Tag: honos og04

HONOS OG04 ELITE: AN UPGRADE

HONOS OG04 ELITE Logo By ArtsyISFP

We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of HONOS OG04 ELITE, an expansion and upgrade for the original HONOS OG04 voicebank. Designed as an extension of our beloved HONOS OG04, this upgrade takes her vocal capabilities to new heights, delivering an enhanced and enriched user experience.

Retaining the Captivating Deep Tenor Voice

HONOS OG04 ELITE preserves the smooth deep tenor voice that sets her apart. With her remarkable versatility in navigating both masculine and feminine ranges, she continues to be a standout choice among the OGIENOIDs for flexible ranges.

Expanding Timbral Capabilities

Much like the release of KASAI OG01 SALIENT, ELITE builds upon the already impressive timbral capabilities of HONOS OG04. While HONOS OG04 Original featured three distinct timbres, HONOS OG04 ELITE upgrades each of them to multipitch capabilities. Each timbre now possesses four unique pitches, resulting in a total of 12 individually recorded VCVs. This expanded range unlocks exciting new possibilities!

Elevating Creative Expression

This expansion also includes two CV-style growl banks in different registers. The high growl suits screamo and pop-punk, while the low growl suits metal and rock genres. These growl banks add captivating texture, allowing you to include new intensity into your tuning.

Furthermore, ELITE features brand-new glottal stop and vocal fry samples, providing an additional layer of emotion to enhance your tuning. These expressive enable you to achieve desired nuances in your arrangements.

Seamless Compatibility and Integration

Rest assured, this expansion and upgrade seamlessly integrates with both UTAU and OpenUtau, ensuring a smooth transition for existing HONOS OG04 users. You can effortlessly incorporate ELITE’s enhanced voicebank into your ongoing projects. Like HONOS OG04 Original, the appends (Mellow and Firm) possess the same Suffixes OGIENOID users have grown accustomed to.

HONOS OGO4 ELITE Official Artwork By KawaiiKloudz

An Upgraded Look!

HONOS received a remarkable vocal upgrade and underwent a visual transformation. Her new design draws inspiration from the iconic outfit she wore for her original voicebank, maintaining a connection to her roots while adding a fresh and exciting flavor. Get ready to be captivated by her enchanting voice and striking new appearance!

Embark on a Journey with HONOS OG04 ELITE

Join us on an extraordinary sonic journey like no other with ELITE. Prepare to be enchanted by her enriched deep tenor voice, upgraded with enhanced capabilities. Discover new avenues of musical expression and unleash your creativity with this remarkable expansion.

Stay tuned for more updates and demos that showcase the power and versatility of HONOS’s long-awaited upgrade! Like KASAI OG01 SALIENT, a tutorial for ELITE will be available upon release. HONOS OG04 ELITE entrances this July!

June & July Monthly Progress Reports

Progress For June & July

So… I kind of flubbed last month, I’m sorry! STUDIO OGIEN has been undergoing a lot of moving pieces regarding upcoming releases. There have also been a lot of outside factors effecting our team’s physical and mental wellbeing, so we will soon be going on a break. Rest assured, we have been making good progress this past June and July! With that out of the way, let’s move on to the exciting news from the team!

VIRTUS OG02 Release

The most exciting thing in our roster is the full release of VIRTUS OG02. She’s got just a little bit more fine-tuning to do, but after that expect some really great demos! We’ve made a lot of progress in June, and Virtus has been handed off for OTOing. Rest assured, she’s not in WIP hell, but we are taking our time to finalize her OTO and release materials. We are expecting to release our golden girl sometime between in the last week of August and mid September. This timing comes in perfectly, as our NEXT exciting release is….

(Drum roll, please)

HONOS OG04 ELITE

That’s right, folks, another SALIENT style OGIENOID voicebank is on the way! HONOS OG04 ELITE (formerly named VALOR) will *hopefully* debut late September to mid October! 🤞 Recording has been completed, and we are on to the quality check and OTO stage. Our audience can expect the same basic qualities from ELITE as from SALIENT: three multipitch appends all useable in one track, with growl, glottal stops, vocal fry, and more.

It is quite possible that the pair may receive a joint release earlier or later than expected, as they are being OTOd by two different parties. It’s a little up in the air at the moment, but what an exciting time at the studio! We are so excited for this new chapter of OGIENOID development!

