Frampton Comes Alive (Again), Can't Stop Talking
People may have forgotten that rock guitarist Peter Frampton released one of the top-selling albums of all time, played with Bowie & Harrison, and appeared on The Simpsons. But most do remember one thing: his blasted talking guitar!

"Frampton Comes Alive," a double-live set that sold 16 million copies, immortalized his use of a talkbox in such hits as "Show me the Way" and "Do You Feel Like I Do." Using decidedly low-tech means, the talkbox combined the notes of his electric guitar with the resonance of his mouth to create a novel (if, some say, overused) talking effect. Changing the shape of his mouth while holding the talkbox's rubber tube between his teeth caused his notes to assume almost human tones.

The effect largely disappeared from the scene after that, but it was not lost forever. A new generation of guitarists has been using updated versions of the tool, and Frampton himself has gotten back into the act, with his new studio release, "Now," and with his new company's Framptone talkbox device.

A recent profile in the New York Times featured Frampton's story, as well as the story of the talk box. In the 1940's, swing band pedal steel player Alvino Rey (later seen as a regular on the King Sisters Show and Lawrence Welk) released several records of "talking steel" using the effect. Steel man Pete Drake got hold of a handmade talkbox device and had it with him while recording George Harrison's 1970 "All Things Must Pass." Frampton sessioned for that recording and was stunned by what the effect did: "I couldn't get my jaw off the floor."

The article cites Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Everclear's Art Alexakis as two latter-day talkbox artists, and lists several companies that currently make devices of this general type.

As for Frampton, he's still a fan, but a more measured one. "I use the talkbox very sparingly now. I have to be very careful. For me especially, if I do another song that's 14 minutes long that has a two minute break for a talkbox, I'll be drawn and quartered." [Pete, we DO feel like you do!]

NEWS FLASH 
Read an obituary of Alvino Rey, who passed away Feb. 24, 2004

Visit the official Peter Frampton site or learn about the new Framptone talkbox

Read the Dec. 25, 2003 New York Times article [fee required]

Browse other companies' related products, as featured in the Times article:

• Supertalker
• Banshee Amplified Talk Box from RockTron
• Heil Talk Box from Dunlop Guitar Effects
• Free Speech Talk Box from Danelectro
• Make your own talk box with plans from Blamepro.com
• Simulate a talkbox using band-pass filters, with info from Csounds.com