Anyone using a real talkbox?

aqua_tek · Post by **aqua_tek** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:40 pm

so i caved in yesterday and bought myself a Rocktron Banshee. Figured I'd have me some fun with it, while at the same time defeating my fear of dentists (scary rubber tubing).

it's actually... not... that... easy

been trying for the past hour or so to get it sounding right. the vowels are simple to do, but getting the consonants is a pain.

Now, a question.... The Banshee has two output jacks but they only seem to send out the "clean" synth signal.

I'm assuming the only way to get the modulated signal going into my soundcard is by recording through my mic? Is the mic also the key to getting those consonants sounding right?

Thanks in advance for any help.

blakbeltjonez · Post by **blakbeltjonez** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:38 am

as with any talk box, your mouth does the modulation - hence, you need to record your mouth, and that usually requires a microphone of some sort. with consonants, you'll probably have to modify your technique to exaggerate them, it's been a while since i've used one but as i remember it, transients/plosives/consonants/etc. are not really the strong point of using a talk box.

aqua_tek · Post by **aqua_tek** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:42 pm

thanks for the reply. yeah after checking around and also reading your post, i'm pretty sure that i need to use my mic. Set it up last night and recorded myself goofing around a bit. Was pretty cool

as for the consonants and such, well i've heard some pretty damn clear sounding talkboxing. After reading around and checking some videos, I think it's a combination of just mouthing the words silently into the tubing while just pronouncing the consonants for the mic to pick them up (?)

just need to adjust the levels a little better methinks, or not get too carried away with overdoing the "plosives"... got them sounding clear, but they were overshadowing the talkbox a bit.

Kind of cool, learning a new instrument/effect from scratch. I'd forgotten how it felt.

benmiron · Post by **benmiron** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:12 pm

Wait can you explain to me why you need a mic?

I thought that the modulated synth signal is what you hear?

What does the mic pick up and where do you send it?

lola · Post by **lola** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:19 pm

Maybe find a smaller tube for the banschee..... its just to big.
A disadvantage for having a talkbox is, losing fillings from your teeth....

lola · Post by **lola** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:21 pm

benmiron wrote:Wait can you explain to me why you need a mic?

I thought that the modulated synth signal is what you hear?

What does the mic pick up and where do you send it?

Synth carrier into the talkbox...signal is amplified and send trough a small tube...tube goes in your mouth(30 watt) ......signal what is comming from your mouth has to be captured....so thats why you need a mic.

leisuremuffin · Post by **leisuremuffin** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 5:17 pm

yep. it's not a vocoder. its a speaker in a box with a freakin tube coming out of it.

.lm.

thelike5 · Post by **thelike5** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:48 pm

leisuremuffin wrote:yep. it's not a vocoder. its a speaker in a box with a freakin tube coming out of it.

.lm.

Your a freakin tube...

leisuremuffin · Post by **leisuremuffin** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:50 pm

*you're* a barely literate fucktard.

.lm.

aqua_tek · Post by **aqua_tek** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:55 pm

oh, so nice to see this thread brought back from the dead.

@ benmiron, lola explained it pretty well. It was something i didnt understand when i first bought it, but quickly picked up on.

And yes, the tube is sometimes a little annoyingly large. I still have all my fillings, thankfully, but hey, i've only had this thing for a couple months so who knows... hopefully i'll be one of the lucky ones who don't lose their fillings. knock on wood

still getting the hang of it. the diction is still sometimes hard to nail. But getting there little by little. I think a tube with a smaller diameter might make it much easier. I'll try and see if i can find one.

http://www.myspace.com/n8vice

The second tune on the player (Demecanize) is my first shot at a track done with the talkbox. You can tell that my diction skills are not quite stellar yet. But it's a decent attempt i guess.

lola · Post by **lola** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:24 pm

aqua_tek wrote:oh, so nice to see this thread brought back from the dead.

@ benmiron, lola explained it pretty well. It was something i didnt understand when i first bought it, but quickly picked up on.

And yes, the tube is sometimes a little annoyingly large. I still have all my fillings, thankfully, but hey, i've only had this thing for a couple months so who knows... hopefully i'll be one of the lucky ones who don't lose their fillings. knock on wood

still getting the hang of it. the diction is still sometimes hard to nail. But getting there little by little. I think a tube with a smaller diameter might make it much easier. I'll try and see if i can find one.

http://www.myspace.com/n8vice

The second tune on the player (Demecanize) is my first shot at a track done with the talkbox. You can tell that my diction skills are not quite stellar yet. But it's a decent attempt i guess.

Smaller tubes you can try to find one in a pet shop, where they sell stuff for a aquaruim.

lola · Post by **lola** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:36 pm

Also another good alternative for a talkbox, altho it nearly sounds the same... is the digitech talker.
And you won't loose your fillings

This is a example of the digitech talker form a song i made in 1998.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/36lp1h

thelike5 · Post by **thelike5** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:45 pm

leisuremuffin wrote:*you're* a barely literate fucktard.

.lm.

Got me there...

kristoffer1989 · Post by **kristoffer1989** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:59 pm

ok so i have used the banshee for about three years i think. both for guitar and synth. here are some tips:

get yourself a stiffer tube. a bit smaller and stiffer. then you put ducktape on the lover end to make it fit the banshee.

record yourself all the time to hear your improving.

your have to say t and s and so on to get the words right. (sorry bad english) and use a mic to mice it up.

the synth sound scould be a pretty clean wave. then have the synth in mono/legato with a bit of portomento:)

i use it mostly with my microkorg. it rocks!

aqua_tek · Post by **aqua_tek** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 1:06 am

thanks Kristoffer. All good tips

lola wrote:Also another good alternative for a talkbox, altho it nearly sounds the same... is the digitech talker.
And you won't loose your fillings

This is a example of the digitech talker form a song i made in 1998.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/36lp1h

sounded kind of cool, but too short to judge