Operation Guides
Installing a voicebank
Before you begin:
- This guide was written and coordinated by members of the UTAU community and has no affiliation with the UTAU software itself or its creator.
- This guide was written with users of WINDOWS 10 in mind, advice does not immediately translate to other operating systems or other versions of UTAU, such as UTAU-Synth for MacOS.
- This guide relates to the original UTAU software by Ameya which released in 2008 and NOT OpenUTAU, the fanmade UTAU alternative, as such the utility of this resource may vary.
- While the process of operating UTAU is ultimately safe when done correctly, JOEZCafe and other parties involved in JOEZUTAU projects take no responsibility for any incidents, loss or damage to users or property from following these instructions.
A voicebank?
A voicebank, described simply is a singer.
By default, UTAU comes preinstalled with the vocalist "Uta Utane", also known as "Defoko", a voice derived from the voice synthesis software AquesTalk, but any voicebank produced by a member of the UTAU community can be installed and used.
​
Voicebanks come with a variety of features, languages and formats, but this guide will go over the universal processes to install any bank you have downloaded for UTAU.
​
There is no centralised hub that hosts UTAU voicebanks as each user primarily hosts their banks independantly via third-party file sharing clients like Google Drive, Dropbox, MEGA and MediaFire, but there are resources such as the UTAU Wiki 2.0 that contain information on a wide array of banks, as well as the banks on this very site you're reading this tutorial from!
Unzipping and Pathing
Voicebanks are commonly downloaded as ZIP folders, begin by either unzipping the folder or entering the folder to copy its contents.
​
Locate the unzipped root folder inside containing all of the voicebank's assets.
Copy, then paste this folder into the voicebank directory you are currently using in UTAU, by default, the directory is:
(C:) [The storage device UTAU is installed on] > Program Files (x86) > UTAU > voice
Open UTAU and go to [Project > Project Property].
Where it says "Voice Bank" on the Project Property window (screencap below), the drop down list should contain the name of the voicebank you would like to use.
Once the voicebank is selected and you select OK from the menu, you will be using the voicebank in that project file.
The thumbnail in the top left corner of UTAU's interface should change to an image of the voicebank you wish to use.
Troubleshooting!
"I can't find the voicebank I installed in the Project Property menu!"
​
Fix 1. Was UTAU already open while you were adding the voicebank to the directory?
Return to the Project Property menu in UTAU, then select Voices > Reload Voice Bank, that should refresh the voicebank directory and your bank should now appear on the list.
Fix 2. Did you make sure the ROOT FOLDER that contains the assets was added to the directory?
If you add the voicebank's ZIP folder to the directory (even if the folder itself is unzipped), that will layer the assets behind two folders and UTAU will be unable to find them, check to make sure the voicebank's file directory matches the first example in Green and does NOT match the second example in Orange:
UTAU > voice > JYOZE CORE > (the assets of JYOZE CORE)
UTAU > voice > JYOZE CORE > JYOZE CORE > (the assets of JYOZE CORE)
Alternate Method: Manually pathing voicebanks
If none of the above troubleshooting methods work to successfully load from your voicebank directory, or you'd like to load a voicebank that is stored elsewhere on your computer, you can also manually load voicebanks from anywhere on your storage, simply do the following:
​
- Select the elipsis (...) button next to the Voice Bank pathway box.
- Navigate to the location of the voicebank you wish to use and enter the ROOT of the voicebank's folder.
- Simply press Open in file explorer while you're on the ROOT folder.
- Your project file will now source the voicebank from the path you've designated!
