Sonic Implants Releases Talk Box Guitar Sample Collection

Mar 10, 2004

Sonic Network, maker of Sonic Implants sample libaries, has released a new guitar library a little on the unusual side: I'd Like to Buy a Vowel - Adventures in Talk Box Guitar.

Those unfamiliar with this curious device by name will almost certainly be familiar with the litany of distinctive sounds it can produce, as popular artists as diverse as Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, and Bon Jovi have used the Talk Box over the course of the last thirty years of popular music. In short, the Talk Box is an apparatus that allows guitarists to effectively 'talk' guitar notes by routing the guitar's amplified sound through a piece of tubing the player holds in his mouth. Fluctuations in mouth position relative to the tubing enable the player to evince all manner of artificial 'speech' using the guitar as the players 'voice'.

Layout of the Talk Box CD-ROM includes a generous selection of multi-samples carefully selected so as best to evoke the traditional characteristics of the instrument. Sonic Implants engineer Peter Drawbridge explains: "Picking the right articulations was important because we wanted users to get an accurate overall feel for the instrument. This is why we made sure to mix in some of the more 'static' tube sounds with the actual 'talking' syllables since what makes the Talk Box so distinctive, apart from the actual 'speaking' part, is the elastic 'growl' the box imparts to the guitar itself. It's a very unique timbre that you really can't duplicate with an overdrive or distortion pedal."

The CD-ROM, comprising multi-sampled tones and chords in addition to the sampled phrases is available in Gigasampler and Soundfont formats at Sonic Implants website where those interested can also find MP3 demos of the Talk Box in action. Downloadable files of the Talk Box multi-samples are also available in the previously mentioned formats.

For more information, visit their web site at www.sonicimplants.com.