pickup_tags
Hand-held percussion musical instrument comprising elongate tube shaped as a ring, incorporating dividers, and incoporating contained sound-generating elements2010-03-18 00:00:00the respective baffle walls 75,76, etc. These closed chambers act as sound chambers and do not contain shot, etc.
Shot or other sound-generating masses are provided in some or all of the remaining chambers of the embodiment of FIG. 8. In the illustrated preferred form, shot 78 is provided in each alternate large chamber, that is to say the chamber between a baffle wall 75 and an end wall 30, between the next baffle wall 75 and an end wall 40, etc.
It is to be understood that the statements made above relative to varying the diameters and types of solid sound-making masses, and the materials of which they are formed, apply here also.
The remaining alternate large chambers in FIG. 8, numbered 79 and not between baffle walls 75,76 but which do not contain sound-making substances (in the illustrated preferred embodiment), cooperate with the chambers 77 in acting as sound chambers.
It is emphasized that each sound chamber 77, and each empty large chamber 79 (also acting as a sound chamber), has a plurality of units of shot, etc., next to it. Accordingly, it has one wall that is directly engaged by the shot, etc., when the instrument is moved, shaken, struck, etc. Such one wall acts as a soundboard.
The relative sizes of chambers 77 and 79, and of the chambers containing shot, may be varied in order to achieve different sounds. For example, each chamber 77 may be caused to be larger than each adjacent chamber 79, or may be the same size. Various combinations of chamber sizes, shot sizes, "shot" types and mixtures, etc., may be employed for achievement of a wide variety of different sounds.
It is also to be understood that the thicknesses of the baffle walls 75,76, and the thickness of the end walls 30, etc., may be varied for achievement of different effects.
The dead-sound spaces or chambers 76 and 79 create sound amplification when the instrument is moved. The wall thicknesses and baffle thicknesses may be such that, in combination with particular shot (solid mass) sizes and types, the tones generated by the instrument are relatively bass.
The interlocking lips, flanges or tangs 56, etc., of the upper and lower halves, and the touching (at the median plane) of the edges of the baffle walls and end walls to each other, aid in the creation of full tones.
Embodiment of FIG. 9
For enhanced effects, one or more miniature microphones may be mounted on the tubular ring for direct electrical pick-up of the induced percussion vibrations, with the resulting electrical signal being processed through suitable filters and amplifiers and conducted to a speaker system.
In the preferred amplifier embodiment, the construction of FIG. 7 is employed, and the cross-handle 70 is utilized to mount internally thereof a mechanical-electrical transducer or
pickup 82 as shown schematically in FIG. 9. Transducer 82 is caused to be in close rigid contact (close coupled) with the interior surface of cross-handle 70 so that vibrations from such handle--as transmitted thereto from the various chambers of the instrument through the walls thereof--are sensed by the transducer to generate electrical signals. The signals are passed through a cord or cable 83 to an amplifier 84 and loudspeaker 85 as shown in FIG. 9. The place where the transducer was inserted into the handle is a slot the dimensions of which are a...
Musical instrument bridge2010-03-09 00:00:00/>a head portion that is configured to anchor an end of the string supported by the finger; and
a waist portion that extends between the base portion and the head portion, each of the fingers having a groove that extends between the base portion of the finger and the waist portion of the finger, wherein the groove of a first finger of the several fingers has a length that is different than a length of the groove of a second finger of the several fingers.
46. The musical instrument bridge of claim 45, wherein each of the first and second fingers has a resonant frequency, the resonant frequency of the first finger being different than the resonant frequency of the second finger.
47. The musical instrument bridge of claim 45, further comprising a mounting block disposed between the plate and the fingers.
48. The musical instrument bridge of claim 47, wherein the mounting block and the base portion of each of the fingers have respective interfitting portions including a groove and an outwardly extending lip received in the groove.
49. The musical instrument bridge of claim 47, wherein the mounting block includes a plurality of slots into which each of the fingers is secured.
