JPS63170696A - Light solid guitar - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As illustrated in FIG. 1, various types of wood are first placed in complementary positions in the desired position of the instrument body block 12 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The solid wood composite blank 10 is constructed such that the relationship is the same. Thus, the first
As illustrated in the figure, the composite body blank 10 has a balsa section 14.16 as the final guitar body block 12.
It is planned to make up slightly more than half of the total. The primary structural rigidity also provides various pickup members and bridge and tailpiece attachment members to receive connection to the guitar neck in a structurally rigid manner, as described in detail below. This is achieved by a mahogany central plank 18 which functions to

A small-volume mahogany block 20 forms one corner of the composite blank 10 and later serves to provide an accessory component cavity for an electronic control assembly. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a mahogany block section 20 is milled from the bottom side to provide an accessory cavity within the boundaries shown by dashed lines 22. Finally, a small mahogany corner 24 is inserted to provide a solid anchoring location for the screw-on strap button.
provided at the opposite corner of the composite blank 10.

Guitar body block 12 is cut in a fashion known as a double cutaway, but guitars of any of a variety of shapes can be formed, as will be explained in detail below. Furthermore, the additional block portions of hard wood are further reduced by removing material at selected locations, thereby significantly reducing the weight of the instrument.

Composite blank 10 is made by combining blocks of hard wood such as balsa and other mahogany and gluing them together with a selected wood adhesive in the manner illustrated in FIG. The blocks are placed in a composite format with adhesive and kept clamped under pressure for a sufficient time to ensure good bond strength. The composite blank 1o is then assembled with individual balsa parts 14.16 and hardwood areas 18.30.
24 are cut out to the contour shape of the guitar, such as body blocks 12 appearing at their designated locations.

Thus, the block 12 has upper and lower bouts 17
, 19, is cut into a classic cutout shape with a shoulder section 21, bass and treble horn sections 23, 25, etc. At this point, the exterior surface of the body block 12 is suitably tensioned to provide both a stiffening skin and a quality appearance finish that contributes to providing a lighter overall body member and greater relative structural strength. covered with a board.

Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the top surface 26 of the body block 12 is provided with a hard wood veneer 28, such as a 0.110 inch frame-treated maple wood ply, over its entire surface.
is acceptable. Similarly, the bottom surface 30 of the body block 12 also has a similar type of veneer 32, such as a 0.110 inch maple sheet member, firmly glued thereon.
is acceptable. All edge surfaces 34 of body block 12 are constructed of 0.0625 inch maple wood veneer panels protecting neck insert grooves 36 and having tongue and groove connections thereon at all top and bottom edges 40.42. A side panel 38 such as the one shown in FIG.

Although balsa wood is required to maintain a low weight, the mahogany portion can be replaced with another suitable hard wood commonly used in stringed instrument construction. In addition, frame-treated maple wood and other maple wood veneers are
Can be constructed from other wood veneers such as mahogany or rosewood.

Formation of basic guitar body block 12 and subsequent upper surface 2
6 and a veneer 28 to the bottom surface 30 and edge or side surface 34.
After skinning with 32.38, the guitar body is
For joining or attaching further functional parts, certain zones of the body block are subjected to a milling procedure in which they are milled or scraped. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a number of molded cavities, conduit passages, and the like must be formed in the guitar body.

The center plank 18 is thus positioned in alignment with the neck 44 of the guitar 46 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The neck 44 is connected to the insert of the block 12 with a mating coupling appendage. In various cases, the neck 44 can be bolted together with an insert block (not shown) housed in the neck 36, but it may suffer from some tonal loss or change. A lower shelf 48 is left behind along the bottom edge of the insert portion 36. Laterally extending cutouts 50 , 52 having a depth of approximately half the thickness of body block 12 are formed in closely spaced relationship from insert portion 36 . Cutouts 5o, 52 are provided for accommodating electronic pickups, such as single coil pickups. The cutout portion 54 has a hamburger force (ha
It is formed further towards the base to accommodate a dual coil pickup, such as the type known as a mbucker) pickup or the like.

