[DECtalk] OT: Another Singing Synth!

Blake Roberts beroberts at hughes.net
Tue Nov 22 14:59:20 EST 2011


The first synth to sing Daisy is indeed on YouTube. Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41U78QP8nBk

The synth sings after a minute intro. It sounds very robotic, but good for
its era. This recording inspired the actor who played Hal in 2001: A Space
Odyssey to sing his own version of that song somewhere in the movie. I've
only read the book in audio, so I'm not sure where the scene is in the movie
version.

I also would like to hear a demo or two of Syng. Dectalk is, of course, the
best singing synth in the world and no other synth can substitute for it.
Blake
-----Original Message-----
From: dectalk-bounces at bluegrasspals.com
[mailto:dectalk-bounces at bluegrasspals.com] On Behalf Of Alex H.
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 1:38 PM
To: DECtalk Discussions
Subject: Re: [DECtalk] OT: Another Singing Synth!

Lol yes, I believe in 1969 or so that was the first singing computer.
It's on YouTube somewhere.

Alex

On 11/22/11, Jayson Smith <ratguy at insightbb.com> wrote:
> Daisy is a major one, with good reason. I don't know the exact 
> historical details, but I think sometime back in the 1960's some 
> programmers at Bell Labs programmed an IBM mainframe to sing that 
> song. As far as I know that was the first singing computer. That 
> program inspired a certain scene in
> 2001 a Space Odyssey. I won't say any more about that to avoid spoilage.
> So that's why lots of people make synths sing Daisy.
> Jayson
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Raymond Grote" <musicalman1 at comcast.net>
> To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
> Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:58:15 -0500
> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] OT: Another Singing Synth!
>
>> Well, by substitute I meant something like Vocal Writer. I love the 
>> sound
> of
>> that synth and I thought Syng would be able to sound closer to that 
>> than
> DT.
>> And in some ways it does. I'll post some stuff in a bit. Maybe i'll 
>> even recreate some synth classics, like Penny Lane and or Daisy Bell. 
>> Every singing synth like this seems to have a demo for one or both of
those.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Alex H." <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
>> To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 12:26 PM
>> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] OT: Another Singing Synth!
>>
>>
>> > No, well I didn't think it was a DT substitute anyway. Nothing can 
>> > replace that beautiful synth! Yes, if you can post an MP3 of it, 
>> > even though it's not perfect, please do. I'm interested to hear this
now!
>> > :)
>> > thanks,
>> > Alex
>> >
>> > On 11/22/11, Raymond Grote <musicalman1 at comcast.net> wrote:
>> >> Well, this thing doesn't look like it's all I thought it would be. 
>> >> It's certainly different from Dectalk, but it sounds rather 
>> >> strange. I made
> a
>> >> file of the ABCs, and even after spending around two hours on it, 
>> >> I could've done much better with Dectalk. So, I think Syng is more 
>> >> made for a singing robot sound effect, not for actually sounding 
>> >> like a person. You can understand the words, but they won't sound 
>> >> natural. I'd compare it to a Braille N speak type of synth sound, 
>> >> or an 80s synthesizer.
>> >> It definitely has its place, but it is not a Dectalk substitute! I
> wasn't
>> >> going to post any mp3s of it since  it didn't work out as I had
> expected,
>> >> however I am rethinking that decision and I might post some when I
> have
>> >> more
>> >> made. I can't find any audio demos of it from anyone else, at 
>> >> least in
> my
>> >> brief search, so maybe i'm not very good at it yet.
>> >> I'm pretty certain i'll post some demos for you to here, but still 
>> >> let
> me
>> >> know anyways if you want them or not. If enough people say no I 
>> >> won't bother, but if people want to hear, which I expect many do, 
>> >> then I
> will.
>> >>
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: "Alex H." <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
>> >> To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
>> >> Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 11:17 AM
>> >> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] OT: Another Singing Synth!
