[sdiy] OT: Goofy Tech Talk Box Attachment

[CCartCat at aol.com]

Before I return to lurking, I have some goofy tech to share.  

A friend gave me a Smokey Amp.  (I had wanted one for a while, but was too 
tight to spend the 25-30 bucks.  An old RShack transistor mini amp for 
tracing audio signals was pretty much as cool, and only 50 cents at a yard 
sale.  But I digress.)

Goofing around I tried driving a homebrew talkbox setup with the speaker out 
of the Smokey.  Ok, but not loud enough.  So I thought if I could, I'd make 
the Smokey itself into a temporary talkbox.

Using a cap from a big vitamin bottle (cap depth about 1/2", diameter about 
2"--big enough to just cover the speaker), some clear vinyl hose (maybe 3/8" 
inside dia.) and some of that blue tacky adhesive, you can.

No directions are prob. needed, but:  Make a hole in the cap just big enough 
for the hose.  Mount the cap over the Smokey's speaker using the blue tack to 
hold the cap in place.  Carefully (i.e., don't poke out the speaker) put one 
end of the hose into the hole in the cap  and you have a talk box.  The blue 
tack, tho' it holds well, is removable so the cap and hose act as a temporary 
attachment.

Not everyone has a tiny amp, Smokey or otherwise.  But a small speaker driven 
by a low powered amp can be adapted to make some ad hoc or permanent talkbox 
rig.  Horn drivers are normally used for this and online info abounds on 
this; my suggestion is just an adaptation of the talk box idea to a small 
amp/small standard speaker.  In short, something goofy.

[Totally goofy, 21 mouths doing the work of one:  Split a signal into 
multiple bands (let's say, 21) with those signals running to separate 
speakers/talkbox setups with 21 peoples mouthing formants on each--and you 
have the world's most overengineered Vocoder, the Rube Goldberg of SDIY.]

Anyway, using the blue tack for mounting came from the long-ago piezo mic 
thread.

Okay, I'm lurking now,
Kevin