It's unbelievable how modern it sounds! A pioneer. And that was a great band!

Can't believe this is from '44. Defenitely avant-garde sounds for the time.

this was futuristic for its time

that is disturbingly awesome.

Holy crow, that guitar puppet is nightmare material. BTW, they used the "talk box" effect in the Kay Kaiser movie "You'll Find Out" where they call it the Sonovox. It was also used in the Vintage cartoon "Dumbo" for the steam engine. Radio stations also used this effect in their jingles back in the 50's. Pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake also used a "Talk box" a lot.

Alvino Rey introduced the talk box in 1939, just a few years before this clip. Thank you for posting this. Definitely far out for so far back.

from wikipedia: In 1939, Rey used a carbon throat microphone to modulate his electric guitar sound. The mike, developed for military pilots, was worn by Rey's wife Luise, who stood behind a curtain and sang along with the guitar lines. The novel combination was called "Singing Guitar", but was not developed further. The innovation was the first known talk box experiment.[3

I came here because I found a huge cache of old vintage records being thrown out curbside a block away from my house! Boxes upon boxes of old 78's, LP's, and 45's, from the early 1900's to the 1960's, spanning a large swath of American music history! Thousands of records that I saved from oblivion! It took me about 8 or 9 trips to get them all, fully loading my car! Presumably, an older collector had probably died, and his spouse (or kids?) saw no value in all those historic, era-defining records! I'm in my mid 50's, and a huge music fan, so it was a 'no brainer' for me to snag all those records and store them in my garage (for now)! There were a few broken 78's, one of which was Alvino Rey and his orchestra on the 'Bluebird' label. His name sounded familiar, so I looked him up on Wikipedia, and lo and behold, he was a fellow electronics enthusiast and Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) operator and FCC licensee! And I had read that he had virtually invented the electric pickup and even a guitar amplifier! And he is from nearby Lakewood, Ohio! And he gigged at the famous 'Rustic Cabin' in New Jersey, where Frank Sinatra got his start, and where I grew up (near there)! There more I read about Alvino Rey, the more fascinated I became! So that's why i'm here checking out his videos. Pretty cool, huh?

very innovative for sure. kinda creepy and very cheesy but innovative. I like how all the band members are having such a great time and trying so hard not to laugh lol

0:44 - 0:49 should be sampled, goes hard🔥

This is insanely far ahead of it's time. The guitar puppet is a forerunner of a Pee Wee's Playhouse puppet. The Steel guitar voice box predates Frampton by 30 years.

0:43 It's probably just me, but this, along with the other Sonovox uses, sound a lot like those unique TTS voices found in classic Macintosh OSs, like Zarvox, Boing, and whatnot.

Alvino Ray's grandsons founded the Arcade Fire!! Music runs in the family!

You're right. During performances, Luise King (Alvino's wife) was backstage using a carbon throat microphone (which was used by military pilots) to get the sounds of Stringy

God Bless Stringy! Yet another drug casualty taken far too soon. RIP little dude.

Had no idea this gem existed. Thank you.

April 2022 Guitar Player magazine brought me here. "Stringy the Talking Steel Guitar" puppet now permanently lives rent-free in my nightmares.

These are all great musicians.

MORE clips of Stringy, please!!!

Wow !!!! Zapp nicked this !!!

oh my god that talking steel guitar!!!!!!!!

This video is the greatest sense of joy ive ever felt in my lfie

Good music to find in the age of anxiety.

Wow---thanks for posting this! I remember that puppet from WAY back in the 50s when I was a little kid---I distinctly remember him singing, "blue boy..that's what they call me..." I didn't know what that was--and I haven't seen this in about 55 years! Thanks so much for revealing who and what Stringy was!

So here we are, 30 years before Kraftwerk and you see the vocoder in action.

This is what the Krell listened to on Altair IV to pass the time while they were building their underground machine complex. Stringy is the reason the Krell machine ended up being a cube 20 miles (32 km) long on each side and powered by 9,200 thermonuclear reactors operating in tandem.

Walking with stars in your eyes. Influential. Booming industry. A very large world to spend your life in.

Yes! A magical trip to WW2 days. (1944) Things were hoppin' in the clubs.

Back in the day, there was such clean good old talent, and beautiful it was. Thanks for sharing this masterpiece.

That Animatronic Guitar was Pretty ahead of the Time....

Saw alvino rey in 1966 with the king family in Framinham Ma.

the effect has been around since WWII, totally analogue ("speech scrambler"), and as mentioned above, some used a "talkbox" to get a very similar effect...it was basically the "driver" part from the old public address horns, also in the tweeter section of some models of Leslies...a plastic tube ran from the driver into the the musician's mouth, who would form the effects. this was a much cheaper and easier way to do it than the scrambler, which was heavy on vacuum tubes!

This clip alone not only flat out proves that Sonovox is flat out awesome.....but also flat out weird at the same time.

Just found out about this little lad. Absolutely in love with this video.

This is amazing!!! Especially at this date. Thanks for sharing!

my favorite thing ever! so glad it's back.

que coisa linda, isso é mágico!!!

Dayum this is ahead of its time!