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>> Nice! Sounds pretty cool. Yeah, I'm not a MIDI expert by any 
>> >>> means, so it's over my head right there. lol thanks for posting 
>> >>> though, sounds very cool.
>> >>>
>> >>> Alex
>> >>>
>> >>> On 11/22/11, Raymond Grote <musicalman1 at comcast.net> wrote:
>> >>>> Hi,
>> >>>> Just thought I'd inform you guys about a singing synthesizer 
>> >>>> This
> isn't
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> best list to put it on since it doesn't have much to do with
> Dectalk,
>> >>>> but
>> >>>>
>> >>>> it
>> >>>> has to do with singing synths. If you're a musician and are on 
>> >>>> any
> midi
>> >>>> and
>> >>>> audio mailing lists or forums, you might want to post it there
> because
>> >>>> it
>> >>>> might gain interest. Maybe some already use it.
>> >>>> So, what is it? It's called Syng, and it is a vst plugin.
>> >>>> Here's a little bit about it. You control it with midi, so if 
>> >>>> you're not well rehearsed with that, I would recommend getting 
>> >>>> somewhat
> familiar
>> >>>> on
>> >>>> that if you want to go through the trouble. On channel 1 you put 
>> >>>> the notes you want to sing, easy enough. The vocal range is very 
>> >>>> wide, in fact
> i
>> >>>> don't
>> >>>> see a limit yet, but I'd obviously stick to the middle, it 
>> >>>> sounds
> much
>> >>>> better there. On channel 2 you put the phonemes. It's sort of 
>> >>>> like playing a drum set, where every note is a different drum 
>> >>>> sound, in syng there
> are
>> >>>> forty-nine notes given to the forty-nine phonemes.
>> >>>> For anyone who doesn't understand any of that, please do not 
>> >>>> torture yourself trying this. I don't want to be held 
>> >>>> responsible for your frustration.
>> >>>> To keep from boring casual listers, I'll keep the rest of this
brief.
>> >>>> It's a
>> >>>> freeby, which means you have to pay for it. Zero buks, in fact.
> Pretty
>> >>>> cheep, eh?
>> >>>> The manual, which is in pdf format, is readable, but there are a 
>> >>>> few tables, like those that describe the midi stuff, which are 
>> >>>> pretty confusing.
>> >>>> Not
>> >>>> only because the content is confusing but because of the layout. 
>> >>>> If
> it
>> >>>> gains
>> >>>> enough interest I'll consider converting it to text and making 
>> >>>> it
> easer
>> >>>> to
>> >>>> read, and maybe i'll write some stuff in myself if i'm brave enough.
>> >>>> As for how it sounds? The phonemes are in UK English, according 
>> >>>> to
> the
>> >>>> manual, so it will probably sound British, but to me it sounds 
>> >>>> australian, with the little i've played with it. I haven't 
>> >>>> ventured to look for demos
>> >>>>
>> >>>> of
>> >>>> it yet since I'm still learning it, and I don't want to get 
>> >>>> disappointed with how bad it really is, or here how bad I am. 
>> >>>> I'm working on some productions of my own, and if it's half 
>> >>>> decent, I'll make some demos
> of
>> >>>> my
>> >>>> own and give links to other demos if I find any. So with that 
>> >>>> said,
> the
>> >>>> link
>> >>>> to download it is:
>> >>>> http://www.xoxos.net/vst/vst.html Click on the link that says 
>> >>>> "Download Syng2"
>> >>>> If you have any specific questions about how to do something, or 
>> >>>> what something technical means, I'd recommend asking off list, 
>> >>>> although it really doesn't matter to me. It's more for the mods, 
>> >>>> owners, and other
> listers
>> >>>> who
>> >>>> aren't interested.
>> >>>> Enjoy!
>> >>>>
>> >>> _______________________________________________
>> >>> DECtalk mailing list
>> >>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>> >>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>> >>
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> DECtalk mailing list
>> >> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>> >> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>> >>
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > DECtalk mailing list
>> > DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>> > http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> DECtalk mailing list
>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>
> _______________________________________________
> DECtalk mailing list
> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>
_______________________________________________
DECtalk mailing list
DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk





More information about the Dectalk mailing list