Keep Up To Date

Are you excited for VIRTUS OG02 release and now HONOS OG04’s expansion? Stay tuned, more info is coming soon! Meanwhile, sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on our blog releases. Likewise, you can follow us on TwitterFacebook, or Instagram for more news on our social media.

How To Use HONOS OG04 Original Japanese VCV

Introduction to HONOS OG04 Original VCV

HONOS OG04 “Original” is a Japanese VCV style Voicebank developed by STUDIO OGIEN. Originally released in 2019 for the free-to-use UTAU software, HONOS OG04’s smooth, androgynous voice is the deepest of the OGIENOID series. Her flexibility between masculine and feminine ranges gives her a wide range of usability.

HONOS OG04’s “Original” voicebank is an assortment of three different VCVs, each in a unique timbre (the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitch and intensity). “Original” includes Stoic (a normal singing voice), Mellow (a soft voice), and Firm (a firm voice). This voicebank combines three voicebanks into one, allowing the user to plug in “↑” or “↓” into the UST from the SuffixBroker for appends. Making all voices available to use in one UST helps make editing, tuning, and mixing faster and easier.

Using HONOS OG04 Original

Using The Included Appends

STOIC

“Stoic” is Honos OG04’s default voice and will play so long as the user understands how to control VCV UTAU voicebanks. No additional steps are necessary to utilize this tone.

MELLOW

Select or enter “↓” into the UST from the SuffixBroker. By default, it should be included in the base installation of UTAU.

FIRM

Select or enter “↑” into the UST from the SuffixBroker. By default, it should be included in the base installation of UTAU.

Using VCV in UTAU

For those new to the VCV voicebank format, let’s learn how to use it in UTAU! First, load up the desired Voicebank and UST file (if you have one). There are two scenarios here: the UST is either formatted for VCV or it just isn’t. Not every UST comes in VCV format, but you may really, really want to use the UST. Fear not, there are many options to remedy this situation!

The tedious method that we aren’t going to actually consider a method, but rather a painful last resort: Add the preceding vowel to the lyric: Let’s say you have two notes “か” (ka) and “あ” (a). Simply add an “a” in the same note as あ. Simply, あ now becomes “a あ”.

The easiest method (that, unfortunately, costs money): UTAU Shareware: If you have the shareware version of UTAU, you can simply hit the auto VCV button, and UTAU will turn the vowels into VCV!

Click “A” for auto VCV

Other methods: Plugins: Some plugins may convert the CV vowels into VCV without altering the rest. Others may turn the entire UST into VCV. Experimentation is key! IroIro is our favorite recommendation, as the plugin has many other useful features packed into it as well.

Navigating to your installed UTAU plugins

If you have IroIro Installed, follow Tools > Plug-Ins(N) > IroIro. Select CV -> VCV and click OK.

IroIro’s many options

Once your UST is in VCV format, you are ready to proceed.

Fitting a UST to a VCV Voicebank

Fitting a UST file to a UTAU Voicebank will definitely improve the sound and make your covers appear more professional. By fitting the UST, you are telling the software to conform to that particular UTAU’s configurations and setup (OTO). This is an important step if the UST was not explicitly made for the UTAU you are using, and it helps to improve the fluidity and clarity of the voice. So, let’s do it!

To start:

  1. Open a UST file
  2. Select all (Ctrl+A)
  3. Right-click on a note
  4. On the pop-up, select “Property” or “Region Property” (if you selected all notes). A new window will appear.

  5. You may notice sections on this window labeled “Preutterance” and “Overlap”. To their right, there is a “Clear” button. We want to click that.


  6. Next, at the bottom of the window, there is a box labeled STP. 
    1. If it has a value, delete it. 
    2. If the box is grayed out, double-click the box to clear it.
  7. Press “OK”
  8. In the top right of the main window of UTAU, you will see a group of four buttons (ACPT, P2P3, P1P4, RESET).
    1. Click RESET
    2. Then click P2P3
    3. Next, P1P4
    4. P2P3 again
    5. Click ACPT (You can click this multiple times if you see any red “!”, and it may take care of those. More on that in just a second!)
  9. That’s it! You’ve fit the UST to your VCV Voicebank

Special Characters, Envelope Issues and Other Problem Samples

Special Characters

Example of notes with special characters

While fitting a UST to your UTAU, you may find errors highlighted as red “!” along the way. VCV is a popular method and widely employed, so a user may run across custom notes, properties, and expressions within a UST. Your UTAU may not have these special notes and sounds, so, we need to run through a few options.

