talkbox

Talkbox, also known as a talking box, is an effects device that alters the tone of an electric instrument by routing the sound through a tube to the performer's mouth. The instrument's signal drives a small loudspeaker inside the box, and the resulting sound travels through a plastic mouth tube to the musician. The performer shapes the sound with the lips, tongue, and palate, creating vowel-like resonances that are picked up by a microphone and amplified.

In use, the box typically relies on a fixed bank of filters or a built-in synthesizer to produce a harmonically rich signal. The player “talks” by changing the mouth’s formants, effectively filtering the instrument’s tone in real time. Because the mouth acts as the resonator, the result is a voice-like, expressive effect.

History and usage: The concept emerged in the mid-20th century, and the technique was popularized in rock by Peter Frampton and other players in the 1970s. Today, hardware talkboxes from multiple manufacturers remain available, and digital plugins or emulations can reproduce the effect. The talkbox is commonly associated with guitar and keyboard performances, but it can be applied to various electronic instruments.

Distinction from a vocoder: A talkbox relies on the performer’s mouth as a resonator to shape the instrument’s sound, whereas a vocoder uses a voice input to control synthesis of the sound, typically combining signals electronically rather than through a live mouth filter.