Danelectro Free Speech pedal question?

[Axe Chemist]

I'm thinking about buying one of these. Can someone please give me a fair review of it. I understand it works differently than original talk boxes in that it uses inline technology vice preamp? I just want to know if it's as good as an original design talk box?

Thanks.

[Subvamp]

Re: Danelectro Free Speech pedal question?

No, that thing is a piece of junk! Run, run I say! I've used a Heil talk box for a good 10 years, and always loved it. I've tried a lot of the new systems as they come out, the Banshee, Free Speech, etc just to see what the deal is, but they really don't sound good at all. The only downfall with the original Heil design is that it can only handle 75 watts. When I switched to 100 watt heads I blew up my good ol' Heil talkbox. I've since had to switch to the S. Talker box. It's 100 watts, and has a fuse, which would have been a great idea for the Heil. It is harder to use with the footswitch being up on the top instead of angled like the Heil, but it sounds close enough for me to like it. You do have to use a PA with any talk box, (other than that Free Speech abomination)but you kinda know that going into it. By the way, the BEST talkbox I've ever used is the Framptone, designed by Peter Frampton. But with a price tag of around $500, I'll stick with the $100 S.Talkers and Heil boxes. Hope this helps!

[ March 03, 2004, 11:11 AM: Message edited by: Subvamp ]

[Rockinloud]

Re: Danelectro Free Speech pedal question?

I bought that Danelectro & hated it. It creates it's own distortion which sounds really cheesy. I use a rack mount preamp so to use my preamp distortion through the talk box I'd have to run more cables, etc. Big pain in the butt. Maybe it would sound ok this way but that's too much messin' around for me. Also I had a lot of feedback problems when I cranked up the amp.

[The Eristic]

Re: Danelectro Free Speech pedal question?

It sounds horrible. I'm looking for a good price on a Digitech Talker now. Not exactly a traditional talkbox, but it does more of what I want.

[Axe Chemist]

Re: Danelectro Free Speech pedal question?

Thanks for the great input! I was considering it because it didn't require a preamp or pa (I'm just using a 212 combo for the house) so I wanted to avoid all the hassle accompanied with using a traditional one. I guess it's like the old saying "you get what you pay for". I'll hold off on buying one of those for now since it seems to be a sore subject for everyone here. Sad thing about it is all the reviews on music123.com say nothing but positive things...probably placed there by the company [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]