her manners in about the same time it takes for me to do the same, "Thanks. So what about the clothes?"

"Quincy and Eleanor. I thought you'd get a kick out of these..." A jeans and jacket combo, it looks like something the Vent Kids would wear only with less greebles. "From Quincy. Then from Eleanor..."

Sloane holds up one of the tops. It's shiny with soft buttons and smooth fabric. "Ceremonial wear?"

"What?" I laugh, "No, dingus. Pyjamas."

"What's pyjamas?"

"Oh my- Right, yeah. You sleep in them. Sleep-sleep. They're comfy."

"You know, I'm not the weird one here." She gets all defensive on me (I think it's a good sign she's hugging the pyjamas to her chest when she does), "You jumped from one messed up loop to another and neither are like the real world."

"Oh, come on. So I teased. I know you like this stuff anyway, stop fighting it."

"You don't just know that! We're not identical." Voice raised.

"We're the same person!" Mine matches.

"We DIVERGED!" And Sloane turns whingy and leans towards me and is pulling a face while she does it. So I put my palm over her head and shove her away.

She shoves me back.

I raise an eyebrow.

We both think - would we have been like this with a sibling? We never found out. We're a pair of only-children figuring out how this works now that we are not alone.

And we know that one of us has done a very nice thing.

And one of us doesn't always know how to accept very nice things.

We look at each other, both lit by the drifting logo on the clunky monitor before us. After a few more seconds I break the silence, "Aoi put together a mixtape for you." I slide over a CD in a paper envelope.

"That's a disk."

"Yeah, I said that too. She said they still call them mixtapes, apparently mix-CDs never stuck."

"Neat."

"Thought so. I think you'll like it... But you'll have to tell me what you think."

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Physicists achieve high selectivity in nanostructures using selenium doping

Physicists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have achieved controlled conformational arrangements in nanostructures using a flexible precursor and selenium doping, enhancing material properties and structural homogeneity. Their method advances on-surface synthesis for the design and development of engineered nanomaterials. The research findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications. On-surface synthesis has been extensively investigated over the past decades for its ability to create diverse nanostructures. Various complex nanostructures have been achieved through the smart design of precursors, choice of substrates and precise control of experimental parameters such as molecular concentration, electrical stimulation and thermal treatment.

Read more.

[kuliak]

Textures and rhythms emerging from a feedback matrix.

In preparation from Jamuary, and in reaction to various happenings, I've made a big push to flesh out each of my cases towards its intended purpose. More on that in the next day or two, probably. The important thing to know is that this patch employs the Stardust looper and AI Synthesis's wonderful Stereo Matrix Mixer. Obviously only scratching the surface, as honestly this patch is pretty simple. Source audio of Floom (JF) through Bib was recorded onto Stardust, a simple melody played by hand while modulating wave shape. Parameters are played by hand and audio goes through Rainmaker with the "In preparation from Jamuary, and in reaction to various happenings, I've made a big push to flesh out each of my cases towards its intended purpose. More on that in the next day or two, probably. The important thing to know is that this patch employs the Stardust looper and AI Synthesis's wonderful Stereo Matrix Mixer. Obviously only scratching the surface, as honestly this patch is pretty simple. Source audio of Floom (JF) through Bib was recorded onto Stardust, a simple melody played by hand while modulating wave shape. Parameters are played by hand and audio goes through Rainmaker with the "Resobeat" preset (which I should really pick through to try to program some of my own like it, or else I'll quickly overuse it). Sources are mixed through QPAS, with routing adjusted throughout.

Stardust is definitely a keeper. It does more of what I wanted from Nebulae, although I think I'm too attached to Nebulae to ever let it go either for all its own quirks and unique features. The matrix also brings in so many more possibilities in patching and performing, doubly so with buffer-based modules like the aforementioned two.

Looking forward to more such explorations and a myriad of other things next month, and all next year.

