Heil Talk Box with Mesa Boogie MKI

[Shantiano]

Hello,

How can I setup the Heil Talk Box with my Mesa Boogie MKI reissue? I'm afraid of using wrong impedance & harm both units.
Here's the manual of Heil Talk Box:
http://www.jimdunlop.com/files/1145589586_ht1_manual.pdf
There's two types of configuration in the manual: Pro & Basic.
I want to use the Basic.

Thanks.

 

[94Tremoverb]

Don't. Use Pro.

You are correct to worry about harm to both units.

Basic is a hazard to the amp, because it involves switching the speaker output, under load, between a proper cab and a 50W-rated "8 ohm" horn driver, which has really quite different impedance characteristics from a regular speaker, and is low enough rated that a MkI could easily blow it. Both the horn driver itself (if it blows, leaving it open-circuit) and the switching spike/cut-out are a serious risk to the amp's output tubes and transformer.

The good news is that you don't need anything expensive to drive the Talk Box in Pro mode - any solid-state amp head with a power output of less than 50W, or a cheap combo with the speaker disconnected, will work fine. The tone quality is irrelevant because the sound will be fed through that horn driver and up a plastic tube. All that matters is that it has enough gain to create a sustained distorted signal and enough power to drive the horn reasonably well.

The best thing about this set-up is that you can adjust the gain and volume of the Talk Box driver independently of your main amp, which can be less painful (yes really).

 

[Martin]

Why not just use a Banshee, way easier.

 

[Shantiano]

Thank you guys.
I think I'll buy a banshee instead.

 

[94Tremoverb]

Good idea. The Banshee is essentially the whole Pro scheme in a box.