Uploaded July 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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The system has been restored, and with it, the lychgate finally comes open.

Snappy one-liners aside, hello! It's been a long ten years! It's been such a long ten years that I don't know how many of you actually know that I got my start working with vocal synths via UTAU w

SALVADOR was the first UTAU library I ever recorded—designed to add a voice to an older chat-bot OC I'd dreamed up earlier that year at the encouragement of my friend Cosmic, who, herself, voiced her own UTAU, Ayano. Prior to SALVADOR, my vocal synth knowledge consisted of maybe ten? Twelve Miku originals max? But Cosmic let me in on the UTAU secret and helped provide me with the resources to get started.

So I hunkered down with my laptop on the floor of my closet and blew through a reclist with minimal preparation, running the samples through Garageband until I had Salvador ACT 1—a buzzy, heavily accented library that delighted me immensely, but was quickly overtaken by Crevan, who originated as a failed attempt to update the old man and fix his more obvious issues (like the fact that he didn't have a ひ sample somehow?).

As you can tell by the fact that Crevan was a failed Salvador ACT 2 and that she was released a mere 2 months after ACT 1, I've been meaning to update SALVADOR pretty much since day one, but his voice has proven to be a pretty elusive tone to replicate. Given that I'd since changed mics, lost his original files, moved recording spaces, lost access to //any// recording space, and had my voice drop and octave or two, for a long while it felt like a SALVADOR update was little more than a pipe dream.

That is, until I found a used tablet, a USB to Lightning converter, and found out I could load my car down with towels and blankets to get a semi-serviceable recording booth.

Recording this library was hell ! ! ! I won't lie ! ! ! Never record outside in August ! ! ! Between the fact that it was a sweltering 80+ degrees in my car even as a I recorded in the dead middle of the night and that I was using the top of my range to replicate an airy head voice I hadn't had in a decade, it's amazing this library even exists. I originally recorded a total of four pitches with hopes of making a true powerscale (the remnants of which now exist in the form of the Expression Tool Kit), but only one actually sounded like the original ACT 1—and even then, it had to be edited heavily to achieve a unified tone.

And yet, even in spite of the struggle, I can say more than anything else I'm glad as hell that I decided to go through with this. It feels good to give some appreciation to the library that effectively served as my gateway into vocal synth. Just looking at my very first cover video and comparing it to what I'm capable of now, it feels surreal. So much has changed in ten years and I can't help but thank UTAU for helping me get there.

And Cosmic!! You're literally the reason I make vocal synth covers in the first place!! I'm fighting you endlessly and also bullying you into updating Ayano as well!!

That all being said, it feels good to use UTAU again! I definitely can't imagine myself switching back to using it full time (not when the ZOLAs exist and Synth V is testing the fortitude of my wallet w), but good god I missed using it and feeling a part of the community. I've started following UTAU tags again and searching up release videos and covers and it just makes me unbelievably excited and glad to be back, especially with my own UTAU in hand. Same vibes as drawing with your friends on old oekaki boards w

You can download SALVADOR Auto Recovery (and any of my old libraries, including a few that were previously unreleased) over on my new UTAU distribution hub, Wonderful Lychgate! wonderful-lychgate.carrd.co

With any luck, I might get a chance to use him again soon!! Though, perhaps more realistically, knowing how my years tend to play out, chances are you won't hear from me again until the ZOLA anniversary next year w Even still, I'm hoping at least I can do this man some justice this time around and not completely drop him the second I have another library ready.

ᶜᴼᵁᴳᴴ ʷʰᶦᶜʰ ᶦ ᵗᵒᵗᵃˡˡʸ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵃˡʳᵉᵃᵈʸ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᶜᴼᵁᴳᴴ ᶜᴼᵁᴳᴴ

Either way ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Please enjoy ! ! ! ! ! ! And thank you all so much for your support over the years ! ! ! ! In about a month, it'll be the 11th anniversary of me being a vocal synth user, and all I can say is that I look forward to seeing where else the path takes me and sharing the ride along the way ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