paid $150

I have wanted a talk box ever since I first heard one. The sound from Aerosmith's Walk This Way...the old Peter Frampton Show Me the Way...

I don't really need one, or even have a use for one, but you can't try one at the store because you end up getting spit all over it. You wouldn't want to borrow anybody's talk box, either, for the same reason. So, the only way I can try it is to buy it. This year I had a gift certificate and just said, why not? Why not finally find out what it is like?

Here is what it is like....


How a talk box works:

In order to get that talking guitar sound, the amp output is sent into a tube that you stick in your mouth, and then you move your mouth around with all this air pressure coming in from the tube. Your mouth becomes the speaker, sort of. So, you then get your mouth near a microphone and the PA picks up the sound coming out of your mouth.

A standard talk box from Heil requires that you connect the talk box into your amp's SPEAKER output, which is rumored to be difficult to set up. Rocktron Banshee is not the old style talk box. The Banshee is an attempt to get rid of that complexity and get as close to an effects pedal as possible. They get pretty close. Here is how they do it...

How a Banshee works:

The Banshee is basically a pignose amp (a really small practice amp) with the speaker facing up towards the ceiling. The tube fits into the hole over the speaker, and funnels the sound to your mouth.

Moving your mouth changes the sound so that is it speech-like, but you can't use every letter. K doesn't work, but W works great. I am sure over time, I will get better at the different sounds. Doing the basic Bon Jovi or Alice in Chains sound is no sweat first thing without practice.

Here is the strange part: while the banshee is on, your guitar is no longer going to your amp. The banshee cuts the signal to your amp, uses its internal amp and uses your head is the speaker. So, sitting in your room playing your
banshee, it is kind of strange. In a band situation, you would put the banshee tube next to your vocal mic, so the vocal mic would pick up the sound. But at home, kinda weird.

Here is the bad news: The sound is always distorted. There is no clean tone. There is a speaker output next to the amp output. The manual says if you put the speaker out to your amp it could fry your amp. So you would think they wouldn't be right next to each other, but they are. Just be careful.

Summary: The Banshee is a very cool tool. if I were in a band, it would definitely be a wow factor that would make the band stand out in a crowd. I wish I could get a clean tone, though, which the Banshee won't provide. So if I were in a band, I would opt for the Heil version. Since I am just goofing off at home, the whole idea of having my own talk box seems like over kill. But, I do enjoy it.