An accessory cavity 56 (FIG. 3) is milled from the bottom of body block 12 in the zone defined by dashed line 22. Another annular shelf 58 is milled to provide a mounting surface for fixing the cover panel 6o onto the shelf by means of screw fastenings or the like. Access to the front side of the body block 12 from the electronic accessory cavity 56 is provided through holes 62, 64.66.68.70 (FIG. 2), the longitudinal holes being referenced 72, 74, 76.80. is milled or formed as shown to provide wire routing means for connection between electronic pickups and accessory cavity 56 as well as to external connector jack 82.

5 and 6 illustrate the final assembled configuration of the guitar 46, with the strings and crank windings not shown, thus ensuring that the guitar body 12 is rigidly secured to the neck 44. , neck 44 continues to be nut 86
It is fixed to the thread winding head (peg head) 84 at. A bell-shaped removable plate member 88 allows access to a truss rod (not shown) that extends below the fretboard 90 the length of the neck 44 . A string crank winding assembly (not shown) is installed through the plurality of cut-out portions 92a to 92f. In the case of a bass guitar construction, only four such cutouts are formed.

At the base of the fretboard 90, a pair of single coil electronic pickups 94,96 are secured in cutouts 50,52 so as to be positioned below string level (FIG. 3). Similarly, a two-row pickup 98 is secured within the cutout 54 (FIG. 2).

A tunable bridge member 100 then carries the guitar strings which are guided across the bridge and secured to the tailpiece 102. The tunable bridge 100 and tailpiece 102 are each rigidly secured by threaded members that lock into the central plank 18 (FIG. 2) of the guitar body 12.

Again, for bass guitars, the pickups, bridge, and tail beams are changed accordingly.

A rotational control shaft extending from the electronics in cavity 56 is controllable by knobs 104, 106, 108, 110. Toggle switch 112 can provide additional control between various modes of operation, such as rhythm versus treble response. A pair of strap connection buttons 114 and 116 are button 1
14 to the central plank 18 and the button 116 to a corresponding hardwood section, such as being secured to the tip hardwood section 24 (FIG. 2).

The solid body guitar 46 is constructed with all of the components and capabilities of current solid body guitars, except that the weight of the body block 12 is reduced by a large percentage; 12 has a panel 28,
32.34 skinning gives great strength and the spool head 84
The linear interconnection of the neck 44 and longitudinal block 18 provides the necessary longitudinal stiffness.

Longitudinal stiffness is further maintained by the interposition of a truss rod (not shown) extending within the neck 44. Reducing the weight of the body block 12 can change various acoustic characteristics,
Guitar 46 has been found to sound with a new and extremely interesting tonal response.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a guitar body block 120 is adapted to utilize a similar degree of weight reduction.
is illustrated. Thus, the single cutter away body type guitar body block 12 can utilize a hard wood frame 122, such as mahogany, with the lower edges of the upper bout 122 and lower bout 124 rounded toward the treble side of the upper bout. Horn 128 and single cutout 12
6 are formed together. Upper bout 12
The bass side of 2 has a round shoulder 13 that fits into the neck groove 132.
Formed as 0. A circular cutout 134 is milled from block 120 to accommodate a balsa wood block 136 that is coupled thereto. As also illustrated in FIG. 8, the milled cutout 134 is
It is milled relatively deeply to define a bottom or base 138 located on the order of 3/16 inch from the bottom surface 140 of the body block 120.

The pulsawood block 136 is cut and sized to be securely received within the cutout 134, completely filling the space into the bottom 138. It should be appreciated that cutout 134 can take any of a variety of forms so long as essential volume is removed.

The basic body block 120 is the inserted balsa block 1
After forming from the hardwood outer frame 121 with 36, one or more milled cutouts are made through the top surface 142 for weight removal, acoustic reinforcement, member housing or neck bonding purposes. Referring to FIG. 8, a mortise 144 having a base surface 146 is milled from the mortise shoulder 132 for the purpose of receiving a neck mortise (not shown) and thereby forming a fixed mortise joint. Processing is performed. A sound hole 148 can be milled downward through a portion of the body block 120, and this is primarily due to the fact that a plastic insert cup with filigree or similar decoration is cut into the sound hole generally below the strings. It is for aesthetic purposes such as placement. Broken line 15
A milled section, illustrated by 0° 152, is removed to further reduce weight, as well as to enhance the acoustic properties. Milling part 150, 15
2 is in a meticulous planning location and the baseline or plane 154
It is possible to set it below. Finally, the milling within dashed line 156 can be formed to give the electronic control components a size commensurate with the number and type of components.

