MIDI-Controlled Intellivoice Synth

intellivoice

Mattel Electronics presents…

Intellivoice
Boom!

It’s been a long time since I started this project, but I’ve finally got my Intellivoice Synth running.

Since last time, I added MIDI control and transferred things to a smaller circuit board (and Arduino) in order to fit everything back in the original case.

intellivoice
Working out how to get the new guts into the old housing
intellivoice
USB MIDI control, 1/4″ output

So what does this little synth do? It takes MIDI notes (from a keyboard or DAW), and uses them to trigger the sounds built in to the Intellivoice chip, which, as it turns out, consist of mostly numbers.

Check it out:

I might look into a few more tweaks. Currently, each word will always play to the end, even if another word is performed before it’s finished. I’m not sure if this is a property of the Intellivoice chip, or something I could fix in my Arduino program.

Why pursue a project like this one?

Games and gaming hardware are mass-produced devices with planned obsolescence and few serviceable parts. By “hacking” and customizing gaming hardware we regain personal ownership of these devices, and we can turn obsolete equipment into performable, expressive instruments.

intellivoice
A few last-minute modifications to the audio-chain

An earlier version of this synth actually appears in the electronics of my new commissioned work, Hirazumi (more about the piece here and here), and I think the hacked Intellivoice fits perfectly into the post-digital, cyberpunk aesthetic.