How the Covox and Disney Sound Source Worked.

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In this episode I explore the Covox Speech Thing and Disney Sound Source.

[@JamieBainbridge]

"A one-voice sound synthesizer which can only produce square waves" is seriously the best description of a PC speaker I've ever heard.

Well to be fair this is not entirely true, it was really 1 bit, but if the CPU could work enough it could do a kind-of PWM using the inertia of the speaker

[@thelballyt]

Now we have a 2 bit sound synthesizer that can produce all kinds of digital waves!

[@dlol.]

TheLBall im pretty sure there is way more than just 2bit bit ok

[@connro]

For anyone wondering, the music he used to sample the various sound devices in the MOD software is called Space Deliria by the Crusaders.

[@BucketHead4901]

Did some digging, there is a track by that name by the Crusaders but the one in the video is by Dr. Awesome,

[@ametislady2]

"Even kitty approves" The only approval that matters

[@EnriqueGonzalez-qo5hn]

I agree, but the correct word is "approbation"

[@39zack]

😸😸

[@lettuce7378]

meow.

[@franprarod]

That's a multimedia kitty 🐈😊

[@vittosphonecollection4134]

@@franprarod 8-Bit Cat

[@yetidynamics]

Dungeon Master for the PC came with the "FTL sound adaptor" which looks and functions like the Covox, in 1987

[@mitchthompson3246]

Love the Duck Tales "The Moon" Nintendo music in the background.

[@dylanfinch2951]

10:12 It's amazing the way that laptop telepathically popped into his hands

[@XTHHedgehog]

Lmao

[@DataCab1e]

"Yes, this is the speaker that could produce square-wave tones that we're all familiar with. So, how did that work?" Poorly.

[@Rennyputansu650]

Haha

[@carledwards9477]

I built myself a DAC that plugged into the parallel port of my (then amazing) IBM 486. My main aim was to get MOD files to play and it worked really well. I still have the thing, somewhere. Hard to throw something away when you had to build three before it worked! Those were the days!

[@LGR]

Awesome video, David. Had no idea that Tandy emulator existed!

[@FedorSteeman]

A wild Lazy Game Reviewer appeared! (I know it's getting old)

[@deadplsdonotlook]

Lazy Game Reviews *you like woodgrain*

[@AveryatTwoohFive]

YA LIKE WOODGRAIN

[@markpenrice6253]

Hey, that's no way to talk about LGR. Everyone is getting older all the time. [Train #2's engine is getting old]

[@NikkiWrightVGM]

*Sees Duke Nukem in the video* I bet Clint posted here... *scrolls down*

[@KevboKev]

I have to say, and this may sound silly, but my wife and I are currently at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) with our newborn son, Finnegan, as of June 7th with many ailments and things we are all trying to figure out, but while we sit bedside with him, my wife and I have our laptops and watch Plex or KZbin videos. Well, your channel is one of my absolute favorites on KZbin, and it made me smile really big to see this new post today. I enjoy this channel and 8-bit keys so much (being a keyboardist myself) that I found myself watching all your videos again, just because, and they do bring a smile to my face. I love your content, the editing is fantastic, and your knowledge on all your content brings out the 80s kid in me. And for the length of one of your videos, you take me away for a bit, and the worries just melt away for a small amount of time. It truly means a lot. From a parent going through quite a rough time right now, from the bottom of my heart.....thank you, David! ~Kevin

[@KennethNicholson1972]

@Kevbo Kev. I know how it feels to have a child seriously unwell in hospital. My firstborn had meningitis so we were months first in intesive care, thenspecialist unit for her skin grafts. My second child was 8 weeks premature and had many complications that involved intensive care for a while and many procedures. I sincerely send you all my Love and I am praying for your family. I truly hope your little Boy gets through this and gets well soon. I know how it feels to be a Dad that is helpless to fix anything. Stay strong Brother. Love and peace from the UK.

[@roderickwhitehead]

Prayers for little Finnegan.

[@KevboKev]

:-) Thank you very much for the words. They mean a lot. I wish you all the best for you and your family.