50. The musical instrument bridge of claim 47, wherein each of the fingers is secured to the mounting block independently of any other of the fingers.Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to musical instruments in general, and in particular to musical instrument bridges.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, significant improvements have been made in the quality of musical instruments, particularly electric instruments such as electric guitars and electric bass guitars. However, the majority of the improvements that have occurred in such instruments are due to improvements made in the electronic components used with such instruments. These electronic components include
pickups, amplifiers and special effects. One component of a musical instrument that has remained virtually unchanged since the first electric instruments were introduced is the instrument bridge.
A bridge on a musical instrument is designed to support a set of strings at a predetermined distance above the instrument's fretboard. It has been discovered that prior art bridges are the source of, or at least contribute to, three errors in the production of sound from an instrument. The first error is interstring modulation, whereby striking one string causes another string on the instrument to vibrate. If the pitch of the vibrating strings are not harmonically related, such interstring modulation can produce unclear, distorted sounds. The second problem associated with traditional instrument bridges is the fact that they dampen a string's vibration once it is played. This is particularly true of tremolo-type bridges that are coupled to the body of a musical instrument via one or more springs. These springs dissipate a portion of the energy of a plucked string, thereby reducing the sustain of a note played. The third problem contributed by prior art bridge designs is the signal distortion that occurs after the string is struck. When a string is initially struck, the string moves back and forth in a plane that is substantially parallel to the front face of a musical instrument and perpendicular to a magnetic field produced by an instrument
pickup. This parallel movement produces the cleanest sound with the fewest undertones and overtones. However, shortly after the string is struck, the plane in which the string is vibrating begins to rotate in an elliptical fashion. As the plane of the string vibration changes, the signal produced by the
pickup begins to sound slightly distorted.
In order to solve the problems associated with prior art bridge designs, there is a need for a musical instrument bridge that reduces interstring modulation, does not excessively dampen a string's vibration and confines a string's vibration to a single plane that is substantially perpendicular to the direction of a magnetic field produced by a
pickup.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a musical instrument bridge that supports a set of strings at a predetermined distance above a front face of a musical instrument. Each string supported by the bridge is tuned to a predetermined pitch when the musical instrument is played. The bridge includes a plate that is secured to a rear face of a musical instrument and a plurality of fingers that are secured to the plate and extend toward a front face of the musical instrument. Each of the fingers includes a head portion that supports a string at the predetermined distance above the front face of the musical instrument, a base portion at which the finger is secured to the plate and a waist portion that extends between the base portion and the head portion. Each finger has a resonant frequency that is related to the predetermined pitch of the string supported by the finger.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary isometric of an electric guitar with pans broken away fo...
Magnetic pickup for stringed musical instrument2010-03-01 00:00:00AbstractA magnetic
pickup for a stringed instrument has one or two coils juxtaposed with the strings each coil having an inner polepiece disposed centrally therein. A single polarity is induced in each inner polepiece by two bar magnets, one at each side of the polepiece externally of the coil. An outer polepiece is magnetically coupled to an outside edge of each of the bar magnets and extends toward the strings. Each polepiece has a preselected shape, with an upper edge which is either continuous, or discontinuous with a plurality of pole legs, one common to each string of the musical instrument. The distance between the
pickup and strings is adjustable to select a desired response. When pole legs are used, they are selectable in height by shearing off the distal end of each leg to obtain a selected
pickup sensitivity for each string.ClaimsI claim as my invention:
1. A magnetic
pickup for a musical instrument having a plurality of strings, comprising:
(a) a coil common to said strings;
(b) an inner ferromagnetic polepiece common to said strings and partially disposed in said coil;
(c) magnet means common to said strings and magnetically coupled to said inner polepiece and inducing a single polarity in said inner polepiece; and
(d) at least one flat outer ferromagnetic polepiece magnetically coupled to the magnet means outside of said coil and having a polarity opposite to that of the nearest portion of said inner polepiece.
