chipspeech
by Plogue · Synth · Vintage speech synthesizer
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chipspeech is Plogue's vintage speech synthesizer, which recreates 12 voices based on 1980s and earlier speech chips and talking computers.
You type lyrics and play them on a MIDI keyboard, with circuit-bending style controls, for $75.
Best for: Vocals, Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Pop, Lo-Fi.
Keywords: vintage, polyphonic, hardware emulation, sound design, monophonic, 80s, deep, futuristic, lo-fi, polish, retro, sequencer.
What it does
chipspeech "recreates the sound of famous 80's voice synthesis chips" as a playable synthesizer: you type lyrics, then sing them from a MIDI keyboard. Each voice emulates the synthesis method of the original system rather than playing back samples.
- Formant voices: CiderTalk'84 (MacInTalk 1.0 and the Amiga narrator), Bert Gotrax (Votrax SC-01), Dee Klatt (DECtalk) and SAM.
- LPC voices: Lady Parsec and Terminal 99 (TI-99/4A speech module, LPC10) and Spencer AL2 (SP0256-AL2, LPC12).
- Other engines: Rotten.ST (Atari ST speech, windowed oscillator sync), VOSIM, Otto Mozer (TSI S14001A segment sequencing), Dandy 704 (IBM 704 waveguide model) and the filter-bank VODER.
- Lyrics and text: up to 128 text lines of 128 syllables each; the bottom two octaves select lines, and an X-SAMPA phonetic mode fixes words the automatic pronunciation gets wrong. Japanese input in hiragana and katakana is supported.
- Performance: legato playing gives talkbox-style glides, and polyphonic mode stacks voices into chords.
- Circuit bending: emulated chip abuse for chaotic, glitchy sounds that still follow the keyboard.
- Sound shaping: Control, Modulation and Mix pages for deeper editing of each voice.
It supports NKS for Native Instruments keyboards. A demo is available.
When to use it
chipspeech is the pick for vintage talking-computer voices played as an instrument. Compared with a vocoder such as TAL-Vocoder or Arturia Vocoder V, it needs no input voice, because it generates the speech itself from typed text. Unlike general synths such as Serum 2 or Pigments 7, which can only imitate formants, it reproduces the actual speech engines of the original chips, quirks and all. That makes it narrow in scope, but there is little else that covers this sound so accurately.
- Best for: robot vocals, retro computer voices, vocal hooks and spoken samples, and game or sci-fi sound design.
- Genres: electronic, synth-pop, chiptune, electro, lo-fi and experimental.
- Look elsewhere if: you want natural sung vocals (a modern vocal synth) or you want to process your own voice (a vocoder like TAL-Vocoder).
- Tip: play legato for talkbox-style glides, and switch to the X-SAMPA phonetic mode when a word comes out wrong (Computer Music).
What producers say
Computer Music was unreserved in its praise, with no real faults found.
- Computer Music (via MusicRadar) called it "a powerful and polished product" and "pretty much faultless", praising the chip emulations, the deep parameters and the accuracy of its English pronunciation.
- Standout features: the reviewer singled out the phonetic input mode, the Circuit Bending modes and the "robotic barbershop quartet" polyphonic mode.
Where to buy
- Plogue: $75
Tutorials and reviews
- Plogue chipspeech VST/AU speech synth plugin in action!
- Plogue chipspeech teaser
- Plogue Alter/Ego and Chipspeech tutorial - rhythmic pads made from consonants
- Plogue chipspeech - live MIDI test with a friend
- Plogue chipspeech + chipsounds + Renoise
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