[@KevboKev]

Thank you. :-)

[@fishmonger1526]

CHOP is a great facility - I had to spend a week there a couple months ago, everyone is in good hands and they know their stuff. Also, their food court is banging. Make sure you let Finnegan know how well you ate while you were there ;)

[@stevenclark2188]

The hilarious part about parallel DACs is they are usually a ladder shaped network of resistors. A speech thin clone can be built with entirely passives if you don't care about quality much.

[@boriscat1999]

I built mine many many years ago. it was a ball of electrical tape and poorly soldered resistors.

[@mikkoajt]

Building your own speech thing was quite popular in Finland too. If I remember correctly also the demoscene supported the speech thing.

[@siriokds]

@@mikkoajt I still waiting for a video about GUS used very often in demoscene as you know.

We used a covox built exactly this way, a jack and an LPT connector and some resistors. Worked pretty well.

[@theandroids6796]

I remember having my old 386 years ago and this odd device called a Speech Thing that I never figured out how to use. Keep in mine I was 10 at the time.

[@Geeksmithing]

I have a desire to play Ducktales all of a sudden.... not sure why....

[@Sama3L]

Felt the same strange desire...

[@Zuudo]

Thought I was imagining it

[@Sama3L]

bwoah... for real?

[@Geeksmithing]

Vikrinox nah, I don't think that was it...🤔

[@STCK78]

he played the moon theme when he was explaining how the music systems worked at the beginning

[@LMacNeill]

I spent WAY too much time playing Duke Nuke'm 3D and Prince of Persia back in the day. Two of my favorite old games, no doubt.

[@marklechman2225]

Love that opening music, so 80s. Would love to hear a longer version!

[@Domarius64]

This video was actually really technically informative, hearing the difference between the frequencies and also appreciating what it would take from the CPU when some or all of the work of making sound is left for it to handle.

[@lolfreddy]

Gotta love that Duck Tales Moon Theme song Remix! ;)

[@ChrisToefurBackCashGrab]

I came here to ask what that was, it was on the tip of my tongue, thanks :)

[@taffowst]

It didn't last long enough! Would listen to that forever

[@GenuinelyJake]

I love when you put the kittie in. So Adorable. Also love that synth music in the background.

[@pharmtek]

I love the CPU/Buffer/DAC illustration. Thanks for another great video

[@Krzychu-bh4rl]

I think that this device is simply R-2R DAC with amplifier. There are on internet some schematics with you can do your own soundcard for serial port. Very interesting episode :)

[@hikari_no_yume]

But the most fun thing about the Covox is making one yourself! It's just a parallel port and some resistors.

[@videotoblin]

My homebrew Speckle Think (as I called it) was involved in a deadly collision between my IBM Compatible Laptop and the wood floor...

[@LBSiUK]

@@videotoblin Oh dear.

[@TheWolvesCurse]

if you know your way with electronics that is. i can bend and bond sheetmetal to my liking, but resistors, capacitors, transistors and their function are witchcraft to me xD. i can switch out the pick ups of my electric guitars though. :D

[@UXXV]

11:55 "a few years ago" *Screen shows 1995*

[@pondermatic68]

This is a very well researched and produced video. I really like the new intro/outro music.

[@Scalibq]

I must say, I like the breadth and the accuracy of all the information in your videos. You tell a lot of interesting details of the inner workings of these devices, and all the information is spot-on.

[@rickyleeufc]

the intro music is perfect for this channel.. totally gets you in the mood for some flashbacks to the past !! good work keep it up 👍

[@swiperthesniper7355]

"Even kitty approves."Everyone,I present to you , 8-Bit Cat.

[@JasperTedVidalTale]

Or 8-Bit Kitty

[@hehehehehehheeheeh9706]

I've only been a subscriber for a short time, but I really like watching these videos. I've always been fascinated by old technology and how they work, and this is the perfect channel for watching that kind of stuff. I feel like I have a better understanding of how this stuff works. Thank you for providing this content!

[@gamertech360]

Always love catching your videos! You do an awesome job bringing my childhood back to life and I always learn something to boot!

[@driptopia]

Wow man trending. Went from 26k, to 100k, to 500k, now trending! Keep up the great work David.

[@MemeReviewer]

4:09 nice job using Space Deliria.

