EP1705639A1

EP1705639A1 - Fingerboard for a necked string musical instrument

Info

Publication number: EP1705639A1
Application number: EP05425175A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alexander Hohenegger
Original assignee: Alter Ego Sas di Hohenegger e Co
Current assignee: Alter Ego Sas di Hohenegger e Co
Priority date: 2005-03-25
Filing date: 2005-03-25
Publication date: 2006-09-27
Also published as: WO2006100309A1

Abstract

A fingerboard (1) for a necked (3) string instrument (2) allows the removable insertion of frets not hindering the musical performance and it comprises: a fingering surface (10) arranged adjacent to strings (11) of the string instrument (2) that are manipulated by a user to determine the intonation of the strings (11) for semitones; and a removable system (70) for indicating frets (50) on the fingerboard (1) comprising one or more wires (20) to be arranged on the fingering surface (10) and means (75) for arranging said wires (20) on the fingering surface (10) and along connecting paths located internally to the body of the fingerboard (1) and/or along the side edges (4') of the fingerboard (1).

Description

The present invention generally refers to a fmgerboard for a musical instrument, and in particular for a necked string musical instrument.
The present invention finds application in the field of luthiery and in general in the manufacturing of musical instruments.
The fingerboard according to the present invention is useful in teaching contexts and it is particularly indicated as an aid to the learning of the use of a string instrument by an amateur user or a student, as well as optionally also by a professional user in order to facilitate or personalize the manipulation thereof.
Hereinafter, by "necked string instrument" it will be meant all string instruments, as well as all kinds of guitar and bass guitar.
The technique allowing a performer to produce notes of different pitch by playing a string instrument consists in pressing the strings themselves on the fingerboard with the aid of the fingers of one hand, so as to alter the length of the vibrating portion thereof.
At a given length of the vibrating portion of the strings there corresponds a certain vibration frequency, and accordingly a certain pitch of the note emitted.
In this connection, the fmgerboard according to the present invention is especially useful for tuning the strings of a necked string musical instrument, allowing a precise definition of the length of the active portion, i.e., of the vibrating portion, of the string.
Traditionally, on the fingerboard of string musical instruments there can be inlaid, with different methods briefly illustrated hereinafter, frets apt to mark the spot at which the performer should press the strings on the fingerboard to obtain a corresponding variation of the sound frequency. Instead, in several typologies of instruments, e.g. in string instruments, these frets are not present and the fingerboard exhibits a smooth surface, since a skilled performer possessing the required sensitivity presses the strings on the appropriate spots, doing without frets.
To date, e.g., in acoustic or electric guitars, said frets are strips, generally metallic, secured to the fingerboard surface by glueing and/or fixed thereon. Therefore, such a system is intended to be permanent and it does not suit fmgerboards of instruments usually lacking frets. Hence, when instead the presence of the frets is required, it is necessary to avail oneself of a fretted instrument.
In ancient practice, in instruments lacking permanent frets on the fmgerboard surface, in order to mark said reference spots on the fmgerboard of a string instrument, movable frets (called tied frets - e.g., of gut) were used, wound about the neck thereof.
The main drawback entailed by such a tied-fret technique about the neck lies in that it leaves a portion of the fingerboard without frets, as generally the fingerboard extends beyond the neck in length.
In addition, a performer finds it difficult to slide a thumb on the rear of the neck, as tied frets, according to this fingering mode, envelop the neck onto its entire periphery and are not restricted to the surface adjacent to the strings useful to the fingering.
Such a limitation proves bothersome for a performer, in particular due to the modem way of playing.
Moreover, the positioning of the tied frets according to such a practice - without preset guides or reference points - implies a remarkable musical skill; it is unthinkable that such a skill could be acquired, e.g., by an amateur or a student.
Hence, there is a demand for a fmgerboard overcoming said drawbacks, described hereto with reference to the state of the art.
This demand is met by a fingerboard for a necked string musical instrument as defined in claim 1, apt to incorporate a movable system for indicating the frets.
The frets, applicable to a fingerboard according to the present invention over the entire length thereof, in no way hinder the musical performance. In fact, they do not envelop the entire periphery of the neck and do not oppose a thumb sliding onto its rear.
Thus, it is advantageously allowed the use of said musical instrument according to a first fretted mode, envisaging the application of frets; or according to a second alternative mode lacking frets, hereinafter also referred to as fretless.
By virtue of the versatility of the fingerboard according to the present invention, a corresponding string musical instrument equipped with such a fingerboard can advantageously be used at will with the frets, setting a fixed intonation - preferably an "equal temperament" one as is customary in the modem tone system - or a fretless one for a "free" intonation performance, in case even by plural differently experienced users.
Likewise, by virtue of this adaptability, the same instrument can be used by the same individual in the different phases of his/her learning path, with no need of replacements of the instrument itself.
Further advantages, as well as the features and the modes of employ of the present invention, will be made evident by the following detailed description of a first preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example and without limitative purposes, as well as of some variations thereof. Reference will be made to the figures of the annexed drawings, wherein:

