| Sound Effects |
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| Play button |
| LED |
| Record button |
| Battery case |
| Microphone |
| Speaker |
| I probably should have called this page "sound effect", since I only have one. I rigged up a little thingy to at least give me the breathing sound. I used to do it vocally, (and I wasn't half bad at it, either), but it gets tiring and fogs up the mask quicker. If you're after something a little more advanced, please check other sites. Some people use MP3 players or CD players with pre-recorded Vader quotes on them. Other use voice changers, etc.. I haven't delved into these realms as of yet, so I can't really help you there. If you just need some basic Ominous Breathing 101...then my method may suit you temporarily. |
| I purchased a very basic Voice Record/Playback Module from Radio Shack for under $20.00. (Model # *276-1326). See the above photo. It 's a small circuit board with a recording chip, battery case, microphone, record button, playback button (and an LED that lights up while the message is being recorded.) It can only store 20 seconds of sound info, but will retain that sound even if the batteries are removed. (6-19-02 *I've just recieved an update from "Brent" that this part has been discontinued. It's been replaced by part # 276-1323. ~ the same thing, but runs on a 9 volt battery instead.) |
| I'll probably need to add some diagrams to explain what I did to modify this little thingy, but for now..just try to follow along. :) I extended the length of the playback wires by cutting them and soldering in some longer wire. I did the same thing to the speaker wires. Plus, I replaced the speaker with a slightly larger one that came out of some other Vader toy. (This newer speaker just had a better sound to it. It's not totally necessary.) |
| Once I recorded the desired sound, I encased the record button in one of those small plastic clam shell cases so that the record button couldn't get hit accidentally and record over my sound effect. I enclosed the the battery case, the circuit board and the protected record button inside a small wooden craft box. Notches were cut into the box so that the lengthened wires for the speaker and the playback button could be fed out through them. The wooden case with all of the electronic components was then placed in a fanny pack and worn underneath my inner cloak. I made a pouch that hangs from my neck to hold the speaker. The pouch sits in between the bottom of the chest armor and the top of the chest box, underneath my body suit. The speaker wire runs up my back and down my front to the pouch that holds the speaker. |
| The lengthened playback button comes up over my back and down the inside of my right sleeve. The button itself sits at the base of my pointing finger (on the side of the knuckle) and can be activated with a subtle press of my thumb against the side of my hand. A little tape or a rubber band helps to keep the button in the right spot. My glove is worn over the apparatus, so everything is hidden from view. |
| Why not put the speaker in the mask??? |
| Well, I learned the hard way. I had rigged up some other breathing apparatus that could be activated with a press of my chin. The speaker was inside the snout of my mask. The noise was so loud inside my mask that I couldn't hear what my friend was saying to me. Every time that I said "What?" to her, I activated the breathing sound and couldn't hear her again! |
| Recording the Sound |
| Find a nice, clear source of just Vader's breathing via "any methods necessary". I happened to use the Darth Vader telephone by Gold Rush. It has a couple of sound effects including loud-n-clear respirations. O.K. Here's where I got a little picky. Although I like the clarity of the phone's sound, I thought the speed of the breath was too quick and made him sound too hyper. I like a more calm and brooding sound (like when he's on the bridge of the Executor looking out the window.) I happened to a have a very cheap little Casio keyboard with a sampling function. I simply sampled the phone's sound onto the keyboard and played it back using the keyboard at a pitch that was lower than that of the phone, which in turn slowed the pace of the breath. With the sound on the keyboard, I could also control the length of the gap in between breaths post exhalation. Remember, with this set up, I only have 20 seconds of recorded info, and I like my Vader relaxed, therefore, I can only get two sets of respirations on the recording chip. I chose a nice slow inhale/exhale with approximately a five second pause before the second set of respirations occured. The pause is just long enough so that after I play the whole inhale/exhale/pause/inhale/exhale sequence, I'll have enough time to remember to hit the button again. This set up is not very automatic, and many may not not find this method to their liking. In that case...here's what my Sithly Informant, Brent, turned up during his search.... He stumbled across a similar module that has looping capabilities. No more repeated button pressing. Simply turn on and it plays a 40 second loop of sound until you decide to turn it off. He came across this kit at: http://www.ozitronics.com/audio.html and the item # is K146-40 Second Voice Recorder with Looping option. Thanks for the info, Brent!! |
| Vader's past battle wounds damaged his respiratory system and he must now rely on machinery to maintain his life. His ominous presence is marked by the hollow hiss of mechanical breathing. |