Dunlop Heil Talkbox

No brainer, simple to setup, easy to use. I'm using an A/B switch to change from my half stack to a combo. Go to Home Depot and get some velcro tape and tape the tube around the mic so about 2"-3" is hanging out over the end of the mic. This way you can have the tube where it needs to be and it's easily reuseable. I got some extra velcro and now wrap the tube all the way down the boom stand. The tube sent with the unit is somewhat flimsy. I found a wholesale beverage supplier (bar supplier) and bought some heavy duty soda dispensing tubing, you can get some cool looking stuff! Take a sample of your tubing so they can accurately measure the diameter. If it's slightly smaller you can use some masking tape to make a tighter fit.

I'm A/B'ing this setup between a Marshall JCM2000 TSL 100 (Voodoo mods) and I use a small Marshall 30 watt 1-12 combo. I crank the little 30 watt about 3/4 up w/drive pedal on, mid on 7 presence cranked, treble on 5, bass on 3 and I get an awesome sound. Instant Joe Walsh! The only thing is, if you use a more powerful amp it will rattle your dental work a bit. Just try and find a comfortable level (the louder the better) and let the sound man boost your mic if need be. I was first running a Mesa Nomad 55 and that was a little unnerving for my fillings. I've since switched to the Marshall and all is well! Crowd reaction is unbelieveable! First time out just messin around during a slow blues solo everybody was looking to see where "that sound" was coming from. When we played "Rocky Mountain Way" I got a standing O from the crowd. Just keep in mind the more overdrive the better the result. Much better than just using the standard setup (interrupting your speaker cabinet from the head) and that way you won't have to worry about puke'n the driver.

It's been very dependable. However when i first bought it (about 5 years ago) I was not doing the A/B thing and had switched amps from a Mesa Nomad 55 (55 watts) to the a 72 Fender Twin Reverb (100 watt)for a small outdoor venue and forgot about the 100 watt warning. Well needless to say I was about halfway through a solo when she died. I panicked and thought I puked the driver. I checked it out later and determined that I fried the capacitor. I upgraded the cap from a 15 micro farad to a 47. Immediately after that I started doing the A/B thing. Haven't had a problem since. I do and will continue to work without a backup. No need, it's built like a bomb shelter. Short of running it over with a bulldozer I don't think you could hurt this thing. It's a little hefty so be careful not to drop it on your foot. Ouch!

I did email them when I had that problem I mentioned and they got right back to me. NICE! Left me an 800# and I called. They were very friendly and helpful and said it would be OK to use the larger cap. I mentioned possibly doing an upgrade by putting a limiting device to protect the driver but never got any feedback from them on it.

I play a wide variety classic rock and blues, been playing since I was 11, now I'm 51. I really like the combination of gear I use with this talk box. Heil isn't the only game in town but if you want the "right" sound, that depends on your ear and your gear. I've found Heil to be solid and reliable and hands down delivers what I want in a talk box, period.

Back in the day I made my own talk box but using a different setup. I built a little 1/2 watt amp (Guitar Player Mag featured article way back in the early 70's) and used a small piezo tweeter with the horn end cut off in lieu of a speaker. I then slipped a hose over the "stub" and presto - TALK BOX! However the Heil setup is more reliable and a heck of a lot better sounding and looking.

My gig arsenal includes a '58 RI Gibson Flying V Goth w/Dimarzios & a Floyd Rose,'62 RI Fender Strat w/noiseless pup's, Jackson Dinky w/Floyd & Lace Sensors, Fender Tele w/Bardens, Gibson EDS1275 w/Seymour Duncans, and a Fender Scorpion for slide. Effects include a Boss Giga Delay & Chorus Ensemble, Mojo Vibe, MXR Phase 90, Sparkle Drive, Boss Compressor, Morley Bad Horsie 2, Morley A/B box, Voodoo labs pedal power and of course the Heil. Man my pedalboard is crowded!

If I caught the guy that stole it I'd let it drop on his foot! Oooh painful! But seriously, if the Heil got stolen, I'd probably go out and make my own. There's not much to it; just a box, 50 or 100 watt 300-5000Hz rated mid-range driver, SPDT switch, couple of jacks, footswitch, some wire and a 47 micro farad cap. You could probably build one for about $75. Simple yet cool.

I really like using the talk box, it's an attention getter and sounds awesome if you use it right. I find myself kicking it in every now and then just to "spice up" some otherwise boring songs. It is a real cool tool to use and improvise with. Another great sound in my toolbox.

I'm not only a working guitarist I'm also a collector of vintage axes. Nuff said!