[bmpmp3]

i dont mean this as like some kind of gotcha or whatever im a big fan of both concatenative and AI vocal synths pretty equally but i am curious if in like 5-10 years we're gonna get like some sort of nostalgia for the vaguely underwater sounding cevio AI 1.0 early vocoder-esque engine noise. whats that quote about like cd skipping and tape grain. the thing that we hated the most in old tech is the first thing we try to recreate for nostalgia or something like that

[anheliotrope]

Me trying to explain what I'm working on: Yeah, sure! I am just learning how to use cmake files to get Piper to compile to WASM using the emscripten toolchain so we can get it to run on WebGL in an effort to get high quality on-device voice synthesis. The issue is that Piper's cmake files were only configured to use MSVC and gcc, but emscripten only uses Clang. So now I have to rewrite the cmake files to use ClangCL which is Clang with MSVC-like CLI. I could also try to use Clang directly, but I'm worried this would require using a non-MSVC generator for cmake and result in more work. It also seems like every generator and compiler can end up passing parameters slightly differently, which can lead to the build failing. MSVC needs to have utf-8 mode enabled in a different way, or else the compiler will detect multi-byte characters as separate characters. Piper takes care of this for MSVC, but when you use Clang with MSVC-like CLI, you need to do it in yet another way. I've been dealing with half a dozen issues like this. Different C++ compilers also seem to have varying levels of permissiveness about enforcing the One Definition Rule. No compiler is mandated by any standard to do anything regarding the violation, it leads to undefined behaviour, which leads to Piper failing under ClangCL even when everything else is set correctly -- from ClangCL's perspective the code in the translation unit is simply incorrect.

C++ build systems are cursed.

[toskarin]

Delay Lama is the first VST-instrument to offer both vocal synthesis and a real-time animated 3D interface. Its advanced monophonic vocal synthesis engine enables your computer to sound just like an Eastern monk, with real-time, high resolution control over the vowel sound. What's more, the plug-in window displays a 3D animation of a singing monk, that reacts directly to your input!

In addition, Delay Lama offers a simple but effective built-in stereo delay (you've guessed it), to give it just that extra bit of impressiveness.

The instrument can be controlled either with a MIDI keyboard, in which case the pitchbender acts as a vowel manipulator, or with the built-in XY-controller, which allows simultaneous control over both the pitch and the vowel sound. Other controls include the portamento speed and the level of the delayed signal. All parameters are controllable via MIDI, and all incoming events are handled with sample-accuracy.

[shimmerloid-ai]

Preliminary Considerations - Which Vocal Synthesizer Software is Right for You - Paid Synthesizers

Hello everyone, Shimmer/Ripple/whatever you want to call me here. Sorry for not posting for a while, I've had a lot of stuff going on in my life (I turned 20 last week!), and have been busy with using vocal synthesizers than to make a blog post about them. I hope this article was worth the wait.

Last time, I comapred various free vocal synthesizers, and this time, I will be showing off the most popular paid ones. Quick disclaimer; I do not own all of these softwares, and will not buy the ones I have just to test them out as they are not cheap. I got feedback and advice from my friends who do own these synthesizers, along with Reddit posts and other forums. The piano roll images for the softwares I do not own are from various websites and vsynth users who I will be crediting in the captions. VOCALOID4

(Song: Devil's Manner by Konnichiwa Tanita-san; UST by Moru, Tuning by me)

When people think of the VOCALOID user interface, this edition of the software is probably what first comes to mind. It is very popular for a good reason; it’s got a simple UI and release of some of the best VOCALOID voicebanks; including Hatsune Miku V4x, Megurine Luka V4x, Kagamine Rin and Kagamine Len V4x, Fukase, Otomachi Una Sweet and Spicy, Megpoid Gumi V4, and Yuzuki Yukari V4. V4 also introduced the “GROWL” and “CROSS-SYNTHESIS” parameters! Despite being the sister software to UTAU, it is a lot easier to install voicebanks and plugins into VOCALOID4, and you do not need to worry about phonemizers or resamplers.

