voice synthesisers

[kossai]

often see people say things about how synth v voices sound like real people , but ... kossai can not hear that way . just hear what always hear : digital voice . even clearest and most impressive voices have certain quality , but then sometimes wonder if only feel this way because go in with knowledge that voice is digital .

... then again , from time to time on journeys for faerie music , do come across channels where every element is machine gen , and can fairly well identify those .
think sometimes , there is just something too perfect about synth voices - can practically hear mathematical equations . 

modern vocal synth technology is extremely impressive , and can appreciate on that level - but kossai can not mistake for human for very long ...

Comments

[xyzarchive]

yeah, same. i don't think that's a bad thing though. when i first started getting into vocalsynth music, i was always looking for people who could make them sound as human as possible, but now i think the fact that vocalsynths are not human singers is the most interesting thing about them, and there's actually something really special about when they sound super robotic.

[kossai]

oh , for sure !
kossai might also have listener bias of sort - work with UTAU for almost 9 years at this point , where people who leave these specific kind of comments might have little to no experience . can pick up on quirks without experience too , of course , but think that experience sure make harder to suspend disbelief haha .

do not have means to use chipspeech , but love how those voices sound honestly ! dee klatt is definitely favourite , but also soft spot for rotten ST . :)

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> often see people say things about how synth v voices sound like real people , but ... kossai can not hear that way . just hear what always hear : digital voice . even clearest and most impressive voices have certain quality <<

It's not just you. Synthetic sound is distinctly synthetic to my ears too. It lacks the depth and complexity of meat voices or music, there's always this faint (or loud) tinny edge.

>> think sometimes , there is just something too perfect about synth voices - can practically hear mathematical equations . <<

Also true. I've heard this as a serious complaint against modern music, much of which has artificial parts (e.g. a drum rhythm) -- because of the tools available, the result is flat and everything winds up sounding too similar. I like live, acoustic music and singing better. I mean, I've heard some electronic stuff that I love, but not as much as the natural stuff.

In my observation, humans process sound rather differently than I do. I hear a lot of things that they don't. Bats. Owls. Elephants talking to each other. The ultrasonic whine that lots of electronics emit.

[genderphasing]

yeah, this is always an interesting thing to think about. games have been touted as "hyperphotorealistic" for, what, 20 years now? and even very recent examples are hilariously, obviously not photorealistic. that doesn't mean they look bad, of course, but they were photoreal, and now they're not. and I think synthesized voices are the same. those early keyboard-played ones were magical for the time and kinda still are, but they no longer sound as real as they once used to. when you listen to a synthesized voice, there's still a vibe they give that's distinctly unreal, *but* because they're the most (audio?)realistic facsimile yet, they... sound perfect. and yet, next year, they won't anymore.