Mysteries of the Talk Box

JasonC · Post by **JasonC** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 7:15 pm

I've been thinking about a talk box lately. How do I encorporate one in my rig? Does it really take a second amp and a switcher? I'm so clueless I don't even know what questions to ask, but I hear George knows a thing or two about them...

Zoso · Post by **Zoso** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:57 am

I have a Rocktron Banshee talkbox. Unlike traditional talkboxes, it has a built in amp so you don't need a seperate amp to drive it. It has a true bypass switch, so you can just put it in your signal chain like a regular stomp box. I like it, and I think it sounds just as good as the regular ones. Just go to Rocktron's website to check it out.

JasonC · Post by **JasonC** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 6:27 pm

Cool, I'll check it out.

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:14 pm

No you don't need a second amp to drive it.

All a Talk Box is is a compression driver(one used for PA horns) mounted in a box with a 15uF 50 volt cap wired in series with it. THE CAP MUST BE THERE TO FILTER OUT LOW FREQUENCIES TO THE HORN OR YOU WILL BLOW THE HORN DIAPHRAGM!!! You then get a couple of jacks, a footswitch, and a clear acrylic hose(about 6.5' in length).

Then find a fitting that will screw over the end of the throat on the horn driver that will attach the hose to it. The hose's outside diameter should be the same as the inside diameter of the fitting for a snug fit.

Connect a speaker cable to the input of the talk box, and connect your speaker cab to the output. If you run two speaker cabs you may want to install 2 output jacks on the talkbox(I did this to my Heil Sound one).

When the talkbox is bypassed you'll hear sound coming from the cab. Then when you kick in the talkbox, the bypass switch will reroute the power coming from your amp to the horn in the talkbox. The hose should be attached to a microphone running to the band's PA. Stick the hose in your mouth and practice saying words. Keeping your windpipe closed will yield a thin, bity sound while opening your windpipe(breathing out) will open the sound up and give you a really warm, fat sound.

I have enclosed a schematic for you.

Jon

Eoin · Post by **Eoin** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:09 am

Cool, I didn't spot this when it came up. Has anyone built their own Talk Box?

Billy Batz · Post by **Billy Batz** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 12:05 pm

I have. Its around somewhere. I dont like the effect very much. To use it live is a big commitment to a single effect so you really need to like it.

Eoin · Post by **Eoin** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 9:21 pm

Yeah, I probably wouldn't use one live, but I can think of a few fun things to do with it in the studio. I presume the driver has to have a pretty hefty wattage? How much power do you lose over the cap?

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 11:57 am

Being in a cover band, I use one live, and lemme tell ya....it opens up the doors on how many more songs you can do with it. Songs such as Sweet Emotion, Rocky Mountain Way, Hair Of The Dog, Man In A Box...all the way down to Livin' On A Prayer and of course The Zoo by The Scorpions. They're such a blast to use them and it's always cool because it always makes people come up and ask "Hey what is that thing?"

And how about "Do You Feel Like We Do"? George's old band Jedi Mind Trip did a hell of a version of that one.

Jon

Eoin · Post by **Eoin** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:14 pm

I think I'd like a talk box just to play Man in the Box tbh.

Have you still got that schematic handy, Jon? I wouldn't mind adding it to my list of things to talk about but never do...

Billy Batz · Post by **Billy Batz** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:16 pm

Eoin wrote: I wouldn't mind adding it to my list of things to talk about but never do...

Its funny cuz its true....

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:22 pm

Yeah here it is...

Jon

flemingmras · Post by **flemingmras** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:22 pm

Hey George, what model EV horn driver is that that you use on your pedal board?

Jon

Andy · Post by **Andy** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:45 am

The high pass filter cap (15uf-16uf) should be a non-polarized one. You can use two polarized caps with the negs connect together, but I have been told that a good non-polarized crossover cap is more reliable.

I built an 18watt liteII with some old iron to be used as a talkbox amp and used this driver-

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl ... er=264-202 It is very solid cast aluminum and it came with it's own backup!

It sounds very full compared to the pedal style talkbox effects I've heard.

I also managed to nab a 1-3/8"-18 tap off eBay so if someone wants a fitting made... I would do it for cost. I did it with a PVC reducer so that it threads right on a standard compression driver.

-Andy

Post by **VelvetGeorge** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:18 pm

Mine's an EV 1824M. It's an old 1" driver. 8 ohms and 60 watts I'm told.

If you can find one of these, you'll sound 500% better than those cheap Heil drivers right from the start.
Adjust the cap for the low frequency cut.

And watch out. It will rattle the teeth out of your head. Try it with an octave pedal too. Great little secret weapon.

George

Post by **VelvetGeorge** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:21 pm

Here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ELECTRO-VOICE-EV-18 ... dZViewItem

George