Zero-G Ltd
{{short description|Music company}}
{{about|the British sound library company|other companies|Zero-G (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Zero-G Ltd.
| logo = Zero-G logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| caption =
| type = Public
| genre = Music and video
| fate =
| successor =
| foundation = {{Start date|1990}}
{{Cite web
|url = https://zero-g.co.uk/pages/company-history
|title = Company History
|publisher = Zero-G Ltd
|access-date = 12 September 2020
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200912220107/https://zero-g.co.uk/pages/company-history
|archive-date = 12 September 2020
|url-status = live
}}
| founder =
| defunct =
| area_served = British Isles, European Union
| key_people =
| industry = Software, Internet
| products = Products
| services =
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| footnotes =
}}
Zero-G is a British company that develops sound libraries, sound effects and audio loops. It also develops "singing" synthesisers using the Vocaloid engine developed by Yamaha Corporation.
Products
= Sample packs =
In the early 1990s, Zero-G released the Datafile series, a trilogy of sample libraries comprising samples taken from the personal collection of Zero-G's founder, Ed Stratton. They were widely used in electronic music in the 1990s, particularly British house and drum and bass. The samples were unlicensed and the packs are no longer commercially available.{{cite web |last=Cant |first=Tim |date=1 July 2022 |title=10 classic sample libraries that changed music |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/10-classic-sample-libraries-that-changed-music-631133 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026174523/https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/10-classic-sample-libraries-that-changed-music-631133 |archive-date=26 October 2019 |access-date=2019-10-26 |website=MusicRadar |language=EN-GB}}
Zero-G has also released other known sample packs such as the Cuckooland series, Planet of the Breaks, and Ethnic Flavours.
= Vocaloid =
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical |width=180
| image1 =
| caption1 = Vocaloid Miriam Stockley
| image2 = Your Fish Tank Vocaloid Miriam.ogg
| caption2 = Your Fish Tank
}}
Zero-G developed an English edition of Vocaloid software. They subsequently were given recommendations by Crypton Future Media to Yamaha Corporation.{{cite web|author=Utaenai |url=http://vocaloid-creativity.totalh.com/index.php/vocaloid-news/15-qits-a-toyq |title=It's a toy! |publisher=Vocaloid Creativity Community |date=August 13, 2010 |access-date=September 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515030526/http://vocaloid-creativity.totalh.com/index.php/vocaloid-news/15-qits-a-toyq |archive-date=May 15, 2011 }} The company then went on to releasing both the first Vocaloid voices and the first English voices. The first Vocaloids, Leon and Lola, were released by Zero-G on 3 March 2004, both of which were sold as a "Virtual Soul Vocalist". Leon and Lola made their first appearance at the NAMM Show on 15 January 2004.{{cite journal|url=http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/comj.2004.28.3.89?journalCode=comj|title=Computer Music Journal|date=September 2004|volume=28|issue=3|pages=89–91|publisher=MIT Press Journals|doi=10.1162/comj.2004.28.3.89|s2cid=39910768|access-date=July 11, 2010|url-access=subscription}} Leon and Lola were also demonstrated at the Zero-G Limited booth during Wired Nextfest and won the 2005 Electronic Musician Editor's Choice Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.vocaloid.com/en/index.html|title=Vocaloid|publisher=Yamaha Corporation|access-date=July 11, 2010}} Zero-G later released Miriam, with her voice provided by Miriam Stockley, in July 2004. A patch was later released to update all Vocaloid engines to Vocaloid 1.1.2, adding new features to the software, although there were differences between the output results of the engine.{{cite web|url=http://www.vocaloid.com/en/download/en_1.html|title=VOCALOID Software Update version 1.1|publisher=Yamaha Corporation|access-date=December 18, 2010}}
After interest in Vocaloids grew, Zero-G began reselling their Vocaloid products again on their website, and were considering to update their box art to match current Vocaloid trends better.{{cite web|url=http://engloids.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/zero-g-interview-dom-keefe-vocaloid-production/#more-383|title=Zero-G Interview: Dom Keefe (Vocaloid Production)|publisher=WordPress|work=Engloids|date=January 28, 2010|access-date=July 8, 2010}}
Zero-G's first Vocaloid 2 product, Prima, came out on 14 January 2008 with voice of a Soprano opera singer. The second Vocaloid 2 product, Sonika, is marketed as being able to speak any language, even though she is primarily an English vocalist.
An edition of Sonika was released in Taiwan on 1 August 2010. Users can choose to use the original English or traditional Chinese interface, however it does not have a Chinese language input method or a Chinese singing voice. This is the first edition of Vocaloid software widely released to speakers of Chinese.{{cite web|url=http://www.ecapsule.com.tw/SONIKA/newsletter_0719.html|script-title=zh:飛天膠?新品發表會|trans-title=E-Capsule New Product Rollout|publisher=E-Capsule|access-date=July 23, 2010|language=zh}}{{cite web|url=http://store.pchome.com.tw/ecapsule/HM/view_sup_epaper.htm?sup_paper_no=001750630|title=Vocaloid2 SONIKA 正式開賣!|trans-title=Vocaloid2 SONIKA Formally On Sale|publisher=E-Capsule|access-date=August 9, 2010|language=zh}}{{cite web|url=http://store.pchome.com.tw/ecapsule/M06537520.htm|title=Vocaloid2 SONIKA ?擬女歌手|trans-title=Vocaloid2 SONIKA Virtual Female Singer|publisher=E-Capsule|access-date=August 9, 2010|language=zh}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.zero-g.co.uk/ Zero-G website]
{{Vocaloid}}
{{Authority control}}