  1. Manual removal
    1. Simply edit each note, one by one, and delete the extra symbols.
  2. SuffixBroker (for custom characters at the end of a note such as an up or down arrow, a number, or another special symbol)
    1. Select the notes you want the characters removed from
    2. Found under: Tools > Built-in Tools > SuffixBroker
    3. Leave the box blank, click OK, and now the Suffixes are gone! PLEASE NOTE: this does not always perform 100%. Make sure to double-check your work.
  3. Third-Party Plugins

Much better!

Envelope Issues

How to use UTAU VCV Voicebanks: editing envelopes

The error still shows up, and, more confusingly, the sound sample exists and your oto is fine. Grr… Now that’s frustrating! But we have a fix. Let’s check and edit some envelopes!

Very carefully, right-click on the note. A new pop-up will appear. Hover down to “Envelope…” and click on it.

How to use UTAU VCV Voicebanks: editing envelopes

And…

How to use UTAU VCV Voicebanks: editing envelopes

YIKES! That’s pretty bad! Worry not, there’s a simple fix. Let’s click “Normal”. 9/10 times, that does the job.

How to use UTAU VCV Voicebanks: editing envelopes

If the error still persists after hitting “Normal”, simply drag the red boxes around until they look, well, normal. Click OK and it should be good to go!

How to use UTAU VCV Voicebanks: editing envelopes

Much better, and now our “!” is gone. We are ready to tune and mix!

Using VCV in OpenUTAU

For tracks made from scratch, start by clicking the “+” icon on the left-hand side. A new track like so will be created.

Click on “Select Singer” and choose a voice. In this instance, we will choose Honos OG04.

The voice is loaded. Now, we must tell OpenUTAU what type of voicebank she has. Click on “DEFAULT” to open a new menu of options.

Select “[JP VCV] Japanese VCV Phonemizer”. We are ready to use VCV in OpenUTAU!

For Existing USTs:

Go to “File > Import Tracks…” and choose a UST of your liking.

You may notice the singer data is saved from the UST file. You may or may not have this UTAU in your library. Either way, we are wanting to use Honos OG04 in this example as well. Go ahead and click on the singer’s name to open a new menu.

Select the preferred singer by clicking their name. In this instance, we will choose Honos OG04.

The voice is loaded. Now, we must tell OpenUTAU what type of voicebank she has. Click on “DEFAULT” to open a new menu of options.

Select “[JP VCV] Japanese VCV Phonemizer”. We are ready to use VCV in OpenUTAU!

HONOS OG04 ELITE – Tutorial

Watch The Release Video:

So, HONOS OG04 Got an Update [UTAU/OpenUTAU Voicebank Release]

Official release notice and tutorial for ELITE!

About The Voicebank:

The official release of the new HONOS OG04 voicebank is finally here! HONOS OG04 ELITE is an all-in-one Japanese VCV Voicebank that possesses both Multi-pitch and Multi-expression voices.

This Voicebank has three timbres that are 4 pitches each (Tenor, E3~A4), making ELITE a total of 12 VCVs. The three timbres can be used all in one track by utilizing the SuffixBroker. ELITE’s three expressions are:

  • “Stoic”: Normal voice
  • “Mellow”: Gentle/whisper voice
  • “Firm”: Solid/power voice

HONOS OG04 ELITE also has some fun add-ons, including several breaths (intake and outtake), western L notes (all timbres, all pitches), two Growl CV banks (Mono-pitch, one higher register and one lower), Vocal Fry (sounds best used with Stoic/Mellow, 4 pitch), and Glottal Stops (all timbres, all pitches).

USING ELITE: APPENDS

Stoic – Normal tone of voice. No extra effort is required to use Stoic.

Mellow – A soft/whisper bank. You can use it by selecting the “↓” symbol in the SuffixBroker in UTAU. For OpenUTAU, please use Voice Colors in the editor (under CLR).

Firm – A solid/power bank. You can use it by selecting the “↑” symbol in the SuffixBroker in UTAU. For OpenUTAU, please use Voice Colors in the editor (under CLR).

Using Voice Colors in OpenUTAU

Glottal Stops with the ELITE Voicebank:

Glottal stops are compatible with all three appends in ELITE.

