MIDI Narrator is a MIDI-controlled vintage speech synthesizer, available as a DIY project.
It is based on the SP0256-AL2 speech synthesizer chip, which were used in 1980’s home computers and arcade games.
The MIDI Narrator kit lets you play its sounds from a MIDI controller or sequencer. In addition, it adds pitch bend, pitch modulation, random pitch, and stutter effects.
MIDI Narrator also has 8 memory locations for user-generated phrases. You can program it in step-time from a MIDI controller. Trigger the phrases to play back from its onboard buttons, or by MIDI commands.
Pricing and Availability
MIDI Narrator is available now as a DIY kit for US $139.
Great fun! I have a vintage chess computer that must use this chip, always wanted to sample it 🙂
I find no place to actually buy this…
“To place an order, send us an email that includes your shipping address, your PayPal account email, and which items you would like to purchase. We’ll send you a PayPal invoice. Shipping rates vary by location.”
nice. i love the sound of this. It makes me want to play Q*bert.
Can it be programmed to say “Moog is too expensive”?
yeh and it can also be programmed to say “Bill is funny”
Wow… I haven’t used these in 30 years. It’s amazing anybody had stock of these left over.
Moog One