“Newtype” Hatsune Miku poised for comeback in 2020

But don’t call it a comeback. She’s been here for years.

The music world was shook recently by the announced return of Justin Beiber in 2020, after pulling himself out of the house-egging and public-spitting habits that many other great musicians have also had to overcome. But he isn’t the only hit-maker of the 2010s to re-enter the fray in this new decade of hope.

Hatsune Miku will also be re-invented for the new times as Hatsune Miku NT. As most probably recall, Miku is a Vocaloid artificial singing voice developed by Yamaha in 2007 and can sing any song arranged via software.

With her freedom of use, Miku became a musical phenomenon in Japan and abroad, providing the vocals for a string of hits such as “Senbonzakura” and “Melt.” She also became a sort of muse for tech developers appearing in numerous VR apps and custom PC builds.

▼　”Senbonzakura”

In the latter-half of the 2010s, however, her mainstream notoriety hasn’t quite been what it used to be. But now we have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s best bionic singer and Hatsune Miku will be that singer – better than she was before, better, stronger, faster.

▼ Behold: Hatsune Miku NT (New Type)

Okay, the demo video wasn’t mind-blowingly great. Her voice is still rather robotic sounding, and opening a two-minute demo of singing with 30 seconds of instrumental music was an interesting choice. I actually had to check my audio settings because I thought the channel with her voice coming through was accidentally turned down or something.

But this is just at the prototype stage, and there are a few neat inflections in her voice if you listen carefully. Probably the greatest new feature of Hatsune Miku NT is that her emotion can be adjusted like never before.

It will be possible to give her vocals a sharp, angry staccato or a trembling, somber moan. She can even pull off a death metal growl, all while maintaining the distinctive character of her voice. These can all be changed mid-song, on the fly, and more easily than ever with NT’s simplified interface. This means she will be accessible to an even wider base of music enthusiasts.

However, unlike previous versions, Hatsune Miku NT is a part of Piapro Studio which is incompatible with other Vocaloid packages including previous versions of Hatsune Miku. This detail has been the biggest issue among Miku users in Japan.

“So this means she’s not technically a Vocaloid, but something different?”
“They said back in August that the next-gen Hatsune Miku would not be a Vocaloid, but I guess a lot of people are just learning this now.”
“So when uploading videos to Niconico, does this mean we can’t use the “Vocaloid” tag?”
“There’s a mechanical feeling to it, but I think this will be easier for more people to use.”
“Will Hatsune Miku NT eventually become Hatsune Miku 2000?”

Outside of Windows NT jokes, many people also noticed how this next-gen Hatsune Miku is also named after the evolved “Newtype” humans of the Gundam series.

▼ “I heard about a Hatsune Miku NT. My drawing I made a few years ago has become reality?!”

As for the fears that Miku is leaving the Vocaloid fold, back when NT was announced at Magical Mirai 2019 in August, it was said that this would be a parallel release with Yamaha’s ongoing Vocaloid development which will include future versions of Hatsune Miku. So, that means we can still call her a Vocaloid and tag her as such on our favorite social media sites.

It will still be a little while before Hatsune Miku NT gets a wide release, but preorders are open now for those wanting to get it right away when it hits in August of 2020. In addition, anyone who preorders the download version will also get access to a prototype in March. The Piapro Studio software bundle with Hatsune Miku NT will cost 19,800 yen (US$180) but registered users of previous Hatsune Miku Vocaloid software including English and Chinese versions can get a discounted price of 15,400 yen ($140).

Will this reincarnation put Hatsune Miku back in opera halls and on late night television? It’s hard to say, but at least it will open the doors for new talent to try this revolutionary songstress out and keep her legacy going.

Source: Sonicwire, Game Watch, My Game News Flash
Top image: YouTube/HatsuneMiku
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Credit:
at 19:35

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