The Voder: 1939, the worlds first electronic voice synthesizer

[@dorianperry2297]

"We don't anticipate any commercial use for the Voder." Little did they know...

[@ZuraTheCat]

Wait.. can I buy one?

[@okunote5805]

@@ZuraTheCat i think they're referring to vocaloid/voiceroid and similar products ^^

[@manwhat4432]

@@ZuraTheCat well, there's a Voder voice in Chipspeech

[@arianamarie8442]

@@manwhat4432 did they manage to replicate this one? I've searched for examples of its voice everywhere, but I can't find any. I'm considering buying it, but without an example of his voice I'm pretty unsure.

[@simpsonmom]

@@arianamarie8442 there's a demo you can try

[@dalebaker9109]

brilliant, 78 years ago, we had a voice synthesizer. that is beyond amazing.

[@acf2802]

Considering its functionality as such is completely reliant on the skill of an operator requiring "a year of constant practice" I would say it qualifies more as a musical instrument.

[@dvoraj20]

@@acf2802 I believe that Dale was talking about Mrs Harper here, not just the machine.

[@elirosenkim3659]

@@acf2802 all synthesizers are musical instruments

[@Alan_One1]

Some Dieselpunk stuff right here.

[@user2C47]

It might be possible to make it automatic, but each word would have to be programmed manually.

[@ConstantThrowing]

This lady must know this machine to an extreme degree of detail. What a powerhouse.

[@RogerTheil]

Out of 300+ women training on this thing, she made the cut for the tech demo. That speaks for itself.

[@bengelman2600]

Reminds me of the theremin. Dude that made it was good, lady was amazing. Girls are no joke.

[@justinfleming5119]

3:45

[@TzOk]

This was pretty typical for early machines, that the operator must know well the principles of their operation. Not different was with early cars, not to mention early computers.

[@NuntiusLegis]

It probably was a dreadful process to operate the machine, in partriarchy, usually the most dreadful work is done by women. That's why the first programmers, who neded to program directly in the binary system or even by rewiring, were all female. I guess to escape this, it was also a woman, Kathleen Booth, who inventend the first symbolic programming language, Assembler.

[@inzane86]

10 years later it got it's wish to become a real boy, and founded Kraftwerk.

[@cdibradshaw82]

truly an operator of a pocket calculator

[@Switcher1972]

Truly a future man machine...

[@ThomasNimmesgern]

In their sparetime, they pretend to be robots driving on a German highway. Die Fahrbahn ist ein graues Band, mit weißen Streifen, grüner Rand.

[@thiesenf]

And it also play music nonstop...

[@littlebritain64]

Uno, due, tre-quatro (quattro😄).

[@matrixate]

This was profoundly advanced for the 1940s.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

1930s ;)

[@mattdonmovies]

@@TheMrPeteChannel it was almost the 40`s

[@ff-qf1th]

@@mattdonmovies then it would be the late 30's

[@ImSumGuy]

Take into account this was recorded in 1939, and the woman said they took about a year to learn, assuming they didn't all try to learning at the same time (a class of 300+ is practically impossible, especially for non-commercial equipment where production is limited), all things considered, the earliest I'd deduce this to be in active development with prototype would be 1937. Wikipedia validates this saying it was invented 1937-1938, indicating uncertainty to the exact date of first prototype, likely due to related work the inventor was doing.

[@buddyguy4723]

@@ImSumGuy they probably had one machine giving 1 hour lessons per day per girl over one year.

[@HazeAnderson]

"Helen you are so silly. Let's her him recite:" INTERGALACTIC PLANETARY PLANETARY INTERGALACTIC

[@JuniorJr...]

"Another dimension, another dimension"...

[@michaelallen2418]

Zen Intergalactic "Planetary" Ninja. Silly stuff. Crash dummy test pilot.

[@BubsCC]

DECEARING EGG

[@darynvoss7883]

L I M P Spell it Discover

[@YKW-YouKnowWhat]

lol, nearly got heart attack

[@TracksWithDax]

Man, hats off to Ms. Harper... this is actually way more complex than playing piano, even!

