Bones

Bones
Biographical information
Gender	Male
Voice	Tora-Ouji
Illustrator	Tora-Ouji (Original) Sleppu (Current)
Product information
Initial release	October 31, 2016
Status	Available
Operating system	Windows MacOS
Language	English (Primary) Japanese

BONES is a masculine vocal for Alter/Ego. He is the default vocal and contains both English and Japanese voicebanks. These were developed and voiced by Tora-Ouji.

History

Development

The development on BONES started around the time that Daisy was finished. At the time of conception, BONES was not planned to be an Alter/Ego voice. He was first introduced in Jan 2016 as the first male vocal for the software under the name of "Bones_β".

In March it was reported that the first working demo was completed.

On October 31, 2016, BONES was released and replaced Daisy as the default vocal. Alongside his release, an original song contest was held; entries were accepted until December 2016.

Although BONES is a free vocal, there was a physical copy that could be bought on Tora-Ouji's Storenvy.

Cancelled voicebank

Chinese support for Alter/Ego was first publicly considered in April 2016. In December 2016, the initial teaser for a BONES Chinese vocal was released. The idea behind the vocal was to thereby prove that the engine could in fact handle Chinese, and open up the option for more languages to be used in Alter/Ego. A sample of the Chinese voice bank in its early developmental stage singing Mo Li Hua was later released.

It has been confirmed that this vocal has been cancelled, and that there were never any official plans for Chinese implementation.

In September 2017, following the retirement of Alter/Ego, Tora-Ouji announced their official departure as well, as they felt it did not work out for him. However, he made it clear he would continue to support BONES.

Update

On November 8, 2023, Tora-Ouji announced that an update for BONES was in development. This update was noted to have no timeline, and no involvement with Plogue. Tora explained that this update does not signify a revival of Alter/Ego, and the intention is to be a homage to the supporters of BONES over the years. The update's features were announced to be revamped samples using modern technology, an updated configuration for optimized use, removal of redundant phonetic combinations for better performance, and the implementation of multi-pitch. Rather than two separate vocals, the focus will be primarily on English with the necessary phonetics from Japanese being incorporated into one consolidated vocal. Provided with the update will be a new license, and the distribution method will be the same as previous. This update will be available in addition to the original, and more information is expected to release.

Concept

BONES is a bilingual male vocal that was released on October 31, 2016, and is now considered the default vocal for Alter/Ego. According to his Twitter profile, his location is in a graveyard.

Etymology

BONES is a given name based upon his theme. His Chinese name is Lúgǔ (颅骨) which is the Chinese term for "Skull".

Appearance

BONES draws inspiration from horror thematic, sporting sharp fangs, pale skin and hair, sharp nails, and skeleton imagery. Additionally, his color scheme and companion, Diggard, draw inspiration from rustic, machine imagery; making use of blues, greys, and silvers. BONES has facial tattoos, as well as facial piercings (septum, ear, and gauges).

Relations

• Diggard - Companion

Product Information

Demonstrations

Demonstrations

Bones_β English SILENCE (teaser)	SoundCloud
Lake	SoundCloud
It's Bones	SoundCloud
BONES_Japanese Into Starlight [Unfinished WiP Cover]	SoundCloud
BONES_Japanese 1.0 Raw Vocal Showcase	SoundCloud
BONES_Talker v1.0 Sample	SoundCloud
BONES_English 1.0 Raw Vocal Showcase	SoundCloud
Mo Li Hua / “颅骨(β)”榜样【茉莉花】	SoundCloud

Voicebank Libraries

• English vocal & Talker
• Japanese vocal

Product Information
Optimum
Genre: Unannounced  Tempo: Unannounced  Range: Unannounced
Basic details
Bones was released on October 31, 2016 by Tora-Ouji. Bones is a masculine vocal and replaced Daisy as the default vocal for the Alter/Ego software. It should be used with Alter/ego engine 1.505+. The voicebank is free to download from the Alter/Ego webpage, however there is a physical copy for 20 USD. It is both Microsoft Windows and MacOS compatible. The purpose is Vocalizing, Singing, and Text-To-Speech. English vocal explained: Bones' English vocal has a lower tone with a standardized American accent. He can cover bass, baritone, and tenor regions, but is more adept with the lower ranges. Talker explained: This is a speech mode using the same files as the default English voicebank. Bones was the first Alter/Ego to support this feature, being released after the Chipspeech vocals were enabled to use this feature. This mode only supports English.
Language as noted:
This voicebank was recorded for the English language. The English or "en" vocal acts as the default vocal when installed.. With manipulation away from a more human-like result, he can be made to do dubstep bass "wub" sounds using no external effects.
Software issues as noted:
Several users have noted that while Bones sound quality is exceptional, his transitions from syllable to syllable are considerably choppy. Often it is recommended to place phonemes on their own notes for better control of this problem. Being released before the multipitch patch, Bones is also monopitch which limits his capabilities.
Voicebank sample
Bones English vocal Bones Talker
view • edit

Product Information
Optimum
Genre: Unannounced  Tempo: Unannounced  Range: Unannounced
Basic details
Bones was released on October 31, 2016 by Tora-Ouji. It is bundled with the English or "en" vocal in the physical edition. It is both Microsoft Windows and MacOS compatible. The purpose is Vocalizing and Singing.
Language as noted:
This voicebank was recorded for the Japanese language. Unlike Daisy, whose Japanese and English vocals were both preset on just one database, Bones has separate databases for each language. In either case, the vocal will still register lyrics for the opposing vocal, but the resulting sound will be a phonetically broken. For full language mastery, users will need to swap between Bones (en) and Bones (jp).
Software issues as noted:
There are no presets for this vocal. This database similar problems with transitions as the default "en" vocal, but is generally more noticeable. At times, the voicebank has a noticable accent which is difficult to work around.
Voicebank sample
Bones Japanese
view • edit

Requirements

• Raw File Size: 235MB
• Recommended Ram: 4GB (Enough to run a 32-bit DAW)
• File Size of English DB: 198MB
• File Size of Japanese DB: 61MB

Examples of Usage

Search for music featuring Bones [show/hide]

• "Alter/Ego Bones" on Niconico Video.
• "Alter/Ego Bones" on YouTube.
• "Alter/Ego Bones" on bilibili.
• "Alter/Ego Bones" on SoundCloud.
• "Alter/Ego 颅骨" on Niconico Video.
• "Alter/Ego 颅骨" on YouTube.
• "Alter/Ego 颅骨" on bilibili.
• "Alter/Ego 颅骨" on SoundCloud.
• "Alter/Ego Lugu" on Niconico Video.
• "Alter/Ego Lugu" on YouTube.
• "Alter/Ego Lugu" on bilibili.
• "Alter/Ego Lugu" on SoundCloud.

Gallery

Silhouette

Original interface

Wallpaper

Logo

Official art by Sleppu

External links

• http://www.plogue.com/downloads/
• http://toraouji.storenvy.com/products/19282471-bones-alter-ego-physical-edition
• twitter
• homepage