* figure 1 is a top perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the fmgerboard for a necked string instrument according to the present invention;
* figure 2 is a top perspective view of three component elements of the fmgerboard of figure 1, the modular structure and the assembling mode thereof being highlighted;
* figure 2A is a side view of a detail of the fingerboard of figure1;
* figure 3 is a front view of a detail of one of said three component elements of the fingerboard of figure 1;
* figure 4A is a perspective view of a string instrument in which it is illustrated a first step of threading of a wire of a movable system for indicating frets in the fingerboard of figure 1;
* figure 4B is a perspective view of the string instrument of figure 4A in which it is illustrated a second step of threading of the wire of figure 4A;
* figure 4C is a perspective view of the string instrument of figure 4A, the wire of figure 4A having been applied on the entire length of its fingerboard;
* figure 5 is a side view of a detail of the neck of the string instrument of figure 4A onto which it is mounted the fingerboard of figure 1;
* figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating a preferred mode of adjusting the height of the fmgerboard according to the present invention with respect to the strings of a string instrument;
* figure 7 is a partially sectional perspective view of a detail of the string instrument of figure 6, in which it is highlighted the mechanism for adjusting the height of the fingerboard according to the present invention with respect to the strings.

With initial reference to figures 1 and 6, a fingerboard 1 of a string instrument 2 according to the present invention is an elongated element having a fingering surface 10 arranged adjacent to strings 11 of the string instrument 2.
Typically, said strings 11 are manipulated by a user through the pressure on the fingering surface 10 at determined spots thereof, in order to define the length of the vibrating portion of the strings 11 and therefore to determine the intonation thereof for semitones.
A string instrument 2 as the one considered hereinafter, onto which there may be integrated a fingerboard 1 according to the present invention, generally comprises a main body 100 onto which it is mounted a bridge 80 for transmitting the vibrations of the strings 11.
Preferably, the fingerboard 1 is mounted basically integral to a neck 3 of the instrument 2, with reference to the preferred embodiment detailed hereinafter.
The main body 100 may be a sound box whose bridge 80 transmits the vibrations of the strings 11, or, in case the vibrations on the bridge 80 are electronically collected, an element having a mainly structural function, provided with a transducer transforming the vibrations of the strings 11 into an electric signal that can be amplified.
Usually, the outermost portion of the neck 3, called headstock or peghead, holds the gears or pegs for tuning the instrument 2, or for adjusting the tension of the strings 11.
Firmly secured to the neck-peghead joint, so as to transmit string vibrations to the neck 3, there is a nut.
The nut is a transversal element onto which there are obtained admitting notches for the strings 11, arranged on a line basically reproducing the contour of the fingering surface 10 and apt to admit each the passage of a respective string 11 resting thereon, keeping it at a set distance from the other strings.
The nut is basically the zero-fret of the fingerboard 1 and, owing to the function it carries out, it contributes to the correct intonation of the instrument 2, as well as to influence its timbre.
Therefore, the active portion of a string 11, onto which a user acts when performing, is comprised between the internal side of the nut and the bridge 80.
The fmgerboard 1 according to the present invention has a removable system for indicating the frets 50, generally indicated by 70. The position of the frets 50 is defined a priori according to a preset scale and in accordance to known musical laws.
Such a system comprises one or more wires 20, to be arranged on the fmgering surface 10, and means for arranging said wires 20 on the fingering surface 10 and along connecting paths located internally to the body of the fingerboard 1 and/or along the side edges 4 of the fmgerboard 1. Such means is generally indicated by 75.
In the present embodiment, the means for arranging the wires 20 comprises, for each of said wires 20, a respective sequence of through holes 44 made in the body of said fingerboard 1.
Said through holes 44 are apt to define a plurality of respective connecting paths between the opposite side edges 4' and 4" of the fingerboard 1.
The wires 20 are apt to be threaded from a first inlet end on the first side edge 4' to a second outlet end on the second side edge 4" of the through holes 44, so as to implement a removable system for indicating frets 50 on the fingerboard 1.
The through holes 44 have a pattern such that the portion of said wires 20 arranged on the fingering surface 10 defines frets 50 basically perpendicular to the strings 11 of the string instrument 2.
To each of the wires 20 there corresponds a respective series of frets 50, each fret 50 being therefore defined by a respective portion of the respective wire apt to be arranged on said fingering surface 10 and comprised between two subsequent and respective connecting paths corresponding to as many through holes 44.
The configuration of each of the sequences of through holes 44 is such that the outlet end on the side edge 4" of each through hole 44 of said sequence lies, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fingerboard 1, at the same height of the inlet end on the side edge 4' of the subsequent through hole 44.
