images via this auction"# Description -
Really about as rare as youre ever going to get, this, so far as im aware, or anyones been able to tell me, is the *only* oratron in existance.
The story, so far as i gather, is that Groove Electronics (maker of the various midi interfaces, but more famously, the Stinger) got so far as advertising the Oratron in the music press of the time, and then promptly went bust!
This is what ive been told (although noones actually been able to furnish me with a copy of any advert - id be interested to see one, if anyone has one?) but it sounds about right.
This one was a factory prototype (i assume) accquired by me from someone who accquired it from Johnny Marr. He, im told, was given it, as he used to live by the Groove HQ when all this was going on. Again thoug i have no proof! : (
# Item specifics
What it is is a vocal synthesiser, based around the General Instrument SP0256 chip, which, I'm lead to believe, is somewhat different from the usual 'speech chip' type of approach.
When opened up, you can clearly see groove's usual method of doing things - a modified m2cv board (as per the stinger, which i also have one of : ) and an additional custom board with the synthesis chip on it.
The top interface has grooves usual "binary plus one" programming procedure, allowing midi channel to be set, etc. but hints at some other more interesting functions such as sequencing individual phonems into phrases, which ive never got to work (it may be me, it may have failed, or it may have never been inplamented at all!) There are some stored phrases though, which ive never been able to edit or overwrite - such things as "Welcome to Groove Electronics", "I am not a man, i am an Oratron", some others, and a curious one, which, i guess may have been some private joke of the time "Can i pop your lemon?"
Midi triggering of phonems is entirely functional, with the machine responding nicely to the bend wheel, and this is how ive used it. I should provide some samples really, but, in description, dont think of the sort of glitchy cut-up sound youve heard from so many circuit bent speak and spells. Think much more gutteral 'throat-singing' type effects. But, yes, i should try and record some and post it... "
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