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Mockingboard
Computer sound card / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Mockingboard (a pun on "Mockingbird") is a sound card built by Sweet Micro Systems for the Apple II microcomputers. It improves on the Apple II's limited sound capabilities, as did other Apple II sound cards.
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In 1981, Sweet Micro Systems began designing products not only for creating music, but speech and general sound effects as well,[1] culminating in the release of the Mockingboard in 1983.[2] The Sound II was introduced at US$199 (equivalent to $610 in 2023), and the Sound/Speech I at US$299 (equivalent to $910 in 2023).[2] The Mockingboard's hardware allowed programmers to create complex, high-quality sound without need for constant CPU attention. The Mockingboard could be connected to the Apple's built-in speaker or to external speakers. However, as the quality of the built-in speaker was not high, the instruction manual recommended obtaining external speakers.
The Mockingboard was available in various models for either the slot-based Apple II / Apple II Plus / Apple IIe systems or in one special model for the Apple IIc. Sound was generated through one or more AY-3-8910 or compatible sound chips, with one chip offering three square-wave synthesis channels. The boards could also be equipped with an optional speech chip (a Votrax SC-01 or compatible chips such as the Arctic-02, SSI 263P, SSI 263AP or 78A263A-P[3][4]).
Some software products supported more than one Mockingboard. Ultima V supported two boards, for a total of 12 voices, of which it used eight. Most other programs supported at most one board with six voices.
Applied Engineering's Phasor was compatible with the Mockingboard. It had 4 sound chips and thus provided 12 audio channels. Few programs supported using it for more than six voices, however.
An IBM PC-compatible version was developed, but was only distributed with Bank Street Music Writer.[5]