MXR® Talk Box (M222)

This work well as a replacement for my old Electro-Harmonix voice box. Much easier to setup and use.

I have used the old school Heil Talkbox for years and was very leary of trying anything else. The Heil sounded great when driven hard (with separate amp/pre-amp) but you risk blowing the speaker driver when doing so. Also, there was no way of controlling the bypass volume through the Heil (post driver amp) so I basically had to run two separate systems switchable from my pedal board, one to the back of the stage to an amp and then back to the front to the Heil, and then another system from the switch to my main amp. I cable mess and always technical problems. Well, after blowing up my second Heil talkbox in as many years I decided to look at other options. After some comparing online I decided on the MXR M222. I am elated with my choice. The sound quality is awesome. The tube is slightly smaller diameter (same wall thickness) than the Heil tube but this doesn't seem to effect the sound at all. This thing has power and gain for days and I don't have to worry about blowing the speaker out. I think it will rattle my teeth out first. The onboard volume and gain is exactly what you need to level the talkbox volume to the mic and the bypass volume to your main amp. This also allows you to sing out of the same mic as you are using for the talkbox. The fact that I don't have to setup a separate switch, amp and 50' of cables is a dream. I would recommend this pedal to anyone wanting to use the talkbox effect in their show.

I've been using this live for about two months now. It has performed flawlessly so I have no complaints. In 31 years of playing guitar, I had never used one before, but I was playing Frampton's "Do You Feel", and three other songs that take advantage of this device, within two daysin front of a live audience so it wasn't much of a learning curve for me, and it sounds just like a talkbox is supposed to sound like. I use a Shure SM58 mic on stage with it in case you needed to know what works well. I went with the MXR over the VooDoo because I talked to some people who've used both and the MXR appears to be the more reliable model of the two from their experience. That's very important to me so that was the biggest factor in my purchase.

The product works perfectly, and it has amazing build quality. The only reason I marked it down on ease of use, is because it’s not meant to be easy, it’s basically a new instrument in itself. I’m still practicing and I hope I get it, but don’t expect to be recreating TWRP right out of the box

It does a great job recreating the Frampton sounds and it's a much smaller footprint on my pedalboard plus you can connect it in your front of amp chain instead of between amp and speakers like the original talk box. Only thing is that when you turn up the volume knob past a certain point there is an uncontrollable growl so you have to keep the volume lower. That means you need to turn your microphone louder to carry the sound over the volume of a full band and that could affect your vocal mix. If you have a sound man that can raise your levels when the pedal is in use you're golden but if not then you might want to set up a separate mic on a separate stand to use solely for the talk box.

Great pedal. I've never owned a talkbox before. It's not easy to modulate, I'll need some time to improve. But sounds great. Easy to activate and installThe only thing I would complain is the volume of pedal, I use it in max volumen and max gain, and I think I would like even a bit more.Nice cost, got a promo that covered taxes and it was free shipping.Happy as f*** with this.

I owned one of the original Heil talk boxes, back in the day... sold it long ago and have't used a talk box since. However I got the bug again, and after searching to see what was available, chose the MXR. I have to say, the first one I received was DOA... nothing.. so I sent it back. Got a replacement, and couldn't be happier with it. Amp is built in, so there's no chance of messing up an expensive tube amp, and with the volume, tone and gain controls, there's a lot more variation available than with the original talk boxes. So far, I'm quite pleased... and it makes covering Bon Jovi, or Joe Walsh tunes so much more authentic!Buy it!!

If you are trying to do a cover of a Peter Frampton song this will give you that sound.I use now as an extension of what I already do.Sometimes I use this where I used to use a wah pedal its much more expresive.And the crown always claps and whistles when I use this .