RU2430429C1 - Stringed instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: proposed instrument comprises body, neck, strings fixed by peg box on one side and by bridged on opposite side. Instrument body, or fixed bridge assembly or tremolo has through hole to accommodate each string. Note here that string holder and saddle form individual bridge for each string arranged in said through hole. Note also that saddle ledge to string support represents spiral.

EFFECT: individual adjustment of pitch and effective length of oscillating string.

4 cl, 15 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of plucked string musical instruments, and in particular, to the construction of electric musical instruments that convert mechanical vibrations of strings into electrical signals, and can be used in electric guitars and other stringed musical instruments using both direct and indirect methods of converting vibrations of a metal string into electrical signal.

Two methods are known for converting vibrations of a metal string into an electrical signal, which is then amplified by a sound power amplifier and fed into the speaker system.

Indirect is a method for converting vibrations of a metal string, in which the metal string of a musical instrument oscillates in a direction predominantly perpendicular to the lines of force of the magnetic field generated by the magnets of the transducer. Fluctuations in the string cause magnetic flux changes, which in turn excite an electrical signal in one or more coils of a transducer, commonly called a pickup.

The vast majority of modern "electrified" stringed musical instruments, such as a modern electric guitar, use transducers designed in accordance with the above method.

A direct method for converting vibrations of a metal string of a musical instrument is the appearance of an electrical signal in an electrically conductive string when the vibrations of the string are excited in a magnetic field created by a magnet. Transducers of this type are commonly referred to as vibration sensors. They surpass pickups in terms of characteristics and capabilities, but are more complex in design and are used extremely rarely.

The vibration sensor allows you to select and individually process the signal of each string with your own electronic circuit, while it is necessary to exclude electrical contact between the strings through the parts of the bridge and the holder. Bridges and string holders designed for instruments with an indirect conversion method do not satisfy this requirement, with the exception of the simplest non-metallic, sometimes used in inexpensive acoustic instruments. In addition, it must be possible to quickly replace the string while maintaining reliable electrical contact of each string with its electronic circuit.

In stringed musical instruments, sound is produced by the vibrations of one or more stiffly stretched strings. Usually, one end of each string is attached to the shaft of the ring tuning mechanism, the other end of the string is attached to the bridge. The frequency of oscillation of the string and reproduced sound depends on a number of factors, including length, thickness and tension of the string. Each string is individually tuned with a ring mechanism. In addition, individual adjustment of the effective oscillating length of each string is required for precise intonation of the instrument. The optimal string height is also not uniform for all strings: it depends on the material, the diameter and tension of the string, the presence of coiling. An adjustable saddle of the bridge is used to adjust the height and effective oscillating length of the string.

Bridges are: individual for each string, used mainly in bass guitars, and assemblies, including tremolo devices with the ability to use frequency modulation using the handle and fixed bridges - without such an opportunity. An individual bridge contains a string holder and a saddle separately for each string. In assemblies, adjustable saddles are installed complete with a common thread holder - block. The advantage of assemblies is the simplicity of manufacture and the ability to install on any finished instrument, as well as the expansion of performance capabilities by modulating the sound with a tremolo device. The disadvantages include a decrease in the purity of the tone and the duration of the sound, especially for tremolo devices. These disadvantages are due to the design of the assemblies. Typically, the seat rests on a metal plate through adjusting screws. The screws do not transmit the vibrations of the strings badly to the instrument body, which causes a decrease in the sound duration. A metal plate is a bad damper, and a decrease in tone quality occurs due to the mutual influence of string vibrations on each other. Individual bridges are usually installed during the manufacture of a musical instrument, but provide higher tone quality and longer duration of sound.

Known musical instrument with a double bridge according to US patent No. 7365255, class. G10D 3/04, 2008, comprising a housing, string holders, saddles, strings, fingerboard and ring gear housed therein. Each string is passed through an opening in the housing of the holder, the end of which is fixed in it by a ball. The string at the exit from the opening of the body rests on a saddle, which is made in the form of a cylinder with an external thread for installation in the tool body and has a groove in the head part for placement of a removable insert with a groove for the string in it. The height of the string over the neck is adjusted by rotating the saddle in the tool body with the string removed, and the effective oscillating length of the string is adjusted by moving the insert along the groove, followed by fixing it with the adjusting screw.

The disadvantages of the instrument of this design are the separation of the functions of securing the string and its settings between the two nodes, the need to remove the string from the saddle to adjust the height, the inability to control the adjustment process when the string is removed, difficult access to the adjustment screws when adjusting the effective oscillating length of the string, the considerable complexity of the tuning process and redundancy of the number of structural parts. The described construction does not provide for the use of a tool with a vibration sensor and is intended mainly for bass guitars.

Known string musical instrument according to US patent No. 4208941, class. G10D 3/04, 1980, adopted by the applicant for the prototype. It contains a housing, saddles, a thread holder, strings, neck and ring gear. The saddle is made in the form of a bolt, on the hexagonal head of which a cam is made. The saddle is made with the possibility of installing it in the blind hole of the housing, and the cam is placed on the hex head with an offset from its central axis and is made as part of a cylindrical surface with a bevel directed toward the center of the bolt. In this case, the upper surface of the cam is parallel to the head of the bolt.

