[linux-audio-user] Vocoder

[Paul Coccoli]

On 11/11/05, Lorenzo Bicci <bicci at ale.it> wrote:
> Hi everybody!
> I've found a software Linux vocoder
> (http://www.sirlab.de/linux/download_vocoder.html) which is available both as
> a LADSPA plugin and a standalone program.
>
> I've got an old Pentium 166MMX with 64MB RAM which is unused, and i'd like to
> use it as a live vocoder. It would be cool to bring it on the stage, plug a
> keyboard and a microphone in its audio board(s), turn it on without any
> display, mouse or keyboard and have it already working as a vocoder.
>
> Unfortunately I have no idea of how to make it. I don't know how to make the
> vocoder (plugin or standalone) start and work automatically after the boot,
> possibly without having to start a graphical interface (which would be heavy
> for the poor P166 and totally unuseful, since there's no display).
>
> Any idea about how to realise such a thing?
> Bye,
>
>
> Lorenzo
>

I've always wanted to do something like this with fluidsynth (no
time).  The steps as I see them are:

1. Install some distro.  Ideally, a minimal one without X11, Gnome,
KDE, etc., but WITH sound support.  Anyone know of such a distro?
2. Get the synth or vocoder program working
3. Edit /etc/inittab.  I think there's a way to automatically have
init start a shell as a non-root user.  Get it to run a shell script
that kicks off the app, makes any MIDI connections, etc.

It's much more complicated, I'm sure, but search around for things
like "custom linux init scripts" and read the man pages for init and
inittab.  I wonder if you could get the whole OS+synth small enough to
fit on a floppy (well not with fluidsynth, since the soundfonts
wouldn't fit).  I have an old PII that I could try this with (but
probably won't).