The Electro-Harmonix Next Step Talking Pedal is a vocal formant wah with fuzz: a rocking filter pedal that, like a wah, moves a filter across your signal as you rock the chassis, but instead of a single swept peak it passes the guitar signal through two bandpass filters that give the tone a male vocal quality and create vowel-like sounds1. Electro-Harmonix positions it as talkbox-like vocal expression without the hassles, meaning no tube up to your microphone and no separate amp routing1.
The pedal was discontinued in 20201, so it is now a secondhand find rather than a shop shelf item.
A vocal formant wah with built-in fuzz
Where a conventional wah sweeps one resonant peak, the Talking Pedal's two bandpass filters are tuned to vocal formants, the frequency regions that shape vowel sounds in human speech. Rocking the pedal shifts between those vowel positions, which is what gives it the talking quality. Premier Guitar's reviewer framed it as part of EHX's attempt to reshape expression pedal effects with the new Talking Pedal formant filter2.
A specially designed, fixed fuzz circuit can be blended in with a scroll wheel located on the side of the pedal1. Because the fuzz is fixed, the wheel sets the mix level rather than the fuzz character, and the formant filtering stays available with the fuzz backed off.
The pedal uses the proprietary design shared by all of EHX's Next Step Effects1: a smooth rocking chassis that the maker describes as super rugged and delivering lightning fast control1, with no moving parts in the rocking mechanism3. Premier Guitar reported the Talking Pedal's introduction in September 2012, noting it uses the proprietary design of EHX's Next Step Effects4.
The controls
The Talking Pedal keeps its control surface minimal. There is no knob cluster like a conventional wah or fuzz pedal; the expression comes from your foot.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Rocking chassis | Sweeps the two bandpass formant filters across the vowel sounds1 |
| Side scroll wheel | Blends in the fixed, built-in fuzz circuit1 |
| Footswitch | Engages the effect; bypass switching is completely silent1 |
That is the whole interface. Players who want to shape the fuzz tone itself, or sweep a range of filter widths, would need a different pedal; the Next Step Expression Pedal in the same series, for example, adds a Range dial for increasing or decreasing the expression sweep range and a Reverse control for flipping the direction of the pedal's output5.
Where it came from
The Talking Pedal arrived as part of a burst of Next Step releases in 2012. When Electro-Harmonix introduced the Crying Tone wah in June 2012, the company already listed the Talking Pedal among four other pedals designed and poised for production, alongside an Expression Pedal, Pan Pedal and Volume Pedal6. By September 2012 MusicRadar reported that the newcomers had joined the Crying Tone Wah and the Talking Pedal, all sharing the distinctive rocking chassis and no moving parts3.
"EHX's attempt to reshape expression pedal effects with the new Talking Pedal formant filter (and the other pedals in the"
The Next Step Effects series
The Talking Pedal is one of a line of pedals built on the same no-moving-parts rocking chassis. Each does a different job, and all were eventually discontinued312.
| Pedal | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Talking Pedal | Vocal formant wah with fuzz | Discontinued 20201 |
| Expression Pedal | Expression / CV pedal | Discontinued 20205 |
| Volume Pedal | Volume pedal | Discontinued 20207 |
| Pan Pedal | Stereo panning pedal | Discontinued 20238 |
| Slammi | Pitch shifter | Discontinued 20239 |
The utility pedals in the series share the Talking Pedal's power arrangement: battery included, with a 9 Volt power supply optional758. The Volume Pedal adds direct and effect outputs with a bypass level control7, and the Pan Pedal works as a pan, blend or mono/stereo volume pedal8.
Videos
Premier Guitar
Questions
Does the Electro-Harmonix Next Step Talking Pedal come with a battery?
Yes. Electro-Harmonix ships the Talking Pedal with a battery included, and a 9 Volt power supply is optional. The same arrangement applies across the Next Step Effects series pedals, including the Volume, Expression and Pan pedals.
Is the Next Step Talking Pedal true bypass?
Electro-Harmonix does not describe the bypass as true bypass. The maker's product page says the bypass switching is completely silent, and the other Next Step pedals are described the same way, with instantaneous, completely silent bypass switching.
What does the scroll wheel on the Talking Pedal do?
The scroll wheel sits on the side of the pedal and blends in the built-in fuzz. The fuzz is a specially designed, fixed circuit, so the wheel controls how much of it you hear rather than shaping the fuzz tone itself.
Is the Electro-Harmonix Next Step Talking Pedal discontinued?
Yes. Electro-Harmonix lists the Talking Pedal as discontinued in 2020. The Next Step Expression and Volume pedals were also discontinued that year, the Pan Pedal in 2023, and the Slammi pitch shifter in 2023.
What other pedals are in the Next Step Effects series?
The Next Step Effects series also includes the Crying Tone and Crying Bass wahs, an Expression pedal, a Pan pedal, a Volume pedal and the Slammi pitch shifter. All share the same rocking, no-moving-parts chassis design.
Sources (9)
- Next Step Talking Pedal, Electro-Harmonix, 2020
- Electro-Harmonix Next Step Talking Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2013-09-13
- Electro-Harmonix expands Next Step Effects, MusicRadar, 2012-09-20
- Electro-Harmonix Introduces the Talking Pedal, Premier Guitar, 2012-09-11
- Next Step Expression Pedal, Electro-Harmonix, 2020
- New Crying Tone Wah Pedal by Electro-Harmonix, Premier Guitar, 2012-06-13
- Next Step Volume Pedal, Electro-Harmonix, 2020
- Next Step Pan Pedal, Electro-Harmonix, 2023
- Next Step Slammi, Electro-Harmonix