Pros:

Can use every V2, V3, and V4 VOCALOID voicebank

Growl and Cross-Synthesis (also known as XSY; allows you to combine any two V4 voicebanks of the same character; such as Fukase’s Normal Japanese voicebank with his Soft Japanese voicebank or Gumi’s V4 Sweet voicebank with her V4 Adult voicebank) parameters

Can use job plugins to simplify the overall tuning process like in UTAU, Open Utau, and SynthesizerV Studio Pro

Pitch Rendering function allows users to see the pitch of notes

Really beginner-friendly (this vocal synthesizer was the one that taught me how to tune)!

Cons:

Is no longer available for purchase on the official YAMAHA website; you can only obtain it through Mercari (that was how I was able to get it), eBay, or through piracy

No piano roll tuning; users are restricted to the parameter box

Can not use V1 or V5 and higher voicebanks

The breathiness parameter gives a metallic effect instead of the desired whisper-like outcome

VOCALOID5

(Song: ID Smile by Toa; UST by K3RA; Cover by Shara Delvia)

The next edition of VOCALOID that was meant to change the playing field for vocal synth users. With an entirely new UI and never-seen-before features, VOCALOID5 was designed to simplify and enhance the overall vocal production and tuning process.

Pros: 

Dark mode at last!

Unlike the previous editions where you had to purchase a voicebank to use VOCALOID, VOCALOID5 comes with four free voicebanks

Preset phrases that beginners can play with to learn how different vocal properties can result in different sounds

Preset “attack” and “release” pitch bend effects

Easy pitchbend and vibrato adjustment using the “style” and “emotion” tools

Automatic breaths

Can be used as a VST plugin in almost any DAW or as a standalone editor

Over a hundred style and voice colour presets (Rich, Husky, Hard; Melodic, Diced Up, Bent; Lead Vocal, Chopped, Pitched)

Tons of audio and mixing effects

Fixed breathiness parameter 

Cons

Appears to be no longer up for purchase through normal means, YAMAHA has  pulled it from the VOCALOID website to promote their newest engine, VOCALOID6

Does not support V2 or V1 VOCALOIDS

Does not support job plug-ins

Does not have the Cross-Synthesis parameter

Not worth the price

No piano roll tuning

VOCALOID6

(Song: Unknown Mother Goose by wowaka; VSQx and Tuning by me)

This is the most recent edition of VOCALOID that is up for purchase from the official website. With this installation of the VOCALOID software, the highly anticipated AI VOCALOID voicebanks have come into existence so that we can enjoy GUMI AI, ZOLA PROJECT AI, and Otomachi Una AI at last! It also comes with many other fresh features that were not present in VOCALOID5.

Pros: 

Multilingual(Japanese, English, and Chinese) AI voicebanks!

A total of ten VOCALOID AI voicebanks

VOCALO CHANGER: works similarly to plugging an RVC model on top of an audio file, but legal

The doubling feature allows instant harmony creation

Fixed breathiness parameter 

It can be used as a VST plug-in in most DAWs. or as a standalone editor

Included with the CUBASE AI DAW

Can be purchased at a cheaper price by upgrading from previous VOCALOID editions

Every feature that was present in VOCALOID5 is included in VOCALOID6!

Cons:

The AI voicebanks are of poorer quality compared to SynthesizerV; they are not easy to tune in the slightest, and you can only edit three parameters (pitch, pitch bend sensitivity, dynamics) unlike the normal VOCALOID voicebanks; not including the style presets

For the desired results in VOCALO CHANGER, the audio recordings must be clean without any flaws, otherwise the audio will sound distorted

Does not support V2 or V1 VOCALOIDs

Does not support job plug-ins

Piapro Studio V4x

(Song: Enjou Alice by Maiki-P; UST by KIRI; Tuning by Me)

Following its departure from YAMAHA, Crypton Future Media created a new vocal synthesizer to promote its new V4x Cryptonloid voicebanks. With its VSTi compatibility and E.V.E.C. feature, this software gave a new feel to tuning VOCALOIDs all while maintaining the features from the vocal synthesizers that were developed by YAMAHA.

