The original Heil Talk Box is back in style. Now, you can recreate the "talking guitar" sounds popularized by Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, Slash, Alice In Chains, Aerosmith and others. This classic effect is easy to use and can be set up with one guitar amp and a separate microphone and mic amp. It includes 6-1/2 feet of surgical tubing and a sturdy phenolic diaphragm.
In Depth
The talk box uses your mouth as an additional sound chamber, allowing you to form your sound into words and phrases. To understand the concept, first think about how your form words. The air is pushed from your lungs, through your vocal chords and then you form the air in your mouth and nasal cavity to produce a different sound. The Talkbox replaces that air from your lungs with the sound of your instrument, allowing you to form it into words and phrases. The Talkbox takes the signal from your Amplifier Speaker Output and sends it though the hose. You place the hose in the corner of your mouth between your back teeth. Basically, you are replacing the air that is pushed from your lungs with the sound coming out of your amp. You put the hose between your back teeth, because you want that sound starting as far back in your mouth as possible, so that it can be completely formed by your mouth. With the hose in place, play a note with your instrument and form the sound with your mouth. Do not make any sound with your voice, just mouth the sound or word. Begin by mouthing the vowels, A, E, I, O, U. You will find that the more exaggerated you form your mouth, the better the effect will sound. Next, work on saying words with hard consonants, such as B,D,G,J,K,P,Q,T,V - "good" "bad" "give" "take" Then move on to phrases and complete sentences. "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown" You will also find that when you bite down partially on the hose, the sound will change. If you bite down on the hose completely, there will be no sound.
How do I set up the Talk Box?
Requirements: Amp Head with a speaker out Microphone with a P.A. system (amp and speaker) 8 ohm speaker or speaker cabinet Setup
Hook your guitar up to any pre-amp effects you desire (Crybaby, Fuzz Face, Distortion +, etc.) Have the last item in your pre-amp effects go into the input of your Amp Head. Connect a cable from the speaker out of your Amp Head to the input of the Talkbox. (Be sure to use a heavy duty speaker cable, not a standard guitar cable.) Caution: The Talkbox is an 8 ohm speakert 100 watts max power or 50 watts RMS. Check the specifications on your amplifier to verify that it will not overpower the Talkbox. Connect your 8 ohm speaker or speaker cabinet to the output of the Talkbox. The switch on the Talkbox toggles whether the Talkbox is on or the sound is passed unmodified through to the speaker connected to the output of the Talkbox. Put the end of the clear tube of the Talkbox up alongside your microphone, so that the tube fits in your mouth, close to the microphone. Have your microphone set up as you normal would using another amp and speaker. You are now ready to recreate the vintage sounds of the Talkbox! Practice moving your mouth and tongue to produce vowels and consonants while playing single notes on your guitar.
Item Number:
Dunlop Heil Talkbox [HT1]
7841 1-1
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