Hi Jackie,

Nope, it is $12,000 but if you think about the time that would go into doing this service from scratch (no prompts read from a carefully crafted, phonetically inclusive script) , I can almost understand. They do offer another product called CereProc Me which costs about $650 and uses a script to collect the speech sample (like ModelTalker).  CereProc's website states that it requires a much smaller sample of speech than other comparable programs.  I have not tried it.

I have only recommend ModelTalker and think it produces a very nice product.  My estimate is about 80% of my clients are pleased with their voice.  By and large those that are not pleased were the people who were less than 100% intelligible when they did the process.  My clients with mild slurring and slow speech can produce a good product though the voice is,  not surprisingly, a bit slurred.  Once intelligibility is <99%  or the person has shortness of breath I rarely encourage voice banking and focus exclusively on message banking.  Perhaps CereProc would be a good option for my patients with reduced breath support.  Does anyone know how many sentences they must read?  ModelTalker requires 1,600.

One of my clients who is Chinese American with accented English did a MT voice a year ago and it turned out very well.  I was a little hesitant because I thought it might not be fully intelligible but it was.  It is fantastic to use now because there are no synth voice options with Chinese accented English.  You can find Indian accented English though which is great.  


Sincerely,

Amy Roman, MS, CCC-SLP
Augmentative Communication Specialist



Forbes Norris ALS Research and Treatment Center
2324 Sacramento Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
Cell (415)518-0592
Fax (415)600-3778


From: Jacqueline Gaddis <xxxxxx@alsa-ec.org>
To: xxxxxx@alsa.simplelists.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 3, 2017 3:46 PM
Subject: Re: Voice Synthesis Creation Options Help

Yes, exactly, that is the type of feedback I'd love to receive on the companies.  I have someone who is willing to pay out of pocket for a service, so I'm trying to give him good advice---yet with all the clients I have in the past, I don't know anyone who has used any of these.  John, have you?  

On Wed, May 3, 2017 at 3:42 PM, Costello, John (Otolaryngology) <xxxxxx@childrens.harvard.edu> wrote:
One added note to the responses you have received, it is important to pay attention to those products that will create a voice and allow the person with ALS to choose if they like it and wish to pay and those that require payment up front and then a voice is created that s/he hopefully likes.
 
 
 
From: <xxxxxx@alsa.simplelists.com> on behalf of Jacqueline Gaddis <xxxxxx@alsa-ec.org>
Reply-To: "xxxxxx@alsa.simplelists.com" <xxxxxx@alsa.simplelists.com>
Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 6:22 PM
To: "xxxxxx@alsa.simplelists.com" <xxxxxx@alsa.simplelists.com>
Subject: Voice Synthesis Creation Options Help
 
Hello Everyone,
 
I'm trying to ensure I have a comprehensive list of voice synthesis creation companies to recommend to clients.  Here is what I have:
 
ModelTalker: Free but will shortly be charging ~$100 for SAPI Windows voice creation.  
Acapela: $2,500 for SAPI Windows Voice Creation
CereProc: https://www.cereproc.com/en/ services/voicecreation  <--- Anyone know the cost of Cereproc's and opinions on usability and quality of voice that is created?
 
Any other ones that I don't know about?  I'm not finding a middle ground in cost anywhere online...
 
Eager to hear opinions as well specific to people with ALS, as I only have clients that have used Modetalker.  
 
--
Kindly,
 
Jackie Gaddis, BA, COTA/L
Assistive Technology Coordinator
ALS Association- Evergreen Chapter
 
New work schedule: Friday thru Tuesday  
 
The information contained in this e-mail message may be privileged and is confidential information intended only for the use of the recipient, or any employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy the original message and all attachments from your electronic files.
 
 
 
 



--
Kindly,

Jackie Gaddis, BA, COTA/L
Assistive Technology Coordinator
ALS Association- Evergreen Chapter
Cell: (253) 350-2043

New work schedule: Friday thru Tuesday  

The information contained in this e-mail message may be privileged and is confidential information intended only for the use of the recipient, or any employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy the original message and all attachments from your electronic files.