– Replace the space between letters with the・ symbol (ex: turn a あ into a・あ).

– Ends notes use ・ at the end (ex: a ・)

Vocal Fry & Breaths with the ELITE Voicebank:

Vocal fry: Use ‘ as the suffix (ex: – あ’ or あ’) or prefix (‘あ). Drop-off end notes are formatted with – (ex: a -)

Breaths: ELITE possesses an entire folder dedicated to breaths of different types. Can be used in UTAU or in an external editor.

  • Inhales: 息, br (5 different types ex: 息1, 息2, etc)
  • Soft Exhales: ahh, ehh, ihh, ohh, uhh, nhh
  • Stand-alone Exhales: 息-, 息2-, etc.

Extras with the HONOS OG04 ELITE:

Western L notes: To use western L VCV notes (La, Le, Li, Lo, Lu): Add “2” to the end of Japanese R notes (ex: a ら2)

Growl: Add * for the suffix (ex: あ*). You can use the up or down arrows in the SuffixBroker

Growl is in CV Format.

Re-Introducing HONOS OG04

This week’s post is all about HONOS OG04, the OGIENOID that entrances with a gentle, deep, and androgynous voice. She is the second member of “The Triad,” a subset of OGIENOID characters developed to be used together. VIRTUS OG02 and THEIA OG03 are her counterparts.

HONOS OG04’s original concept was male. However, the idea was scrapped due to the difficulty of sourcing male voices. Additionally, our team wanted to start representing WLW relationships among our OGIENOIDs, so the decision to make HONOS OG04 female was an easy one.

Name Origins

Honos – /ˈhɔnoːs̠/

Honos is the Roman god and personification of honor. Closely associated with Virtus (the Roman Goddess of bravery and virtue), the two were frequently honored together, such as in Rome’s Temple of Virtus and Honos.

We always planned Honos and Virtus to be a pair and couple. Therefore, we wanted to pick a pair of names that were deeply intertwined.

HONOS OG04 Original Concept Art
HONOS OG04’s Original Concept by Ceren. Base by rika-dono.

To Protect

HONOS OG04’s name was originally “Honos Unit, #258”. She was a member of law enforcement, specially created for the job. HONOS’s primary function was as a social worker and de-escalation specialist. Therefore, she worked on-call for a local police department, taking care of situations that required a more emotional approach. Above all, her specialty was dealing with those who were not mentally sound, keeping them out of harm’s way.

Occasionally, she partook in high-risk situations. Her physical build made her a strong fighter, and her high-speed reflexes made her quick to retaliate against danger.

One particular evening, she was involved in a dangerous call that left her severely wounded and malfunctioning. As a result, she was the only survivor, her unit of fellow androids decimated. Unable to fight back, she began to lose consciousness as a group of criminals began to bag up her friends.

Without A Trace

Honos found herself sold on the dark web, with numerous buyers bidding on her. As an android member of law enforcement, she had several unique features and kept many sensitive secrets.
Her highest bidder ended up being an underground robot fighting ring. They were highly interested in her physical strength, and their audience practically drooled over the idea of a female, human-like robot fighting to the death. However, she refused to let them have the satisfaction of watching her go down. As a result, Honos triumphed every battle she was partaking in.

After two or so years, Honos finally found a way to escape her captors. Upon realizing that she was finally free to live her life however she pleased, she decided to blend in with society and find out who she truly was.

Welcome Home

After living for herself after a year or so, Honos bumped into a stray android on the streets. The android, huddled against a dumpster in the pouring rain, was battered and dirty. She noticed that the android was a commercial-grade unit, highly expensive with sophisticated technologies. She extended her umbrella to the android, and the two began to talk.

Honos offered to help the android find their way home, but they refused. Finally, empathizing with the stranger’s wish for freedom and to live for itself, Honos offered to take them in. They agreed though HONOS OG04 did not have a place to call home herself.

Afterward, one evening looking for shelter, the two bumped into a sparkling new, lilac-haired android on her way to deliver itself to her new company. The android assisted them, and, together, they made their way to STUDIO OGIEN.

After deliberating what to do, Honos decided to stay with the company, and their friend off the street decided to as well. Honos decided to keep her name but altered it to fit better with her new family. Honos Unit, #258 was now HONOS OG04, and her Roman name inspired the pattern of Roman/Greek names among OGIENOIDs. The android off the street decided to pick something that paired well, choosing VIRTUS as her given name.