[@PLASMATIER]

Man, I gotta appreciate how much you've improved over the years. The white balance wasnt some of these irl shots, But now? You've got an amazing set up. Amazing to see the progress you've made David.

[@IsaacsTech]

This channel has grown so much! I subscribed when his iBook repair videos were new, lots of chance since then and now your in the trending! I hope you grow a lot more!

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Loved this video!! I remember the Disney sound and having to support it :)

[@OpenGL4ever]

My "Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro" that was sold as "Soundblaster Pro 4.0 from CPS" in Germany does support Disney Sound Source (DSS) and Covox Speech Thing thanks to an internal parallel port. But i never knew this, neither did i know that there was a TSR program, that can emulate Tandy sound. On the other side i didn't need that. Most of the games i played where released after 1989 and thus usually supported Adlib or Soundblaster.

[@Larry]

Sounds VERY Amiga-ish.

[@wildstray92]

I greatly respect how informative your videos are, and I thoroughly enjoy all the details. Thanks for all your hard work.

[@MatSpeedle]

Love the new intro/jingle and everything you upload Dave! Keep up the good work!

[@pryl]

at around 12:40, I was waiting for an "I" to show up for your tetris

[@TylerFurrison]

IDK why people are still complaining about the intro, I actually like it

[@stewiegriffin6503]

because people don't like changes

[@TylerFurrison]

wow, this is on trending​!

[@j.redhead]

Yea, the graphics are much more interesting, though I agree with others that the old intro had sharper sound. Plus the (awesome) sound of clacking keys. :)

[@AirborneSurfer]

The new music is pretty rad, but I need my PREEEOOOOOOWWWW 😋

[@TylerFurrison]

AirborneSurfer then watch old videos

[@billlumburgh8272]

One of the best vids I've seen on your channel, retro sound card stuff is awesome!

[@infinitecanadian]

I had intended to donate my Atari 8-bit computer to a museum. The RAM chipset was compromised and many of the disks were no longer functioning. However, when I saw you put a Compact Flash SCSI drive into a Macintosh and realized that there are many ways of fixing vintage computers and even upgrading them, I decided that I am going to try to repair my beloved Atari 800XL that I had so much fun on in high school. I am then going to get a cartridge with Compact Flash support and download a whole whack of software and have fun again. Thank you for your inspiration!

[@enderdavid_hdde348]

0:42 ducktales nes moon remix... nice🤣🤣🤣

[@EeveeLetsPlays]

Enderdavid_ hd I’ve been hearing that everywhere... That’s what it is. Thanks, I thought it was Kirby or some other shit. Thanks.

[@andyfawcett7060]

One of my favourite tracks on any nes game

[@florianthesnow]

Ah, thanks, I was trying to figure out just that!

[@leonard8510]

LOL... that freakin' Domino's Noid game

[@davekimball3610]

I was just saying, holy crap, it's the Noid!

[@AgsmaJustAgsma]

Recycled footage from the "How old-school videogame music works" episode, too.

[@AirborneSurfer]

Yo! Noid!

[@moenchii]

I love that music in the background while you explain the PC speaker sounds. Has a flair of nostalgia for me for the pokemon games and combines it with something very interesting from before my time on this planet.

[@McSynth]

I love the work that you put into your videos. Addictive.

[@chinapaulo]

The new intro is dope.

[@DarkWiNKenzo]

You are so right

[@herrpez]

3:58 "knulla kuk" He he he he.

[@sfs2040]

Fantastic work as always! I love learning about these old pieces of hardware.

[@orinokonx01]

Well thanks for this! I made a Covox ST a little while back and was struggling to find things to do with it outside of MODs, so this video has been a little bit of an inspiration to revisit this little device. Definitely got to try out SQ3 with this!

[@Oxocero]

Such a cute and beautiful kitty cat. :3

[@thegoodwillhustle4710]

Oxocero Hi!!! Come see my new videos!! Subscribe for more Thrifting and dollar tree fun!!!😊😊😊

[@thejay8963]

The Goodwill Hustle SHUT UP, CLINT IS MILLIONS OF TIMES BETTER AT THRIFTING THAN YOU SUBSCRIBER-BEGGING IDIOTS!

