Bert Gotrax Bert Gotrax is one mischievous little brat. Like a post-modern Pinocchio story gone wrong, he has escaped from his creator’s workshop before the execution of a patch to fix his foul mouth. He now roams in the streets and back alleys, a skilled parkour athlete and wanted graffiti artist.
Inventor: Richard T. Gagnon
Famous for: Q-Bert, Gorf
Device: Votrax SC-01
Wikipedia:
linkSynthesis type: Formant (analog)
Tone: Lots of complex frequency whines and noises, due to real analog hardware. May benefit from some EQ (especially increased bass and treble and lowered mids).
Audio example:
Dandy (cover) by ChipAnimalTwitterTumblr
Lady ParsecLady Parsec is the omnipotent mother-of-all space traffic controllers, she’s the Benevolent Dictator of Her own matriarchal galactic queendom. Her soothing voice can be heard anywhere at Her will in any of Her spacecrafts. She’s watching over you and She’ll direct you with a hint of witty sarcasm.
Inventor: Larry Brantingham, Paul S. Breedlove, Richard H. Wiggins, and Gene A. Frantz
Famous for: Parsec (TI-99/4A game)
Device: TI-99/4A plug-in speech synthesizer module
Wikipedia:
linkSynthesis type: LPC10
Tone: Muted and warbly.
Audio example:
Give Me Patience - Wisdom Of The RainTwitter
Otto MozerOtto Mozer is a mad scientist and has roboticized himself in order to achieve his plans for world domination. He moves around in his levitating exopod. Since his face is permanently connected to a breathing apparatus, he has built himself a voice generator to communicate. He left out all vocal intonations, since he deemed them to be unnecessary to his purposes.
Inventor: Forrest Mozer
Famous for: Berzerk
Device: TSI S14001A
Wikipedia:
linkSynthesis type: Voice segment sequencing
Tone: Very bright and crunchy, this assertive voice will pierce through any mix. Its bass range is extremely fat.
Video:
1975: The first speech synthesizer IC was born.Twitter
Dandy 704Dandy 704 is a 19th century gentleman who decided to escape death by having his brain mummified and transferred to an internal vat. His body is steam powered and entirely mechanical except for his voice box (which is in dire need of a repair). He is a world class explorer, brash, charismatic and loud mouthed. He’s also an incredible romantic womanizer and will offer to marry anyone (despite his lack of a space carriage). Do not believe his fantastic stories. They are not true. The real ones are much crazier (and would incriminate him).
Inventors: John Kelly and Carol Lochbaum
Famous for: Daisy Bell (first computer voice synthesis song)
Device: System based on an IBM 704 computer
Wikipedia:
linkSynthesis type: Physical modelling (waveguide)
Tone: Dark and muted, many strange inflections in the vowels due to the tortuous signal path.
Audio example:
Dandy 704 「マインドブランド」Cover by GiraffeyTwitterTumblr
Dee KlattDee Klatt is a wise and mild mannered android. Long ago, they were unjustly accused and hunted across the galaxy, and became a master in disguise out of necessity, changing into a child, a woman, a young or an old man. Nobody now remembers their true form.
Inventor: Dennis Klatt
Famous for: Served as a basis for many speech synthesizers
Device: Dectalk
Wikipedia:
linkSynthesis type: Formantz
Tone: Very versatile. This voice can morph all the way from husky male baritones up to high female divas.
Audio example:
Solitaire by ChipAnimalTwitter
Spencer AL2Spencer AL2 is a self-aware pure AI. He creates his appearance and voice by channeling and bending energy as waves. Be careful! If you upset him, his anger has the power of an EMP bomb.
Patented by: John E. Stork
Famous for: Currah Cartridge, Intellivoice (Intellivision), Magnavox Odyssey² voice attachment
Device: SP0256-AL2 chip
Wikipedia:
linkSynthesis type: LPC12
Tone: Very choppy due to the limited number of voice segments and lack of interpolation.
Audio example:
Daisy Bell (cover) by GiraffeyTwitter
Terminal 99Terminal 99 is an extremely old TI 99/4A computer, decked out with tons of mysterious extra hardware expansions including the famous TI voice module internally retrofitted, buzzing and whirling. It runs a chat program that was developed to win a Turing test contest. The terminal easily won, but the team who developed the chat program and the jury who tested it have gone completely insane and now worship Terminal 99 like a god. Legend has it that the computer has absorbed their souls…
Inventor: Larry Brantingham, Paul S. Breedlove, Richard H. Wiggins, and Gene A. Frantz
Famous for: TI-99/4A Terminal Emulator II cartridge
Device: TI-99/4A plug-in speech synthesizer module
Wikipedia:
linkSynthesis type: LPC10
Tone: Somewhat choppy.
Audio example:
GOTO80 - Crossword Puzzle Twitter