[@niccster1061]

@MorbidManMusic I have played a large variety of instruments before and I can tell you that piano is very simple. Sure you can play very impressive things with it but it is very limited to only a few factors. Things like the vodor have an immensely difficult learning curve because of all of the factors you must control. The entry level difficulty for the vodor is much more difficult than with piano

[@merendobereglidditz9304]

True! Like piano, organ and steno machine at the same time. Throw in a foot operated loom, too. Wow.

[@Guitcad1]

I would compare it to playing pedal steel guitar.

[@havokmusicinc]

More like a full organ with multiple manuals (keyboards), a pedal set, and stops (switches which change the timbre be engaging or disengaging sets of pipes).

[@King_Flippy_Nips]

what about homer dudley who invented it and also speech synthesis, didgtal compression and digital encryption/decryption, we wouldnt have modern computers or the internet or cell phones and satellite communication without his groundwork

[@MrLewooz]

who thought about the HOURS the operator, this brilliant woman, spent on that bloody machine before extracting the sounds for this demonstration....

[@Avetho]

She was skilled beyond measure compared to just about everyone today. Its too bad Helen Harper is probably no longer in the land of the living, she was certainly an adult in 1939, that assumes she was born in perhaps 1920 at the latest, more likely 1915 or so since in photos she appears to be mid-20s, so that's over 100 years ago. But wow, realtime speech synthesis, her skills were at the level of replying via machine-voice at the same speed that it would take her to reply with her own vocal cords! She basically rewired her own brain by sheer will and hours of practice to be capable of two individual modes of speech!

[@MichaelWeaser]

@@Avetho Helen Harper was born in 1918 and passed away in 2010 : www.northcountrynow.com/obituaries/helen-harper-92-formerly-norwood

[@mr_silver_eyes]

Seeing a woman working in a field like this was definitely rare in those days.

[@佐助うちは]

The grandpa of Vocaloid.

[@nolongeractive8257]

more like great-great grandfather of ALL vocal synths

[@feralferret]

Vocaloid isn't a true voice synthesiser, it's more a mixing method of splicing pre-recorded snippets. A true synthesiser generates the sound without samples.

[@MakkusuOtaku]

@@feralferret Not really, it does synthesis to a degree. Like in longer notes and such. Of course some of the newer ones are a bit more complicated

[@romo2674]

The father of Vocoder.

[@jeopardy60611]

As I said in a previous comment, the only thing missing is the automated control of a computer. I suppose that if you talk about doing Vocaloid where you add a vocal electronically to a song, it would only work with a live performance with Helen having to produce the speech on the fly. She could probably "play" the voder to sing Auld Lang Syne with a band. But it takes a computer to lay the vocal down as a recorded track and keep it in sync with everything else recorded in a song.

[@joesmoe71]

Still easier to understand than half the people I work with.

[@officialJoCa]

u wut mate?

[@MarquisDeSang]

easier to understand than Biden

[@Slarti]

As a software developer what I find so amazing is that they developed something that had no real use, but the work in developing this probably yielded some very important technologies or understandings. It's s shame that nowadays so much of what we spend money on has to have a use or what we call in the software world a 'use case' . Sometimes discovery and play are good enough reasons in themselves.

[@dockdrumming]

Spot on.

[@jeopardy60611]

Like I said in another comment, the problem with the Voder was that it had to be operated by a person. Speech synthesis only became useful when it was built into computers. I actually find this video fascinating because I'm a computer programmer and do automated phone applications, one of which is a voice internet service that reads email and web pages with text-to-speech. I got interested in doing that because of discovering synthetic speech devices as a kid, such as arcade games like Berzerk and Gorf, a voice-enabled chess computer, and a Speak & Spell.

[@eog1234]

It might have changed some mutes life at the time though

[@jonp4846]

There was a lot of discovery and play going on at Bell Labs back then.

