Apple II sound cards
Encyclopedia
The Apple II
had limited sound capabilities until the Apple //gs shipped in 1986. Many third-party manufacturers made sound cards to enable
richer sound output.
provided multiple voices of sound output, and was the closest thing to a standard sound card available for the Apple series. It utilized the
AY-3-8910 sound generator chip.
was also available with the system.
The Alpha Syntauri was a music system designed around the expansion capabilities of the Apple ][. The hardware consisted of an external piano-style keyboard, with
a 3-card set that plugged into the Apple ][, including a keyboard interface card, and the two-board Mountain Computer Music System. Software was designed to support
music composition and performance. Herbie Hancock
and Keith Emerson
were notable early adopters of the Syntauri system.
The Passport Designs Soundchaser Computer Music System provided similar capabilities, but the software emphasized composition over real-time performance.
The Soundchaser included a 49-key keyboard, keyboard interface card, and a choice of sound cards depending on whether the digital or analog option was chosen. The digital option included
the Mountain Computer music system cards.
technology, as embodied by the TMS 5220 speech chip.
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
had limited sound capabilities until the Apple //gs shipped in 1986. Many third-party manufacturers made sound cards to enable
richer sound output.
Mockingboard
The MockingboardMockingboard
The Mockingboard is a sound card for the Apple II family of microcomputers built by Sweet Micro Systems. The standard Apple II machines never had particularly good sound, especially when compared to competitors like the SID chip-enabled Commodore 64...
provided multiple voices of sound output, and was the closest thing to a standard sound card available for the Apple series. It utilized the
AY-3-8910 sound generator chip.
Mountain Computer Music System
The Mountain Computer music system was a two-board set that provided audio output with 8-bit resolution. A light penLight pen
A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's CRT TV set or monitor. It allows the user to point to displayed objects, or draw on the screen, in a similar way to a touch screen but with greater positional accuracy...
was also available with the system.
Alpha Syntauri
The Alpha Syntauri was a music system designed around the expansion capabilities of the Apple ][. The hardware consisted of an external piano-style keyboard, with
a 3-card set that plugged into the Apple ][, including a keyboard interface card, and the two-board Mountain Computer Music System. Software was designed to support
music composition and performance. Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
and Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
were notable early adopters of the Syntauri system.
Passport Designs Soundchaser
The Passport Designs Soundchaser Computer Music System provided similar capabilities, but the software emphasized composition over real-time performance.
The Soundchaser included a 49-key keyboard, keyboard interface card, and a choice of sound cards depending on whether the digital or analog option was chosen. The digital option included
the Mountain Computer music system cards.
Echo II
The Echo II card was a speech synthesis card utilizing linear predictive codingLinear predictive coding
Linear predictive coding is a tool used mostly in audio signal processing and speech processing for representing the spectral envelope of a digital signal of speech in compressed form, using the information of a linear predictive model...
technology, as embodied by the TMS 5220 speech chip.
See also
Alpha Syntauri- http://www.purplenote.com/syntauri/
- http://mirrors.apple2.org.za/Apple%20II%20Documentation%20Project/Interface%20Cards/Audio/
- Alpha Syntauri system used in software demo