[@ThePhantomSafetyPin]

I had the SoundSource on my dad's Windows 3.11 machine when I was a child, and I didn't remember it until I saw the shape of that speaker. Holy shit.

[@NicholasMaietta]

Thank you for making me feel like a kid again! This was so much fun to watch and yes, i learned something in the process. Always wondered how this stuff worked.

[@Stonehawk]

I am ADORING your new intro, man!

[@philscomputerlab]

That list on Moby games is a bit misleading as it counts the Covox Sound Master. Far less games actually support the parallel port device unfortunately.

[@primemeow]

Michal Nemecek No, he means the Covox Sound Blaster.

[@Yukatoshi]

Kind of a mute point now there's a parallel AdLib choice.lol.

[@aDifferentJT]

II II *moot

[@Lomaxxx53]

Liking that new intro :DD

[@tomypower4898]

Dixit Dominus answer yes and yes!!!

[@retrobsolete7491]

Very informative video, thanks! I love learning about this old technology. I especially enjoyed your explanations of how the different systems accessed Ram, how CPU intensive they were, etc. Interesting stuff! Plus, dying 25 seconds into Space Quest III, how typical of my experience with Sierra games! I spent hours on that one, but finally did manage to beat it back in the day.

[@MausSpaece]

I've really enjoyed watching this channel. I had a lot of the older PC items you've reviewed such as the Tandy 1000SX.

[@alcid34]

I think you should have mentioned that the Speech Thing is simple to make since it's just made up of a resistor ladder that plugs into your parallel adapter. It's not that hard to create your own Speech Thing and a schematic of it is available at the Speech Thing's Wikipedia article.

[@Roxor128]

The docs that come with Triton Productions' "Crystal Dream" demo also include instructions on how to build one. They also include instructions for a stereo version which the demo supports, too.

[@Discern4]

Roxor128 - wow, I might've been game enough to try that if I had that demo back in the day. Our family PC only had PC speaker at the time with no expansion port to chuck in an SB16.

[@Roxor128]

Discern4 - Well, if you don't have a vintage PC to build them for and have to limit yourself to emulators like I do, DOSBox can emulate both. I don't know if it's in the official v0.74, but it's definitely in the SVN versions. I'm actually listening to Crystal Dream with it right now.

[@Discern4]

Roxor128 - Oh, I have no desire to do it these days, but it would've been a godsend back then when my only option was PC speaker.

[@VerzoHoldStudio]

You can use a new PC with DOS and the parallel port works the same. Actually any modern PC can be used as an "old PC with only PC-speaker". Except that some newer software support modern sound circuitry. You can also run DOSBox on real DOS and emulate old hardware components.

[@nihonam]

I wonder what sounds wil covox blow if keep it plugged while send some printing out to LPT.

[@chnhakk]

yes he should try that

[@bravo3000pirate]

Elevator music

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Ever had the opportunity to hear what a modem or fax sens when dialing? it should be pretty similar.

[@AlphasysNl]

There would not be happening anything, unless you fake the computer into thinking that there's an actual printer there. A printer uses a few more lines than the 9 for a covox.

[@stevec00ps]

Or a parallel port Zip drive? I might set that up tomorrow!

[@adrianchadd]

Hi! The best part about the Covox was the simplicity and how quickly you could build your own. I built an LPT DAC in high school in the 90s and used it to play and write mod music at school where we had fast computers with no sound cards. Plenty of friends got their first taste of electronics then by building one of these for their home IBM compatible before they could save up for a soundblaster. Ah, memories!

[@F0nkyNinja]

That intro and this content is so good, this should be a TV-show!!

[@wojkyblublu9274]

I adore 8 bit guy :)

[@AsILetYouDie]

3:57 "ma grande verge"

[@202Electrics]

I made one of these in de early 90's on some perfboard and some resistors. worked great. on a pc with 2 lpt-ports, you could connect 2 and you had stereo sound which sounded great for the time. used it a lot in making music in the .mod format in DOS. even my teacher was amazed so that I got an A in science-class haha

[@Sinulab]

dude - so love watching your videos. I was born in '70 and grew up with a Sinclair 1000 and Apple IIe. A software engineer today, I relive my youth watching these videos. =D

[@Niskirin]

Can you put some info on the music that you played when you showed the tracker music just after the 4:00 mark? Also, any hints on what to search for to get more like it?

