Qing Su (青溯), also known as MAN-F3, is a Mandarin Chinese vocal developed and distributed by Dreamtonics Co., Ltd., and released as an AI voice database for Synthesizer V Studio in December 2021.
Her voice provider was unrevealed, but was confirmed to be an experienced singer in Qing Su's first livestream.
Concept[]
Since MAN-F3's introduction, Dreamtonics wanted the voice database's name to directly mean or reflect the concept of "dream". The company hoped that Qing Su would become every creator's hearty expression, to express each other's lives in the passing time. She was described to be an extension of one's dreams.[1]
Like Saki, Qing Su was intended to be treated as an official voice database, representing Dreamtonics's brand quality.[2]
Etymology[]
Upon introduction, MAN-F3 was introduced through only her codename. In the description of her first demo, Dreamtonics announced they were launching a contest to decide her final name. It was requested that her name directly contained "Meng" ("梦"; "Mèng"), which translates to "dream", or that it reflected the meaning of "dream".
The name was created by Shi Shu Jishi Chang (诗书济世长), who accompanied the meaning of Qing Su's name with a poem.[3] The poem references Xu Zhimo's "Taking Leave of Cambridge Again", specifically the following lines: "To seek a dream? Go punting with a long pole, (寻梦?撑一支长篙,); Upstream to where green grass is greener, (向青草更青处漫溯,); With the punt laden with starlight, (满载一船星辉,); And sing out loud in its radiance. (在星辉斑斓里放歌。)"
Shi Shu Jishi Chang explained that Qing Su represents people's courage to explore their dreams farther and deeper, similar to her soft yet firm voice. Dreamtonics followed up in their own comment that the name was a "quiet and beautiful dream-seeking image". It was described "Like a pole roaming in the sea of the mind, it ripples in the heart with one wave and one stroke, and it lasts for a long time. At the moment of the birth of a far-than-expected imagination, it was across the blue night sky and chasing for a moment, finally pour out the condensed feelings in the chest, echoing the world".[4]
In reference to the poem, "Qing" (青; Qīng) means "green" or "green grass", which was noted by Mouzhize in Qing Su's livestream that it was a color close to the Synthesizer V UI's theme, to which Kanru Hua agreed. "Su" (溯; Sù) means "upstream". It is inspired by the poem's line: "Upstream to where grass is greener". Together, her name (青溯) is also a homonym for the phrase "to say everything (that is on one's mind)" (倾诉).
Appearance[]
Like Saki, rather than having an official human-like avatar, Qing Su is represented by an abstract symbol, the letter Q, which is drawn from the first letter of her name in romanization. The Q is mainly dodger blue with hints of purple, the color scheme likely stemming from Dreamtonics's logo colors. It is square-shaped with a straight and rectangular tail. Characterization is left up to the the song producer themselves rather than towards the product, so Qing Su is open to any form of visual interpretation, allowing the producer to decide what they would like her to look like.
History[]
On October 13, 2021, it was announced on bilibili that a Dreamtonics original Mandarin Chinese AI voice database was set to showcase on October 14 at 8 PM.[5] MAN-F3 was revealed through her first demo and Dreamtonics noted that for a long time, they were interested in creating a soft voice that could be used by creators without distorting the sense of humanity. It was also announced in the description that Dreamtonics was launching a contest to select a name for her from October 14 to October 31. Her name was to be two to three Chinese characters long and should contain or reflect the meaning of "Dream" ("梦"). Users were to share the video and reply with the name they've created. The selected name would be revealed on November 5 and the selected participant would also be presented with a set of Synthesizer V Studio Pro and MAN-F3's library.
On November 1, Dreamtonics announced that the name contest officially closed and noted that there were 2,352 comments in total at the time. In addition, Dreamtonics planned to open an exclusive livestream on bilibili on November 5 at 8 PM. Mouzhize was confirmed to be attending and the livestream would showcase the new features of Synthesizer V Studio Pro 1.4.0 as well as MAN-F3's new name.[6] During the livestream, some examples of potential names appeared on screen,[7] and moments later, "Qing Su" (青溯) was confirmed to be the chosen name.[8] The name was created by Shi Shu Jishi Chang (诗书济世长), who accompanied the meaning of Qing Su's name with lines from Xu Zhimo's "Taking Leave of Cambridge Again".[9] In the Q/A session of the livestream, Kanru Hua confirmed that there was no specific release date for Qing Su, but it was possible for 2021 or within two months time.[10] Regarding the voice provider, all that could be confirmed was the fact that she was an experienced singer. It was also mentioned that Qing Su did not share the same voice provider as MAN-F1, as the latter was considered to be used for internal alpha and beta testing, and may see commercialization if quality was satisfactory.[11]
On November 20, pre-orders for Qing Su were announced to be hosted on Dreamtonics's official Taobao account, which they had opened as part of their new sales model for the Chinese market. She was made available as a standalone digital product and as a Starter Pack with Synthesizer V Studio Pro. During the pre-order period, she was discounted for 479 yuan. She was expected to release on December 1. Regarding Lite versions, Qing Su would not be having one. It was noted that people could fully understand her performance and style through the test and demo tracks provided by Dreamtonics's cooperation with professional creators prior to purchasing.[12]
Marketing[]
When MAN-F3 was introduced through her first demo, Dreamtonics announced that they would like users to give the next generation of virtual singers a name that only belonged to them. For MAN-F3, Dreamtonics requested three things: the name had to be two to three Chinese characters long, it should contain the word "dream" ("梦") or reflect the meaning of "dream", and that to participate, users were to share the video and reply with their selected name. The contest ran from October 14 to October 31, with the winning name set for announcement on November 5. The winning participant would be presented with a set of Synthesizer V Studio Pro and MAN-F3's library. The name was created by Shi Shu Jishi Chang (诗书济世长).[13]
Like Saki before her, Qing Su was treated as an official or standard vocal for the engine, where she could be found in demonstrations of Synthesizer V Studio and AI's capabilities. Dreamtonics also opened their own Taobao store as part of their updated sales model for the Chinese market.
During Qing Su's pre-order period, a raffle was launched for five users to potentially win a copy of Synthesizer V Studio Pro and Qing Su's voice database. Participants had to follow Dreamtonics's account and forward the announcement post. Winners were selected on December 1. For users who already bought Qing Su, they were entitled to a full refund of their purchase.[14]
Voicebanks[]
- Qing Su AI (Synthesizer V Studio), December 1, 2021
References[]
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/589618406099412524 "Dreamtonics 真诚希望青溯能够化成每一位创作者的心声,倾诉出彼此的日起夕落、欢聚别离。"; "Dreamtonics 期待未来继续与各位延展梦想。"
- ↑ https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV11f4y1u7Sw
- ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/695380056155095054/906152860583100416/unknown.png
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/589618406099412524 "如同于心海中撑杆漫游,一挥一划间在心田涟漪荡荡,经久不息。在远超预期的想象诞生的瞬间,是跨越青蓝色的夜空,不停追逐的怦然一瞬,终得将凝结于胸的情愫倾诉而出,回响天地。"
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/580972666990160432
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/588128773997860383?tab=2&spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
- ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/695380056155095054/906152387708878878/unknown.png
- ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/695380056155095054/906152509494661180/unknown.png
- ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/695380056155095054/906152860583100416/unknown.png
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/589618406099412524?tab=2&spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
- ↑ https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV11f4y1u7Sw
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/595148335399419261
- ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/695380056155095054/906152860583100416/unknown.png
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/595148335399419261
External links[]
Official[]
Articles[]
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