To allow trimming interventions for the fingerboard 1 and optionally for the neck 3 of the instrument 2, e.g., in order to trim them to optimize the grip of the instrument 2 by a specific user, to the pattern of the through holes 44, which anyhow can have different designs, there are assigned specific conditions at the contour thereof.
In this case, the through holes 44 preferably have a pattern basically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fingerboard 1 at the respective end sections thereof and therefore near to the first inlet end on the first side edge 4' and to the second outlet end on the second side edge 4".
Thus, it is allowed a customized dimensioning of the instrument 2, without having the frets 50, whose location has been defined so as to comply with the correct and known ratios, being concomitantly subjected to shifting.
In fact, such shifting would entail an altered and incorrect marking of the intonation of the strings 11.
The through holes 44 can be made with different modes, e.g., by drilling or milling, e.g. with numerical control machines to which the feed rule is assigned.
According to one of its preferred embodiments, the fingerboard 1 according to the present invention has a modular structure and comprises a first slab 31 apt to provide a support base on the neck 3, to which it is fixed, on a surface 37; a shaped board 30 incorporating the fmgering surface 10; and a second intermediate slab 32, apt to be interposed between the slab 31 and the shaped board 30, as it can be noticed in figure 2.
The shaped board 30, the first slab 31 and the second slab 32 have respective mutual coupling surfaces, having a basically overlappable plan, so that their assembling produces a sandwich structure of the fmgerboard 1 as is evident in figure 1.
In particular, the surface 34 of the slab 32 is apt to couple to the surface 36 of the slab 31, whereas the surface 33 of the shaped board 30 is apt to couple to the surface 35 of the slab 32.
At least one among the surfaces 36-34 for the mutual coupling between said first slab 31 and said second slab 32 incorporates grooves 41.
With reference to figures 1 and 2, the configuration is such that the through holes 44 are obtained by the juxtaposition of the surface 34 on the surface 36 when the second slab 32 is overlapped to the first slab 31.
The grooves 41 cooperate with the plane of the corresponding coupling surface so as to produce the through holes 44.
Evidently, there may be envisaged an embodiment, though more complex than the preferred one introduced hereto, in which respective and corresponding grooves having a basically mirror pattern are obtained on the surface 34 and on the surface 36, the through holes 44 deriving from the mating of corresponding grooves when the two slabs 32 and 31 are overlapped.
Preferably, the grooves 41 are obtained in the intermediate slab 32 and in particular on the surface 34 opposite to the one of contact with the shaped board 30.
Thus, the wires 20, stretched between the fingering surface 10 and the bottom of the respective grooves 41, are held in position more effectively and there ensues an increased stability of the respective frets 50.
The bottom of the grooves 41, e.g., obtained by milling with a round point, is shaped so as to facilitate the positioning of the wires 20 in the seat of the respective connecting paths.
A variant of the preferred embodiment of the fingerboard 1 according to the present invention provides that at least one through hole 45 has first end 44' and second end 44" on the same side edge 4" of the fingerboard 1, as illustrated in figure 1 and, in greater detail, in figure 4A.
With reference to figure 2 and to figure 4A, such a hole 45, created from a specific and basically C-shaped groove 40, is apt to split a wire 20 into a first portion 20' and a second portion 20" intended for different paths.
Moreover, as shown in figure 4B, the first portion and the second portion 20', 20" are apt to be threaded into through holes 44 alternating thereamong, having inlet ends on the first side edge 4'.
Thus, there are obtained respective alternating frets, the first pair thereof being denoted by numerals 50', 50", respectively, optionally to completion of the fingering for the full length of the fingerboard 1, exemplified in figure 4C.
Preferably, said through hole 45 is positioned near to the head of the fmgerboard 1, so as to define a top fret 50', the first of the sequence of frets 50.
In particular, the positioning of the through hole 45 may be such that the top fret 50' is defined, according to customary configuration, at the first semitone of the fingerboard 1, as shown in figure 4A, or adjoining the nut of the instrument 2, in a position set back of one semitone with respect to the natural one.
In the second one of said cases, with the through hole 45 in a set-back position, the entire system of through holes 44 may be shifted of one semitone toward the nut.
A central positioning of said through hole 45, though constituting an easily implementable solution, would hinder an ad hoc adjustment of the length of the fingering on the fingerboard 1.
When the instrument 2 is played with a fretted mode on the fmgerboard 1, a concomitant adjustment of the height of the strings 11 on the latter is advisable, so as not to have vibrating strings negatively interfering with the frets.
Therefor, it is useful that the strings near to the nut be raised of an equivalent height such as to compensate for the interposition of the frets on the fingerboard 1.
