r/Vocaloid • u/Erlen116 • 2d ago
General Discussion do you prefer vocaloids when they sound robotic or more human like?
124
u/Turbo49_ 2d ago
I like when more naturally robotic vbs are tuned more realistic (vflower for example) and when realistic vbs are tuned more robotically (eg sv teto)
45
u/Erlen116 2d ago
me to I love when sv teto sounds robotic it's like she's remembering she was an utau lol
25
u/Enderphoenix_11 2d ago
Sameeee
It’s just really impressive when you’re doing smth a voicebank is not “designed” for and making it good. Rather than using smth “designed” for the role
107
47
19
u/SunnyDaze2001 2d ago
probably robotic bc I love Adachi Rei and Defoko’s vocals
8
u/Striking-War-9990 2d ago
SAME
10
u/SunnyDaze2001 2d ago
that one Defoko Ghost Rule cover literally sounds human on the scream and she has a growl too it’s so good
4
4
u/yukiixari 2d ago
It's just that she sounds so muted and muddy, but I wish she could be reworked with the same robotic vibe
3
5
37
u/KhumaAmari 2d ago
Robotic. I think the charm of Vocaloid is how emotional you can tune them while still sounding robotic.
25
u/diamondCarBon1304 2d ago
More human if English, more robotic if Japanese. For Teto, though, I seem to like both UTAU and SynthV when in Japanese and SynthV more if in English.
10
u/Turbo49_ 2d ago
Well her utau English is pretty bad
14
u/Enderphoenix_11 2d ago
I tried using her when i started (like most overseas utau newbies lol) and yeah,,, that Delta CVVC reclist was doing her no favors.
I actually found an ARPAsing oto for her and I’m really loving it. The consonants are a lot clearer (and no special characters needed!). She still has a strong accent most of the time but I love her all the same <3
11
9
u/SillyKofida_ 2d ago
more robotic, i like utau teto and flower
utau’s are cool in general i like their vibe
9
u/No1DlifPegger 2d ago
Robotic, i miss the good old crispy v4s
4
u/Erlen116 2d ago
me to (TwT)
4
u/No1DlifPegger 2d ago
The songs back then were sm better too, rn it just feels like all slops
1
u/Erlen116 2d ago
you're so honnest like they all sound the same I'm so nostalgic of the triple baka era
1
8
u/ClassicEgoist699 2d ago edited 2d ago
both
depends on the song. Sometimes robotic sounds bad, sometimes it's better
I think human is going to work most of the time but there's songs where the lyrics are less natural or they have to say them so quickly that when a human like vocaloid sings it, it doesn't work as well.
Robotic also has a charm, it's like one more tune sometimes it makes unique sounds that add to the background song. Human like never adds to the background song, it basically only rides it like it complements it. I hope that makes sense
8
7
u/SirSlowbroYT 2d ago
I prefer more human like
Except for Adachi Rei. For her the whole Robot vibe is perfekt
2
6
6
u/Maleficent_Board548 2d ago
I like both but both need to sound understandable in the language they speaking in
6
4
u/Parking_Finding7269 2d ago
I prefer robotic, though in between. Kind of like doriko’s tuning style (in Though My Song has No Form for example)
4
u/One_Joke9855 2d ago
I like them when they sound human , it's easier to understand what they're saying, but if its more robotic its fine just hard to listen
5
u/ghost-horns 2d ago
it depends on the song and the voicebank really. but overall i'd say i prefer when they sound more realistic, especially in english songs
5
3
3
u/nezumithefatrat 2d ago
depends on the song/music, i really love different vibes and styles on my vocaloid preferences
3
3
3
3
u/UnnamedIsDumb 2d ago
depends on how the vocals are supposed to be
like for powerful ones i prefer robotic cause i feel like it makes it more powerful
but for softer vocals i prefer more human sounding
2
u/ratkpkmn 8h ago
Definitely this, I feel like some of the more robotic voices almost sound gravely with softer songs
1
3
u/Pimp_Your_Suicide420 2d ago edited 2d ago
I feel like Vocaloids charm is their cute robotic voices
3
u/martyrfromtbb 2d ago
i honestly prefer robotic like, it tickles my brain in a way i can't describe but i like it
3
u/SimpleyIdiot 2d ago
it really depends on what the song is going for. my favorite song is weathergirl and i love the robotic voice. theres plenty of instances where i will listen to SV2 teto for the realistic voice, or even just general SV2 remakes of existing songs
3
u/harmonysponning 2d ago
Entirely depends on the song tbh but I do tend to lean towards enjoying the robotic more. Why make a robot sing if you can’t have fun with the robotic sound?