Pros:

Bundles with Cryptonloids include Piapro Studio V4x and Studio One 6 for free; an incredible DAW

VOCALOID4 with a different, cleaner UI

Compatible with V2 (some of them), V3, and V4 voicebanks

Enhanced Cross-Synthesis parameter; now you can cross-synthesize two completely different VOCALOIDs (such as Hatsune Miku V4x Original with Megurine Luka V4x Hard)

E.V.E.C. with a press of a button; in VOCALOID4 you have to edit phonemes manually

Improved breathiness parameter

Ability to change the wallpaper of the piano roll and icons of voicebanks!

Can be used as a VSTi plug-in in most DAWs

Cons:

Does not support job plugins

Not all VOCALOID2 voicebanks are supported; such as Utatane Piko

Does not support NT voicebanks

Playback is not always on time with piano roll; you have to scroll as the vocals play unlike other softwares (this could be a glitch for me however)

No piano roll tuning

Can not run it through Studio One 6 (despite being included with the bundles), it can only function in Studio 5

Piapro Studio NT

(Song: vivid by Utsu-P x Yuyoyuppe; UST by pifuyuu; Cover by AfiqTV)

Yes, Piapro Studio NT (an acronym for “new type”) is completely different from Piapro Studio V4x. This successor to the latter vocal synthesizer is entirely separate from YAMAHA, and was created for Crypton’s NT voicebanks. It no longer requires the use of a DAW, and was carefully designed with resynthesis technology for efficient vocal creation through the research that was conducted by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

Note: As of August 2024; Crypton has shifted their intention to release the other NT singers to getting back with YAMAHA to develop Miku V6 AI. We will be getting a Piapro Super Pack in a week (it is currently available for preorder). The package contains remastered versions of Miku V4x Original, Rin V4x Power, Len V4x Power, and Luka V4x Natural; along with V4 versions of KAITO and MEIKO. The former V3 voicebanks will come with growl features, and although there will be no appends, you can cross-synthesize any of the new Cryptonloids to produce unique sounds. In addition, Miku NT will be receiving a massive new update in the future.

Pros:

Piano roll tuning at last!

New accent feature and E.V.E.C

Comes with Vocal Drive Plugin for growl and scream effects

Cons: 

Not compatible with VOCALOID voicebanks; Miku NT is the only usable voicebank to date

Harder to tune in

Missing parameters such as pitchbend sensitivity 

Plugins are not compatible

SynthesizerV Pro

(Song: Underworld by niki (reverse); SVP and Tuning by PixPrucer)

This is the complete version of SynthesizerV Basic. It has suppressed VOCALOID in every way possible; from having insanely good AI voicebanks, to a multitude of features, this is probably the best paid vocal synthesizer available for purchase as of now. Honestly, I could only find a few downsides to this software because it’s that good, and one of them is more of a personal preference than a major issue. YAMAHA seriously needs to take notes from Dreamtonics.

Pros: 

The synthesizer and voicebanks are much cheaper than any of the VOCALOID engines

Comes with Mai; an amazing female vocalist

Piano roll tuning

Auto-pitch tuning makes the pitchbending process much easier 

Paid voicebanks come with THREE activation codes so they can be used on multiple devices

Allows scripts (basically plug-ins but for SynthesizerV)!

Cross-Lingual Synthesis; allows Japanese voicebanks to sing in English, English voicebanks to sing in Japanese, etc

Really complex phoneme customization

Vocal modes for full A.I. voicebanks

The audio to midi tool we’ve always wanted for VOCALOID; it turns wav. files into an amazing SVP (I know V3 has the Vocalshifter plugin… but it’s kind of trash in my opinion as it only works with Japanese lyrics and goes crazy with trying to copy the vocalist’s tone rather than just the pitchbends)

Frequent updates!