[@lecapitaineisonyoutoob]

LEDs are another example. Basically useless for several decades outside of edge cases, then gradual breakthroughs in colour and efficiency left lightbulbs in the dust.

[@wardrich]

The person working the Voder is the real champ. That keyboard + FX chain must have taken forever to master.

[@King_Flippy_Nips]

yea i guess homer dudley who invented it was a chump he only invented speech synthesis, digital compression and digital encryption/decryption, we wouldnt have modern computers or the internet or cell phones and satellite communication without his groundwork

[@rich1051414]

A musical ear, great hand eye coordination, and obsession was required to operate one of these. I wonder if anyone is left that can still puppet one of these.

[@bountyhunter4885]

Hold my beer, while I crack my phalanges... 👋🎹👋 🎼🎶🔊

[@-lightswitch-2916]

“SHE saw me.” “She saw meee!” “She saaaw me!”

[@joannamysluk8623]

Simps: ⬆️

[@leavemealone2154]

@@joannamysluk8623 your rude

[@joannamysluk8623]

@@leavemealone2154 Um no, I was making a joke.

[@amansardana8639]

Objekt!

[@GullibleMcFly]

Joke: funny. 🙄

[@AllUsernamesTaken]

That takes hella talent to control.

[@l3p3]

No, just practise.

[@niccster1061]

@@l3p3 no. Practice creates talent. So both of you are right

[@Qui-9]

@@l3p3 if you listened to the video, you'd have understood that less than 10% of anyone could operate it sufficiently after an entire year of practice. So yes, talent was required.

[@IPODsify]

It seems there aren't enough buttons on it for this to be a legitimate product. Unless the buttons are individual phonemes? Well there are like 30 phonemes in standard English so I'm curious

[@TheSunshineGroup]

@@niccster1061 so does that explain the 6 year old piano prodigies? Do you not believe it born talent?

[@buddyclem7328]

Helen, could you have him say, "Domo arigato Mister Roboto"?

[@DARisse-ji1yw]

Please don't.

[@jeopardy60611]

The effect in the Styx song is done with a Vocoder, which takes an audio signal with speech and makes it sound like a robot. The Voder actually produces speech.

[@buddyclem7328]

@@jeopardy60611 Yes. If you look deeper into how a vocoder works, you'll find that the voder is half of a vocoder. We use a version of the vocoder daily every time we use the telephone, and that's why phone calls sound funny. Vocoders are my favorite musical effect, since I grew up in the 1970s.

[@jeopardy60611]

@@buddyclem7328 I'm very disappointed that cell phones, cable phones, and other VOIP phones sound inferior to a traditional landline, but even though I got a landline when I moved into my new place 2 years ago, everyone I call has a phone that sounds horrible, so I can't understand people on the phone. It's almost as bad as 100 years ago when phones weren't amplified and you could hardly hear on them, as I tried out an early phone in a museum once.

[@buddyclem7328]

@@jeopardy60611 I think that land lines have also degraded in quality. Since there are so many phone companies, and so many types of phone service now, it could be caused by encoding and decoding the audio stream multiple times and using different methods of encoding. Lag is the hardest part for me to get used to, followed by the uncertainty that I can be heard. It also bothers me that I cannot disable Caller ID on incoming calls.

[@FloppyDiskMaster]

Still better than the speech synthesis in Tomodachi Life

[@LuciferXFallen290]

Floppy Disk Master gotta agree on that one

[@kotla333]

Yo coming for the ATTACK

[@hollyjohnson5420]

they may be less expressive but they sound WAY more like what youd expect to come out of a real persons mouth

[@ruler_of_everything]

it actually sounds the same sorta

[@MilesPrower1992]

"Here. I want you to have this."

[@rinv9431]

interesting how in the past ten year vocal synthesizers have completely boomed and sky rocketed in popularity. it has developed faster than ever and it’s sounding more human than these people would’ve imagined. Cool to see where it all started in 1939

[@AriaTheSongKeeper]

At 1:18, when the Voder said "greetings, everybody," I think of KAITO's voice and how they sound somewhat similar. P.S. 1:28 makes me think of Gackupo.

