JPS5939755Y2 - electric percussion instruments - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to an electric percussion instrument that can produce a sufficient volume of sound even when the percussion membrane is struck at a portion deviated from the center.

In general, percussion instruments have a high volume of raw sound, so it is difficult to balance the volume when playing in ensemble with other instruments such as stringed instruments, and the high volume during practice also limits the place where you can play. It had various problems.

In order to solve this problem, a cushioning material with a muting effect is provided on the underside of the percussion membrane to damp the vibration of the percussion membrane, and an electric sensor is used to detect the vibration of the percussion membrane from the pickup via this cushioning material. Several percussion instruments have been proposed in the past.

For example, a sponge-like mute body is provided that is pressed against the center of the bottom surface of the drum head to damp the vibrations.
The same applicant has proposed an electric percussion instrument in which a pickup is built into the mute body and the vibration of the drum head is detected by the pickup (
(See Japanese Utility Model Application No. 5329083 and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 133836/1983).

With such electric percussion instruments, the volume of the live sound can be significantly weakened, which solves the aforementioned problems of volume balance when playing in ensemble with other instruments and noise during practice. Because it is located near the center of the pickup and close to the pickup membrane, if you hit the center of the pickup, you can get sufficient detection output, but if you hit the periphery, the vibration transmitted to the pickup becomes weaker, so the detection output decreases. becomes small, resulting in uneven sensitivity depending on the impact position.

Therefore, in order to obtain a uniform detection output, it is necessary to change the striking force depending on the position where the striking film is struck.
The drawback was that it required a high level of skill to play.

This idea was made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to reduce the volume of live sound with a simple structure, and to maintain a uniform volume with less unevenness in sensitivity even when the edge of the percussion membrane is struck. Our objective is to provide an electric percussion instrument that produces sound.

In order to achieve this objective, this invention installs a cushion receiver having a hemispherical, conical, or pyramidal concave bottom surface in the opening of the body, and inside this cushion receiver, A cushioning material with a pickup embedded therein is housed in the lower part, and a striking membrane is stretched over the cushioning material to make full contact with it.

This invention will be explained in detail below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment in which the electric percussion instrument according to the invention is applied to a drum.

In the figure, a cushion receiver 1 made of a rigid material is formed from a concave portion 1a concave to form a hemispherical surface and a flange portion 1b extending laterally around the concave portion 1a.

The cushion receiver 1 has a flange portion 1b supported by an open end 2a of the body 2, and is installed in the opening of the body 2 in such a shape that the concave portion 1a fits into the body 2.

A cushion material 3 made of polyurethane foam sponge or the like is provided on the cushion receiver 1, and a striking membrane 4 made of a flexible circular sheet is placed on this cushion material 3.

A pickup 5 made of a piezoelectric element or the like is embedded in the center of the lower part of the cushion material 3, and a shielded wire 6 for extracting an electric signal passes through the concave portion 1a and is drawn out downward.

Further, a ring-shaped frame body 7 is fixed around the striking film 4.

A ring-shaped tightening frame 8 is placed on the frame body 7, and a tightening bolt 9 passing through the tightening frame 8 is screwed into a lug 10 fixed to the outer surface of the body 2, so that the tightening frame 8 is lowered. When pressed, the frame 7 is pulled downward along the outer periphery of the barrel 2.

As a result, the impact film 4 is stretched over the flange portion 1b, and at the same time presses the cushion material 3 with its entire surface and contacts it.

The cushion material 3 is pressed into a hemispherical shape by the concave portion 1a and the impact membrane 4 and sealed.

In such a configuration, when the surface of the striking membrane 4 is struck with a stick, the striking membrane 4 vibrates impulsively, and this vibration is transmitted to the pickup 5 via the cushioning material 3.

The pickup 5 detects this vibration and generates an electric signal corresponding to the vibration, and this electric signal is supplied to an electric circuit (described later) via a shielded wire 6, and after being processed there, it becomes the musical sound of the drum and is output from the speaker. pronounced.

Since the lower surface of the percussion film 4 is in full contact with the cushion material 3, vibrations are attenuated and the volume of the so-called main sound is significantly reduced.

The actual performance sound is made louder by amplifying electrical signals, so the volume is sufficient.

Here, the vibrations generated at each position of the impact film 4 propagate through the cushion material 3 as indicated by the arrows.

Vibration generated at the end of the striking film 4 is also reflected by the concave portion 1a and efficiently reaches the pickup 5.

