Speak & Glitch GND-1T
Circuit Bent Speech Chip Synthesizer
Embrace the mayhem...
explore circuit bending and controllable chaos like never before
The GND-1T (Glitch&Drum 1 Touch) is based on a faithful emulation of the TMS speech synthesis chip found in the classic vintage Speak and Spell game. It was inspired by many years of circuit bending hardware Speak and Spells to produce musical sounds, but takes it far beyond anything that’s possible in hardware. It offers a whole new approach to chip sound synthesis, looping and rhythm generation.
The GND-1T contains all the amazing features of the original GND-1 SPEECH SYNTH plus a whole load of new ones. The 1T is a complete stand-alone chaos monster, producing things you never thought possible from a circuit bent speech-chip synth. You can use it in total stand-alone mode using its built-in drum kits or driving external MIDI drum devices, or hook it into your system as a synth module, MIDI drum generator / sequencer, effects processor, or a whole range of other uses. It adds to the GND-1 a resonant post filter, overdrive and echo effects, unique internal drum kits, USB digital audio I/O capabilities, analog AUX input, host USB port for external controllers, touch screen control and parameter editing, headphone output, assignable encoders for live parameter control, and many amazing new modes and parameters (the revised DRIFT and MORPH functions are a sound-sculptor’s dream tools).
Click on any of the icons above (or the main image) to hear some audio demos straight from the GND-1T. These are single patches without any morphing or drifting activated.
For more extensive demonstrations, check out some of these YouTube videos:
Official GND-1T introduction and quick-start
Official GND-1T YouTube channel short topical tutorials
Loopop’s extended GND-1T review
Joe Manton’s GND-1T demos who contributed to the development of the GND-1T with me
Hideaki Shirato stepping through some of the original GND-1T factory sounds
You may also want to download the USER MANUAL to see why you won’t find another synth on the planet like it! I can particularly recommend reading the two “Essentials” pages, and time permitting also the “Core Parameters” pages, which describe the key concepts in the GND-1T
Buy Now
The GND-1T is now available to order using the links below. Prices are in Australian Dollars and are inclusive of world wide shipping. The optional hard case (AUD $39) is a heavy duty hard plastic case (Pelican Style).
GND-1T + world wide shipping AUD $869 (~ US $540 as of January 2025)
GND-1T + hard case + world wide shipping AUD $908
Highlights
- • Faithful emulation of the classic vintage Speak and Spell speech chip
• Digitally circuit bent and capable of so much more than in hardware
• Synthesis: formant / vowel / glottal / speech / rhythm / groove / circuit bent / glitch / complex oscillator
• Expansive / feature rich / sophisticated / deep architecture allows you to get inside the speech synthesis chip
and explore this highly unique synthesiser (This ain’t your dad’s spelling machine)• Around 150 real time parameters, with full stand-alone control and editing using the touch screen and encoders,
or via MIDI over USB and 5-pin DIN (with user defined thru connectivity)
• MIDI USB HOST port for external controllers / keyboards
• Five GROUPS of (3+3) assignable encoders for instant ‘live’ parameter control via 30 virtual encoders
• Syncs to MIDI Clock with individually configurable PPQN scalers for Tempo, Drum and LFO rates, and loop length• Automation capabilities that enable parameters to randomly DRIFT and MORPH between patches
• Full bidirectional MANUAL MORPH control between any patches with save option at any morph setting
• Powerful Expression Matrix allows every parameter to respond independently to modwheel, velocity, breath-control,
after-touch, and a dedicated expression LFO (XPlfo) modulation block
• Unique modulation blocks that mix twin waveforms selected from over 30 different wave shapes and signal sources each
• Audio rate modulation of amplitude, pitch and speech filter using the “MFO”
• Touch Sensor, main rotary encoder, and MIDI note number assignable to expression matrix controllers
• Extensive randomisation possibilities with undo• Ultra dynamic MIDI Rhythm Generator algorithm improvises drum grooves on-the-fly as it interacts with the synthesis engine
• Over a dozen Drum parameters, with the same extensive control as synth parameters and saved with each patch
• Drum note triggers can be sent to 40 unique built-in drum kits and external MIDI devices, and act as modulation sources• Built in stereo overdrive, (fat) resonant Post-Filter, and classic echo / looper functions
• Full stereo 44kHz analog and digital USB Audio I/O
• Store up to 1000 presets with seamless preset switching and morphing
When viewing the manual, turn on any index/outline options to to use the clickable index
NOTE THAT SENDING A SYSEX BANK FILE TO YOUR GND-1T WILL OVERWRITE ANY PATCHES YOU HAVE SAVED IN THOSE LOCATIONS, SO BE SURE TO RELOCATE THOSE FIRST IF YOU WANT TO PRESERVE THEM.
Relocatable Factory and tuned Keyboard banks (Jan 20, 2025)
The standard preloaded factory sound bank #0-99 in the GND-1T contains primarily loop and drum examples. An additional bank of melodic “keyboard” patches previously was available for locations #500-599. Click the Keyboard or Factory Patches buttons to the left to download zip files containing 10 copies of each bank so you can choose alternative starting locations in the GND-1T to be 0, 100, 200 … 900.
Unzip the downloaded file, select the SysEx file for the patch range you want to send the bank to, and upload it to your GND-1T over MIDI. NOTE that the Keyboard patches are now also approximately tuned.
Firmware update 250120
(Jan 20, 2025, manual V1.06)
Adds the ability for the GND-1T to receive MIDI note-on events on channel 10 to trigger the internal drum sounds of the currently active kit. The notes required to trigger the 8 drum sounds correspond to those defined in MIDI DRUM MAP 0. Disable these triggers on the main MIDI page using “drmRX on/off” = [ALT] + Midi Ch. See P25 in User Manual V1.06.
Adds “sncRun on/off” = [ALT] + Thru on the MIDI page to enabled/disable RUN on MIDI Start+Clock (previously always on).
“drmRX” and “sncRun” are saved using SAVE Globals
(click the encoder on the main patch page).
Current firmware: 250120
Pre -release notice
We’re currently beta testing an upcoming firmware release that allows the GND-1T to act as a MIDI clock master (or slave) with direct sync to Drum triggers, LFOs, Echo Delay time, and Block Morphing Steps. The MIDI clock (BPM) is fully expression mappable, and can be sent out to external devices via DIN, USB, and Host USB ports. All this is in addition to the existing ability to clock scale Tempo, LFOs, Loop length, and Drate parameters. More info coming soon…