Its a great Effect and sounds awsom but its a bit of a pain to get hooked up,but once you get it done its sounds realy good and its relly cool for playing Clasic Rock like Peter Frampton,Joe Walsh and alice in chains,But be sure not to over power it try not to use more thain a 100 watts to drive this thing or you well ruin it.

im using a gibson es.335 guitar but I use a sepret amp for the heil sound.i use my buddies 80 watt peavey bandet for my guitar and i use a 40 watt traynor tube amp for my heil sound and most times i just stick a mike in front of my traynor amp to get the talk box louder.i just use some basic effects,nothing fancy just overdrive,choris,delay and my dunlop cry baby.

The heil sound is pretty reliable it hasent failed on me yet so im pretty pleased with it(so far so good)

I havent dealt with the company yet but some of my friends have,and they told me that they are very helpful and easy to get along with after all it is dunlop and they are the best.

I usualey play 80's rock like van halen,ac/dc,peter frampton and dire straits,ive been useing the heil sound for about 5 months now and im realy pleased with the sound,i wish it wasent so complicated to get hooked up but nothings perfect,if it was ever stolen from me ill find out who did it and kick there @$$.

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Well the talk box just crapped out on me. It just quit right in the middle of playing. I had 2 days left on my warranty so I had two days to get it to California. I called them and they said it was cool if it was late and they would still service it past the warranty time. That's really cool of them IMO. We will see how fixing it goes.

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It's is kind of a pain to set up but once your there just hit the button and start talking. Didn't need the manual cause my other guitar player has one and he showed me how to hook it up.

I am using a tele and Ibanez GAX70. I don't use it through another amp, just run it through my Hot Rod Deluxe which is 40 watt tube. Just run the chord coming off the speaker(with an adaptor) into one side of the talkbox and run another chord from the other side of the talkbox into where the wire from the speaker was pluged in. I don't see the need for another amp if you have these imputs. I like to use the distortion off the amp but sometimes use my boss OS-2. No noise when it's off. I can nail the Frampton tone.

Never had a problem with it in the 6 months I've had it. Strong as an ox. I do use it without a backup. Tube gets kinda nasty from spit but just wash it out and your ready to go.

Never had to deal with them.

Mostly use it on Frampton stuff(Show Me The Way, Do you Feel Like We Do) but my other guitar player has one so we do double talkbox parts on others songs. Double talkboxes sound awsome. I bought it because I wanted the original, not something trying to copy it. If it were lost I would get another when I could get the extra money.

The Heil Talk Box is easy and fun to use. However, it is quite complicated to set up.. but if you do the hard yards in setting it up properly, it'll be well worth your while. You really should use the recommended 'pro' setup method - using an A/B switch and a separate amplifier to your main guitar amp, because it will allow you to be more versatile with your talk box sound.

I use a Peavey 5150 II as my main amp, and run the talk box with a 15 watt Peavey Rage practice amp using an A/B switch pedal. When I first bought my talk box, the dudes at the shop told me it'd be fine to run with the 5150... they were WRONG. 120 watts of sheer power running out of my head fried the talk box within minutes of initially using it. Stoked. You MUST use the talk box with an low powered amplifier if you want it to stay healthy and it working condition. I found the Peavey Rage sound to be perfectly suited to the talk box, and I was able to perfectly recreate Richie Sambora's sound in Bon Jovi's 'Livin On A Prayer' and Dave Grohl's sound in Foo Fighter's 'Generator'.

Use the Heil Talk Box properly, and you'll have no worries. When I say properly I mean with a small amp eg. Peavey Rage. What you'll need to do is to disconnect the cable that connects the amplifier to the speaker in the combo, and add cable jacks onto the speaker-out of the amplifier and the speaker-in on the speaker itself. Sounds complicated, I know! But it's well worth it if you really want that talk box sound.

The place at which I purchased my talk box replaced the shagged diaphragm free of charge two days after I took it back. The 2 day delay was due to them needing to order in the part from another part of the country.

Overall, it's an awesome and totally unique sound, well worth the trouble involved in it's set up if you want it bad enough.

Very easy and basic setup. There are two types of setup, Basic and Pro as the manual shows. Basic: Plug your amp/head's speaker out into the input of the talkbox, and plug your speaker cab in from the output of the talkbox. Pro: Using an A/B box, run two amps. One for your regular guitar tone and one with the talkbox plugged into the speaker out. Then use the A/B to switch between amps.

I personally use the basic setup right now. Now, the manual says you are supposed to use the 8 ohm output of an amp or you could risk blowing the talkbox and/or amp. I went and talked to a friend at a music store who has been using one for years and he didn't know anything about this. He said just the usual 16 ohm output works fine. So, I went home did what he said and not a problem.