In the above-envisaged case that the top fret 50' be in a set-back position, it basically adjoining the nut of the instrument 2, the same localized thickness of the wire portion 20' used for the related implementation might yield a proportional raising of the strings 11 with respect to the fingering surface 10, preventing interference problems.
By resorting to an alternative contrivance, a strip 51, preferably made of the same material of the frets 50, can be located with an arrangement basically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the instrument 2 about the neck 3, adjoining the nut of the instrument 2.
The thickness of such a strip 51 is useful to proportionally raise the strings 11 with respect to the fingering surface 10.
Advantageously, such solutions are less complex than those represented by the replacement of the entire nut block with a higher second nut.
In fact, by virtue of the solution providing the substantial coincidence of the line of the nut with that of the top fret 50', or the interposition of a strip 51, there is no need to dismount and mount all the strings housed in the nut grooves and to replace the nut itself.
According to an alternative embodiment of the fingerboard 1 according to the present invention, the means 75 for arranging the wires 20 on the fingering surface 10 and along the connecting paths located along the side edges of the fingerboard 1, comprises elements for returning the wires 20 on the side edges 4 of the fmgerboard 1.
These returning elements may be, e.g., small nails fixed to the side edges 4 of the fingerboard 1.
Moreover, it should be highlighted that the introduction of the fingerboard 1 according to the present invention advantageously allows to vary the height of the frets 50 with respect to the strings 11 of the instrument, by virtue of the express use of wires 20 exhibiting different thicknesses.
Thus, the frets provide an aid to a performance adjustable to contingent needs, e.g. to the performer's skill and the typology of strings being used.
Known fmgerboards generally do not propose an effective solution to the problem of the adjustment of the height of the fmgering surface with respect to the strings. Even more so, this problem is particularly felt in the case of frets 50 being added to the fingerboard.
An inadequate adjustment of said height results in an undesired contact of the vibrating portion of the strings with the fmgerboard, and in the entailed cacophonic distortion of the sound emitted.
In fact, the parameter represented by the space separating the strings and the fingerboard significantly influences some features closely correlated therebetween, like the sonority and the playability of the instrument.
In particular, a reduced height of the strings on the fingering surface, though implying an increase of the handiness and of the speed of performance on the neck, entails however a limitation of string excursion requiring a softer manipulation and the risk of having the strings touching on the frets, in particular when the latter are added to the instrument.
In this connection, the string instrument 2 with a neck 3 comprises means for adjusting the height of the fmgerboard 1 with respect to the strings 11.
As illustrated in figures 6 and 7, said adjusting means preferably comprises a hinge 90 for the connection of the neck 3 to the main body 100.
Likewise, it is provided a means for rotating the neck 3 with respect to the main body 100 about the hinge 90, so as to move the fmgerboard 1 near to or away from the strings 11.
As exemplified in figure 7, such means may comprise a screw 96/nut screw 97. In this case, the screw may incorporate on its head a seat 98, e.g., socket head-shaped, actuatable by a wrench 95.
In figure 7 it is illustrated a situation in which the screw 96 crosses the main body 100 and screws down into a nut screw 97 made integral to the main body 100 itself.
The screw 96, gradually screwed down into the nut screw 97, comes into contact with the neck 3 by projecting from the body 100.
The configuration is such that, once established said contact between screw 96 and neck 3, a rotary motion given to the screw 96 via the wrench 95 produces a proportional force on the neck 3, which therefore is set in rotation about the hinge 90.
The ensuing motion of the neck 3 causes an approaching or a moving away of the fingerboard 1 with respect to the strings 11, depending on the sense of the actuating rotation.
With reference to the foregoing, evidently the conversion from fretless instrument to fretted instrument can be easily and readily carried out, with simple operations requiring a short time, in the order of a few minutes, leaving the instrument intact and perfectly operative, the fmgerboard remaining smooth even after the removal of the fretting.
In this connection, the distance of the fmgerboard according to the present invention is advantageously adjustable, so as to prevent the vibrating strings from touching the frets with an entailed "whip effect".
Concomitantly, the height of the strings can be varied at will, also according to the more or less extensible material of the latter.
As it will be apparent from the description, the fmgerboard according to the present invention is susceptible of being advantageously mass-produced at limited costs.
The present invention has hereto been described according to a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example and without limitative purposes.
It is understood that other embodiments may be envisaged, all to be construed as falling within the protective scope thereof, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A fingerboard (1) for a necked (3) string instrument (2) having:
* a fingering surface (10) arranged adjacent to strings (11) of the string instrument (2) that are manipulated by a user to determine the intonation of the strings (11) for semitones; and