Body block 12 with various milled parts
The top surface 142 of the 0 is covered by a suitable hardwood veneer 158. Similarly, a selected wood pattern or grain pattern veneer can be added to the bottom and/or sides of guitar body block 120 in a similar manner. A component cavity 160 formed within milling cut line 156 is formed to open through the bottom surface of body block 120 to permit access to the component for testing and repair. cavity 160
is covered with a suitable wood or plastic plate 162 which is secured by a set screw or the like. cavity 1
60 and milling the control part part 15
0 band 164 is viable. Placing the part at this location also places the part at location 166 (
The thumb movement control member can be placed on the edge of the body at a convenient control location.

Referring to FIG. 9, which is a partial cross-sectional view of the body block 120, details are shown in which the veneer 158 is placed as a skin on the guitar body. The hardwood block 121 is thus milled along the wall 134 and downward to the base 138. A balsa wood insert 136, such as an approximately 10 inch balsa wood disk, is then fixedly positioned downwardly into the cavity side wall 134 and fits snugly into the cavity base 134. In a preferred form, a double veneer is used for the top veneer 158. Thus, the first thinner veneer 168 can be, for example, a 0.085 inch spruce veneer laid cross-punt with respect to the main grain of the upper veneer 170, which can be a 0.110 inch spruce. Other woods of similar consistency may be substituted as long as the main grain patterns are maintained in a perpendicular relationship thereby providing the greatest structural strength and stiffness.

FIG. 10 illustrates the single cutaway guitar 172 in its final assembled form (strings omitted). The guitar 172 has an upper bout 122 and a lower bout 12.
4 and having a body 174 configured according to the illustrations of FIGS. 7, 8, and 9.
The groove coupling portion 132 is fixed to the body 174 by a coupling member, and a fretboard 178 is fixed thereon. Fret board 178 extends downwardly from a nut 180 at the base of spool head 182 to a location near sound hole insert 184. A sound hole insert 184 is secured within the hole to provide a decorative effect including a rosette or classic border design 186. The sound hole insert 184 also includes a truss rod nut (not shown).
easily removable to allow access to the

A bridge 188 formed of a material such as rosewood is suitably secured within the temporary structure of the top veneer 158, such as by adhesive. The bridge 188 must be secured sufficiently rigidly to withstand the string tension applied thereto. The bridge 188 includes a tailpiece that secures individual guitar strings (not shown) so that the strings are attached to the bridge. It is directed across piece 192 and upwardly across nut 180 to spool head 182 . In a preferred form, bridge piece 192 includes an integral piezoelectric transducer that is adjustable or tunable by individual trimbots that are accessible from the back of the guitar body.

Thus, a novel structure and method for a solid body guitar has been disclosed that provides a significant reduction in weight while simultaneously actually enhancing tonal characteristics without compromising sound quality. At the same time, another part of the guitar body is replaced to incorporate balsa wood, and the entire guitar body is selected so that sufficient hard wood is retained in the guitar to allow for structural rigidity and reliable assembly. Covered with veneer veneer which has a similar appearance and finish and provides rigidity.

Although one form of double cutaway solid body is illustrated in the drawings, it is noted that a variety of shapes of guitar bodies are compatible with the use of the lightweight veneer balsa body construction.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a composite wood blank prepared according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a guitar body block cut from the composite wood blank of FIG. 1 with various sections shown in dashed lines.

FIG. 3 shows the second
FIG. 3 is a side view of the block in the figure;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the guitar body shown with veneers applied in place.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a solid body guitar constructed in accordance with the present invention.

6 is a side view of the solid guitar of FIG. 5. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a top view of another guitar body block shown with selected cutouts illustrated in dashed lines.

FIG. 8 shows, with a faceted section illustrated in dashed lines,
8 is a side view of the block of FIG. 7; FIG.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of the block taken along line 9--9 of FIG.

