I listened to RustySpoon's latest post and heard "talkbox" for the first time--really no idea what it was. After researching it on PG's site and listening to the demo, I understand it better now. But, what I thought it was--before researching--was something I remember seeing guitar players do back in the 70's. Using some type of tube connected to electronics, they could use the shape of their mouth to create distortion effects on the guitar--sort of a "wah wah" sound. Does that make sense? And can anyone tell me what you would call this? Thanks!
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The "Talkbox" is older than many folks think. +++ HERE +++ is a short from a 1944 Movie called "Jam Session". Guitarist, steel guitarist, banjo player and band leader Alvino Rey first recorded a talkbox sound in 1939. Another audio modulation box that was patented in 1939 was called the Sonovox.
Alvino Rey's wife would stand offstage and mouth the words. Steel guitarist Pete Drake made the talkbox popular again by showing himself using the modulation tube. +++ HERE +++. The next person to popularize the gimmick was Peter Frampton.
Jeff Beck and a few artists were using Kustom's "The Bag" before Bob Heil improved the concept or Peter Frampton.
It was initially developed for Joe Walsh.
"The Heil Talk Box was developed in 1973 and was built for Joe Walsh's Barnstorm Tour. Frampton frequently used a Heil Talk Box after receiving one as a Christmas present from Heil in 1974, and it can be prominently heard on his 1975 album Frampton".
I had an "opportunity" to test one of those things out one night at a club. The other band we had gone to see was still setting up before the show. I commented on the talk box because it was the first one I had personally seen, and the guitarist said yeah, go ahead and try it out.
I pondered the sanitary issues surrounding the end of the tube and would I want to put what was in another guy's mouth, and covered with his saliva , in mine and I politely declined. I think I made a good choice.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Very clean assembly Simon. What's holding the two capacitors to the assembly base? Is that an off-the-shelf assembled circuit board you purchased or did you purchase bare board and components then assemble the circuit board?
Cute project case too. If I was a manufacturer I'd hire you as a purchased or engineering technician. You do good work and chose nice stuff.
Hmm ... no shroud or heatshrink on the mains power ... of course in the UK we're on 240V, which bites harder.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
Simon, that is some pretty work. Looks like a lot of technology in that box. I'm assuming it's got it's own power supply and amplifier and takes a line level input or just plug the guitar straight in?
But.....
Serious build. Back in the day, a floor switch to switch from the speaker cabinet to the horn driver. A passive crossover (maybe) and a large wine bag and a couple of feet of plastic tubing or in a box at the bottom of the mic stand.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Very clean assembly Simon. What's holding the two capacitors to the assembly base? Is that an off-the-shelf assembled circuit board you purchased or did you purchase bare board and components then assemble the circuit board?
Cute project case too. If I was a manufacturer I'd hire you as a purchased or engineering technician. You do good work and chose nice stuff.
Capacitors are held in with some hot glue. They connect in series to the speaker driver to create a high pass filter at around 160hz - I did this partly to suppress DC and pops from the amplifier. The amplifier board is off the shelf with some slight modification. Case is off the shelf too, I simply drilled and cut what I needed to (hence the pen marks still visible on the inside lol).
Thanks for the compliments! I used to do this kind of work professionally, as it's what I first went to college for - and what I second went to college for was audio engineering, which also guided my choice in parts.
Originally Posted by Gordon Scott
Hmm ... no shroud or heatshrink on the mains power ... of course in the UK we're on 240V, which bites harder.
There is heat shrink on the mains connections, I just didn't bother on the ground connection which is the only one clearly visible.
Originally Posted by Guitarhacker
Simon, that is some pretty work. Looks like a lot of technology in that box. I'm assuming it's got it's own power supply and amplifier and takes a line level input or just plug the guitar straight in?
But.....
Serious build. Back in the day, a floor switch to switch from the speaker cabinet to the horn driver. A passive crossover (maybe) and a large wine bag and a couple of feet of plastic tubing or in a box at the bottom of the mic stand.
Yep, power supply and amplifier built in, uses a 1/4" plug on the front. Technically it can take a guitar straight in, but typically you'd want some distortion on it first so it works best with effect output or line level. I've seen the pedal-sized ones (both professional and DIY) but I wanted something more powerful with a lower frequency range, and the driver I chose is WAY too big for even the biggest pedal enclosure.
Hmm ... no shroud or heatshrink on the mains power ... of course in the UK we're on 240V, which bites harder.
There is heat shrink on the mains connections, I just didn't bother on the ground connection which is the only one clearly visible.
Ah, The layout of the connector isn't as I thought ... and I was distracted by red crimps. Doh! They're all red, that's the size, dummy.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
[quote=Simon - PG Music]Ah, The layout of the connector isn't as I thought ... and I was distracted by red crimps. Doh! They're all red, that's the size, dummy.
Connector layout is a bit different yeah, it's a C14 socket with a built in fuse holder. Saved me from drilling/cutting another hole in steel with hand tools!
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