* a removable system (70) for indicating frets (50) on the fingerboard (1) comprising one or more wires (20) to be arranged on the fingering surface (10) and means (75) for arranging said wires (20) on the fingering surface (10) and along connecting paths located internally to the body of the fmgerboard (1) and/or along the side edges (4') of the fingerboard (1).
The fmgerboard (1) according to claim 1, wherein said means for arranging said wires (20) comprises, for each of said wires (20), a respective sequence of through holes (44) made in the body of said fmgerboard (1) apt to define a plurality of respective connecting paths from a first side edge (4') to a second side edge (4") of the fingerboard (1), said wires (20) being apt to be threaded from a first inlet end on said first side edge (4') to a second outlet end on said second side edge (4") of said through holes (44), so as to implement a removable system (70) for indicating frets (50) on the fingerboard (1).
The fmgerboard (1) according to claim 2, wherein the configuration of each of said sequences of through holes (44) is such that the outlet end on said side edge (4") of each through hole (44) of said sequence lies, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fingerboard (1), at the same height of the inlet end on said side edge (4') of a subsequent through hole (44).
The fingerboard (1) according to one of the claims 2 or 3, wherein said through holes (44) have a pattern basically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fingerboard (1) at the respective end sections thereof.
The fingerboard (1) according to one of the claims 2 to 4, comprising
* a first slab (31) apt to provide a support base on said neck (3);