Each string is tuned by turning the hex head of the saddle without removing the string.

The disadvantages of this tool are insufficient bridge strength for making a threaded hole, small regulation limits and the presence of a “dead zone”, since the cam is located either in front or behind the center of rotation, and the gap between the two regulation zones is significant. In addition, the small force of pressing the string to the cam surface increases the decay rate of the string vibrations. The proposed design also does not provide for the use of a tool with a vibration sensor and is intended mainly for acoustic guitars.

An object of the invention is the creation of a stringed musical instrument with a universal mechanism for adjusting intonation, which has an expanded set of functions, including acting as a holder of strings and a regulator of the length and height of each string above the fretboard, for use with pickups as well as with a vibration sensor without absorption and distortion of string vibrations.

The problem is solved in that in the proposed solution, the tool is configured to accommodate a fixed bridge or tremolo device in the body of the block, or a through hole is made in the body, or in the fixed bridge or tremolo block of the device to accommodate each string, and each holder and saddle form an individual bridge for each string, which is installed in a through hole or housing or in a block of a fixed bridge or tremolo device, an individual bridge is made with a through hole m, and each string is placed in the through hole of the individual bridge, and the protrusion for supporting the strings is made in the form of a spiral.

In addition, the individual bridge is made either in the form of an integral part, or in the form of a screw pair.

In addition, the block of a fixed bridge or tremolo device is made non-metallic.

In addition, the string musical instrument is equipped with a printed circuit board of the vibration sensor, which is installed either between the instrument body and the string holders, or between the fixed bridge unit or tremolo device and the string holders, and the string is made of metal.

Figure 1 shows a stringed musical instrument with individual bridges assembly, a plan view;

figure 2 - node I in figure 1;

figure 3 is a section aa in figure 2 - the placement of the individual bridge in the instrument housing with pickups;

figure 4 - section bB in figure 2 - the placement of the individual bridge in the instrument housing with pickups;

figure 5 - embodiments of the individual bridge assembly;

figure 6 - individual bridge in the form of a single piece;

Fig.7 is a section aa in Fig.2 - the placement of the individual bridge in the tool body with a vibration sensor;

in Fig.8 is a section bB in Fig.2 - the placement of the individual bridge in the tool body with a vibration sensor;

Fig.9 is a stringed musical instrument with a tremolo device assembly, a plan view;

figure 10 - node II in figure 9;

figure 11 - section bb in figure 10 - placement of the individual bridge in the tremolo unit of the instrument with pickups;

in Fig.12 - section GG in Fig.10 - placement of an individual bridge in the tremolo unit of the instrument with pickups;

in Fig.13 - section bb in Fig.10 - the placement of the individual bridge in the block tremolo device with a vibration sensor;

in Fig.14 is a section GG in Fig.10 - the placement of the individual bridge in the block tremolo device with a vibration sensor;

on Fig - placement options for an individual bridge, made in the form of an integral part in a block of a fixed bridge or tremolo device.

A stringed musical instrument contains a body 1, neck 2 and strings 3. At one end of the string 3 is fixed with a peg mechanism 4, and at the other end of the string 3 is fixed with a bridge.

A through hole 5 is made in the housing 1 to accommodate each string 3. In the through hole 5 of the housing 1, a holder 6 and a saddle 7 are installed, which form an individual bridge for placing, securing and adjusting each string 3. An individual bridge is made with a through longitudinal hole 8, each string 3 is placed in the through hole 8 of the individual bridge and fixed therein by means of a thrust ball 9, which abuts against the end face of the holder 6. The through hole 8 is made so that the ball ik 9 did not pass through it and held the string 3.

On the end surface of the saddle 7, a protrusion 10 is made for supporting the string 3, on which it rests upon exiting the through hole 8 of the individual bridge, and the string 3 rests on the protrusion 10 at a point defining the effective oscillating length of the string 3. Moreover, the protrusion 10 for supporting the string 3 It is made in the form of a spiral, and an individual bridge formed by a holder 6 and a saddle 7 can be made either in the form of an integral part, or in the form of a screw pair. Namely, either the holder 6 serves as a screw, and the seat 7 serves as a nut, or the seat 7 serves as a screw, and the holder 6 serves as a nut.

In the case of an individual bridge in the form of an integral part, it is installed by means of a thread in the through hole 5 of the block 11 of the fixed bridge or tremolo device from the side of the upper surface of the tool.

An individual bridge provides rigid fastening and precise individual regulation of the height and effective oscillating length of each string 3 for proper intonation, for which turnkey flats 12 are made on the side surface of the saddle 7.

