To paraphrase Adam in his Guitar World interview, he said that he never wanted use the talk box for the sake of using it. Maynard said something along those lines in another interview. Tool doesn't include anything in their music that isn't well thought out. They obviously wouldn't include the talk box for any superficial reasons, such as "it sounds cool".

So, with that being said, what do you think was the reason for inserting it into this song?

Maynard does alot of groveling in the song. Perhaps the talk box amplifies this mood.

Judging by the lyrics, the name of the song could be a nod to Jambi the Genie from Pee Wee's Playhouse. Perhaps the talk box sound represents the embodiment of a genie.

pardon me for asking,but what is a talkbox and when does he use it?

The real question is: why not?

the weird effects during the solo are from a talk box.
its a guitar effects pedal that sends the guitar signal into your mouth and modulates the signal depending on the shape of your mouth. the signal is then picked up by a microphone.

After adam comes in with the heavier version of the guitar riff (about half way in?) he follows it with a long (and very loud) guitar solo which he plays through a talk box. It gives the guitar a similar sound to the "wah" guitar effect, to put it simply it sounds like the guitar is talking.

Exactly..

I think he was referring to using it where it actually fit, not to using symbollically or anything. It's what he felt the song needed.

Sounds like the guitar is saying "Jambi" to me sometimes. Not literally, but the word fits with the tune played.

Maybe they are big fans of Daft Punk's album "Human after all" which features talkbox on nearly every track.

i love the talk box, the beat in the background is gonna be AMAZING live.. so intense

I Would wish it all away...for more talk box.

The Talk Box Iz Dope...

They Couldn't Have Uzed It Any Better In my Opinion...

why wouldn't they use something just because it sounds cool? they're making music, and if they think it sounds cool, why is that superficial?

to counter your paraphrased statement from adam, justin said something along the lines of how they used different things on this album to get the sounds they want, including a triangle and some other stuff (talk box included i'm sure), just "because we can".

Agreed. I think Adam/the band had just decided to use it on this album and thought it slotted into that section of Jambi the best.

Nothing symbolic here. It just sounds cool.

it's VERY intense live. and that solo is so fucking haunting, it really gave me goosebumps hearing it live. justin's bass really shines during it too.

Adam made the talk box rock.

Remember Living on a prayer by Bon Jovi.......

NO!

why not the talkbox?

Because it sounds fucking amazing.

I just thought that there was, possibly, more of a reason for this departure in sound from the band.

They make music. They want their music to sound good. Talkboxes sound good. Tool using talkboxes sounds good.......No extra symbolism involved.

(Talk about being able to make a good argument with the Toulmin Model)

^^^Well a somewhat simplized version.^^^

i always thought the talk box controlled the reverb by the amount of air you blew into it. anyone know if that's how it works?

i cant wait to hear this live, that is when they do come back around end of summer

because it just fucking works for jambi... the atomshere thats created tears me apart... its so sad and beautifull

Um... A tube is in your mouth, and u modulate the sound with your breath.

Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue was a great song using it too.

i was told that you play the notes AND sing them into the tube.

Talk box fits perfectly in this song. That's all there is to it. Tool don't jam just for the sake of jamming, but on this particular song the talk box solo is very appropriate. Adam executes it very well. Better than most of the talk box solos I've heard from 70's rock.

Ok first of all if you want a Layman explaination of how the talk box works...cover a speaker in a pair of headphones and move your lips around it to change the sound.

Guitar - Effects Chain - Talk Box - Amp = Sound
Nothing special is produced until...

You turn on the talk box and use the tube that runs from the talk box up along the mic stand and comes to an opening right next to the mic. The guitar player, or the person using it puts the end of the tube in their mouth and the sound enters and is changed by the linguistic movements of their mouths and is then amplified by the microphone. This produces two sounds, the natural guitar sound layered with the talk box effect.

That is the way it is commonly done live anyway, the studio can be more refined and result in a better sound.

Anyway, as I mentioned before you move your mouth to change the sound...if you did what I said with the headphones it should come to no surprise that you can mouth words and hear them in the shifting sound created...Hell just listen to Peter Framptom on Frampton Comes Alive...

With that being said...and since it's been thouroughly discussed that tool would never use it just to use it (I agree with this idea, gimicks suck ass!), and since we're all born with the knowledge that tool does nothing 'on a whiem' why wouldn't they use this littte thing for a purpose? Hide something in it...

Anyway, I've been using Soundforge to slow down the songs and effect them so I can easily hear the words actually being said in all the songs...unless Adam or Maynard come out and say what is actually being said in it, everything anybody comes up with is purely speculation at this point because like a song being played backwards you can interpret the noise in MANY different ways. Here is mine...

Talk Box Guitar:
[Well where are you
and when will you ever
Show us how
How to know where to go
What if we never know
Enough to figure out just how
It figures out]

This is passage plauged with random noises that would amount to what a pop singer sounds like crooning 'Wooo oooow yeah' over a part of the song.

I think it's Maynard doing the talk box because the words I hear are phrased somewhat like the lyrics he sings. I could also be Adam doing an overdub. It seems to complicated to play the solo and mouth those words in their phrasing in one take.

Well, I HAD forgotten it, but it's all come flooding back now.....curse you!

Jambi is cool with the talk box....Tool would sound good if they were playing a turd box (if there were such a thing).

Bon Jovi sounded wank on a talk box. Anything Bon Jovi did would sound wank.

Worst.........comparison..............ever!

still funny

I definitely think this effect is used just right and mixed/engineered perfectly with this tune. I don't believe a talk box is a gimmick, just a sweet effect that can be used properly and not overdone...which is the case here in Jambi. Plus, the fact that it wasn't used to make the guitar "speak" or "sing" words as in Frampton's "Do you feel..."

Eleven_waiting: good point, I'll try to go back and listen to the solo again and try to comprehend whether or not there are words being sang through the talk box...

other notable tunes using the talk box:
Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion (version with long bass/gtr intro)
Alice in Chains - Man in the Box, Rotten Apple
2Pac - California Love (probably used in sync with a synth/keyboard)
Pantera - Live in a Hole
GNR/Slash - Rocket Queen (live)
Nazareth - Hair of the Dog

Cool, let me know what you come up with because the only thing I'm more than 30% sure are the last three line....and thats even only a 50% sure.

If those lyrics aren't under all that noise I'm going to use'em! In what I have no clue because I'm not in a band....

is it just me or does he also use the talk box to say "breathe in union" right before maynard starts singing it?

Live its definitely not Maynard, it's Adam. I tried listening along with the words you have down, and honestly, I don't hear it, but I'm only listening to it as it is on the album. Interesting idea though.

The talkbox is a perfect way for adam to engage in his first official guitar solo. When has a distinctive solo ever been heard before in a spotlight, not just as a riff or a rythm part in a tool song. There is no irony here as in the way it was used for weezer's beverly hills. It is pure innovative genious.

The only part I can without a doubt, ok half a doubt, say that there are words being used are in the last 4 or 5 bars of the solo.

Obviously this song is Maynard's dedication to Satan, and if you listen real hard to the talk box solo, you would hear Adam saying how much he loves Satan.

In this message, I hear someone being an idiot.