Review on 🎤 Hatsune Miku V4X Bundle: Unleash Your Vocaloid4 with the Ultimate Package! by Chris Willis

Hatsune Miku as a sound bank - 5/5 stars. However, the bundled software, digital rights management, documentation, registration process and lack of a separate Piapro studio make this bundle a 2/5. As a native English speaker with some Japanese experience and above average computer skills, the software installation process leaves a lot to be desired. I didn't initially install PreSonus Studio One, which made PiaproStudio, and therefore Hatsune Miku, completely inaccessible in my case. . I tore my hair out for hours and later found out I needed a digital audio workstation with support for VST plugins. The software installation dialogs say nothing about the DAW, installing or using Vocaloid, or anything else. If you can't read the instructions in Japanese, you don't need to do anything. For the price I paid I assumed I would get a separate program to perform vocals and compose with, but this isn't included when you buy the Chinese version Hatsune Miku V4C. In other words, install PreSonus Studio One if you don't have your own DAW. If you have your own DAW, don't worry about PreSonus as it has its own learning curve and getting updates can cost you money. Access to Hatsune Miku. I say it here. Hatsune Miku V4X is not a full-featured standalone editing software. It's just a VOCALOID Miku soundbank with an integrated VST and DAW interface (PreSonus Studio One). To interact with Miku you need the paid VOCALOID4 or VOCALOID5 software, or you can simply run the DAW Piapro Studio (VST). You won't find Hatsune Miku on your desktop or start menu. There is no English or Japanese Piapro Studio that you can just run like any normal .exe, which was one of my biggest disappointments with this software. Here are the steps I took to get started. 1) Install Japanese Miku Voicebanks from CD using "Hatsune Miku V4X Installer".2) Install VST Crypton Future Media using "Crypton Future Media Installer". You need to choose the right installer that matches your PC's CPU architecture. Either 32-bit or 64-bit, but don't install both. Be sure to check the box to install CFM Piapro Studio VST. I don't know what CFM Mutant VST is, but I installed it anyway. 3) Download Studio One Artist Piapro Edition (APE) from the Presonus website. Skip this step if you have your own DAW. This step involves registering for a PreSonus account, activating your license with the orange card included with V4X, downloading the latest version of Studio One and installing it. This website was the least disappointing of those used during the setup process. 4) Register a Crypton Future Media account. This was difficult for me as the English site is hard to find and poorly designed. I later learned that the silver English language bank card in the box contained the address of the English registration page. 5) Activate the keys on the CFM account. Again, the design of the site leaves a lot to be desired. It is possible to register an account in English, but after that some pages will actually be in English. The page themes do not match the site. Some hyperlinks are ambiguous hyperlinks due to page style. There is no explicit process or guidance as to what I should do as a user on the site. I randomly clicked on the links until the corresponding license entry mask was found. 6) Download Miku English V4X. For some reason, Miku's English bank is missing from the CD with all the Japanese voice banks. Miku English language bank needs to be downloaded from the website after activation and finding the download link. Their license page on the CFM website contains a link (which unfortunately doesn't look like a link) to the V4X download page. After downloading the English Miku V4X I saved the file to a safe place so hopefully I don't have to visit the CFM website again. 7) Run ACTIVATE4 to activate the software. I was offered to associate the license with a hard drive OR a network card. This is confusing and raises many questions. Which of them should I take? What happens if my hard drive is replaced? What should I do if my network adapter fails? What if I'm upgrading my computer and want to transfer Micah to a new computer? Can I migrate alone or do I have to contact CFM each time? Is there a limit to how many times I can do this? Will my beloved Miku turn into a brick after 3 hikes!? I've seen good DRM in software like Steam where there is no risk of losing games due to hardware failure and the user doesn't have to think or worry about DRM. Crypton Future Media DRM is bad. I've answered some of my questions through trial and error. Yes, I can transfer the license to a new computer. This is done with the ACTIVATE4 software. I first used ACTIVATE4 to remove the license from my old PC. I then installed all the software on my new PC and ran the ACTIVATE4 program on the new PC. With ACTIVATE4 I linked the license to the new PC. Great, isn't it? No! Not at all! What if my computer burns down and my license is still tied to my burned down computer's network adapter? Do you understand what I mean? CFM DRM is bad. I never understood why the activation happens twice. Once on the CFM side and once on ACTIVATE4. This is another reason why CFM DRM is BAD BAD BAD. It's stressful because he seems so fragile. One mistake and my $200 investment turns into a brick. Again, I'm referring to Steam, which seems to have solved DRM with a user-friendly interface and user-friendly interface. CFM is trying to reinvent DRM and is doing very poorly. CFM DRM favors CFM over a user who just spent hundreds of dollars on Miku support software. DRM is a punishment for honest consumers and, in my opinion, pure madness. 7) Launch Studio One and create a new song. 8) Add a Piapro Studio VST to your DAW 9) Double click on the Piapro Studio logo in your DAW 10) Use the stylus in Piapro Studio to select an area (why? Confusing!) 11) Take notes in Piapro Studio 12) Visit YouTube to find out how to do the basic stuff in Piapro Studio after I went crazy trying to figure it out myself. the installation process is terrible. If you make it through the setup process, you will definitely be rewarded with the privilege of working with Miku. I honestly wouldn't go through this setup process with any other Vocaloid, but Miku is definitely worth it! I was delighted to become a producer and express my words with Miku's voice.