Therefore, no matter where the striking film 4 is struck, the vibration is transmitted directly or reflected to the pickup 5, so that almost uniform detection sensitivity can be obtained over the entire surface.

Note that since the concave portion 1a forms a concave mirror, the degree of concentration of vibration propagation is further improved by arranging the pickup 5 at the focal point of the concave portion 1a.

FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of the electric circuit of this electric percussion instrument.

In the figure, an electric signal generated by a pickup 5 is input to a sample and hold circuit 11 and a gate circuit 12 at the same time.

The sample and hold circuit 11 samples and stores the intensity of the electrical signal, and its output is supplied as a control voltage symbol to a voltage controlled amplifier (hereinafter referred to as VCA) 13.

On the other hand, in the gate circuit 12, when the power signal is input manually, a gate signal indicating that the drum has been hit is generated, and this signal is supplied to the envelope generator 14.

The envelope generator 14 generates an envelope signal with a waveform corresponding to the drum, and this signal is supplied to the VCA 13 as a control voltage signal.

This ■CA13 is a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 15
, constitutes a part of the synthesizer circuit together with the voltage controlled filter (VCF) 16 and the speaker 17, and the VC
A sound source signal corresponding to the drum sound is always manually input to A13, but when the control voltage signal is zero, the output is small.

When the percussion film 4 is struck and an electric signal is output from the pickup 5, the sound source signal is controlled by this intensity signal and a predetermined envelope signal, and the musical sound of the drum is emitted from the speaker 17.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment.

In the figure, the same parts as in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers and their explanations will be omitted.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a cushion receiver made of a rigid material, and is formed of a concave portion 11a concave to form a conical surface and a flange portion 11b extending laterally around the concave portion 11a.

The vibrations generated at each position of the striking film 4 propagate through the cushioning material 3 that contacts the striking film 4 as shown by the arrows, and
The pickup 5 directly and by reflection on the surface of the concave portion 11a.
reach.

In each of the above embodiments, the percussion membrane of a general percussion instrument is tightened and removed by loosening the bolts, the flange portion of the cushion receiver is placed on the open end of the body, and the cushion material with the pickup embedded inside the cushion receiver is provided. Then, by placing the removed percussion membrane on top of the percussion membrane, tightening the bolts and tensioning the percussion membrane, a general percussion instrument can be converted into an electric percussion instrument very easily.

Of course, it is also easy to convert this electric percussion instrument back into a general percussion instrument.

In the embodiments described above, the concave portions of the cushion receiver are made into hemispherical surfaces and conical surfaces, respectively, but they may also be made into pyramidal surfaces.

Further, it is also possible to arrange a plurality of concave portions and arrange pickups corresponding to the concave portions, respectively.

Furthermore, as for the electric circuit, the electric signal from the pickup is used as a control signal and the electronic sound that bottomed out in the electronic circuit is used as the sound source signal. Of course, it is also possible to make the sound directly from the speaker as a percussion instrument sound.

In addition to drums, it goes without saying that it can be applied to various percussion instruments such as bongos and congas.

In this way, according to the electric percussion instrument according to this invention, even if the edge of the percussion membrane is struck, a detection output that is not much different from the center is obtained.The sensitivity unevenness of the pickup is reduced, and the detection output is almost the same for a constant percussion force. You can get the volume.

When playing drums in a way that involves hitting the drums repeatedly, the striking position changes constantly, so if there is uneven sensitivity like in the past, it becomes difficult to get an accurate rhythm.However, with this invention, this problem does not occur, and the player can play the drums using a regular drum. It can be played using the same technique as when playing.

Therefore, even beginners can easily perform smoothly.

In addition, since the volume of the tonic tone is low, it is easy to balance the volume when playing in ensemble with other instruments, and by reducing the volume of the electrical signal, you can avoid making loud sounds during practice and improve the acoustic environment. is also preferable.

In addition, since the cushion receiver with a concave surface is installed in the opening of the body, the body is reinforced and its strength against torsion and impact is improved, so the body can be made thinner or made of plastic, reducing costs. Become cheap.

As described above, this invention has many excellent effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of an electric percussion instrument according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of its electric circuit, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment. 1... Cushion receiver, 2... Body, 2
a...Opening end, 3...Cushion material,
4...Blow membrane, 5...Pickup.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A cushion receiver having a hemispherical, conical, or pyramidal concave bottom surface is installed in the opening of the body, and a cushion material with a pickup embedded therein is accommodated in the cushion receiver. An electric percussion instrument characterized by having a percussion membrane attached to the top.