Okay,
Ive put my foot down and decided (after having dreams about singing computer love on a talkbox) that Its time to try out my own GHetto Talkbox.
I failed, but Ive leveled up my DIY skills. Im on Level -32.
Frosty’s Tracheotomy was a success though. (Accident)
Okay as you can see I used a Butter cookie tin for the enclosure, an old PC speaker substituting the horn driver, and the tubing from the old fridge’s icemaker.
My problem was that the tubing was too small in diameter.
What if you tried using a smaller diameter speaker, mounted to a funnel, facing in, with the tube attached to the small end of the funnel, and the funnel mounted inside of a well insulated container, like the cookie tin?
Remember, this was not a failure because you successfully discovered how not to make a talk-box!
You’re absolutely right! Some of my best failures I learned from were a wah pedal and a chorus effect, which was successful as a sparkler, as it shot sparks everywhere, then died in a cloud of smoke.
Also, EricK, Music-Go-Round has a wide selection of speaker components, like horn drivers, and I like going to Home Depot for tubing and other oddities. Reasonable prices at both places. Also, Radio Shack has project enclosures, though nothing as large as a cookie tin. Or, you could mega size the talkbox and use a popcorn tin.
Well the thing is that I got the most infant of talkbox sounds, barely audible. I didn’t think about soundproofing the tin. Basically I just got bit by the bug in the worst way and had to tear up a speaker.
I want to come up with a metal box to house the thing and make it custom but what Im really wondering about is when you have a horn driver, how much vibration is going to your head?
Actually, the fact you’ll be using this with your Moog makes it Moog related. Remember, I am the expert on spam around here.
Metal box, you say? There are a number of companies that make metal boxes. Radio Shack USED to have metal boxes, but I’m not sure if they still sell them. Best bet: Google “metal project enclosures” and see if anything fits your budget.
Old PC cases are a good source of metal boxiness. Next time I see a computer on garbage day, if you’re interested, I’ll pick it up, gut it, and FedEx it to you, for free. Belated Christmas gift and all that.
You won’t know about vibration till you try it, but I imagine that it’ll be less than that speaker with a funnel over it.
I would say that a wooden enclosure might be better at soundproofing than a metal box. Fill it with fiber batting to complete the job. This is very similar to constructing an acoustic suspension speaker enclosure, except that instead of mounting the speaker to the baffle, you seal the baffle with the speaker inside. I would still consider using a funnel, or something like it, to focus the sound into the tube.
Actually after thinking about that Polymoog resonator, I thought about putting it in a Wooden enclosure…that woudl look much nicer but I think Im going to go the steel/aluminum route.
Ive given up on the butter cookie tin talkbox…it was just an impulsive destruction of a decent PC speaker lolol.
Today I went on the hunt for a horn driver…to no avail…looks like im going to just have to bite the dollar and order one new.
I did get an illuminated switch and some phone jacks from Radio Shank. They never seem to know about anything I go in there looking for and I don’t even know anything about electronics.
I walked in there and this woman that worked behind the counter instantly judged me as soon as I walked in. Don’t you love that?
“Is this a good soldering Iron?”
“I don’t know”
Is this a decent Voltimeter?
“I really don’t know”
Oh,
Since I will be dealing with a driver instead of a speaker, I think the funnel method wouldn’t work.
I have heard people who are really into this type of project talk about the type of tube connector and chamber resonances playing a big part of the instruments tone…but at this stage Im just going to be happy with getting a talkbox.
Cooincidentally, on my trips around town today looking for a really used and crappy horn driver, I did see a rocktron banshee in the pawnship for 79 dollars. Probably a good buy once I replace the tubes.
THey also had a handmade 6 string fretless bass in the shape of a huge cross for 150 bucks. I didn’t mess with it very much though.
Don’t forget resale shops. The Salvation Army by me always has cheap speakers and other audio equipment. Most of it from the horn days, when most speakers had horns for highs and mids.