[@sasukes.6370]

So I wasn’t the only one that thought this machine sounded like the Vocaloid guys xD

[@MonoLith2049]

Voder: I am your father Daft Punk: Noooooooo... Daft Voder :-/

[@layoutgames-boris3481]

Daft Punk made the voice synths using talkbox

[@harukatakahashi8822]

@@layoutgames-boris3481 when was the talk of invented

[@harukatakahashi8822]

xD lol?!?!?

[@robinok3]

the best part is I came here after watching 2001, and I feel like I've come full circle

[@macadamianut824]

Layout Games no they didn’t. They used the vocoder.

[@da4127]

That “mooo” was the creepiest thing of the whole video

[@dan4lau]

As someone who relies on speech synthersis every day, and who oft takes it for granted, this is kind of humbling. Created simply to prove a principle... or just to wow folk with what Bell labs could do, its inventors had no way of knowing they had created the dinosaur ancestor of Hal and Jaws and Window Eyes. Totally amazing stuff! Someone needs to create a screen reader voice that sounds like the voder!

[@Guitcad1]

Thing probably had a bazillion vacuum tubes and could heat the room in winter by itself.

[@hunteradcock8023]

In a number of seconds no less

[@MrSpacelyy]

It actually is more like an electronic organ. Not a computer. It would just be as warm as an organ

[@owenwilliams1222]

I feeel fantaaaaastiiic

[@LooDoesStuff]

RustyRainbow22 I Love this vídeo XD

[@guys-in9vd]

also

[@MrScoopoo10]

Please leave

[@Shiznit304]

hey hey hey

[@slimeslaggagedon794]

@@Shiznit304 It's faaaaaat Albert!

[@David35687]

This was done with live keyboard and foot pedal input by the operator to produce ANY words or sentences instantly. Without a voice tube or mic input, I don’t think anyone could do this LIVE today with any modern synth.

[@jeopardy60611]

You're thinking of a "vocoder," "talkbox," or "squeezebox." Some of the electronics may be similar, but the vocoder actually provides the electronics to make the vocal sound, rather than someone's voice going through it.

[@thejay8963]

2:12 And there you have it folks, one of the most popular audio effects in YTPs done in 1939!

[@fartyperson]

ha yeah

[@RetroPlus]

Incredible.

[@derrrtee]

Vibrato existed long before even this machine

[@JuniorJr...]

It's great to listen 1939's voices without that weird accent, isn't?

[@PawnshopmikeATL]

Junior ...they say you learn something new everyday ... I saw a video of a lady that is an expert in American English accents & that weird accent you speak of is called “transatlantic” is not real !!!! It was created by Hollywood with the sole purpose of being more exciting Isn’t that crazy .....

[@malfattio2894]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2HUq3yQls6DfNU

[@bandombeviews6035]

PawnShopMike - So it was to make it more interesting as opposed to modern news stations that are trying to sound as generic and region free as possible

[@clevoloki55]

It was an attempt to sound affluent more than anything - speaking with a transatlantic accent was supposed to make you sound like you came from “better” blood

[@ronaldwilliamson4762]

A huge number of American movie stars were english. 3 of the top stars in Gone With the Wind were English.

[@REDACT3D]

more impressed with the skill of the operator then the machine - and that's are rare thing

[@REDACT3D]

yeah I suppose, it took me years before I built my first vocoder @Gackt Sama

[@King_Flippy_Nips]

@Gackt Sama homer dudley invented it and also speech synthesis, didgtal compression and digital encryption/decryption, we wouldnt have modern computers or the internet or cell phones and satellite communication without his groundwork

[@press8704]

This lady is an absolute BEAST

[@alecfleming373]

This is such an under appreciated tool... Imagine what a professional musician would do with it today?

[@pygmalion8952]

Maybe mumble rap?

[@alecfleming373]

@@pygmalion8952 Right, but ok while totally not practical, if there was more options (as many as this has) on the digital versions then I feel my own work on Punk Computer would of been better and more expressive. Note though I wrote that set many years ago. Moved away from the idea because of limits...