FIG. 1O is a perspective view of a solid guitar constructed using the blank of FIG. 7.

The main names indicated by each reference number in the figure are listed below.

10: Solid wood composite blank 12: Instrument body block 14: Balsa part 16: Balsa part 17: Bout 18: Center plank (hard wood part) 19: Bout 20: Mahogany block (hard wood part) 21
: Shoulder part 23 : Bass horn 24 : Hard wood part 25 : Treble horn 28 : Hard wood veneer 32 : veneer 36 : Insertion part 38 : Side veneer 44 : Neck part 46 : Guitar 48 : Shelf part 50 : Cutout portion 52: Cutout portion 54: Cutout portion 56: Attached cavity 58: Shoulder portion 62: Hole 64: Hole 66: Hole 68: Hole 7o: Hole 84: Pin winding head 86: Nut 92a: Hole 92b = Hole 92c: Hole 92d : Hole 92e: Hole 92f: Hole 98: Pickup 100: Bridge 102: Tailpiece 104: Knob 106: Knob 108: Knob 110: Knob 120: Basic body block 121: Hard wood block 122: Hard wood outer frame 124: Bout 132 : Groove shoulder 136: Balsa wood block 136: Balsa wood insert 144: Groove 150: Milled section 152: Milled section 160: Cavity 182: Spool head 188: Bridge + 1'