* a shaped board (30) comprising said fingering surface (10); and

* a second intermediate slab (32), apt to be interposed between said first slab (31) and said shaped board (30),
wherein said first slab (31), said second slab (32) and said shaped board (30) have respective mutual coupling surfaces (36-34, 35-33) having a basically overlappable plan, at least one of the surfaces (36-34) for the mutual coupling between said first slab (31) and said second slab (32) incorporating grooves (41, 40), the configuration being such that said through holes (44) are obtained by the cooperation of said grooves (41, 40) with the plane of the corresponding coupling surface (34-36), when said first slab (31) and said second slab (32) are overlapped and joined.
The fingerboard (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said grooves (41, 40) are obtained in said second slab (32), on the surface (34) opposite to the surface (35) of contact with the shaped board (30).
The fingerboard (1) according to one of the claims 2 to 6, comprising at least one through hole (45), having first end (44') and second end (44") on the same side edge (4") of said fmgerboard (1), apt to split a wire (20) into a first portion (20') and a second portion (20") intended for different paths.
The fingerboard (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said first portion and said second portion (20', 20") are apt to be threaded into through holes (44) alternating thereamong for obtaining respective alternating frets (50', 50").
The fingerboard (1) according to one of the claims 7 or 8, wherein said through hole (45) is positioned so as to define a top fret (50'), the first of the sequence of frets (50) along the axis of the fingerboard (1), at the first semitone of the fingerboard 1.
The fingerboard (1) according to one of the claims 7 or 8, wherein said through hole (45) is positioned so as to define a top fret (50'), the first of the sequence of frets (50) along the axis of the fingerboard (1), adjoining the nut of the instrument (2), the localized thickness of the related wire portion (20') being useful to proportionally raise the strings (11) with respect to the fmgering surface (10).
The fingerboard (1) according to one of the claims 1 to 10, wherein a strip (51) having a thickness useful to proportionally raise the strings (11) with respect to the fingering surface (10) adjoins the nut of the instrument (2).
The fmgerboard (1) according to claim 1, wherein said means for arranging said wires (20) on the fingering surface (10) and along the connecting paths located along the side edges of the fingerboard (1), comprises elements for returning the wires (20) onto the side edges (4, 4', 4") of the fingerboard (10).
A necked (3) string instrument (2), having a fmgerboard (10) as defined in one of the claims 1 to 12.
The necked (3) string instrument (2) according to claim 13, wherein said fingerboard (1) is mounted basically integral to said neck (3).
The string instrument (2) according to claim 14, comprising a main body (100) on which it is mounted a bridge (80) for anchoring and for transmitting the vibrations of the strings (11); and means for adjusting the height of the fingerboard with respect to the strings (11), comprising:
* a hinge (90) for the connection of said neck (3) to said main body (100);

* means for rotating said neck (3) with respect to said main body (100) about said hinge (90), so as to move said fingerboard (1) near to or away from the strings (11).
String instrument (2) according to the preceding claim, wherein said means for rotating said neck (3) with respect to said main body (100) comprises a screw (96)/nut screw (97), the end of said screw (96) being actuatable by a wrench (95).