# Skull quartet help?



## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Okay, I'm determined to have a skull quartet this year for my graveyard.

I need help from you geniuses out there!

There's two ways I could go, right? My wife likes the idea of computer controlled. As far as I know, I have two options:

#1 option: get a skull, servo, cowlacious card, hook them up to a computer, with a computer program- right?

or

#2 option: I have a bunch of boris', so should I use boris instead this year by hacking them into plug ins? should I break each song up into 4 vocalized "bum bum bum"s? How would I run the song out into loud speakers, while still running each individual track to each skull?

I know nothing about this stuff guys, but this is going to be my big thing in my graveyard this years with your help!

I have very spasmodic knowledge of this stuff from what I read here, so pretend I don't know anything and you won't be far off!

*The most important thing is that I can build on this more every year. * For example, I won't be able to do (4) 3 axis skulls this year, but that will be my goal for next year.


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Hehehehe that Utube vid really gotcha goin dinnit?


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

What Youtube vid?

SI, the simplest easiest way and probably best way to go for starting out is to use the bori you already have and use the boris hacks to make them sing. The problem you run into is syncing the 4 skulls jaws to one music track. Syncing one is easy, using a single stereo track for the music and the other saying bum bum bum...with no volume.I would use 3 Mp3 players, and record your tracks this way. Open audicity. Record yourself sayng bumbumbum for each skull syncing the jaws to each vocal acutriment within your chosen song. Save each track, you xhould have 5 tracks when done. 4 tracks with your bumbumbums and 1 music track. remember, only the music track will be heard. Now take your three mp3 players and open the casings. Find the wires or contacts that lead to the play buttons and hook them all together so that when you touch two wires, they all turn on at the same time. I can't tell you how, I don't know what kind of mp3 players you have, but should be very straight forward, I know you can figure it out. Now take tracks 1 and 2 of bumbumbums and make sure they are saved as one stereo track, one left and one right and upload it to one mp3 player. Do the same with the other two bumbumbum tracks for the second mp3 player. Upload the music track to the 3rd mp3 player just as you would noramlly. Now you need 3 sets of amplified computer speakers. 6 in all. Use the amps from 2 to send your bumbumbums to the skulls. 8 wires in all from the amps of the two sets of computer speakers. Cut the speakers wires off you won't want anybody hearing the bumbumbums anyway. You will need 4 boris hacks, or two stereo ones I forget how they are comfigured, but when you hook the 2 speaker sets to your two mp3 players the jaws should move silently. The 3rd computer speaker set is hooked up to the music recorded on your 3rd mp3 player. now hit your hacked play button (two wires that now turn on all 3 players at once) and you should have a singing quartet. This is some work, but is the cheapest way to go. If you go buckies with cowlacious and you want a quartet, it gets hairier. You need 2 cowlacious boards synced together with servos for each bucky, and 3 mp3 players hacked as mentioned before. The 3rd way is to get a servo controller board, and VSA. Record your jaw routines to VSA and load up the music track. no mp3 player hacks there, it's simpler, but the most expensive way to go if you count the cost of the PC usef to control it. 

I hope at least some of this makes sense.


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## CraigInPA (Sep 28, 2007)

As much as I am a big fan of Boris (I have more than 10 of them), I'd say that if your goal is to go three axis in forthcoming years, that you start with lindberg skulls with a jaw servo connected to a cowalicious and vsa. Next year, you can add three axis capability without abandoning your investment, the way you would trying to do it with Boris.

Craig


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## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

Doc, there was a link on this forum to a guy that used 5.1 dolby to split audio. I can't find the link any where. That would be way easier than hacking multiple mp3 players. And probably not that much more expensive. 

I remember you commenting on it and wondered if you saved the link.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Revenant said:


> Hehehehe that Utube vid really gotcha goin dinnit?


Yessir! That vid and several others I found! I'm gonna get this workin' or die tryin'! LOL


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Man! You guys are great!

Craig, honestly I'm not worried about abandoning an investment right now. There's enough people here, where if I decide to sell my boris' on Ebay or Hauntforum next year, I should be okay. Thanks for the tip, though! 

Dr, after thinking about this some more, Boris' may be the way to go this year. My wife is preggers, and money will be an issue, as well as time. Besides, it will only impress the TOTs as my scenes get better every year!

I got lost in the post you did, but I should be okay if I do this one step at a time. And when I reach the next steps, I'll call out for help again...

Okay, first step is to hack the skulls. Already have one done, just three more to go...

Thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

slimy said:


> Doc, there was a link on this forum to a guy that used 5.1 dolby to split audio. I can't find the link any where. That would be way easier than hacking multiple mp3 players. And probably not that much more expensive.
> 
> I remember you commenting on it and wondered if you saved the link.


I totally agree, but I don't think Sickie has 5.1 sound available to him right now. Mp3 players can be had cheap, as little as 7 bucks each, but if he can get his hands on a surround card and surround amp then yea that would be the way to go.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

er...what's that?


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## TommaHawk (Sep 18, 2007)

That means if you're running your sound(s) out of a computer, you'll need to buy a "surround sound" sound card (5.1 or 7.1 channels) that screws into your computer and/or a surround sound amplifier (used for home theater systems; generally called a receiver). Many sound cards now have an optical output which will optically deliver the surround data to the receiver (via a single cord), and the receiver will send the sound to the 5.1 channels (5 speakers and a sub). I'd say this is the absolute easiest way to go, the best sounding way to go, but also the absolute most expensive.

Instead of the optical output, sound cards also have the regular computer speaker outputs so you can connect 3 sets of stereo computer speakers directly to the card (like earphone jacks), so these stereo speakers will provide the front L/R, rear L/R, center and sub (of course one of the speakers must actually be a sub). Doing this you won't need a separate receiver. Lots of "computer gamers" do this.

But, again, this method requires a lot of hardware.

You'll also need software to actually create the 5.1 channels of sound. This can be done in Audacity and other programs. I myself use Audacity and Windows Media Encoder 9 (it combines your individual tracks into a single 5.1 or 7.1 file). Very cool stuff, but pretty complicated.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

I'm not ready for complicated yet. heh I'm breaking in slowly.


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

Which is exactly why I suggested using 3 mp3 players with the play buttons hacked to go off at the same time.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

sounds great, Doc. Tomorrow I'll get the parts for hacking the other skulls.


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## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

Glad that problem is solved. 

But, seriously, anybody got that link? To the 5.1 guy ? Anybody?????


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

http://www.audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=642

Is that the one, Slimy?

or this? http://www.kellyindustries.com/diy_5_1.html

posted by psycho99


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## Scottzilla (Jun 13, 2007)

I think I might have been the 5.1 guy with the link:

http://www.modd3d.com/articles/item/play-surround-sound-from-a-regular-cd/catid/16


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## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

Scottzilla you are the MAN!!!!!


I have an idea that I really want to do with this this year. 

Thank you for that link.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Got the componants today. On my way to hack three more. Purposely left out the pent. I don't think I'll need it with just bum bum bums.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Okay, hacked the other 3 skulls. If they work well enough, I'll prob take out the pent in the first one, too.

Okay, step 2: "...I would use 3 Mp3 players,..."

Anybody know the best deal on MP3 players? How many minutes on these do I have to record?


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## Bloodhound (Oct 16, 2007)

Dr Morbius said:


> What Youtube vid?


the bone tones from youtube


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## BudMan (Mar 6, 2007)

Well, until I saw that video, I was thinking...."How good would the Boris's really look?"
Now I see that I may have to go back and reread Doc's post on how to do this and buy a few more Borises (Borisi?). That looked great and is at a reasonable cost. The best part, I'm with you Sicky, it's probably the easiest. But the head movement of the 3 axis does really make the show!


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Well, to be fair, the heads on the vid, were skulls on the Gemmy candy bowls- not boris'. The eyes were neat and added some animation. The boris' don't have them.

However I'm counting on the boris' to be fine this year for my graveyard.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Anybody know the best deal on MP3 players? How many minutes on these do I have to record?


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

Bloodhound said:


> the bone tones from youtube


That looks terrific, but you guys should know, in case you don't already, that those guys use pnuematic cylinders on those jaws to get them very precise. Not to say the end result you get won't be good, but the action may not look as tight as this vid, just be aware.


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

Sickie Ickie said:


> Anybody know the best deal on MP3 players? How many minutes on these do I have to record?


Sorry, SI I don't know where to get cheap ones, maybe try walmart or target...but the minutes depends on how long your routine is.


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## DeathTouch (Sep 6, 2005)

I want one!


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

okay, I'll try k-mart or something...


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## 5artist5 (Jul 10, 2007)

I started a skull trio last year. The skulls may be smaller than you have in mind though. My Idea was to have them talk to a larger animatronic and then do songs together.
Each skull has a single servo to open and close the mouth. 
I have them running with VSA. 
It's almost done, I just need to hook up the lighting. I want to have "stage lights" at the base of each skull so that when they do solos I can single them out.


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