[@gizmo4192]

Check out modern voice synths like Vocaloid, Utau, and SynthV. They havw been used to make music for the past two decades

[@olecranonrebellion9976]

Miss Harper is a bad ass.

[@Avetho]

Oh yeah she was. An absolute total badass. Btw, I was gonna make a joke about how she's actually quite the charming looking lady in response to the presence of a space in the word "badass" in your comment, but eh, I'm just in a spazzy mood today XD

[@k1tcaliber]

this is insanely cool i love old tech and the history of stuff like this

[@ZatsuneMikuWorld]

*VOCALOID 0.0 VERSION* *MIKU'S FATHER WAS BORN IN 1939 AND HE IS ALMOST 90 YEARS OLD!*

[@nolongeractive8257]

nope... great great grandfather

[@johneygd]

This year the voder will be 80 years old,let’s celibrate it.

[@Magestig]

_That's not how math works_

[@kdigiacomo]

Yelling in bold caps, need attention?

[@bLackmarketRadio]

Anime is garbage for garbage people. Two bombs weren't enough.

[@LucasIsHereYT]

To put this in perspective, the first automobile was only around 50 years old at this time.

[@dudebuzzoff2965]

I honestly think it's kind of cute

[@harukatakahashi8822]

:3

[@Chaotic_Observer]

ikr, its strange how these people are able to give a robot a personality

[@georgetempest9627]

from a synth freak's point of view - bloody amazing!

[@a2STRAY]

Microsoft Sam's great grandfather

[@couchcamperTM]

@cgwworldministries sad but true. like if development stalled there... and went back a bit.

[@buddyclem7328]

*_"I COULD ALWAYS DO LOTS OF AMAZING THINGS!"_*

[@dsma2023]

soi soi soi soi soi soi soi soi

[@10MANOEL]

You have selected Microsoft's Sam as the computer default voice.

[@williamsmith6921]

@@couchcamperTM The difference is that one is automatic and the other has to be manually adjusted

[@RetroPlus]

That's incredible, truly impressive for 1939! It's crazy how you basically play it like an instrument, it's really facing.

[@TheDuchessWellington]

78 years ahead of it's time

[@F-Man]

Ya know, those unvoiced consonants sound really damned good.

[@huhrawz]

"So, what instrument do you play?" "Well, about that..."

[@jeopardy60611]

I just thought of something. At the end of the video, they say that the Voder has no commercial applications. Since the Voder can only perform live and can't be automated in any way, the one thing it can do is be used in a science fiction movie that depicts a talking computer or robot. Since the speech just needs to be recorded for the movie, it can be produced in real time, and it doesn't matter that there is not yet a computerized process to do it automatically.

[@godouttathemachine]

oh my god this is adorable, i love how they refer to the voder as he- i would die for him

[@jeopardy60611]

I was always fascinated with computerized speech. I discovered a Fidelity voice chess computer, Speak & Spell, a Radio Shack TRS-80 Voice Synthesizer, and video games such as Gorf and Wizard of War, and that paved the way for what I'm doing now, a system that reads email and web pages over the phone. I had no idea that there was a speech synthesizer so long ago that had to be operated manually.

[@larva5606]

Nestled right in the middle of uncanny valley 👌🏼

[@karenholmes5850]

I love this so much! If only someone could make an online version of it. I would love to try it!

[@steverman2312]

guy: who saw you? machine: "sheee saaaw meeee"

[@Nova_Pancak]

I have a feeling that this kind of speech synthesis technology might pop back up in the future.

[@PODEPOM]

Amazing. And part of the 1939 world's fair.

[@ikewasgen45]

Of things to come

[@josephcote6120]

In a very real sense, that was the core of the early computer speech cards. Instead of fingers controlling switches, it was done with computer bits.

[@JoeBetro]

0:55 so cute!