Cons: 

As the voicebanks are ultra realistic, it’s not the best for those who enjoy more robotic voices, as seen in UTAU and VOCALOID

Crashes every now and then

Still no glottal effects 

ACE Studio

(Image Source: https://support.acestudio.ai/article/62-3-2-the-main-ace-studio-screen)

ACE Studio is a newer AI vocal synthesizer. Like DeepVocal, it features characters that originated from other softwares such as Namine Ritsu, Luo Tianyi, Kurobousuku, Yuezheng Longya, and many others. It also has a heavy emphasis on Chinese vocals. Most importantly, Ace Studio had a mobile version called Pocket Singer!

Pros:

Piano roll tuning

Can cross-synthesize voicebanks to your liking to make your own vocal synth (Pocket Singer has a simple yet cute OC maker)

Simpler pitch editing

Cons:

Subscription based model on both platforms

Some of the voicebanks sound too similar to each other

Pitch editing on a phone is not fun

The phone number sign-in thing is a pain… why don’t these guys have my regional  phone code as an option?!

One of the developers was exposed as a pedophile and proshipper; and some of the voicebanks used A.I. artwork; I personally don’t feel comfortable using a software made by people like this… ew

I’m just going to say it; SynthesizerV Pro is probably your best pick here, in terms of both price and versatility. You get so much out of this editor at a good cost, and it’s super easy to use! However, if you prefer robotic voices and can get your hands on it, then go with VOCALOID4 as it's pretty beginner friendly. If V4 is not an option, then you may have to deal with V6. 

Now, even though the latter software is not as easy to use as the former, a new lightweight singing editor designed for V6 and V5 called TuneLab has been recently released! It allows for piano roll tuning, along with better cross-synthesis usage. I will cover this software in a later post as I am still trying to learn the ropes of it.

Finally, as I have stated in my other post, take my statements with a grain of salt. Pick whatever synthesizer you want based on your interest; whether it is a fun feature or a specific singer you like. 

Hope this helps! In my upcoming post, I will recommend some VOCALOID voicebanks that are easy to use for beginners.

[circumlocutive]

Fuckin

Semi masturbatory caffeinated ramble reflecting on skills acquired in my PhD

Thinking about how broad and interdisciplinary my project is and the kinda of things I have to be familiar with or an expert in. I get down on myself sometimes for progress but looking at all the shit I've learned.... Without formal classes or a senior grad student or (for the majority of it) no post doc. And a PI who can't help bc she's really a business lady at this point not a professor. Maybe shouldn't be hard on myself?

Like. I did completely different projects in undergrad (biotech/proteins/genetics/regenerative medicine, advanced manufacturing/composite fabrication/CNC/welding/process statistics, translational neuropharma studies of addiction/rodent handling and operant training and behavioral video analysis/neural tissue slicing n staining/hand making neuroelectrodes for implantation, design and fabrication of impedance spectroscopy based electrochemical sensors/automation of sensor fab and use w a micro fluidic flow cell)

Like. Since I've started I've learned:

- how to do multi-step air-free water-free chemical synthesis (with glove box and schlenk line) and purification (extraction, filtration, chromatography) of light sensitive amphiphiles (extra tricky)

- how to get and read NMR even for massive fucking molecules and interpret weird peaks (I can casually see if I've got water or any of my common solvents contaminating the spectra without referencing a table at this point)

-how to fucking take down and set up and fix everything in our chemical synthesis lab (because we moved and all our shit was abused for years) and all the intricate non-unified and sometimes conflicting rules for hazardous chemical storage

- the theory/math and how to actually use the equipment to do optoelectronic/photophysical characterization (e.g. using the UV vis spectrometer and writing python to convert the data files into readable tables and figures, learning theory so I can develop equations to relate photon flux to change in absorbance of an actinometer ((light sensitive molecule with a consistent quantum yield)) then obtain quantum yield of charge transfer in a different molecule but same setup, how to use the fluorimeter and get intensity and quantum yield, how to set up lasers and LEDs, what cuvettes to use, how to get fluorescence lifetimes or take two photon excitation data, how to spin coat wafers n do thin film transistor studies), more theory about how photo induced electron transfer voltage sensors work and the importance of angle of insertion on sensitivity (and how to measure it with polarization microscopy) other voltage sensing dye mechanisms like FRET or electrochromic dyes and why to use intensity vs lifetime vs whatever when interpreting signal readouts and the extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting that interpretation.