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A stringed instrument having a solid body, comprising: a neck member including a spool board formed from a selected wood; and having upper and lower bouts firmly fixed to the neck member. A stringed instrument comprising a body member formed from a balsa material having approximately the same volume ratio and a relatively hard wood. 2. The stringed instrument according to claim 1, wherein the relatively hard wood is mahogany. 3. The body member includes a longitudinally central, generally rectangular segment of hard wood providing a base for connection of the strings attached to the neck member, and a segment of solid wood fixed to opposite sides of the segment of hard wood to provide a base for the connection of the strings attached to the neck member of the desired instrument. 2. The stringed instrument according to claim 1, comprising: a first portion and a second portion made of balsa wood formed in the shape of a body. 4. A stringed musical instrument as claimed in claim 1, comprising a hard wood veneer of a selected wood glued over the entire outer surface of the body member. 5. An additional hardwood part fixed to said segment of hardwood and milled to define a cavity for the attachment of accessories, and a removal adapted to cover said cavity. 4. A stringed instrument according to claim 3, comprising: a freely adjustable panel; 6. The stringed instrument of claim 5 comprising selected hardwood veneers glued over the entire exterior surface of the body member. 7. The stringed instrument according to claim 3, wherein the instrument body shape of the body member has upper and bottom surfaces formed in a substantially parallel relationship with a continuous curved side wall surface defining the body shape. . 8. Claim 7 comprising a first veneer bonded to cover the top and bottom surfaces and a second veneer bonded to cover the side curved continuous wall surfaces. String instruments listed in section. 9. An additional part of hardwood fixed to the segment of hardwood and milled through the bottom surface to define a space for attachment of accessories, and adapted to cover said space. 9. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 8, comprising: a removable panel containing: a removable panel; 10. The stringed instrument of claim 3, wherein the stringed instrument is formed in the hard wood and includes at least one cutout formed in the hard wood for accommodating the at least one pickup device. 11. The stringed instrument of claim 5, comprising at least one cutout formed in the hardwood segment for accommodating at least one pickup device. 12. a plurality of longitudinal passage holes formed in the hardwood segment and the additional portion of hardwood for accommodating wire interconnections between the at least one cutout and the attachment cavity; 12. A stringed instrument according to claim 11, comprising: 13. A patent in which a fuselage member forms upper and lower bouts on the fuselage member and includes a hardwood section, generally with the center section removed, and a balsa wood section glued to the inside center of the outer hardwood section. A stringed instrument according to claim 1. 14. Claim 13 comprising selected hardwood veneers bonded over the entire exterior surface of the fuselage member.
String instruments listed in section. 15. Claim 1 that the hard wood is mahogany
The stringed instrument described in item 4. 16. The solid wood section is milled in the center to a preselected depth, and the balsa wood section extends to the same length as the milled center and is secured within it. A stringed instrument according to item 13. 17. Claim 1 wherein the instrument body shape of the body member has top and bottom surfaces formed in generally parallel relationship with a laterally curved continuous side wall defining the body shape.
The stringed instrument described in item 6. 18. A stringed instrument according to claim 16, wherein the skinning of the upper surface is accomplished by gluing a selected veneer over it. 19. The stringed instrument according to claim 18, wherein the selected veneer comprises a double laminated veneer in which the individual wood grains are arranged in a right-angled relationship. 20. At least one small area of the hardwood section milled to a selected depth for acoustic enhancement;
17. The stringed musical instrument of claim 16, comprising sub-regions generally equally spaced from the center and between the neck members. 21. A patent claim comprising a round sound hole milled to a selected depth in a hard wood part and arranged so as not to interfere with the alignment between the central and neck members. A stringed instrument according to Scope No. 16. 22. At least one small area of the hardwood section milled to a selected depth for acoustic enhancement;
22. A stringed musical instrument as claimed in claim 21, comprising sub-regions generally equally spaced from the center and between the neck members. 23. The stringed instrument according to claim 16, wherein the central portion is circular and covers the main portion of the lower bout of the body member. 24. The stringed instrument of claim 23, wherein the central portion has a curvature of approximately 5 inches (approximately 12.7 centimeters). 25. A manufacturing method for constructing a lightweight solid guitar, comprising: an initial manufacturing step in which roughly equal parts of hard wood and balsa wood are glued together to form an overall flat block; and accessory parts. and the stressed parts are made of hard wood;
further forming a solid guitar body member having upper and lower bouts from such block. 26. The first manufacturing step is to form a generally flat block by gluing approximately equal parts of hard wood and balsa wood together to form a rectangular block of balsa wood and selected hard wood of generally equal wall thickness. by gluing the edges together to form a flat block having generally rectangular hardwood segments shaped to extend longitudinally through the center of the guitar body with balsa wood on each side. 26. The method of manufacturing according to claim 25, further comprising the step of forming a blank for. 27. The manufacturing step of further forming from such a block a unitary guitar body member with upper and lower bouts, with the appendix and stressed parts comprised of hard wood, generally involves the formation of flat top and bottom surfaces. 27. The method of claim 26, comprising the steps of: and shaping the block by forming continuous curved lateral surfaces. 28. The method of claim 27 including the step of skinning each of the top, bottom and side surfaces by gluing a selected veneer over it. 29. The manufacturing method according to claim 27, wherein balsa wood constitutes at least half of the shaped block. 30. The manufacturing method according to claim 29, wherein the hard wood is selected mahogany wood. 31. Claim 29 including a second hardwood part glued to the treble string side of the hardwood segment for milling and forming spaces for milling and accessories.
Manufacturing method described in section. 32. The method of claim 31 including the step of skinning each of the top, bottom and side surfaces by gluing a selected veneer over it. 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the hardwood segment is formed to include all spaces and wire passages for pick-up accessories. 34. shaping a guitar body member having top and bottom surfaces from a hardwood stock; milling a generally central portion of the lower bout to remove about half of the hardwood volume; and removing. 26. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of gluing balsa wood to the interior of the generally central portion. 35. Milling the generally central portion of the lower bout to remove about half of the hardwood volume includes removing a circular portion of the fuselage member while leaving the relatively thin-walled bottom surface intact. The manufacturing method according to item 34. 36. The method of claim 35 including the step of skinning the upper surface of the fuselage member with a selected hardwood veneer. 37. The selected hard wood veneer has a grain direction of 90.
37. The method of claim 36, which is double laminated hard wood arranged with a degree offset. 38. The method of claim 35 including the step of removing additional hardwood from the upper bout of the fuselage member, thereby reducing overall weight and enhancing acoustic properties. 39. The method of claim 38 including the step of skinning the upper surface of the fuselage member with the selected hardwood veneer. 40. The method of claim 39 including the step of forming a sound hole generally centrally in the upper bout of the fuselage member in alignment with the central portion of the lower bout and between the mortise and tenon joints.