Build a talkbox?

rcaz

Hey, I'm wondering has anyone ever built their own talkbox (or other kind of effect box) from scratch, successfully or otherwise?
I'm a huge Flaming Lips fan, noticed the talkbox in Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, and quite fancied being able to get those sounds, but instead of buying one, and since I've got the summer holidays, why not try to build one? From what I've heard, it doesn't seem too hard. Any ideas as to where I should start or if I'm a complete mentaller who's going to electricute himself?

connie_c

there are loads of links for this kind of thing with good instructions. Ive only ever changed the innards of one of my pedals into another box and modified my amps footswitch. very simple stuff. have a look at these sites for more info.

http://www.geofex.com/

http://filters.muziq.be/

http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/StompboxTips.htm


Irish home builders here
http://www.bredhead.com/


PS go on the lips

MagnumForce

found a couple of sites for ya, i might make one of these myself, been wanting one for a while but theyre expensive.

http://www.blamepro.com/talkboxG.htm

http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=19;t=012162;p=1

there is a high risk with homemade talkboxes that you'll fry your amp if done wrong by the way

rcaz

Yeah, I've heard a few horror stories about them, I'll read into it. I was in Perfect Pitch earlier, the guy said €399 for one :eek: I might try eBay.

I've read some of the guides there, thanks for the links, but could anyone tell me what a horn/compression driver is? Wiki didn't have an entry on it.

It wasn't me!

A horn is just a small, high-frequency speaker methinks, also called a tweeter.

connie_c

http://www.audiocity.ie/store/mu_product_info.php/cPath/98_123_66/products_id/690

dunno if its crap but its a lot less than 399

The_g-man

http://musicstorekoeln.de/en/global/0_0_G_0_GIT0004354-000/0/0/0/detail/musicstore.html

I was told in Musician Inc. that they don't keep Dunlop talkboxes in stock to prevent anyone buying the thing on impulse and ruining their amp. This model seems to have fixed the problem. Some reviews here :
http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Data/Rocktron/Banshee-1.html

I also advise anyone who does buy it to make sure you clean out the tube every time you use it. You wouldn't want anything to crawl up that tube into your mouth!!

rcaz

The Banshee looks like the best bet so far, I think I've given up on building one. Couldn't be bothered...

Nice one for the links, people, thanks!

Creamy Goodness

think i might get one myself, peter frampton better watch out

Eoin Madsen

El Pr0n wrote:

I've read some of the guides there, thanks for the links, but could anyone tell me what a horn/compression driver is? Wiki didn't have an entry on it.

A compression driver is a particular type of high frequency driver, like a tweeter. Basically, it's a speaker which is specifically designed to reproduce frequencies in the high-middle or high end.

A horn is essentially a funnel that's used for projecting sound. The whole horns/tweeters thing is a complete misnomer, and one to be a little careful of. Most high frequency drivers will need a horn. Often subwoofers and other will have horns as well. The driver inside a talkbox does not have a horn.

John

What exactly does a talkbox do? I saw Adam Jones using one with Tool the other night, I'm guessing it somehow mixes the guitar signal and a vocal to make some weird noises. Yes I am too lazy to google.

Voodu Child

Spits a guitar sound into your mouth with a tube, and you change the sound by changing the shape of your mouth. Is picked up with a mike and sent to a PA usually.

feylya

Metallica - The House that Jack Built - solo. Hammett uses a talk box on it. It's likea wah pedal but it uses your mouth to shape the sound.

EVH used to use one but because his mouth is so small, he had to get his roady to use it to get the sounds he wanted

MagnumForce

feylya wrote:

EVH used to use one but because his mouth is so small, he had
to get his roady to use it to get the sounds he wanted

Ha!

John

Sounds very interesting. How can they destroy your amp?

Eoin Madsen

Ideally, the driver in the talkbox should match the impedance and wattage of your amp. When you switch it in you're switching your cab for the talkbox. If you know what you're doing there's no risk at all. If you don't, all sorts of fun will ensue.

Johnny Storm

Supposedly the volume of sound in your gob can loosen your fillings.
( I read it in NME so it must be true )

david

Would it not be way easier to power it seperate from your amp? As in have a guitar signal going in and split, one dry signal to your amp and one signal going through a small amp powering the tweeter, up the tube into your mouth and into a mic going through the PA. It gets awkward when you power the tweeter in series/parallel with your guitar amp and speaker. The total impeadance will be changed and you'd have to have switchable impeadance on your amp.

Eoin Madsen

Well, it's traditionally supposed to replace the cab, not run simultaneously. I presume most people prefer to use whatever their main amp is rather than change tonal range. The talkbox has to be loud for it to work properly anyway.

feylya

AFAIK, That's how it's normally done.

The Doktor

I made one years ago. Similar to one of the links above, but mine had its own built in amp.:D
Used a horn like above, and a mike plugged into an old stereo amp I had.
I loved the sound on Pigs by pink floyd, thats why I made it. It worked well but I got bored after 30 mins.:D
My initial testing of this idea, was connecting a crap set of headphones to my amp (headphone out), and turning the vol way up, and putting one of the phones in my mouth (the ones with the orange sponge).... eh... not too safe, but I went from there.
Actually, lookin at things now, Im impressed with myself, cos back in them days I didnt have the interweb to get them fancy diagrams...We just heard "stories" and went from there...:D