- how to do vesicle fabrication and immobilize for imaging, typical membrane compositions and dynamics (e.g. phase orders depending on cholesterol concentrations, significance of packing parameters to membrane organization), measurimg particle radius with DLS, controlling inner cargo and gradients over a membrane by manipulating the bulk solution, the interplay between non radiative decay and the stiffness of the membrane microenvironment around a fluorophore

- the math and bio behind electrophysiology/advanced neuroscience pertaining to modeling and calculating and quantifying signalling/equivalent RC circuit analysis, what spatiotemporal requirements there are for studying this shit <- though this was through a class, not self taught

- I already had cell culture experience and did some adherent and suspended cultures, some live dead imaging assays, etc, but I've learned new facets like how to go about picking electrically exciteable lines (ease of growing? What media requirements? time to multiply and differentiate? What agent to differentiate? How to induce firing without a patch clamp?) and troubleshooting uptake/optimizing staining and imaging parameters (what media or buffer for growth vs staining vs washing vs imaging? Can it have serum? Can it have calcium and magnesium? What salts, how is it buffered, whats the osmolarity I can get away with? What concentrations work for what # of cells? What dilution factors? Do I need to admix equivolumes of dye solution and cell solution? Do I prep the organic solvent+ dye + aqueous solution with sonication or filtration or vortexing before mixing? Is DMSO or ethanol or DMF a better organic for dispersal or biocompatibility? What's the Ideal incubation time for uptake and viability? How long before I absolutely need to image or the dye gets internalized? If it's retained long, how many days could I image for?) for my tricky aggregation-prone non-diffusive thermodynamically-partitioned dye. Also stuff like what commercially available live imaging dyes can I compare to or complement my visualizations with or use for colocalization studies (other lipophilic membrane dyes that insert in the bilayer with preferences for diff order regions? What about comparison with surface adhering dyes like WGA-iFluor that bind surface sugars, to show that our dye can laterally diffuse to areas blocked by cell-cell contacts?), what fluorescence specific parameters do I need to characterize (photo toxicity/photo bleaching time?)

And then there's other shit I've picked up like. Idk. How to make orders in the particular institute I'm in. Better citation managers and ways to search literature. Recognizing what groups and journals and conferences are major players in the fields I'm touching. Getting comfy presenting my shit.

I need to learn a little more about microscopy (especially FLIM and how to build a polarizer module into the scope we have for polarization microscopy), and a little more about the state of the art for voltage dyes and live-imaging dye characterization but man. I think I'm getting somewhere. I'm starting to know enough to see the end of this project and pick my directions moving forward and argue when my PI is wrong

Gahhhhhh

[texasdreamer01]

Atlantis Expedition: Science Division Departments - Life Sciences Department

We're a bit further from the original post, having already done the medical department, so now it's time for the Life Sciences.

Much like the medical department, the notes for this underwent significant revision (nearly entirely re-done), to better granulate expectations for the department's duties and how they interact, primarily, with the medical department. Below is the original estimation, with struck text indicating revisions:

