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CindyM said:
I'm especially interested in what else is on your list or pre-recorded phrases- other than the normal requests for food, assistance with daily tasks, and the like.

Hi Cindy,

Many of the phrases are unconnected words - some are made up words - it is all about getting as many different sounds as possible.

With all of these sounds they can create a synthesized voice with an unlimited vocabulary - ANY word will be converted to your own synthetic speech.
 
I have recorded about 500 of the words and phrases so far. Since I am now having problems with the nerves at c2, c3, c4, I need to hurry up and finish. I am glad for you that you are finished. :-D I know how much trouble it is to keep repeating all those words until they are accepted.

Back to an earlier question, Can you use it on any computer, laptop, etc?
Can the whole thing be copied to another computer without much trouble?
Thanks for the info. I am planning on buying a laptop and just wanted to be sure I get one that will work with the model talker program.

God Bless
Capt AL
 
Just some info. for anyone using Emory in Atlanta GA. Steve Parker would be your contact for any of the speech programs or devices. He has been a great help to me.
Rhonda
 
rcharlton -- using ModelTalker?

I've been posting about downloading ModelTalker and recording my phrases, etc. on a related thread -- just found your comments here, and am wondering if you're using ModelTalker now, and whether you're using it with a laptop or Dynavox or ? Please give us an update, and thanks for your previous input. Carol
 
Fortunately - I can still speak on my own - so I'm not using Modeltalker yet - I did play with it on my PC with speakers - some phrases sound better than others - but I'm so relieved and happy to have it...
 
I Agree

I'm so glad to hear you're not having to use your ModelTalker voice yet, Richard; but I agree that it's such a relief to know it's there. I still haven't received my synthetic voice program back yet -- I think I'll e-mail and see if it's still in the works. Thanks for your reply. Carol
 
I used Model Talker to bank my speech, but it was after several months of deterioration. It took me 6 hours to record all the phrases, but the result is good. People say it sounds just like me. I have bulbar onset, so I don't expect to have my voice for long, so I'm getting prepared. I think Tim, Jim, and James at Model Talker did a great job of "cleaning up" my voice, electronically.

Wouldn't it be great if you could get a voice from Johnny Cash or Kris Kristofferson?

Pappy.
 
Voice Banking Methods

I'm trying to figure out some voice banking solutions for my mother in law, and I'm a little overwhelmed by the options. Is ModelTalker the way to go? It seems like there's a lot of software that does this kind of thing. I gather that MT is the only one that uses words to string together sentences, and the others all just play pre-recorded entire phrases. Is that a correct analysis?

Once you have everything banked, which in itself is a task - how do you use it? What kind of hardware/software setups do you need to be equipped with to have the ModelTalker work for you?

Thanks!
- Ryan
 
Ryan,
I got a Samsung Q1U-XP tablet PC because it's light and compact. Most portable PC speakers are not loud enough so I also got an auxiliary USB speaker.

Once you have ModelTalker loaded and set up you just input the text you want and when you hit Speak it comes out the speakers. You can use EZ Keys or SkeletonKey to accelerate your input, especially when you can't type anymore.

Pappy
 
Pappy, do you find some phrases sound a lot better than others? I just received my finished synthetic voice and have it loaded into my Model Talker software. My recorded voice was pretty slow, and my s's weren't very good; so I guess that made some of my recordings not quite right, and some synthetic words also sound a little funny. But I'm still glad to have it, and it mostly sounds like me! I tried it out on a friend this morning, and she got tears in her eyes (in a good way!) to think somebody has made it possible for us to bank our voices. Carol
 
Pappy, do you find some phrases sound a lot better than others?

Some words sound great - others sound not as good.

Did you adjust the PCAT settings as they recommended?

Also remember that it's based on phonetics. So don't always stick with correct spelling.

For example - when I type in "bananas" it sounds unclear - but when I type in "baananas" - its sounds better.

Also - think about adding "." for pause. For example "Loralee" was unclear - but "Lora. Lee" was much better.

Good luck!
 
Thanks! Good idea!

Richard, thanks for your suggestions. I will try using phonetic spellings to help the sound on some of my synthetic sentences. I already figured out that I shouldn't use commas -- it causes a huge pause, longer than a period. I did do the suggested PCAT settings, and they told me to slow down the General Parameters/Speech Rate, too, to fit better with the slowness of my natural recording voice. I'm pretty happy with it now. Carol
 
I did the ModelTalker voice banking, and it only took 6 hours (in 2 sessions). It's just software, but it's easy to use. I loaded it on a Samsung Q1U tablet because it's small and light to carry around, but also loaded it onto my PC at work and at home. I can still speak, slowly, but not for long, I think.

Pappy.
 
I remember a time when my sister Roberta who loved shopping wanted me to take her to a mall. She wanted to treat me to lunch so we brought her lunch along, she was on a feeding tube. So we hooked her up for her lunch, a woman sitting near by kept staring and staring. So Roberta keyed into her communicater " What's wrong, haven't you ever seen someone eat before?"
 
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