Probably the trickiest part is having the tube in your mouth. It takes a little getting used to, but nothing major.

Now, I'm not too knowledgable on the classic rock, so I got into the talkbox by listening to bands like Alice In Chains, Muse, and Nickelback.

My current setup is a Fender Tele-->Boss TU-2 (tuner)-->Dunlop Crybaby Wah-->Marshall JCM900 100 watt head-->Heil T-1 Talkbox-->1960A 4x12 cab.

The actual sound is all on how you make it. When you turn the effect on, it diverts the sound from your amp/head into the tube which you use your mouth as the sound chamber and the mic picks it up.

The pedal itself is as silent as can be.

I would definitely gig without a back up. When I orded this they said the package weighed 8.4 lbs. This is pedal is heavier than my 6 year old cat. The only thing you might need to replace after a while, but that's nothing.

Haven't dealt with them yet. Hopefully won't need to.

I play basic rock, so this pedal does the trick. It is built like a tank, and can take the abuse from one. I was considering the Heil or the Rocktron, but once I found out that there shouldn't be any risk of blowing my head, I got the Heil. I don't know anything about the Rocktron, but I'm sure it's a good pedal. I just wanted to get that exact sound I heard on the records. I would advise anyone looking into getting a talkbox to at least check it out. If you're looking for the Heil sound, the only way to go is the Heil, No Substitutions!!!

Its a pretty plain and fool-proof unit as far as usage goes. Stomp on it and the rest is up to your mouth and your guitar. It sound you get is good under any circumstances; different guitars, amps, clean or dirty. The manual is short and sweet and tells you everything to know... and take my word for it- READ IT. This is a sheer mechanical device- not a digital stomp, so if you don't keep the usage in-bounds, you could blow the diaphragm. The seup is easy after the first time; you just have to figure out how to wire it up, which may take an amp mod. if you have a combo- you'll need to wire it so you can put it between the amp and the speakers- do this with an output jack and a 1/4" plug to the speakers, and then just wire a set of speaker cables and a female-female adapter to finish the loop through the box. Goes wihtout saying, wiring this ot a head and cabinet is easier.

Sound quality is as it should be- froggy and a little shrouded. No excess noise is produced and you won't have to fool with it or change your amp settings at all to get a satisfyingly similar sound to Perry and Frampton. Those Frampton sounds are better achieved with cleans and those Sweet Emotion sounds are better slightly dirty.

Hey, like anything else, if you treat it as i should be treated, its not gonna blow on you. Heed the warning, though- Don't pump an amp with over 100 watts of power through it- If you do, especially while cranked up, you might be dishing out more cash to replace it. If you do everything by the book, though, you're not going to have any troubles and the unit itself has an almost bomb-proof cover.

Never dealt with them, hope i never have to.

Love it to death. Great for Screaming out solos (literally) and you can emulate those classic sounds without having to fuss with knobs and switches- great tone all the time. Just don't test its limits and it won't test your temper. Simple as that.

The setup takes a few minutes to figure out, but then its easy

You can use any setup, and its not limited to guitars, as another user siad the Framptone is maybe better, but $500. (And by the way Frampton started making his own after years of success using the heil,) He made his mark with a Heil, then began making his own, not vice versa. and as far as talkboxes go? I dont think they make a better one, maybe just as good for more $$

As Brian said in his review, He knows a few people who have blown these....... So do I. DUH!!! Heil SPECIFICALLY warns you not to push a 100 watt amp through these! Common sense??? Youve got a single small speaker? I, Like Brian run mine with a 30 watt peavey.(not my 210 watt amp!! If you need volume? you crank up the MIC!!!! not the signal to the box. I give it a 7, because its not idiot proof by far

Never needed them, and being I have 2 Heils, I doubt I ever will

What style you play doesnt matter......... Talkbox is its own style. Nothing else sounds anything like it. Personally Ive heard bad things about the newer (less than high end) boxes. And I dont see that you need anything better than a Heil. Like I said, listen to Frampton, Joe Walsh, Joe Perry, Thats Heil!

It's very easy to use. It comes with complete instructions on how to set it up including diagrams (for guitars and for keyboards). It shows two ways of setting it up: the basic set up and the pro set up. The basic set up is: guitar->effects-> guitar input of your amp head-> amp output of your amp head pluged into the talkbox input-> talkbox output pluged into the cabinet input. The pro set up is the same as the basic setup except it has a AB (and/or) switch right after the effects so you can switch between two amps having one of them set up with the talkbox. When the talkbox effect is on the sound that comes from your amp head goes directly into the plastic tube of the talkbox and nothing comes out from the cabinet. When the talkbox effect is off the sound coming from the amp head goes directly to the cabinet and nothing comes out from the plastic tube of the talkbox. On the back of the pedal there's also a diagram showing how to set up the effect.
The instruction manual also has some good tips to develop your mouthing to produce better results with the effect.
Unlike what I've read here and what's on the dunlop website, the plastic tube that comes with the talkbox is very long which is great because I'm tall.

