VY Nancy, or simply Nancy, is a Japanese text-to-speech library developed by SoundUD, under the YAMAHA Corporation, and distributed by AI, Inc. as a part of the "VY Project", in addition to text-to-speech libraries based upon the VOCALOID voicebanks VY1, known as VY T-01 and VY2, known as VY T-02 and was released in September 2023 for the A.I.VOICE engine.[1]
The voice provider for VY Nancy has not been revealed, however, her vocal was revealed to be provided by a native, English-speaking woman, despite the vocal being recorded for the Japanese language.[2]
Concept[]
VY Nancy appears as the leader of the A.I.VOICE VY Project, a general term for YAMAHA's character voices, which is comprised of YAMAHA's VY Nancy, VY T-01 (a Japanese female speaking voice,), and VY T-02 (a Japanese male speaking voice) that can be used with SoundUD compatible acoustic communication options.
Etymology[]
The code name, "Nancy" used for the VY Nancy vocal, is a traditionally feminine name meaning "favor", or "grace", previously known as a medieval diminutive of "Annis", though since the 18th century it has been a diminutive of the name "Ann". It is now usually regarded as an independent name. During the 20th century it became very popular in the United States. A city in the Lorraine region of France bears this name, though it derives from a different source. [3][4]
Appearance[]
Much like T-01 and T-02, Nancy has a simplistic design. She has long blonde hair, and blue eyes. She wears purple glasses and pink lipstick. She also wears small earrings. A tiny diamond is seen on her right earring. Her attire is of a business suit, consisting of a black button-down dress shirt, a white blazer with black buttons, a knee-length white pencil skirt, opaque tights, and glossy, purplish-black heels. She also wears a necklace, as well as red nail polish. Her shirt is unbuttoned at the neck and collarbone, and her blazer is unbuttoned as well. Unlike T-01 and T-02, Nancy does not wear a brooch.
VY Nancy is classified as a female vocal for the A.I.VOICE VY Project release. The character illustrations were provided in collaboration with the YAMAHA Corporation's SoundUD department and offers a conceptual character as an image placeholder. Users were encouraged to freely create characters, names, and settings for their own versions of the vocals, a trait inherited from the original VY series concept.[5][6]
Relations[]
- VY T-01 - A complementary voice bank with feminine vocals.
- VY T-02 - A complementary voice bank with masculine vocals.
History[]
Marketing[]
Prior to her debut as an A.I.VOICE vocal, VY Nancy appeared as a character representative for the e-RideTokyo EV electric bike rental developed by YAMAHA Corporation's SoundUD department. Her voice was used among the other VY Project vocalists in the OMOTENASHI GUIDE application.[7]
Voicebanks[]
- VY Nancy
- A speaking vocal based on the concept of the original VY series vocals. This voice is a new series of voices planned by YAMAHA Corporation's SoundUD team, inheriting the "standard" concept of the VOCALOID VY series.
- VY Nancy (A.I.VOICE), September 4 2023
Reputation[]
Trivia[]
- Despite being regarded as a new vocal for A.I.VOICE, officially unrelated to any previously known vocal synthesizer products, VY Nancy shares a concept similar to that of the VOCALOID4 voicebank CYBER DIVA, with both vocals being regarded as the third vocalist in their respective VY series projects. It has been noted by some fans that her voice carries a similar sound to CYBER DIVA and, combined with Nancy's voice being provided by a native English-speaking woman, fuels speculation that Jenny Shima, the voice provider of CYBER DIVA, could be VY Nancy's provider. There is currently no known connection to CYBER DIVA or Jenny Shima and any resemblance to any other product or person(s) is purely circumstantial unless otherwise confirmed.
Achievements[]
- First of the VY Project to be released for A.I.VOICE
References[]
- ā https://twitter.com/soundud/status/2700200325729823777
- ā https://www.yamaha.com/ja/news_release/2023/23090401/
- ā https://www.behindthename.com/name/nancy
- ā https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/nancy/#:~:text=Nancy%20is%20a%20traditionally%20feminine,Medieval%20English%20version%20of%20Agnes).
- ā https://soundud.com/characters/vyproject.html
- ā https://twitter.com/soundud/status/1700100315729813777
- ā https://www.yamaha.com/ja/news_release/2023/23090401/
External links[]
Articles[]
- A.I.VOICE VY Project Product Page & Demo
- A.I.VOICE VY Project Official Shop Product Page
- A.I.VOICE VY Project SoundUD Character Page
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