> Head: OC > Contains: Earth biologists, bio- & biochemical engineers, astro/xeno-biologists, botany, environmental chemistry, zoology, microbiology > Function: Auxiliary to Medical Department needs > Examples of function: pharmaceutical synthesis, analysis of unknown species, biological database creation, gene therapies (pharmaceutical adjacent) > Personnel quantity: 1 (Head) + 2 (Earth biologists) + 2 (bioE & biochemE) + 1 2 (astro/xenobio) + 1 (botany) + 1 (envchem) + 1 (zoo) + 2 1 (microbio) = 11 > Personnel quantity: 1 (Head) + 1 (physiologist) + 1 (geneticist) + 1 (astrobiologist) + 1 (xenobiologist) + 1 (microbiologist) + 1 (botanist) + 1 (zoologist) + 1 (biomedical engineer) + 1 (biochemical engineer) + 3 (medical laboratory scientists) = 13 > A/N: Both biologists also have training/specialization in genetics/gene mapping (assists both Carson and Katie), some input in requesting gate missions based on in-house needs > A/N: Focus is on medical logistics and supporting Medical Department needs, research parameters fulfill SGC outlines of studying microevolutions and drug technology development.

Following on the parameters of 1) putting people through the inter-galactic theoretical shredder is expensive, and 2) said gate shredder will only be open for a certain amount of time, the vast majority of this department's work will be geared toward the analysis, creation, testing, and preparation of pharmaceutical drugs and other inventions of medical context.

Think compounding pharmacy but better equipped, and capable of researching new things - this department specializes in medical logistics. Wikipedia has a better description of this, so I'll pull a quote:

Medical logistics is the logistics of pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, medical devices and equipment, and other products needed to support doctors, nurses, and other health and dental care providers.[1] Because its final customers are responsible for the lives and health of their patients, medical logistics is unique in that it seeks to optimize effectiveness rather than efficiency.

As with most things contrived by the SGC, there's going to be a lot of blended specialties and overlap, heavily bolstered by technological innovation. These are people Carson Beckett likely hired, or at least had a heavily-weighted opinion when Rodney was going through the application packets, because the Life Sciences is at a one-step remove from actually handling patients, and handles a significant amount of labwork and research.

The revised numbers weigh heavily in favour of biologists, due to the sheer breadth and depth of the subject, and the fact that most of these are likely to have some sort of SGC training that would make them well-versed on what to expect on the expedition in terms of disease research and thus treatment solutions.

Unlike the medical department, which handles patients directly in different aspects, this is all one "team". If you're looking for a group of scientists that can technically have the same generic appellation that would make one of them go, "Well, actually-", this is the place to look.

On to the breakdown, notes included:

> Earth biologists  » 2x of these  » Specialties?   ⇛ Human physiology (academic rather than medical context)   ⇛ May function as a knowledge base to study how the physiology of the expedition changes by long-term habitation in Atlantis, assists in studying long-term effects of the ATA gene therapy, development of knowledge base as Earth-based physiology changes in reaction to Pegasus galaxy habituation (exposure to local diseases, eating of local foods, etc)   ⇛ Geneticist   ⇛ Same as the human physiologist, but in a genetic context   ⇛ Studies genetic drift of the expedition and builds knowledge base for comparisons of baseline to genetic mutations that build up over time > Astro/xenobiology  » 2x of these   ⇛ 1 of each  » SGC special  » Studies the species and speciation of non-human humanoid species   ⇛ Imports from studying the Jaffa, Goa'uld, and Replicators (xenobiologist in particular)   ⇛ Overlap with parasitology and immunology/histocompatibility (Goa'uld and Jaffa, respectively) > Microbiology  » "Most microbiologists specialize in a given topic within microbiology such as bacteriology, parasitology, virology, or immunology."  » Studies the species and speciation of bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of parasites and their vectors > Botany  » Study of species and speciation of plant species  » Outline of botany > Zoology  » Study of species and speciation of non-human animal species  » Outline of zoology > Biomedical engineer  » REVAMP from bio-engineering  » Actually makes the pharmaceuticals based on the feedstocks and processes biochem engineers designed for them   ⇛ Works with biochem engineers to feedback on the design process of drug manufacturing   ⇛ Biologics as well as inert (in comparison) materials for drug development   ⇛ Pharmacology    ⟹ Most likely all drugs are powdered for shelf-stability and ease of transportation     ⭆ So their responsibility in this would be referencing the SGC formulary (how many books to a Frasier) on reconstituting these drugs      ➾ Compounding     ⭆ What about topical prescriptions? Gel-based? Powder for gels, as well      ➾ More complex formulation     ⭆ What about gases, for sedation?      ➾ Probably compressed canisters? > Biochemical engineer  » Would not have existed in the early 2000s as a field related to process engineering, so an SGC special  » Also useful for researching food preservation methods  » Synthesizes information from peers in this department to create pharmaceutical drugs and their manufacturing process > Medical Laboratory scientist  » Does the legwork of processing samples for everyone, so needs a wide range of skills   ⇛ 3x of these   ⇛ Specialties    ⟹ Immunology/histopathology/hematology     ⭆ Human tissues    ⟹ Microbiology/bacteriology     ⭆ Bacterial forms of infection    ⟹ Virology/mycology/parasitology     ⭆ Non-bacterial forms of infection      ➾ Routes of non-bacterial infection > Environmental chemistry  » Role covered under biochem engineering  » Biochem engineers can cover the study of pollution that envirochems specialize in