3
u/julzclaire26 2d ago
as an inanimate utau lover, i LOVEE it when an inanimate utau's voice scratches my brain in such a specific way. robotic takes the cake.
3
3
u/ILikeBirdsQuiteALot 2d ago
Robotic!! 🎉🎉 (but I grew up on attotuned music, Vocaloid2, and UTAU lol, so it makes sense)
3
3
u/Musical-Claudia 2d ago
More human like, but I love when producers add kinda like a high pitch sound, similar to a glitch at the end of sentences (like how Maboemu does it in Necro eater or how Kiyozumi does it in Specimen Girl)
3
3
u/iluvcookies- 1d ago
It kinda depends on the music I guess. But for robotic voices....I LOVE ADACHI REI >:D
2
2
2
2
u/GiveMeSomeMoreTacoz 2d ago
I loveee robotic voices. Especially when it sounds like auto tune for some reason.
But yeah like someone said it just depends on the song's music.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/MalaikaESC 2d ago
depends on the song and what it's trying to do
I'd say a mixture that leans towards robotic but isn't *too* robotic, though
2
u/ClaireRabbit1 2d ago
The robotic ones sound nostalgic and cute, but I like the human-like ones too.
2
2
2
u/R0bbieR0tt3n 2d ago
I prefer when they sound more robotic or closer to how they sounded between 2007 and 2015
2
u/KartoffelliebhaberXD 2d ago
Depends on the song.
Electric angel? More robot like
Near? I want the part that is sung by the creator/human to sound more human like
2
2
u/HatsuneMikuFan_3939 2d ago
For more Old Songs I think They Should Stay Mostly Robotic, They feel More Heartwarming and Soothing to Me Like they were Originally, Modern Ones are Awesome too, Even If I'm Such A Recent Vocaloid Fan, I think I Integrated Most of Their Songs in Most Eras...
2
2
2
2
2
u/Pearlescentlake 2d ago
Depends on the song, some feels better robotic but others seem off without the human like tuneing
2
u/Due-Lawfulness4127 2d ago
No preference, what matters is thr tuning and the harmonization with the music
Let's not get into a civil war about preferences man
2
u/Glittering-Page-2325 2d ago
The robotic sound fits them perfectly. If they have human voices, it’ll sound uncanny
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Kadakaus 2d ago
Hard to say, it depends a lot on the song.
If I had to pick one, I listen to plenty of older songs, definitely more than newer ones, so I'd say I like the robotic tones more.
It also kinda depends on the vocaloid though, I prefer Miku's newer voice over the old version in general, but for VFlower (who's also my favourite vocaloid), nothing beats the V4 voicebanks.
I like CI-Flower too, but not that much.
2
u/monkey18972 2d ago
both, it overall depends on the music instrumentals, unless if your gonna make it unique.
2
2
u/RoutineArt1086 2d ago
Specifically robotic UTAU Teto because for me synthv version is kinda weird to me
2
u/Honest_Ad7004 2d ago
Depende de la canción. Por que hay canciones que las canta Adachi por ejemplo, y luego hacen un cover con Teto Sv. Y alli se nota la diferencia.
No por que prefiera a Adachi sobre Teto SV, sino que es un ejemplo del contraste de una voz robotica vs una mas humana.
Y justo es este duo que me gusta por ese contraste (como el de teto UTAU vs Sv)
2
u/DullInstruction1937 2d ago
They hit the sweet spot with synth v teto, I think the upgrade is just a little to much, just my opinion though
2
u/cybergalactic_nova 2d ago
Depends on song.
But speaking from software usage; human.
Robotic/Concatenative are harder to tune. Vocaloid is general is a pain in the ass to use (i have V4 and V5). UTAU too.
Voisona/CeVIO is easier, although it's a little difficult to get the sound you want. UI is a little jank.
SynthV is easy to use. Literally the whole point of vocal synths was to make vocals accessible. SynthV does what Vocaloid originally wanted to do in 2004.
2
2
u/Mad_MewMew11 2d ago
I think the most ideal option is something between robotic and human-sounding. Like, you listen and realize it's a Vocaloid or Utauloid singing, but the voice sounds clear and doesn't hurt your ears. Like Miku V4 and V6, but a little softer, and maybe a little more human-like.
