Tag: ai

AI Vocal Timbre Transformation Plugin VocalNet Launch Sale (~Oct 5)

Hey there! I’m Jooyoung Kim, a mixing engineer and music producer.

Lately, AI-driven tools are popping up everywhere in music production, and they’re hitting the market as full-fledged products.

If you dig into research papers, you’ll find that voice-related tech has been around for a while. Back in 2016, a paper titled Phonetic Posteriorgrams for Many-to-One Voice Conversion Without Parallel Data Training introduced PPG (Phonetic PosteriorGrams)-based voice conversion. This technology laid the groundwork by separating the content and timbre of a voice, allowing timbre transformation even with limited recorded data.

Today, we’re checking out VocalNet, an AI-powered vocal timbre transformation plugin that builds on this tech with deep learning to create some seriously cool vocal effects.

Full disclosure: I received this plugin as an NFR from Plugin Boutique. If you purchase through the links in this post, I may earn a small commission, which helps me keep creating content and, you know, survive!

What’s VocalNet All About?

VocalNet is a plugin for real-time or drag-and-drop file-based timbre adjustment. And let me tell you, it’s super easy to use.

When you hover over the corners of the triangle in the interface, you’ll see a concentric circle and a file icon. The circle lets you select factory preset timbres, while the file icon lets you import your own audio file to use its timbre.

  • Load one file, and the sound transforms to match that timbre.
  • Load 2-3 files, and you can tweak the central concentric circle to blend their ratios.

So, how does it sound?

Well… maybe it’s because I’m still dealing with an itchy throat from COVID aftereffects, but I wouldn’t say it’s mind-blowingly amazing. That said, it’s solid enough to use for vocal harmonies or background vocals. One downside? Korean pronunciation felt a bit off, even when using the “World” setting. (I tested it with the Airy Japanese Soprano preset since there’s no Korean-specific option.)

English, on the other hand, works pretty darn well.

How It Works

For file-based use, you upload the audio you want to transform, hit the share button, and VocalNet saves a new file with the altered timbre based on your settings.

Real-time use, however, can be a bit of a CPU hog, so I’d recommend rendering the transformed audio for actual production work.

When Would You Use VocalNet?

Here are a few scenarios where I think VocalNet shines:

  1. Need a female vocal guide for a song but only have a male vocalist (or vice versa)?
  2. Want to add mixed-gender harmonies or different timbres for background vocals but don’t have the budget to hire extra singers?
  3. Need to gender-swap a voice for a video or creative project? (Okay, maybe a niche use case, but still cool!)

The standout feature compared to traditional voice changers is that you can pick and apply specific timbres. No more manually tweaking formants or slaving over pitch adjustments like we used to. The world’s changed a lot, hasn’t it?

Try It Out!

You can test VocalNet with a 2-week demo by visiting their website, so I’d recommend giving it a spin to see if it fits your workflow.

That’s it for now! Catch you in the next post! 😊

Where’s the Future of Virtual Instruments and Performers Headed? Meet Melisma AI Strings & Woodwinds

Hey there! I’m Jooyoung Kim, an engineer and music producer.

AI-generated music has been making waves in the media for a while now, with research and commercial applications popping up left and right. But there are still some lesser-known AI projects in the music world—especially those leveraging unique learning methods—that deserve more attention.

Today, I want to introduce you to what I think is the most composer-friendly AI music tool I’ve come across lately. (No, this isn’t sponsored… haha!)

[link: https://kagura-music.jp/melisma]

Developed single-handedly by a creator in Japan, Melisma is seriously impressive—give it a listen, and you’ll be floored. This is still beta-stage audio, mind you. I first stumbled across it last year during its beta phase, and even then, it blew me away.

What’s Melisma All About?

Melisma takes sheet music in MusicXML format, sorted by instrument parts, and spits out incredibly natural-sounding audio. The quality hinges a lot on how well you write the articulations—those little details can totally change the vibe.

It’s got a list of supported and unsupported articulations, but even with that in mind… wow. It’s way cheaper than hiring real musicians and sounds so much more authentic than your average virtual instrument. I couldn’t help but wonder: are live performers, virtual instrument makers, and even string-focused studios in real danger now?

This got me thinking about my own future as a musician… 😢 I’ve actually started dabbling in AI learning research myself lately, but as a music creator, it’s a bittersweet feeling.

Mind-Blowing Realism

It’s not just strings either—check out the demo sounds, and you’ll hear woodwinds with breath noises so lifelike it’s insane. It almost feels like we’re entering a new era of score-writing. When I first heard it, I was hit with a wave of mixed emotions—excitement, awe, and a little dread.

They’ve got vocal synthesis too, but honestly, that part still feels a bit rough around the edges… haha. It’s not quite there yet.

What really shocked me, though? The price. The standalone version (Windows-only for now) is just 15,000 yen per instrument—about the cost of a single virtual instrument plugin. Could this be the future of virtual instruments? I’m starting to think so.

Trying It Out

I mixed Melisma with some traditional string virtual instruments in an unreleased track of mine, and the results were pretty darn good. That said, every now and then, you get some odd, glitchy sounds popping up. It’s not perfect—sometimes you’ve got to tweak and regenerate to get it just right.

The developer, by the way, has a fascinating background—used to play recorder, composes a ton, and has a pretty unique resume. You can read more about them here: [link: http://nakasako.jp/about].

Recognition and Reflections

Last year, Melisma won the Best Presentation Award in the Best Application category at the Music and Computer (MUS) Research Group’s session during Japan’s Information Processing Society conference. That’s some serious cred!

It’s a reminder that the world doesn’t reward just one kind of obsession anymore. Old jobs fade, new ones emerge—it’s bittersweet to watch, but there’s no fighting the tide. That’s why I think it’s worth diving into all sorts of skills and studies; you never know what’ll come in handy.

Even I’m struggling to make ends meet sometimes, but to all my fellow musicians out there—let’s keep pushing forward!

Closing Thoughts

Melisma’s potential has me both excited and a little nervous about where music creation is headed. It’s a tool that could shake up how we think about virtual instruments and live performance—and at a price that’s hard to argue with.

That’s it for now—see you in the next post! 😊