JPH07129178A - Electric stringed instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make tone expression as incorporation of the technique inherent in an electric guitar when a band exercise with electric guitar or enjoyment of full orchestra play is to be made and to eliminate such troublesome works as providing a rhythm box, mixer, amplifier, etc., separately and as associate wirings. CONSTITUTION:Besides a pickup 7, an electric guitar 1 contains in its body 5 a card slot 11 for mounting of ROM card in which the accompaniment pattern is recorded, an electronic sound source circuit 13 centering on CPU, a mixing part 15 to mix output signals from the sound source circuit 13 and pickup 7, an amplifier circuit 17 which amplifies signals as mixed by this mixing part 15, a speaker 19 which emits sounds in conformity to the signal amplified by the amplifier circuit 17, a headphone terminal 23 which is used upon changing- over with the speaker 19 while a headphone is connected, and an operation panel 25 to specifies the setting of various conditions for the electronic sound source circuit 13, and a MIDI terminal 27 and also dry cells 29 as power supply.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric stringed instrument such as an electric guitar and an electric bass.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when practicing a band performance with an electric guitar, a rhythm box containing an accompaniment pattern and a mixing device are prepared, and the electric guitar and the rhythm box are connected to the mixing device. The music signal was mixed and amplified and output from the speaker. Alternatively, the electric guitar was connected to a dedicated amplifier and speaker and accompanied by an audio device prepared separately.

[0003]

Therefore, in practice, it was necessary to connect an electric guitar with a rhythm box or a mixing device, and to prepare an audio device, which was troublesome. There are guitar-type electronic musical instruments that can be played without this hassle,
It was difficult to express the delicate tones (vibrato, choking, harmonics, etc.) peculiar to an electric guitar, and it was no substitute for an electric guitar.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric stringed musical instrument which can be used for band practice easily and can express a delicate tone color peculiar to an electric guitar or an electric bass.

[0005]

The electric stringed instrument of the present invention comprises:
Pickup means for detecting the vibration of the string as analog information; accompaniment information giving means for giving the accompaniment pattern as digital information; D / A converting means for converting the digital information given by the accompaniment information giving means to analog information; Mixing means for mixing the analog information detected by the pickup means and the analog information obtained by the D / A conversion means; and an amplification means for amplifying the mixed signal or each signal before mixing,
A speaker that emits sound based on the mixed and amplified signal is incorporated in the main body.

[0006]

According to the electric stringed instrument of the present invention, since the vibration of the string is detected by the pickup means as analog information,
It is possible to express a delicate tone color unique to an electric guitar or the like. Further, since accompaniment information giving means, D / A converting means, mixing means, amplifying means and speaker are built in the main body, there is no need to connect with a rhythm box or the like, and band practice and the like can be performed easily. it can.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an electric guitar 1 as an example includes a main body 5 having iron strings 3, a pickup 7 for detecting vibrations of the iron strings 3 as analog information, and an accompaniment pattern as digital information. A card slot 11 into which the recorded ROM card 9 is inserted, an electronic tone generator circuit 13 centered on a CPU, a mixing unit 15 which mixes output signals from the electronic tone generator circuit 13 and the pickup 7.
An amplifier circuit 17 that amplifies the signal mixed by the mixing unit 15, a speaker 19 that emits sound based on the signal amplified by the amplifier circuit 17, and a headphone 21.
A headphone terminal 23 that is used by switching to the speaker 19 by connecting the control panel 25 and an operation panel 25 for designating various condition settings for the electronic sound source circuit 13.
And a MIDI terminal 27 and a dry battery 29 for power supply.

