GB2543823A

GB2543823A - Musical instrument support

Info

Publication number: GB2543823A
Application number: GB1519204.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Vivian Cracknell James
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-10-30
Filing date: 2015-10-30
Publication date: 2017-05-03
Also published as: GB201519204D0

Abstract

A support for a musical instrument such as a guitar that is worn by a musician, comprises two supports, the first support 1 is an elongated support and both ends of the support are attached to the front mounting means of a guitar to form a loop that fits over the shoulder of the musician; the second support 2 is an elongated support where one end of the support is attached to the rear mounting means of the guitar and the opposing end is attached to the main support 1 behind the back of the user (fig 3). Preferably the length of each support and the connection of the main support 1 to the second support 2 are adjustable, allowing the user to balance the guitar and prevent neck-dive. Alternatively the ends of the elongated second support (2, fig 4) are attached to both the front and rear mounting means of the guitar and the elongated first/main support (1, fig 4) has one end attached to the front mounting means of the guitar and the opposing end adjustably connected to the longitudinal length of the first support, forming a loop that fits over the shoulder of the musician.

Description

Playing support for musical instruments such as guitars

This invention relates to a device for providing well balanced support for a musical instrument while in use by a musician.

Certain instruments, especially those with long necks or small bodies can create an unbalanced playing position where the headstock of the instrument tends to pull towards the ground because most musician's preferred method of supporting the instrument is to have their support attached to the body of the instrument rather than reaching from the headstock of the instrument to the furthest end of the body. This is sometimes called neck-dive. A musician may have to provide additional support with the fretting hand to maintain the playing position which can restrict the musician's dexterity. The effect of pulling on the musician's shoulder can also be uncomfortable and potentially cause strain to the musician.

Traditionally an instrument has been supported by a single strap which runs either from the headstock of the instrument to the furthest extremity of the body or from a point on the body nearest the headstock to the furthest extremity of the body. Some alternative designs have been suggested and been the subject of patent applications and which are generally targeted to reducing strain on the musician rather than specifically to re-balance the instrument. An example is the Dare Ergonomic Guitar Strap US2002084296 (Al), a dual shoulder strap which is designed to compensate 'a serious problem for shoulder, neck, and back after several hours of playing'. In many cases also, design of instruments has been targeted to facilitate balance with the use of the traditional single strap rather than finding alternative methods to support the instrument during use.

There appears to be no practical solution previously proposed to provide better balance for an instrument during playing and that does not enable simple use like the traditional single support and be made from generic products readily available.

This invention is designed to redistribute the forces of the support acting on the instrument in such a way as to provide greater support to the forward part of the instrument body whilst continuing to stabilise the tail of the body. The effect is as though the centre of balance has been moved further towards the neck thus reducing the tendency of the headstock to fall towards the ground. Reducing this tendency also relieves some of the forward pressure on the musician's shoulder.

The advantage of this approach is that the instrument does not have the tendency for the neck to fall towards the ground and the playing position becomes more comfortable and the musician's fretting hand is freed to concentrate on playing the instrument without having to provide the additional support required to balance the instrument.

This is achieved without changing the way in which the instrument is mounted by simply placing the support over the shoulder and around the body exactly as a musician presently does with a single support which is attached front to back, resulting in no change to the use of the support as far as the musician is concerned.

The invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows the front view of the support in use.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the support in use.

Figure 3 shows a rear view of the support in use.

Figure 4 shows the front view of an alternative embodiment.

Figure 5 shows a view of the support on it's own. A main support (1) is formed of a loop which passes over the musician's shoulder and around their back where both ends of the loop are directed towards the forward mounting on the instrument. The ends of the loop may be joined together at the point where they mount onto the instrument by whatever generic means.

To facilitate adjustment of the length of the main support an adjuster may be incorporated into the main support. An example of the location of such an adjuster is shown in figure 1 at (3). A second support (2) is attached to the rear of the main support (1) This second support (2) runs from the main support (1) to the rear mounting on the instrument.

To facilitate adjustment of the length of the second support (2) a generic adjuster may be included as shown in figure 2 at (5).

Further adjustment may be provided by a generic adjustable connector (4) which can be used to slide along the main support (1) to adjust the overall position of the second support (2).

In an alternative embodiment (figure 4), the second support (2) may be attached to the forward part of the main support (1) or the mounting on the instrument body with the forward section of the main support (1) attached to the second support (2). in this case the second support (2) would continue to attach to the rear mounting on the instrument body whilst the rear part of the ioop of the main support (1) would connect to the second support (2) along it's length.

In this alternative embodiment a length adjuster (5) may also be included aiong the second support (2) and a mechanism may be included to allow adjustment of the position at which the rear loop of the main support (1) attaches to the second support (2).

While several embodiments of the invention, together with modifications thereof, have been described in detail herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident that various further modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Nothing in the above specification is intended to limit the invention more narrowly than the appended claims. The examples given are intended only to be illustrative rather than exclusive.

Claims

1. A support for a musical instrument which attaches to the front and rear mountings on the body of an instrument and fits over the shoulder of a musician.

2. The support in claim 1 comprises a loop that can be attached to the front mounting on the instrument body and with a second support which runs from the rear of that loop to the rear mounting on the instrument body.

3. The support in claim 1 may be made of such materials as may be able to comfortably and reliably support the weight of the instrument indefinitely and include such generic connectors as may facilitate the construction of the support and connection to the instrument.

4. The support in claim 1 may include means of adjusting the length of each part of the support using suitable generic mechanisms.

5. The support in claim 1 may include a means of adjusting the position where the second support joins the main support using a suitable generic mechanism.

6. As an alternative embodiment, the support in claim 1 comprises a second support which runs from the front to the rear mounting on the instrument whilst the main support loop runs from the front mounting on the instrument or from the front of the second support, around the musician and attaches to the second support along that second support's length.

7. The alternative embodiment defined in claim 6 may include means of adjusting the length of each part of the support using suitable generic mechanisms and of adjusting the position where the main support joins the second support using a suitable generic mechanism.