My set up is a Gibson Les Paul Standard -> Jim Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q wah-> Marshall JCM 2000 TSL head->Heil Talkbox-> Marshall JCM 900 1960A cab. I really love my set up because I can nail Slashs tone, Gary Moore (great) old hard rock tone and his blues tone also, Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Paul Gilbert,... all the great 80's hard rock sounds. I can get real good distorted sounds out of my amp at low volumes which is perfect because the talkbox needs heavy distorted sounds to sound good - this way I don't have to cranck my amp all the way to get a good tone out of it.
Unfortunatelly the sound that comes into your mouth from the plastic tube when the talkbox is on isn't very loud so, even at bedroom levels, you always need to amplify it with a mic pluged into a mic. amp. The sound of the effect is a little thin but you can equalize it to make it sound perfect. It takes a little practice till you can take the best out of the effect but
once you master the technique of mouthing the words, this is the coolest effect there is! It sounds so distinct, when you use it everybody will turn their heads to you! If you're into heavy blues and good hard rock than this is a must!

This effect comes in a heavy box made of steel so I guess it should be very reliable. I've only had it for two weeks so only time will tell how dependable this is. The plastic tube may need to be changed from time to time but that's normal.

I've been playing for 8 years and I play only (good old) 70's and 80's hard rock and blues rock like Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy, Scorpions, Gary Moore (his early 80's Hard Rock era), Van Halen, Skid Row, Cinderella, Poison,... This effect is real cool for this kind of music and it's my favorite effect. I also have a Jim Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q wah pedal but I don't think it replaces the talkbox nor the talkbox replaces the wah pedal. The wah pedal has a much wider range of aplications so I think you should buy first the wah pedal and then the talkbox.
The only things that dislikes me is that you need to amplify the sound coming out from the plastic tube and the fact that this effect is very overpriced! All in all this is just a metal box with a speaker inside and a plastic tube that goes out from the metal box to your mouth so you can mouth the sound you're playing when the effect is on. This thing should be a lot cheaper.
But nothing compares to this, if you want to hear how cool this thing is just listen to songs like Guns N' Roses Anything Goes, Scorpions Money and Fame and The Zoo, Bon Jovi Livin' On a Prayer, Joe Walsh Rocky Mountain Way, Alice In chains Men In a Box and of course, Peter Frampton's Do You Feel Like We Do!
I know there are other designs of talkboxes but I never tried them although I read all the reviews on them. Anyway, I wanted the classic talkbox sound so why should I buy something similar when I can have the original one?

I bought mine because I got tired of the same old effects guitarists have had to put up with over the years. Also because it's just a cool way to get your audience's attention when you solo. The sound is what it is...a talk box. It doesn't take a genius to figure this one out. But getting the right amount of distortion and tone from your power source does take a little experimenting.

Depending on what you power this with you can get the true Frampton, Walsh, Perry sound really easy. I bought a Vox Pathfinder just to power this thing because I made the mistake of hooking it into my guitar rig which is powered by an old Fender M-80 Pro head. Any one who knows this unit knows it's kinda hot rodded. Well, I almost rattled my fillings out of my teeth. It was so percussive that I had to really take care on my picking technique not to play too hard. And to think Frampton uses a Marshall. I run a fair amount of overdrive just to get that little breakup, you don't want to run it too clean 'cuz you'll sound like Aldo Ray (who?).

As long as you run an 8 ohm load you'll be fine. I've been cooking along just fine for about 6 or 7 months with mine and it keeps on ticking.

I play classic rock covers and some tunes like "Show me the Way" and "Living on a Prayer" exist on using the talkbox. In other words if you're not running one on these tunes you probably shouldn't be playing them 'cuz the sound is one of the things that makes up the tune. There aren't a lot of players using these things so I tend to get a lot of looks by people wondering what the hell is making that sound. It's not something you're going to use all night, maybe a half dozen songs, but it does make a big difference in your sound. The only thing that might be better is the Framptone. But considering it runs for about $499 paying $139 seems a little better. The only drag about it is that the hose can get annoying when you're trying to sing. You can fix this by using a separate mic for vocals like Richie Sambora does but now you're dealing with more equipment and more cost and needing more room and so on and so on. If somebody stole it I would hunt him down, shove the tube up his ass and pop his eyeballs out with a power chord.