The pickup 7 is provided for each of the iron strings 3 and detects a change in magnetic field caused by the vibration of the iron strings 3 and outputs it as an analog signal. The electronic tone generator circuit 13 includes a CPU 30, a program memory 31, a tone waveform memory 32, a RAM 33, an automatic performance data memory 34, a tone generator circuit 35, a card interface circuit 36, a panel interface circuit 37, M.
An IDI interface circuit 38 and a D / A converter 39 are provided. The program memory 31 stores a control processing program for performing accompaniment. The musical tone waveform memory 32 stores information relating to musical tone waveforms of various musical instruments such as drums and bass necessary for accompaniment. RA
M33 is for temporarily storing data and the like when executing various arithmetic processes. The automatic performance data memory 34 is a ROM that stores some rhythm patterns and the like in advance. The tone generator circuit 35 has a plurality of parallel tone generation channels and outputs a digital tone signal from the tone waveform data read from the tone waveform memory 32 and the accompaniment data read from the automatic performance data memory 34 or the card interface circuit 36. It is a circuit to do. The card interface circuit 36 is a circuit that is connected to the card slot 11 and reads the stored contents of the ROM card 9. The panel interface circuit 37 is
This circuit is connected to the operation panel 25 and reads an instruction from the operation panel 25. The MIDI interface circuit 38 is connected to the MIDI terminal 27 and outputs the performance data read from the automatic performance data memory 34 or the ROM card 9 to an external MIDI compatible device, or conversely, the performance data from an external MIDI compatible device. Or type. The performance data input from an external MIDI-compatible device can be processed for accompaniment like the data read from the automatic performance data memory 34 or the ROM card 9. The D / A converter 39 is for converting the digital signal output from the tone generator circuit 35 into an analog signal.

The mixing section 15 is provided with a variable resistance type guitar volume adjusting circuit 15a for adjusting the strength of the analog signal detected by the pickup 7. An operational amplifier 16 for adjusting the impedance of the circuit is provided between the volume adjusting circuit 15a and the pickup 7. The operational amplifier 16 also has a role of adjusting the volume of the accompaniment sound.

The operation panel 25 includes a rhythm volume switch 51 for adjusting the volume of the accompaniment pattern generated by the electronic tone generator circuit 13, a tempo switch 52 for adjusting the tempo of the pattern, and a transformer for transposing the pattern. The pause switch 53, the select switch 54 for pattern selection, the part mute switch 55 for muting a predetermined part, the automatic performance data memory 34, and the ROM card 9 are selected as accompaniment data. Changeover switch 56 for changing over
And a guitar volume switch 57 and other switches 58 for adjusting the guitar volume, and a display section 59. Each of the rhythm volume switch 51, the tempo switch 52, the transpose switch 53, and the select switch 54 is composed of a pair of button switches, and is configured to increase / decrease the volume or change the tempo by an up / down instruction. . Each of the part mute switch 55 and the changeover switch 56 is composed of one button switch, and is configured to sequentially change the selection content. The display unit 59 is a two-digit number display window including two sets of 7-segment LEDs. The display unit 59 displays the setting contents according to the operation of each of the switches 51 to 56.

Next, the processing contents of the CPU 30 will be described. FIG. 3 shows the main routine. CPU30
When the power is turned on, first, initialization processing is executed (S10). In this process, the contents stored in the RAM 33 are cleared, and the state of the sound source (rhythm volume, tempo, transpose, rhythm pattern select, part mute setting, etc.) is initialized. In this initial setting, assuming that the volume of the guitar is the reference value, the rhythm volume is initially set in consideration of the balance with the reference value.

Next, a switch event process is executed (S20). In this processing, the operating states of the switches 51 to 58 of the operating panel 25 are scanned, the setting state of the sound source is changed accordingly, and the setting contents by the operated switches are displayed on the display section 59 as two-digit numbers. Display with. The player can set an arbitrary rhythm pattern, rhythm volume, etc. by moving the numbers up and down while checking the numbers displayed on the display unit 59.

