1. Home
  2. 🎵 Music
  3. SpellSynth
SpellSynth: Retro Vocal Synth

SpellSynth: Retro Vocal Synth

Talking AUv3 + Phonics games

11 ratings
11 reviews
📚 Education
🎵 Music
$2.99

Lowest price: $2.99 5 months ago (-0%)

Price history

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • April 22, 2026
  • September 13, 2026

Features

Developer

Chih Han Lin
✨Promote your app ✨
SpellSynth: Retro Vocal Synth screenshot #1 for iPhone
SpellSynth: Retro Vocal Synth screenshot #2 for iPhone
SpellSynth: Retro Vocal Synth screenshot #3 for iPhone
SpellSynth: Retro Vocal Synth screenshot #4 for iPhone
SpellSynth: Retro Vocal Synth screenshot #5 for iPhone
iphone
ipad
📉--40.08%
Price change↘︎
⭐11
Reviews↘︎
❓8 answered
FAQ↘︎
📦~ in 4 days
Updates frequency↘︎
🖼️Get Icon
Icons↘︎

About

This app recreates a classic 1978 spelling toy with four engaging game modes. It allows users to type any word or phrase and hear it spoken aloud using vintage synthesized voices. Explore different speech synthesis eras and even play the keypad with a MIDI keyboard.

✓Type and hear any word spoken
✓Four game modes (Free Play, Spell, Mystery Word, Say It)
✓Three distinct vintage voice characters
✓MIDI keyboard support
✓Export audio to WAV
✓Adjustable gap between words
Show original description

What's New in SpellSynth

1.4.0

September 13, 2026

1.4.0 — The Plug-in Speaks For Itself. • Type any word into the AUv3 and it speaks. The plugin makes the voice itself now, so a word it has never heard comes out spoken instead of spelled letter by letter. • Make a word in the plugin and it's waiting for you in the app, and the other way round — they keep one shared set of voices, so a word is only ever made once. • Everything already made stays instant. Only a brand-new word takes a moment, and the display tells you while it works. Bug reports or feature requests welcome at zhiii0x@gmail.com — Zhi

More

User reviews

Most RecentHighest RatedLowest Rated

Time travel goodness

This little gem is a faithful representation of yestuyear. Fun little synth. Thanks for making it!
Rma74Rma74

Response from developer

Thanks for support :)

Brilliant!

The latest update, September 2026, now allows for full text-to-speech conversion. So much fun and so easy to incorporate into your songs when you use it as an AUv3 in your DAW. Can very easily get Kraftwerk-style robot vocals with this app, or percussive sounds. Love it!
Cotswold BoyCotswold Boy

Response from developer

thanks for support! yes, it has type mode on 1.2.6 ver.

Still doesn’t work

An update claims to be able to say any word. This is not true. It still just says each letter individually after hitting the ‘say’ button, and that’s only after waiting like five seconds. It even says “couldn’t say” by the word you enter. Still disappointed with my purchase.
angryreviewer36912angryreviewer36912

Response from developer

Can you tell me where you hit it? The AUv3 plugin inside a DAW, or the app itself — and what word you typed. The two behave differently, so that would tell me what you ran into. Here or zhiii0x@gmail.com, and I'll look into it. 1.4.0 is in review now and fixes several AUv3 reports, including words coming out spelled instead of spoken. Thanks for the report.

Love it!

SpellSynth is great for adding voices and phonics to your music. Nice design, easy to use although I wish there was an option to switch to a QWERTY key layout instead of the default alphabetical order of the original Speak and Spell hardware it’s kind of emulating. Great start though, five stars, looking forward to adding voices to loops and drones.
Show more
Cotswold BoyCotswold Boy

Response from developer

thanks for support! yes, it has type mode on 1.2.6 ver.

Cool, but

None of the voices sound like the 1984 Texas Instruments voice I hoped for when I purchased this. Very cool app for audio work.
mvanputtmvanputt

Response from developer

Thanks for advise!

See 6 more reviews

Developer apps

GoodPill: Pill Reminder
GoodPill: Pill Reminder

Medication tracker for family

💪 Health & Fitness

(2)

Free
In-App Purchases
KpopLike - Find Your K-Twin
KpopLike - Find Your K-Twin

K-pop Idol Face Match

🎬 Entertainment
Free
GranSample - Granular Sampler
GranSample - Granular Sampler

Beat Pad, FX & Step Sequencer

🎵 Music

(16)

Free
In-App Purchases
Pocketext Scan
Pocketext Scan

OCR Scanner & Document Vault

📊 Productivity
$2.99
SoundMess Lab: SPL Meter
SoundMess Lab: SPL Meter

SPL, RTA, FFT and RT60.

🎵 Music
Free
In-App Purchases
See developer apps

FAQ

What is SpellSynth?

SpellSynth is a playable application that recreates a 1978 spelling toy for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It features four game modes, a VFD display, and vintage voice characters from different eras of speech synthesis.

How does SpellSynth speak words?

You can type any word or phrase, and SpellSynth will speak it back using its bundled retro voices or the system engine. It caches spoken words for instant playback on subsequent taps.

What are the game modes in SpellSynth?

SpellSynth offers Free Play for typing and hearing words, Spell for testing spelling skills, Mystery Word for guessing hidden words, and Say It for pronunciation practice.

Can I use SpellSynth with a MIDI keyboard?

Yes, you can connect a USB, Bluetooth, or Network MIDI keyboard to your iPad. Notes C4–C6 will trigger letters A–Z, allowing you to play the keypad with physical keys.

What vintage voices are available in SpellSynth?

SpellSynth includes three vintage voices: 1968 ODYSSEY (calm, deep-baritone), 1978 LPC (original Speak & Spell character), and 1986 DECTALK STYLE (monotone, computery). A DEFAULT clean system voice is also available.

Can I export audio from SpellSynth?

Yes, you can render any word or phrase to a WAV file and share it via Files, AirDrop, or your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). What you hear is exactly what you save.

What is the price of SpellSynth?

SpellSynth is a paid application priced at $2.99.

Does SpellSynth have ads?

No, SpellSynth does not contain advertisements. It is a paid application.