A stringed musical instrument can be equipped with a tremolo device installed in the compartment 13 of the housing 1 using screws 14 with the possibility of swinging by the handle 15 and return springs 16 located in the holes 17. In this case, an individual bridge for each string 3 will be installed in block 11 tremolo device, mounted on a metal base with 18 screws 19. In this case, the block 11 may be non-metallic to improve the acoustic characteristics of the instrument.

In addition, the stringed musical instrument may be provided with a printed circuit board 20 of a vibration sensor. In this case, the printed circuit board 20 is installed either between the tool body I and the strings 6, or between the block 11 of the fixed bridge or tremolo device and the strings 6. Moreover, the strings 6 act as current collectors, and the block 11 must be made non-metallic to avoid electrical contact between the strings.

The printed circuit board 20 is installed in the compartment 13 on the lower side of the housing 1, then an insulating plate 21 with holes 22 for the string holders 6 is installed above it. The insulating plate 21 protects the printed circuit board 20 from damage by foreign objects or strings 3 when installing or replacing them. The ball 9 of the string 3 abuts against the end face of the holder 6, which in this case is also an individual current collector. Ball 9 of string 3 by pressure on the string holder 6 provides reliable electrical contact between the string 3 and the printed wire 23 around the opening 24 of the printed circuit board 20. A decorative plate 25 with holes 26 for installing the strings closes the compartment 13.

The regulation mechanism of the adjustment of the intonation of a stringed musical instrument is as follows.

Each saddle 7 can easily be raised or lowered to adjust the height of the string 3 above the neck 2 when the saddle 7 is rotated using a key in contact with the flats 12. Turning the saddle 7 by one revolution changes the height of the string 3 by the size of the thread pitch. By repeatedly turning the saddle 7 through an angle of 360 °, the height of the string 3 can be adjusted without violating the previously made adjustment of the effective oscillating length of the string 3.

The effective oscillating length of each string 3 is adjusted by rotating the saddle 7 of the individual bridge using a key in contact with the flats 12. The distance from the axis of rotation of the saddle 7 to the point of contact of the string 3 and the protrusion 10 of the support of the string 3 changes smoothly from minimum to maximum in one revolution of the saddle 7 around its own axis. In this case, the effective oscillating length of the string 3 also smoothly changes from its maximum to its minimum.

Each individual bridge holds one of the strings 3 in order to fix one end of the effective oscillating length of the string 3, and the other end of the effective oscillating length of each string 3 is determined to play normally when it manually presses the string 3 against the fret 27, or leaves it open. In the latter case, the effective oscillating length of the open string 3 is determined by the position of the upper nut 28. An individual bridge, consisting of a string holder 6 and a saddle 7, can be made of aluminum, brass, steel or another metal. The protrusion 10 of the support of the string 3 can be covered with a layer of fluoroplastic to reduce wear of the string.

If a tremolo device is used in the construction of the instrument, it is driven by a rocking handle 15, which moves the metal base 18 and the block 11 with individual bridges installed in it, stretching the return springs 16 and easing the tension of the strings 3, causing their additional vibration, giving these a peculiar sound to the instrument. The return springs 16 return the metal base 18, block 11 and strings 3 to their original position.

The printed circuit board 20 serves to directly convert the vibrations of each string 3 into an electrical signal, which is then amplified by a sound amplifier.

Using the proposed technical solution, it was possible to create a string musical instrument with a universal mechanism for adjusting intonation, which simultaneously performs the functions of a string holder, a current collector, and an adjustable saddle, which allowed it to be used both in fixed bridges and in tremolo devices of instruments with a direct method of converting vibration of a metal string, including bass, as well as the functions of a string holder and an adjustable saddle for use in other instruments, including without frets. In addition, the proposed mechanism is unified, suitable for various instruments, namely guitars and bass guitars, as well as for electric and non-electric guitars, and is a simple mechanism that is rigidly installed in the body, which eliminates its vibration, mutual influence with adjacent strings and electrical contact between them. Each string is installed on the back of the instrument, passes through an individual bridge over the neck and is fixed on the shaft of the ring mechanism. Replacing one string does not affect the tuning of the instrument.

Claims (4)

1. A stringed musical instrument comprising a body, neck, strings fixed with a pegging mechanism at one end, and a bridge at the other end, including for each string a string holder and a saddle with a protrusion for supporting the string, characterized in that it is arranged for placement in through the housing of the fixed bridge unit or tremolo device, or through the housing, or in the fixed bridge unit or tremolo device, a through hole is made for each string, and each holder and saddle form an individual bridge for each string that is installed in the through hole of the housing, an individual bridge is made with a through hole or a housing, or in a block of a fixed bridge or tremolo device, an individual bridge is made with a through hole, and each string is placed in a through hole of the individual bridge, and the protrusion for support the strings are made in the form of a spiral. 2. The tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the individual bridge is made either in the form of an integral part, or in the form of a screw pair. 3. The tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the block of a fixed bridge or tremolo device is made non-metallic. 4. The tool according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that it is equipped with a printed circuit board of the vibration sensor, which is installed either between the tool body and the wire holders, or between the fixed bridge or tremolo device and the wire holders, and the string is made of metal.

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