RSL English Recording List Review
Here's a fun new thing I might do monthly if enough people write in with their lists! Recording list reviews. Except for the fact that I will be using UTAUs created by the people who made the recording list to demonstrate the recording lists, these articles will be completely divorced from the UTAUs themselves. No character images or bios, just technical details.
What is the RSL English Recording List?
So, I get manic and download things. That's just part of being me. I have no idea where this bank came from, but I vaguely remember seeing the name on an old Mediafire page.
There is absolutely no information that I can find on this UTAU or on this list. I can read the name of the person who made it in the Readme, but I have no idea who they are because I can't find information. Should I make this article? Probably not without permission... But I don't think I'll find the person to get permission, so this is what we got. I believe the UTAU's name is Lia Skye, but as I said, I don't have any proof for anything at all.
This list hasn't been used much. I believe that there is a sentiment that if you aren't following CZ or Hua, you're wrong. I stan my list hard, and it is tempting to just say "use my list plz". However, doing that makes me as bad as the people who talk down to people for trying their own path. I'd be talking down to myself with that kind of attitude!
Voicebank structure
When I see a single pitch separated into several folders, I hiss. CZ's method involves several folders, so I can't fault anyone for following her lead. That being said, this bank is divided into C, CV_E, CVC, and V.
An important note is that the easiest way to describe this UTAU is 単独音, or "solo sound". Kidding, it's CV. But tandokuon describes it better, because there is both CV and VC within CVC. Each recording is a single, unstringed syllable.
C is a bit strange. The vowels are presented in CV format, which means that you can only realistically get "- C" from them, and not "C -". This is made redundant by the CVC folder. Is this because of the "separate sections, separate folders" philosophy? Probably, but I never fully understood the appeal. It allows you to be in separate mindsets for "- C" and "CV", but you are able to replicate that in SetParam as long as you don't edit the OTO in UTAU. Once the base is done, I see no real use for this kind of structure. (I blame this on CZ, not on the person who made this list.)
CV_E is for consonants that cannot realistically have a "V C -" sample. This is the first thing that can pose an issue for someone obsessed with realism and clarity like myself. But I calmed my behind down the moment I realized that I'm totally fine with how Japanese CV banks work in UTAU. This section is lacking "V C" that a stringed list would give you. However, overlap will blend the preceding vowel and the consonant really well.
CVC is, as the name would suggest, CVC samples (or CV and VC samples, depending on if you go by the recording name or the alias name.) There's a rather esoteric discussion to be had about the merits of stringed and unstringed, but the important thing is that it looks like, at first glance, all required samples exist.
V is simply standalone recordings of each vowel. This is really useful and a nice addition to have.
What is missing?
I don't believe in triphones (or quadphones) in English banks. Why? Because I'm a control freak who wants to make sure that I have control of every single phoneme. So, my criteria for a full bank is simple:
- Does the bank have "- V", "V", "V -"? (RSL does.)
- Does the bank have "CV", "VC"? (RSL does.)
- Does the bank have "- C" and "C -"? (RSL does.)
- Does the bank have all common consonant clusters? (Sadly, not here.)
How is the phonetic system?
Let me start by saying that this isn't recorded with an American accent, so anyone who speaks with an American accent will be confused. I can't find any documentation with what is supposed to sound like what, so I'm just guessing. However, I know "er" universally means "@r as in bird". This bank has it sounding closer to "V".
This isn't a fault of the list itself, and anyone who records it can record it in whatever accent they choose to. However, if you notice that it sounds off, it isn't the list's fault. It's my fault for not understanding British English.
The system is intuitive enough that I don't think I need to remake the OTO with my phonetic system. I'll be annoyed that the symbol for an aspirated "t" is used for "T" and that an umlaut vowel is used for "dZ", but I expected to be way more in the weeds with this than I am. "N" is missing from CVC, and I believe "ir" is pulling double time for "I@" and "e@".
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| vowel list |
How is using the bank?
First, let me complain about a dumb nit-pick. I really dislike when there aren't spaces between the phonemes. For example, I want to input "l e", but to get the bank to recognize it, I have to write "le". That's the silliest little nitpick, and I could fix it in the OTO in no time.
The current OTOs are set so that all VC are actually "V C -". Depending on the exact usage, this may need to be fixed to add "V C". (Note, V C - includes the consonant inside of the pink with silence after it in white, whereas with V C, the consonant (or the space before it with plosives) itself is stretched out in the white.)
An issue with diphthongs is that you need to make sure that CV does not contain any of the second element, and I am needed to fix that a bit. That's why my list lacked them. But, for some accents they're a requirement.
I feel like one way to improve this bank may be to have separate OTO entries for diphthong pairings that will be used in conjunction with VC and those that will be by themselves. See? I don't have to worry about this with my list!
But, it's actually fun to use a bank that uses this list. There's less worries about having VC transitions for everything, and I do like puzzles.
Who is this for?
... I don't know. CV English sounds pretty tempting. It's an interesting puzzle, but you'll get more bang for less work with a list like mine.
I don't feel comfortable distributing someone else's list without permission, and I don't think I'll ever get permission from someone who seemingly doesn't exist. That means that for now, no one else can really try this list out. But, if I could point you to a link, I'd say that it's a fun experiment to see how CV English fits into the larger picture of UTAU.
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