If you’re anything like me, then you’d love to have the ability to quickly get pristine vocal takes laid down when building demos. Also - if you’re anything like me - then you’ll be frustrated that your own lack of singing ability is a big barrier to making what’s in your head a reality.
While samples and stems can go so far, what you really crave is some sort of magical and ultra-configurable tool that will enable you to collaborate with a virtual vocalist.
Can you imagine it? The ability to guide their takes until they land on the perfect melody-shape, an immaculate vocal character and the bang-on performance approach that your song needs.
Sounds like the stuff of dreams, right?
Think again. This ultimate problem solver - long desired by countless independent bedroom producers - has been brought to life by the good people at Tokyo-based company, Dreamtonics.
Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro is the latest (and perfected) version of an incredible tool that has been an industry secret weapon for a while now. The vocal-generating software is built atop technology first revealed in the astounding first version, yet this latest release raises the game in several astonishing ways.
The key difference here (and the reason for our giddiness!) is the sheer realism of the voices in question - rendered by the software at an incredibly fast pace. An astounding 300% faster than the first iteration.
Wrangled from real vocals that have been recorded and licensed from real singers, the software’s hyper-intelligent AI algorithms can reconfigure on-the-fly to melodic adjustments, re-rendering themselves into new shapes with no fuss.
Simply input a melody via your MIDI keyboard, hit record within the plugin (or as standalone software), fire up one of the various voices and prepare to be amazed as the voice sings back the notes.
It’s not just phonetic sounds either. Amazingly, you can type in specific lyrics you want the vocalist to sing within the generated MIDI notes, and, boom, the voice will deliver it.
We told you it was the stuff of dreams.
The voices that Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro offers up are varied and, via an array of dials on the right hand side of the UI, can be carved to suit the specific tones, inflections and timings that you need for your developing track.
This balance of instant results and fine control is best exemplified by the software’s Phoneme Timing panel and Mouth Opening parameters. The latter of which is the first of its kind anywhere in the world.
When scaled, you can seize control of the very mouth of the vocalist, guaranteeing that all words, consonants and vowels land with impact where you want them. You can keep a tight rein on plosives and off-putting sounds, with scalable phoneme intensity.
While we’ve nothing against real, human vocalists - getting this level of detailed control over an authentic-sounding voice is a genuine first.
And, it’s ultra-useful for the self-releasing producer, especially if your access to vocalists is limited - or if you don’t want the awkwardness of requesting endless re-takes!
Elsewhere to be found via the easily-accessible side panel is an expression pad to get the vocal perfect performance type for the song, and a single-click AI retakes panel triggers the voice to re-attempt the vocal with your directions taken onboard.
If you want to try the take in a higher register, simply drag and drop the MIDI notes - or use the smart pitch controls on the side panel which allow users to quickly and precisely tune the vocal to a specific frequency.
We’ve been taken aback by how versatile and intelligent the software is. Others too across the music production landscape have been similarly awe-struck by the results; “I was blessed to be able to sing anything I can dream up, but so many people don’t have the ability,” said vocal producer and singer/songwriter Mischke Butler, whose credits include the Spice Girls, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and Little Mix. “I was surprised how quickly I was able to get up and running. The midi functionality is a real game-changer. Being able to play in my melodies and then just copy lyrics from the previous take was seamless.”
Meanwhile, Dream Theatre’s Jordan Rudess is equally astounded by its flexibility; “For me it’s an almost futuristic dream come true. Input notes via MIDI, type some words and then pick your vocalist! I want to basically shout from a mountain top and let everyone in the world know about this incredible technology."
Though AI has been harnessed in the creation of Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro, its smartness is founded on an ethical ethos, with, as we stated earlier, real, licensed vocal recordings as the starting point.
As we said at the beginning of this piece, this is an absolutely miraculous tool for those struggling with the desire to write songs, but lacking confidence in their own vocals.
It really has to be heard to be believed.
Pricing Information
Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro is available at a special discount (at $99) until April 20th, 2025.
All Dreamtonics version 2 voices are also available at $69, a discount from the regular price of $79, until April 20th, 2025.
Existing users of Synthesizer V Studio Pro can upgrade their editor to the latest version for only $49, with a limited-time discounted price of $39 available until April 20th, 2025. As part of this upgrade, the users will also receive one complimentary voice of their choice (Mai 2, Liam, or Mo Xu).
Existing users can also upgrade their Dreamtonics voices from version 1 to version 2 at a starting price of $19 each ($29 after April 20, 2025), with greater discounts available for multiple voice upgrades.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.