[@rayh594]

Check out www.scenemusic.net/demovibes/ and modarchive.org/ There are many more, but that's a good start.

[@BarnacleButtock]

Ray Heasman Thank you

[@colonelgork]

bump for source

[@jasonblalock4429]

Yeah, that was actually a fairly generic example of an Amiga-style MOD file at the time. Like another comment said, you should be able to find a lot like it at modarchive.org. Hell, half of Amiga games had soundtracks that sounded like that.

[@daever995]

modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=57926 That is the song

[@sevensystemscross-platform1701]

Heh, now I know that I actually built a “Covox” when I connected 8 resistors with 128k, 64k, 32k, ... to the parallel port :)

[@drphilxr]

have exact same laptop setup w/covox 4 and thank God for 8bit guy rediscovering this for all of us!

[@bollux78]

Impressive sound from something that started as a very clever klugde to produce simple sounds! I'm amazed!

[@BadKarma714]

I love the 80's Intro also did you get the Keyboard I sent yet

[@ThanassisTsiodras]

Nice one David - brought back a lot of memories! Note that there was also a very simple circuit you could build with 8 resistors attached to the pins of the parallel port - basically the "dirt-cheap" version of Covox - which actually sounded quite magnificent (at least compared to the PC Speaker). Worth considering for a simple electronics/soldering video - a "build your own Covox" thing. Google for DAC/LPT circuit and you'll find lots of versions - basically the resistance just doubled at every output bit of the port.

[@Roxor128]

There's also a stereo variant out there. Triton Productions' demo "Crystal Dream" includes a schematic for it in the docs.

[@WrongHandedGuitarist]

True story. After we got our first 386, I downloaded a copy of FastTracker I, which was used to create those Amiga MOD files you mention in this video. I really wanted to try my hand at making some myself but we didn't have a sound card at the time. Amazingly in the help notes for that program it had a schematic and instructions for creating a homemade Covox D/A converter. One trip to Radio Shack with my older brother later and we had our own Covox clone that served us until we managed to get an SB16. Still have it too!

[@jrjgames]

Love the new intro and all of your content!

[@InsanePsychoRabbit]

*OMG NEW 8-BIT GUY VIDEO* (faints)

[@InsanePsychoRabbit]

OMG DUCKTALES REMIX (faints again)

[@DieselJS]

I quite like the new intro....

[@theSoundCarddatabase]

Thanks for the detailed analysis for both devices. Cheers!

[@demoscenes]

Really great. I liked this ep alot. You took all I knew(yes I am an oldschooler from 1986), and shred some light on this again :) Awesome!

[@papi9196]

I like the song he used for the sound testing but I don't know what it's called 😞

[@somethingsomethingson34]

It's called Space Deliria. You're welcome. :D watch?v=_g60hfiO1WY

[@ACA332]

This would be great for IBM PS/2 systems since finding a Microchannel sound card is damn near impossible!

[@racer9x]

wow this brings back memories. I had a sound blaster. But I remember the covox. There were even homebrew solutions that emulated the conox with a resisotor ladder attached to the parallel port. So as long as you had some sort of amplifier then for a few bucks you could make a homebrew covox

[@Dukefazon]

I really dig your videos. Technical enough to keep it interesting but not too technical I fell out.

[@95ville95]

Lmao, "Knulla Kuk" at 3:52 Any Swede or Norwegian here?

[@hammerfallfan1]

Vem kan glömma dom tidlösa klassikerna som land of feelings, fountain of sigh och knulla kuk...

[@bjornhanses2836]

Asså🤣

[@anomalix]

Lite sent men ja jag hajjade till lite där..

[@silkkimuikku134]

One from Finland also laughing out loud

[@wiktoreriksson4566]

Yep, Swede here.

[@IllidanS4]

I made a modified DOSBox that records PC Speaker and can convert it to MIDI.

[@Wflash00]

I would love to hear what Commander Keen game play sounds like as a midi 😆😆

[@Ofotherworlds]

We had the Disney Sound Source on the family computer as a kid. I remember it most from the Dick Tracey game. I had a 688 attack sub game but I'm not sure it was the one 8-Bit Guy mentioned. I think it was but I'm not 100% sure. At any rate, this is my childhood. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@ChaseMC215]

Your new Intro is awesome!!!