[@moistcriticalstan876]

4:16 A: "How many girls can play the Voder?" B: "Out of 320 girls, 28 girls finally became experts at it." A: "I see. Now, how many boys can play it?" B: "None, sir. My vagina operates the volume knob."

[@Goodriddance890]

WHAT THE HELL!?

[@turolretar]

just make it a volume hole then

[@indycraft7657]

Damn I was expecting the end to include “and now for our western listeners, say good afternoon radio audience”

[@silhouettoofaman2935]

I think we've found the inspiration for the speech in Tomodachi Life, everybody!

[@PawnshopmikeATL]

The Shadowman they say you learn something new everyday ... I saw a video of a lady that is an expert in American English accents & that weird accent you speak of is called “transatlantic” is not real !!!! It was created by Hollywood with the sole purpose of being more exciting Isn’t that crazy .....

[@RedSkyHorizon]

Daisy, Daisy give me your answer do. I'm half crazy....

[@Pladderkasse]

Open the pod bay doors, Hal!

[@sopitacui]

All for the love of youuu

[@legendofthephasor9648]

Helen the original synthlord queen. All hail helen synthlord queen!

[@Awesome1980s]

Truly amazing given the time and resources! Such innovation that ended up being "commercial"!

[@junkstewy6990]

this is a lot better than what i thought it would be

[@lepwis]

It'd be great to have a working version.

[@fieromist3167]

Thank you Homer Dudley. I recently read How to wreck a nice beach and can't believe I am watching a video of the first vocoder.

[@djsoulfilter]

"Shall we play a game? How about global thermonuclear warfare?"

[@ff_crafter]

better than text to speech

[@goodun6081]

"requiring ten fingers, two foot paddles, a knee lever....." sounds like the manual operation of a pedal steel guitar!

[@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu]

Looks to be at the RCA exhibit at 1939 NYWF. The first TV was across the floor being displayed for the first time, ever. I would head to the Westinghouse Exhibit and check out Elecktro the first robot and check out the worlds first official "Time Capsule" after the RCA Exhibit. 1939 NYWF will be a huge destination for time travelers one day. Too many world changing inventions debuted that year there for it not to be.

[@hurricanefury439]

bell labs not RCA

[@thomasdupont7186]

5'00" As a french man i has to say, i always loved listening to a robot speaking french with an american accent lol ^^

[@kaleastudiosofficial]

1:19 “Greetings, everybody!” “greetings, everybody! :3” “ *ĞŘĘĘŤĮÑĞŠ ÉVĒŘŸBØÐÝ* 👹” 2:01 “ *ĦÆĦÆHÆĄĦĦHÆÂÂ* 👺” 2:13 “YeAhHh, i FeElL vErYyY oLdDdD”

[@judebrill23]

Hey Miku, Is this your grandpa? He seems nice..

[@LuciferXFallen290]

Jude Norell you mean great great grandfather

[@joannamysluk8623]

Now that I think of it, he sounds like Kaito English when he's used for Talkloids.

[@tabbnabber8755]

Family Tree by generation: Voder -> Vocoder-> IBM 7094 -> Vocaloid This is a light hearted joke btw :)

[@oliverispissed]

There go my favorite vocaloid

[@crumbsbread]

so true

[@DeadKoby]

I wonder if this machine still exists, or if it became parts. It'd be really cool to see one work... or maybe see the schematics and build a clone.

[@toomanyaccounts]

there is a youtube recommendation on the right side of the screen listing a channel that would be nine months before you commented about a replica

[@hakonsoreide]

Sounds far better than most current speech synthesizers.

[@inkchariot6147]

Why does Voder sound like he should be singing "The World Is Mine"?

[@kjamison5951]

“Helen, what else can he say?” “I want your clothes, your boots and your motor-cycle…”

[@MeatEatingVegan777]

That is extremely impressive!