When the sound source setting by the performer is completed, the automatic performance process is started (S30). The automatic performance process is exactly the same as that performed by a normal rhythm box or electronic musical instrument, and the process will be briefly described below. The accompaniment pattern data is read from either the automatic performance data memory 34 or the ROM card 9 according to the setting of the rhythm pattern selection, the musical tone waveform is read from the musical tone waveform memory 32 according to the note-on data, and further set by switch event processing. Considering the set rhythm volume, tempo, transpose, part mute setting, and the like, and the volume level determined by the note-on data itself, the tone data including the envelope is set for each tone in the empty channel of the tone generator circuit 35. On the other hand, when note-off data is read, the volume level of the channel for which note-off is instructed by this data is set to "0".
Set to. The tone generator circuit 35 outputs a digital signal which changes drum-specifically in the case of a drum based on the musical tone data thus set according to the note-on data, and stops the output in accordance with the note-off instruction. The digital signal thus output is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 39, amplified by the amplifier circuit 17, and emitted from the speaker 19. In this way, it functions as a rhythm box.

In addition to the above processing, other processing is executed if necessary (S40). The processing of S20 to S40 is
It is repeated sequentially until the power is turned off. The function as an electric guitar is executed regardless of the processing by the CPU 30. That is, the vibration of the iron string 3 detected by the pickup 7 is converted into an analog signal by the mixing unit 15.
And is mixed with the accompaniment pattern converted into an analog signal. At this time, the volume of the electric guitar is adjusted to the volume intended by the player by passing through the guitar volume adjusting circuit 15a before mixing. If the accompaniment pattern is not selected, it can be used as a simple electric guitar.

As described above, according to the electric guitar of the present embodiment, the performer has a rhythm box, an amplifier, a mixer,
You can prepare equipment such as speakers, practice bands without wiring, and enjoy full orchestra performance by yourself.

Further, since it is different from a complete electronic musical instrument such as a synthesizer, it can be used as it is as an ordinary electric guitar, and can be expressed by a technique peculiar to the electric guitar, for example, vibrato, choking, harmonics or the like. In addition, because it is battery-powered, anytime,
You can enjoy it anywhere.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. For example, the present invention may be applied to an electric base, and a power source may be a household power source or an automobile battery. It is needless to say that the present invention can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention, for example, by providing a connection cord for the purpose, or by using it exclusively for household power supply. In the embodiment, the guitar playing signal and the rhythm box signal are mixed and then amplified, but they may be amplified before mixing and then mixed.

[0018]

As described in detail above, according to the electric stringed instrument of the present invention, band practice and full orchestra performance can be easily performed, and a delicate tone color peculiar to the stringed instrument can be expressed. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of an electric guitar of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal circuit configuration of the electric guitar of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of control processing in the electric guitar of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Electric guitar, 3 ... Iron string, 5 ... Main body,
7 ... Pickup, 9 ... ROM card, 11 ...
..Card slots, 13 ... Electronic sound source circuits, 15.
..Mixing part, 15a ... Guitar volume adjusting circuit,
16 ... Operational amplifier, 17 ... Amplifier circuit, 19 ...
-Speaker, 21 ... Headphones, 23 ... Headphone terminal, 25 ... Operation panel, 27 ... MIDI
Terminal, 29 ... Dry battery, 30 ... CPU, 31 ...
・ Program memory, 32 ... Music waveform memory, 33
... RAM, 34 ... automatic performance data memory, 35
... Sound source circuit, 36 ... Card interface circuit, 37 ... Panel interface circuit, 38 ...
MIDI interface circuit, 39 ... D / A converter, 51 ... Rhythm volume switch, 52 ...
Tempo switch, 53 ... Transpose switch,
54 ... Select switch, 55 ... Part mute switch, 56 ... Changeover switch, 57 ... Guitar volume switch, 58 ... Other switch, 59
... Display.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Pickup means for detecting vibration of a string as analog information, accompaniment information giving means for giving an accompaniment pattern as digital information, and D for converting digital information given by the accompaniment information giving means to analog information.
/ A conversion means, mixing means for mixing analog information detected by the pickup means and analog information obtained by the D / A conversion means, and amplification means for amplifying the mixed signal or each signal before mixing. An electric stringed instrument comprising a main body and a speaker that emits sound based on the mixed and amplified signal.