2. A magnetic pick-up according to claim 1 in which said inner polepiece has a plurality of pole legs integrally formed with each other, there being one pole leg for each string.
3. A magnetic
pickup according to claim 1 in which said outer polepiece is common to said strings and has a uniform length and uniform height.
4. A magnetic
pickup according to claim 1 in which said outer polepiece has a segmented surface below the instrument strings in the form of pole legs with a continuous transition from the upper end of one pole leg to the upper end of the...
Multi-stage musical instrument amplifier having distortion modes2009-11-09 00:00:00signal provided from second stage 220 to third stage 230. In the second mode, low distortion is provided by the output of the third stage 230 by closing switch 2G to increase the gain of the second stage thereby increasing the magnitude of the signal provided via line 222 to overdrive third stage 230. In the second mode, switch LA remains closed to somewhat reduce the level of the signal provided to third stage 230. In the third mode, to accomplish high distortion, switch 2G remains closed and switch LA is opened so that the level of the signal provided via line 222 is not reduced by level altering control 226 and a fully overdriving signal is provided to third stage 230.
In general, level altering control may be any circuit or network for altering the level of the output of second stage 220 as provided via line 222. Level altering control 226 may be means connected to the output of second stage 220 for selectively changing the resistive loading on the second stage 220 thereby changing both the gain and harmonic characteristics of the second stage.
Third stage 230 may be optionally provided with a third gain modifying means in the form of third gain control 234 selectively connected to third stage 230 via switch 3G. As illustrated in FIG. 2, third gain control 234 is connected to the third stage 230 to increase the gain thereof only during the third mode to further enhance the harmonic characteristics provided via output line 232.
FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of one preferrred embodiment of the preamplifier of the invention employing vacuum tube stages. It has been found that even a clean (undistorted) guitar signal, such as provided in mode one, benefits from a multitude of stages over the minimum number needed for voltage gain. The benefit is primarily due to the characteristics of the added tubes themselves. Therefore, it has been found that it is beneficial to use many stages for all modes and not simply add stages for an over driven sound as has been done in the prior art. The preamplifier according to the invention utilizes this approach by using all stages in all modes and by controlling tone, levels and gains throughout the circuit to obtain the desired sounds from the output in the various modes.
In FIG. 3, the same reference characters have been used as the reference characters of FIG. 1 wherever possible. FIG. 3 will be described according to various modes of operation. The position of the light dependent resistors (LDR) and the field effect transistors (FET) which make up the switches for the various modes is illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the circuitry for controlling these switches.
Referring to FIG. 3, the audio-frequency electrical signal, such as a guitar
pickup signal is supplied to input 1 and is amplified by initial amplifier stage 200 including an amplification stage tube 4. The input signal is provided to the control grid of tube 4 via the resistive divider formed by resistors 2 and 3. The gain of tube 4 is controlled by cathode resistor 6 and cathode capacitor 7 in parallel therewith. The V+ voltage is applied to the anode of tube 4 via anode resistor 5. In mode one, switch 19 is closed so that mode one/two tone control 302 and mode one volume control 304 are in line between the output of initial stage 200 and the input 202 to the first stage 210. Switches 20 and 21 are open so that mode two volume control 314, mode three tone control 316 and mode three volume control 318 are not in the circuit. Tone control 302 includes an RC network of resistor 9, capacitors 8, 10 and 13, variable resistors 12 and 14 and resistive divider 11. Mode one volume control 304 includes resistive divider 18 which is manually controlled by the amplifier operator to adjust volume.
First amplifier stage 210 includes first gain stage tube 33 for providing tone control recovery. The input signal provided via line 202 is applied to the grid of tube 33. The gain of tube 33 is controlled by cathode resistor 37. Switch 39 is open so that capacitor 38 does not affect the gain of tube 33. The V+ voltage is supplied via anode resistor 34 to provide an output via DC isolating and coupling capacitor 35.
Attenuation control 216 is active in mode one to reduc...