[@WM_Nonsense]

2:02 that announcer guy was fucking freaked out by that

[@JOELwindows7]

Recommended by 8 bit guy How to get inspiration of Vocaloid

[@sligovolts]

I was trying to remember how I got this on my "watch next", thank you

[@JOELwindows7]

@@sligovolts np

[@harukatakahashi8822]

What video please

[@ewkalt4770]

still amazing to me in 2019

[@TalenGryphon]

This is like the sort of invention my younger self would (and did and still sometimes does) come up with: A prostetic voice. While competely ignoring practical considerations like size, portability, and the staggering musical *talent* needed for use Maybe not a mad scientist, but more of a rouge engineer. Another time another life, yeah?

[@realcygnus]

Great post ! Tube synth circuits with such ability, I had no Idea. The evolution of technology is almost as interesting as the technology itself. Electronics is thE single most useful & amazing thing we've discovered/invented imo.

[@jeopardy60611]

I just thought of something. Although there was no computer technology around to automate the speech, there were pianos and organs that used paper rolls punched with holes to play them automatically. Perhaps the Voder could have been automated by recording the control movements on paper in a similar fashion, so a speech could have been recorded and played back that way.

[@bassgasmask]

i remember hearing about a voice synth before 1939, that looked like a traveling pipe organ and supposedly it had some sort of artificial head

[@Carzlover-pancake]

That’s actually so cool!! It sounds better than most voice synthesizers these days tbh-

[@bweduwabango2064]

The interview with the lady playing the thing killed their marketing.

[@heartman64]

Why isn't this in a horror movie or something its amazing

[@dhtelevision]

The most important speech synth ever made.

[@gustavoceballos5327]

0:45: “She saw me” without expression 0:56: “She saw me” with “She” expression 0:59: “She saw me” with “Me” expression 1:03: “She saw me” with “Saw” expression

[@christoroppolo8742]

So wonderful. Peace Christo

[@jeopardy60611]

There was a "Danny Dunn" book that made reference to a "voder." If I remember correctly, it was a remote control that unlocked a door by a voice saying "open."

[@RWBHere]

Darth Voder!

[@hellf.o]

Fuck autotune we want the VODER!

[@MostlyPennyCat]

This is actually better than 95% of synthetic voices.

[@gizmo4192]

Nope, you should check out vocaloid. You can get almost human vocals.

[@OttoOG3]

​@@gizmo4192 Nope, SynthV has better vocals.

[@gizmo4192]

@@OttoOG3 True but I never said vocaloid was the best, I just offered a widely known example of modern voice synthesis

[@highdollaslimjim1509]

Bell Laboratories: We have a voice synthesizer that speaks. Kraftwerk: Hold my robot.......

[@Saad-ih3ys]

It has even a flanger and a vibrato ?, that shit was way waaaay beyond it's time

[@thetaaaa]

Why does everyone claim that Daisy Bell was the first automated singing? This was over a decade earlier...

[@kiwigaming09]

Because this isn't automated, there's still a human sitting behind it giving it inputs

[@Sqweegle]

1:46 My friend trying to make a deep voice the second a women joins the party

[@GullibleMcFly]

DAMN, the low voice is still pretty much the same robot voice used today. And it sounds like the Speak & Spell.

[@covert0overt_810]

Bell Labs -- Inventors of The electric transistor ..The Unix OS . C & C++ ... CCD's.... the land line telephone system from the 20s-90s . absolutely insane..

[@merendobereglidditz9304]

Amazing. But all that choreography between keys and pedals makes it easy to understand why it didn't catch on. That's not criticism, btw. Is there a working example anywhere, the Smithsonian or the like? Or a recent video?

[@beatsbeercigarettes]

Right in the video it stated it was created for an exhibit at the worlds fair, for educational purposes and was never meant to be marketed at all.

[@K.D.Meyers]

@White Rice Then why did you answer?! 😐 😅😅

[@jesuschrist8904]

@@K.D.Meyers Subhumans who use emojis in lieu of language should be shot behind a shed.

[@press8704]

Voder is Best Boy Vocaloid

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

iirc one hand controled the simulations of the vibrations of the vocal-cords, and the other hand controled the simulation of the rushing of the air.

[@douglasparkinson4123]

this sounds so wierd. its crazy how much we have advanced