So I purchased a Dunlop Heil Talkbox online for upwards of 150$ and I have a problem with it. If you are familiar with this particular brand of talkbox, you know that it has no amp built in, so it must be hooked up in between your amp and speaker set. However, I have a cehap amp that is a combo amp/speaker! There is no way for me to take the feed from my amp to a different source! Does anybody out there know of a box/pedal which acts as an amp and boosts my signal?
Your options are to either have your amp modified (which isn't a big job for someone who knows what they are doing), or get a second amp and an A/B switch like it shows on the back page of the manual.
What I would do if I was going to modify my amp for this is to get a pair of female 1/4 inch speaker jacks , drill the back of the amp and mount them, then wire the amp to one (labeled amp out), and the speaker to the other (labeled speaker in). For normal amp use, just use a short speaker cable and patch the 2 together. For using the TalkBox, get 2 speaker cables and run from the in and out of the TalkBox to the amp out, and speaker in.
The TalkBox can handle up to 50 Watts RMS (100 W Peak) but I can't find the sensitivity spec, which would indicate how small an amp you can get away with using. You might be able to get away with something small like a Smokey. They say you can drive a speaker with one, but I suspect you may need a bit more power. Perhaps a cheap 5-10 watt amp from a pawnshop.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
... and you know you also need a mic + PA system, right?
The Heil Talk Box is the pretty close to the original implementation, but as you point out, requires a lot of "extra stuff" to work. Not sure if you are looking for a different, simpler setup or just an outboard amp suggestion (if so, hit a music store and pick up a cheap solid state head and drive it with your amp's recording output (assuming it has one). OTOH, if you will consider a different pedal, Danelectro makes this:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Danelectro-Free-Speech-Talk-Box?sku=151905
It requires no amp output connections or even a PA + mic, but works more like a trad guitar EFX box simply inserted between the guitar and amp. It does have a tube and mic of its own, but all is included ... ah, except a mic stand, which is needed to mount the included tube and little mic.
Does it work as well as the Heil + all the other equipment? Probably not. But it's a lot simpler, easier to set up and cheaper.
-=tension & release=-