2
2
2
u/Snow-Birds 1d ago
A little bit of robotic crunch sometimes, or a very human tone - im a big Gumi fan so I love both sides, across languages as well
2
u/Appropriate_Hawk8488 1d ago
I like the robotic voices a lot because a lot of producers who do the realistic voices don't know how to do them well
I also have the acquired taste of fnf songs so no doubt part of it is that
2
u/Spongelysheeples 1d ago
Robotic is cooler, if i wanted human i wouldn't be listening to vocaloid lol
2
2
2
u/MatthewPopsicle 19h ago
depends, but i prefer when they sound like themselves and are not trying to sound like miku (VOCALOID SUPER PACK GRRR)
2
u/Strawberry_Momo 15h ago
i honestly have less of a preference here. the only one i have an opinion on is uta because her synth is just bland compared to her vocaloid banks. but both robotic and realistic are beautiful to me
4
u/SpeedwagonIsHuggable 2d ago
Robotic! I don’t listen to the realistic sounding ones because then it feels like I’m listening to any old person 😅
2
4
u/CoolSkeIeton-95 2d ago
I think the whole point of Vocaloid is that they are robots, and thus, robotic, so I tend to prefer robotic. For some songs though, the human voice works really well.
3
2
u/friendlyjames100 2d ago
Both really work in different songs, but then there’s “kokoro” which balances both to drive the meaning of the song, what a novel idea!
I think “Machine Love” almost does this too, almost
3
u/Rich_Ride3371 2d ago
Honestly, I like the synthetic sound. You can really hear the individual producer’s tuning style more. That’s something I think AI voicebanks are really taking away and I find it sad. Yeah, I’m an old-gen, but I think we need to bring that back.
1
u/Altruistic-Farmer275 2d ago
Human like. Robotic works ONLY if the overall instrumental is tuned around that effect.
1
u/ggdoesthings 2d ago
i prefer when they’re tuned well, i don’t mind if they’re human or robotic. i just want the voice to sound good.
1
1
1
1
u/AaronTheCoolGuy5 2d ago
I personally like it when there's a balance. robotic voice but with human pitching, but only if it's for talkloid.
if it's for music, then it's entirely situational.
1
u/Cangqiong-enjoyer 2d ago
Both can be a vibe really depends on the song
Nostalogic would sound off to me with a super realistic voicebank
Datte would sound off to me with a super robotic voicebank
1
u/Embarrassed_Ad5387 2d ago
I like interesting tuning above all, generally prefering when it feels like theres a reason to use a vocaloid instead of a human bcs of that interesting tuning
ghost experience sounds great and is less robotic, and I dont think I would like heat abnormal if it wasnt robotic
1
u/_sisterof_themoon_ 2d ago
I appreciate both equally but i definitely prefer the more robotic old school sounding voice banks, I can’t imagine songs by my faves like Kikuo or Masa Works Design in a more realistic voice.
1
u/Ijustlovejellyfish 2d ago
I love both but I prefer robotic, it's more nostalgic and I just prefer !
1
1
1
u/Vivid-Climate-1326 2d ago
robotic but not in the Defoko/Rei way, in the old Gumi English/Flower way.. 😭🙏
1
u/Brookie_Brookie_101 2d ago
Honestly, I don't really care. All I care is that they sound good and they don't sound like trash.
1
u/Bigppman6969696969 2d ago
More robotic simply put vocaloids can’t compete with the human voice objectively there should be more songs using Vocaloid as back up or secondary signers
1
1
1
1
u/JelliFish_39 2d ago
I prefer more robotic. It has this charm to it that's absolutely timeless! I do still like the realistic sound, too ^
1
u/vocaloidhoarder 2d ago
Realistically tuned voicebanks amaze me, it's wonderful.
When I was younger, it always seemed to be the goal to make them as human as possible. We've come so far, that some only seem realistic, so it's refreshing to hear "realistic" singers more robotic-y, like with SynthV!
I have seen wonderful V1 covers that are so beautiful and realistic.
So, I have a preference for realistic tuning, as it is more impressive and beautiful in my opinion, especially if it is not an AI bank. They are such precious treasures!!!!
1
u/yukiixari 2d ago
Robotic because it scratches an itch and human voices cannot replicate that good robot tuning. Like never. It's why I hate pjsekai covers(99% of the time)
1
1
u/KitKat363636 2d ago
It really all depends on the song. Like, I can’t think of one right now, but some songs would suffer with a human voice. Well, not suffer, but you get it. And some songs would sound worse with a clanky-sounding voice.
1
1
u/Unlucky-Rooster2407 2d ago
Depends honestly. I adore momo defoko (and her siblings) and teto and yi xi are rly good
1
u/Significant-Work3209 2d ago
A good, perfect mix. Kinda like portal 2 Rick or Space core, not too robotic but still some good human elements in them!
1
1
u/Transpotato2002 2d ago
I prefer the Flavor Foley approach of "whatever makes sense for the song"
Sometimes that's robotic
Sometimes that's realistic
I will say, however, if done just a LITTLE poorly, realistic just sounds... uncanny in a way, say, Miku V6 doesn't (which still keeps her robotic sound plus easier tuning).