HOLY MOLY BEYOND AMAZING!!

"I'm crazy about Alvino Rey.... I like his tone and his style." T-Bone Walker to _Record Changer_, 1947.

02:01 Bari player looking genuinely disturbed by "Stringy."

Thanks Guitar Player magazine!

David Lindley brought me here, with his mention of Freddie Roulette’s mutual appreciation for Alvino Rey. There’s always soooo much more to know❤️Thank you kind teachers now from beyond, and KoolClipsFromDeke for sharing

Amazing!

Nightmare fuel

So cool....Thanks!

@83survivor Actually, the voice of Stringy was Alvino's wife, Luise King, using a carbon throat microphone. Alvino saw pilots using the mike in planes.

people were like, ya more of that please

Excellent!

Thank you for bringing this baCK!!!!

Back in those days....I think people were more intelligent and more creative! Thats true entertainment right there! Bravo!

Awesome 👍

RIP Bob Heil 2/28/2024. He credited Alvino Rey as the first one who experimented with what Bob would eventually call the Talk Box.

I like how the description says don’t tak ACID before viewing amazing

0:43 is what we were all looking for

very cool!

This microphone and amp system was later refined and used by jingle producers PAMS of Dallas, TX under the trademarked name "Sonovox." Listen to PAMS Series 18 for its use.

this is so fire

boy was that talking guitar weird

Stringy's such a badass! what a spiffy drummer to haha -Devil to the Metal

Hey, if someone has found more footage of the stringy puppet, then can you please share it with me? This puppet may be creepy, but I’m curious where it is now 78 years later and if there is any other footage of him besides this segment from Jam Session. About that, this is very ahead of it’s time and pretty cool.

Stringy is Rey's wife stationed off stage using the "talk box" Rey invented. Here, Rey takes a solo complete with bar crashes and tone knob swells, much like what Speedy West would do later. He comes back to do "Stringy's" lines out of the lead break. A lot of what I've heard Rey do previously is usually just "swoops" to accent lines.

thats my great uncle!

Joe Walsh and Peter Frampton used this effect later, but used a different technique. Joe and Peter used a horn driver with a plastic tube that ran to their mouth. Playing the guitar through the driver, they mouthed the words. Rey used a different technique; his wife (one of the King Sisters) was backstage with a carbon microphone. Its variable resistance modulated Rey's guitar sound quite effectively.

would love to have this little guy

f!in luve it man!!!

very good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

03:16 Tapping.. way before Eddie Van Halen and others :) Wow first use of Talk Box and TAPPING too? I wonder where he learned the tapping from. Wow this guy was way ahead of his time :) 1939. Some really psychedelic sounding stuff starting at 3:24 !

Great sounds, but YIKES, that puppet is CREEPY!

Glenn Johnson Wow!Years before Pete Drake!!This is awesome.

And kids, THAT was what WE called entertainment!

I want to hear Stringy on the next Arcade Fire album!

That was swell!

Rockin steel guitar solo and the drummer can shred too. Looks like the grandfather of rock to me

That puppet is the stuff nightmares are made of...

shake u groove thang guitar u rock my world

At 2:31 the singer messed up a bit and mouthed Stringy's line (probably left over from practice).

Ah - Peter Drake. What a talent! J. Hexham Northumberland

great eye.

The talking steel guitar was really ahead of its time. This technology was not really utilized again until the pop hits of the 1980's.

Hey, Deke -- I got to see Alvino Rey (and Louise King) sometime in the 90s at Scotty's Steel Convention. I was pleasantly surprised since I really don't like the more "pop"-ish big bands. It was so clear to me that Speedy West and even some of the Bob Wills players cropped from him. He did a great version of Floyd's Guitar Blues by Floyd Smith (I think on a frypan-type steel) and used the talk box on Mama Blues. - And he is on the original of Tomorrow Night by Horace Heidt. - Terence McArdle

OMG! I will have dreams!

"Print it. Let's get a close-up of Stringy"

I got here because of the talk box effect!!!!

Look up Sonovox and see how the magic was done with the puppet "Stringy"!

Wow and I thought Speedy Alma Seltzer was wierd. That eye rolling ukulele will now give me nightmares.

I wonder how people were able to see this back then if it wasn't shown in the theater since TVs weren't really common in households yet until the 50's

this slaps

Stringy RULES!!!!

And here I thought Joe Walsh invented this😂 No offense, Mr. Walsh. Nothing can stop me from loving your music. Eye opening knowledge.

❤

The Talkbox makes the Pedal Steel Guitar sound more like Backup singers.

Was this also called Sonovox? I had a 78 rpm record called Rusty in Orchestraville where all the instruments talked.

Reminds me of that twilight zone episode with the ventriloquist who’s dummy comes alive and gets him to rob banks. Or the talking Tina doll episode with Telly Salavas... that doll or whatever it is ... is quite disturbing. But great music

Pshychedelia before LSD

"She took a powder and left"... HAHAHA! Brilliant!

That guys hat is enormous

3:50 train 🚂

Stringy won the duel hands down!

"Stringy the talking steel guitar" reminds me a character from an old Disney movie, there was a war between families or something like that...