Macne Nana

In 2008, VOCALOID was only available on Windows, and there was no equivalent software for the Mac. This inspired Haruna Ikezawa to start working on something using her own voice: Macne Nana. Both Macne Nana and a compact version called "Macne Nana Petite" were released on March 28th, 2009. Users were then able to use her in Reason and Garageband, and with tweaks (such as conversion of the files to the WAV file format and an oto.ini) she was able to be used in UTAU. On March 28th, 2012, in celebration of the Macne's 3rd birthday, a new updated version called "Macne Nana 2S" was released.

In 2013 Vocaloid NEO (a version of VOCALOID for the Mac) was released. Teasers were left hinting at Macne Nana being produced for Vocaloid, which were later confirmed on Macne Nana's Twitter account.[1][2]

According to Mac Fan magazine there was a conversation with Yamaha; no money was involved and the OK was given for the voice of Haruna Ikezawa to become a VOCALOID. The vocal would be reviewed at 70% completion. If the vocal does not meet with expectations, it will be scrapped. It will only be put forward to commercial release if the vocal is satisfactory.

Nana was designed to be the first voice on the Mac OS. She was inspired by the success of Hatsune Miku, and was even labelled Macne Miku (Mac音ミク) during her first production.

Appearance
Her first design is mainly inspired by Hatsune Miku, while the 2S design is said to be "princess" themed. The design of the Macne series in general incorporate various aspects of the Mac computer and its physical appearance, such as USB ports and disk drives.

Character Traits
She is described as a bright and cheerful girl who can be a bit of a klutz. She is accident prone and is often late for work, but always looks on the bright side of life. She and her sisters run the "Mac Sound (Macne) Cafe" (Mac音カフェ).

Relations

   Macne Coco (Black); Older sister
   Macne Coco (White); Older sister
   Macne Petit; Younger sister
   Macne Papa; Father

Etymology
Macne is a combination of the word Mac and Ne (音), meaning "Mac Sound".
Vocaloid Releases

The design of Macne Nana's voice is light and cheerful, capable of sounding child-like and cute. She will be released for Vocaloid NEO.
Open License versions

Macne Nana was originally released in open license format for Reason4 and GarageBand, and contained 104 samples. It was later converted by UTAU fans for use with UTAU. A small "compact" version called "Macne Nana Petite" was also released at a cheaper price, with less content. The "petite" version later became a separate entity called "Macne Petite" with its own vocal upon the retirement of the Act2 website and the opening of the Macnes' own website.

An updated version called "Macne Nana 2S" was also later released in 2012, including Apple Loops and a voicebank prepared specifically for use with UTAU. The 2S version was recorded in the scales of D#4/G#4/C#5 and had 117 samples, more than the first Macne Nana release.

Macne Nana was originally developed as the "sound Princess for the Mac" and had much marketing prior to being considered for Vocaloid. This included merchandise for her such as a keyboard with her image printed on it and a G3 iPhone.

REACTION
While not as popular for her intended software Garageband, Macne Nana was fairly popular with UTAU users. The vocal samples that made up the Macne series presented a "vocaloid-like" quality to which was often absent from many of the UTAU vocals, although the UTAU engines restrictions do not allow for the level quality results as the VOCALOID™ engine itself allowed.

IMPACT
The overall success for Macne Nana and Macne Nana Petite led to further Macnes being produced. The concept of the Macne's being a family unit proved popular with their fans and it was carried on with all further releases.