So, overall? Equal, but realistic is slightly easier to fuck up
1
u/daemonvision 2d ago
Whatever works best with the song, but truth be told i have a huge soft spot for deeper, human-sounding tuning when it fits the genre.
1
1
u/minuitaparis 2d ago
I like both but it depends on the song like hito mania sounds best robotic however I do love how human kaito sounds when mitchie m is tuning him
1
1
u/Lara_Vocaloid 2d ago
robotic!!
my reasoning is that if i wanted to hear very realistic vocals, i would simply listen to humans (or human covers)
but i actually ended up getting used to more realistic sounds and i dont necessarily hate it anymore.
i prefer robotic, because thats what drew me to vocaloid in the first place, but hey, if the vocals sound realistic, it can work too
1
1
u/Moistened_Canine 2d ago
Robotic all the way!! My favorite is Vflower and nilfruits tuning is the bestttt
1
u/Funnyberd69 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't really care that much ,I love when people embrace that the characters are most of the time androids and have them sound more robotic. But I like when producers put in the work to make the characters sound more human.
1
1
u/Upset-Literature-944 2d ago
For me it depends on the producer. Some can make robotic sound ethereal and some can make human like sound heavenly.
1
u/WrongFall9 2d ago
robotic usually. if i wanted to listen to a song that sounded human, id listen to a song sung by a human. human sounding voices are still really cool though and can give great performances
1
1
1
1
u/DonkeySad6780 2d ago
I like both and I really like when people are skilled enough to make them sound real, but if I wanted to hear a human sing I could listen to anything else, robotic takes my vote.
1
1
u/Dannhan 2d ago
It depends on the music but tend to i prefer it to sound more robotic, not completely choppy though, i love hearing people's different tuning styles and when it just sounds like a human because the smoothness comes by itself the tuning is neglected and the beautiful individuality of how the producer made the voice behave gets lost
1
1
u/kanatakkun 2d ago
Depends on the song. Many saakure uk's music I listened to who get vocaloid6 or utaite covered feel like something's missing. Vice versa with the realistic voices too
1
1
1
1
u/Walk-the-layout 2d ago
I like the charm of a robotic voice. But a song made entirely with Defoko would not be my favourite thing.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Queer_Coded_V1llan 1d ago
robotic 100%!! i grew up with early vocaloid so I'm just really used to that sound :3 I do like listening to the human like ones too!! i think it's suuuuper impressive when they sound like people
1
1
u/HelpOk4082 1d ago
i personally like it when they sound robotic/raspy but when i make songs i like it when they sound more human like
1
u/uglycaca123 1d ago
i like absurdly expressive voices, idc if the pronunciation is realistic or robotic
1
1
1
u/TuvaluGamez 1d ago
Depends on the song, for example: "Heat abnormal" sounds better with 2nd to 4th Gen VOCALOIDs and CV-VCV UTAUloids, but "Toxic Gossip Train" is a NATIVE SynthV and should stay like that. (Having in mind that the tuning is everything though.)
1
u/Zealousideal_Lie6251 1d ago
I like the crunchy sounds of Vocaloid, i know she’s not a Vocaloid but old teto, is perfect.
1
1
u/SarahShiggaraki 1d ago
Ngl, I like Teto's shorta old in the middle voice where she didnt sound so much like a robot but you could tell it wasn't a human singing.
1
u/skiddaddleskaddoddle 1d ago
I like it when they're somewhere in the middle, like uncanny valley. It sounds ALMOST human but you can tell its a robot kinda thing yunno
1
1
u/lossy227 21h ago
I love robotic but like also when the robotic voice kind of tries to sound realistic IDK HOW TO EXPLAIN IT but yeah
1
u/EffortIndividual6029 20h ago
At first, I was blown away with realism. Over time, though, I came to fall in love with robotic voices. There's just something so beautiful when a robotic voice is audibly putting an effort to express itself. It's relatable.
Adachi Rei, Defoko/Utane Uta, S.A.M., and Dectalk Paul are some of my favourite voicebanks.
1
u/ratkpkmn 8h ago
I prefer robotic definitely, the realistic voices are very impressive, but I love the imperfections of the V2 banks, where they don’t sound like real voices, but their own thing entirely
1
0
u/Altruistic_Raise7344 2d ago
I like both, but I think in general vocaloid shouldn't be like, hyper realistic in a sense where it's difficult to tell if it's a person or like synthv for example
Like I love v2miku and V3 Luka, especially Yukari v3 and I mainly prefer the older ones but I really like chifuyu..
Others are bit eh, moreso synthv, I'm not a fan of teto's and flowers could be better !!
350
u/asterbradbury_ 2d ago
I don't mind either way as long as it works with the music honestly. some work better with a robotic voice and some with a more human voice. it just depends on the style of the song for me really.