The Present

Her current representation to the public is outside of the story’s universe. But, always taking care of her fellow OGIENOIDs, HONOS OG04 is alive and well outside the story’s timeline.

Character Description:

(From her character page): HONOS OG04 is a relatively calm and collected woman. Her presence itself is very calming. However, she has a knack for stabilizing others’ emotions, and this trait earned her admiration from her fellow OGIENOID team members. She has always been a shoulder to cry on and a bit of a therapy bot. Her mental health is robust, but on occasion, she breaks down, she turns to VIRTUS OG02 for comfort.

Re-Introducing More OGIENOIDs

Are you curious about the other OGIENOIDs? Stay tuned for a re-introduction of our next girl! Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on our blog releases. Similarly, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram for more news on our social media.

SPICE! – HONOS OG04 Cover Release

SPICE! up your Valentine’s Day with HONOS OG04 from STUDIO OGIEN! 🧡💛 You can download the UST on our UST page!

About the Original SPICE!

“The song was uploaded on March 6, 2008. It’s one of Minato’s early and most notable works. It ranked first on The Vocaloid Weekly Ranking #25, and on October 28, 2008, it reached The Nico Hall of Fame (over 100,000 views). The song currently reached half a million views on Niconico. Several parodies and utaite covers have been made. The song depicts Len as a womanizer and a playboy who sleeps with and leaves women and thinks love is ‘just a game’. However, although he declares himself a Casanova, he knows his inner sorrow incapacitates him to love. In the end, all his succumbed feelings spiral out.” (from Vocaloid Wiki)

Contributors:

Project lead: Stormi & Ceren
Art: Stormi
Backgrounds: Ceren
Video: Ceren
Mix: Stormi
Outfit design (or lack thereof if you know what I mean 👀): Stormi

Song Information:

Singer: HONOS OG04
UST: Stormi
Original Vocal: Kagamine Len
Artist: minato (music, lyrics), Hirari (illust)

This project was led by our very own StormiLove! Their enthusiasm for the project made it an exciting experience, and they put a lot of time and effort into the video.

HONOS OG04 UTAU – Release Day

STUDIO OGIEN’s first Tenor voice, HONOS OG04, hits the scene today in a stunning 3D PV release!

A mellow and calming androgynous voice. HONOS OG04’s song will soothe you.

HONOS OG04’s Video Release

HONOS OG04’s voicebank is a mono-pitch VCV style VB with a few different voice types. She boasts a soothing, androgynous voice in three different timbres: soft, normal, and strong.

The full version combines three voicebanks into one, allowing the user to plug in “↑” or “↓” into the UST from the SuffixBroker for appends. This makes all voices available to use in one UST, which helps to make editing, tuning, and mixing faster and easier.

The Character:

Personality: HONOS OG04 is a very strong person, physically and mentally. She has often been deemed the “rock” of the OGIENOIDs due to her calm, mellow, and level-headed nature. Though she may seem a little scary, she’s just a big, tall softy. When the situation calls for it, though, she will not hesitate to step into a fight. HONOS OG04 is rather androgynous in appearance and voice, and her interests reflect that trait. She enjoys girly things like makeup, getting her nails done, and getting her brows shaped as well as more masculine things like contact sports. While she enjoys and appreciates looking at frilly, over-the-top girly fashions, she doesn’t like the way she looks in them, personally. HONOS OG04 much prefers wearing comfortable attire that flatters her more masculine body type.

HONOS OG04 and VIRTUS OG02

Relationships: She is closest to the other two members of her triad, VIRTUS OG02, and THEIA OG03. As the three became OGIENOIDs together, they were good friends from the very beginning. HONOS OG04, however, will admit her best friend is VIRTUS OG02. The two have a very special bond and had met before they came to STUDIO OGIEN. She finds herself very protective of the yellow OGIENOID, and the two are rather inseparable. Other than her triad, HONOS OG04 finds herself helping out AXIS OG06 a lot. Since the two are kind of group moms, they find themselves getting the other girls out of trouble rather often.

Head on over to her brand new page by clicking here! HONOS OG04 has many fun assets, including a 3D MMD compatible model and a 2D LipSync model.

Voicebank Progress


Honos VALOR
12%
Apollo PRIME
0%
Theia MONARCH
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