Quote:

Mac, you just inspired me. I never heard of Alvino until you noted him. Here's a video of his technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPd9cxqKCVg&feature=related

I loved it! Man, he was ahead of his time in mimicing the sounds of brass and woodwind instruments into a steel slide guitar just by using the Talkbox. In the video it appears that they may have had the unit off set and someone else was forming the words with the sound eminating from his steel slide being fed through the tube.

On a side note, I have an 8 year old daughter that I have been showing her movies like the Marx Brothers because there was so much going on in those movies that is missed today. Then, an actor had to sing, dance, play an instrument, tell jokes all above their acting in order to make it.

Alvino inspired me to try and use the slide as well as chordal riffs on the Box. Like gibson, if we look at some of the novelty acts from the 70's that used it, they sort of hit a wall with the idea. Same ideas... same sounds. I think this concept can attract fans again, if it can be used creatively again as Alvino did in his time. It is the artist that pushes the envelope and makes it into something new again!

I am going to toy with building a tune in BIAB and practice those chordal & slide techniques to insert in the song someplace. It'll be a lot of fun. Once it is done I will post it online. Wish me luck!



Yes, the era's ideas about what should or should not be shown dictated that Alvino couldn't appear on television or movies with the tube hanging out of his mouth, so they wouod either place someone backstage with the actual hose in their mouth in front of a mic, or they would use overdubbed recordings of Alvino himself in order to keep things, "looking nice".

Still, the cat was WAY ahead of his time. And not just because of the talkbox, either.


--Mac

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