Environmental chemistry section preserved to properly annotate the revisions, and what their original role was supposed to be (i.e. study pollution to solve Earth's pollution issues).

It occurred to me, while revising personnel lists, that the biologists in particular will need to divide their research into some broad categories, if they want to properly develop their research topics and what category of formulations they would require from the non-biologists in the department.

We have human species, yes, but that can be parsed from Milky Way to Pegasus galaxies, and from there Earth-based humans vs Jaffa (vs Goa'uld), and Pegasus-based humans (presumably humans, as they probably wouldn't know for sure that the Ancients were the default sentient or even default humanoid species in the Pegasus galaxy).

The human microbiome is incredibly important to understanding homeostasis, disease pathology, and various other interconnected factors. Because of this, the medical laboratory scientists will be heavily relied upon to develop cultures for study. I'm willing to believe that they have some nifty adapted technology to help them study all of these subjects I've shoved under multiple umbrellas, in the form of culturing processes, reagents, microscopes, analyzing software, preserving agents/methods, and the like.

After that, testing to see how these diseases - or potential diseases, if someone in the Pegasus galaxy hosts a bacteria, virus, fungus, or parasite that their immune system is natively robust to - might infect a member of the expedition. This is where a lot of back-and-forth would be done between the Life Sciences and Medical departments, so it wouldn't be uncommon to see people like, say, Biro (pathology) and Katie Brown (botany) jointly doing research on a pathogen.

There's already a lot of canonical evidence to support this specialist overlap being a necessary concern, from the the Hoffan drug (and the subsequent Michael arc), John Sheppard's infection from an Iratus bug bite in Conversion, Asurans, Lucius' drug, the crystals of M3X-387, Kirsan fever, Jennifer Keller's infection from something that was turning her into a Wraith hiveship in The Seed, and the Second Childhood parasite.

Depending on the type of infection, a lot of the personnel in this department will coordinate with each other to develop a knowledge base, including potential therapeutic remedies. If something already in stock cannot be used (see: a potential cross-applicability of penicillin), then they might make a request to the head of the expedition for a gate team to travel based upon any information they might have (ex: Teyla and Ronon going out for samples of the Enchuri plant for treating Kirsan fever).

Because of their support role as a department, the fact that all the scientists here can be used as in-house reference for the medical department, and their unique position to recommend gate missions for consideration on the roster, this department functions well as a bridging gap for the various demands the expedition has placed on them by the IOA and the SGC.

Total Life Sciences Department Personnel

Head of Department: 1

Biologists: 5

Engineers: 2

Laboratory Scientists: 3

Botany: 1

Zoology: 1

Total total: 13

I'll be going over canonical personnel such as Katie Brown in their own posts, but for now this is a general accounting of the expedition’s life sciences department.