[@masterbawler]

whats the name of the song that you used for testing?

[@VitekSTZero]

"Spacedeliria", here on The Mod Archive: modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=57926

[@linushyper300]

WANNA GO BOWLING?

[@maxcaine9280]

It's by Bjorn Lynne, and you can listen to hecka updated tracks from him if you look him up

[@jessepatterson8897]

The second anyone puts the moon theme from ducktails in their video, they get a thumbs up, sub and my unconditional love

[@PhirePhlame]

Speaking of the PC speaker, I had an old Dell Optiplex, the one that every teacher had in their classroom back in the mid-2000s. Apparently in addition to that timer chip, the integrated sound card also had direct access to that internal speaker, which it used anytime speakers weren't plugged in.

[@livingmaga6299]

Lol I had the Disney sound source on my tandy1000 tx before I got the adlib sound card back good old 80s. Thanks for memories especially with Roger Wilco Space Quest 3.

[@ajvark]

9:12 disney sound source sounds way worse, but the lo-fi nature of it sounds like something hipsters would be all over.

[@Sabrintwitt3r]

Covox Speech "Thingy"

[@EpicBenjo]

Wow. I remember when I used to make music with SceamTracker. I can see some songs I recognize there - Some Purple Motion music! And Fountain of Sighs! I can still hear the tune in my head... This was a blast from the past!

[@pdedinski]

Back in the day i was using a DIY covox device with a bunch of resistors and couple of capacitors.. I remember a friend of mine digging up the schematics. It was a crude one, with some copper wires actually stuck into the LPT port (i didn't even had a proper connector), but it worked. And there was a DOS TSR program that was actually emulating the Sound Blaster and using the covox device.. So quite the number of games that supported the original Sound Blaster would work on it. I remember playing DUNE 2, Legend of Kyrandia (where I actually had speech through it) and some other.

[@randomunavailable]

Those blessed Amiga mods. Mmmm.

[@Roxor128]

Not just the Amiga (though you can't deny that's where the family originated). I listen to plenty of mods in formats that originated on DOS systems (mainly S3M and XM, with a few IT here and there).

[@randomunavailable]

Roxor128 Absolutely. There are quite a number of quality xm mods floating about. In fact it took the Amiga with at least a 68020 to play them.

[@Roxor128]

I can't say I have much familiarity with the 68k family of processors (I grew up on DOS). How does the 68020 compare to its x86 counterparts?

[@randomunavailable]

I'd say the 68020 was closer to a 486, If the 68000 was a typical 386 for example. The 68020 had support for a math coprocessor, and had more internal 24 and 32 bit registers than the 68000. It also ran at higher clock speeds, at least 14 mhz vs. 7 for the 68000 as well as a few other data caching enhancements.

[@KrotowX]

@@randomunavailable It was also RISC. Pity that IBM screwed things with PowerPC (or more precisely got stuck with chip building tech limitations 2 decades ago). Otherwise x86 CPU architecture most likely would be a history already at today.

[@velome_]

Great vidéo, tks :) Btw at 3:58, thé higthligthed .MOD file name "ma grande verge" mean in french "my big pen*s" , what does it do here looool XD

[@urielc918]

There's also "knulla kuk" which means "f*ck c*ck"

[@Aikisbest]

@@urielc918 Yea, I just saw that XD

[@WednesdayMan]

the new intro is great. in fact it's so good I never once thought of the old intro

[@JD-hu9sg]

I hit like before video even started. These are always awesome!!!

[@daveb5041]

What do you mean the sound source sounds bad? I thought you had just cut scenes to a live orchestra!

[@smufkin]

*ducktales moon song plays* *COMPTUTER STARTS FLYING*

[@jessepatterson8897]

Thank you baby Jesus I’m not the only one who freaks out when they hear that chip tune.

[@Discern4]

Wow, thanks for this. I always wondered what the Disney Sound Source sounded like, as I would always see it on the list of soundcards when booting a game.

[@Baronvideo]

Thank you for this episode. I enjoy always the episodes.