US104324A - Improvement in violins - Google Patents

Description

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Letters Patent No. 104,324, dated .Tune 14, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'VIOLINS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent andnmaking part of the same.

To all to lwhom these presents shall come:

Be it known that I, THoMAs P. Knox, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and Commonwealth of .Massachusetts, have made an invention of certain new and useful Improvements in Violins, Bass-viols, Ste.; and do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, duel reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of' this specification, and iu which- Ifigure l is a longitudinal section, and

Figure 2, a transverse sect-ion of aviolin containing my invention.

Figure 3 is a representation of the face of the inner side of a violin, showing more completely the application of my invention.

'lhe object of this invention is to provide an attachment to violins, bass viols, guitars, Ste., whereby greater volume, depth, and brilliancy of harmony is obtained, and consists in applying to a suitable portion ofthe instrument, an additional set of strings, and a fork metallic body or bodies, susceptible of greater or lesser' vibrations, the arrangement of partsbeingsueh that vibrations of seund produced bythe bow upon the primary strings shall produce corresponding or sympathetic vibrations of the auxiliary strings and the fork, and, asa consequence, add to the sounds produced by the primary strings.

By referring to the drawing above mentioned, as accompanying this specification, and which illustrates my invention A denotes the body of a violin, B being its neck; O its finger-board; and a a a!" a'" its strings, such component part-s heilig made and combined in the usual manner.

In carrying out my invention, as far as at present' experiments have enabled me to determine best, I apply to the inner face of the belly and below the sounding-board c of the' instrument, a duplicate or auxiliary set of strings, b b b b", these strings being disposed opposite the primary strings, and their ends beiug\confi'ued in a suitable manner, in order to vary their tension, at or near opposite ends of the side c', such strings being provided with bridges d d, as represented.

Below the auxiliary strings b, Ste., and within the interior ot' the violin, I dispose a fork or other proper'- shaped piece of metal, f, susceptible of musical vibrations, such fork f being suspended from its apex horizontally, or thereabouts, within the instrument, in a suitablemanuer.

In place of' one fork at one end of .the instrument, two or more of smaller capacity may be applied, according to the peculiar effect desired.'

The vibrations of the primary strings, through the medium of the side or body of the violin, are transmitted to, and so as to cause counter or duplicate vibrations of the auxiliary strings andthe fork.

The fork, which may he of varying forms, is connected to the instrument at the point most favorable for vibrations, and harmonizes with the A-string of the outer or primary series, it being understood that both the primary and auxiliary strings are tuned to concert pit-ch, as is universally the case, and which is considered the standard pitch of violins.

The auxiliary strings are tuned G, D, A, and E, that is, an octave lower than the primary strings, although, in practice, for some instruments, it may be found desirable to change this relative pitch, and

-niake the auxiliary strings the highest. This, however, will be a mat-ter of taste or experiment, and not in any wayaffecting the character of my invention.

Sowith regard to the fork or its equivalent, as before stated, two or more may be found to produce a better effect than one.

I am aware that auxiliary strings have been employed before this in violins, and to this l lay no claim, my invention consisting in the combined use ofthe strings and fork to produce a much fuller and richer tone than has heretofore been practicable with ol'dinary violins or like instruments.

The strings should preferably be of met-al, as nonmetallic strings would bemore difiicult to keep at the proper pitch.

The result arrived at by the adoption of my frivolit-ion, as before stated, is to add to a great degree to the volume, depth, and brilliancy, as well as softness of tone of an instrument, the combined harmony produced bythe additional strings and metallic fork producing a singularly rich and .pleasing effect.

The invention may be'applied with equal facility and good results to bass or double-bass'viols, or to guitars.

Claim.

Having now described my invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effeet,

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Thecombinatmn, with a violin, of an auxiliary or duplicate set of strings, and one or more forks, or their equivalent, arranged within the body of the vinlin, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

Witnesses: THOMAS P. KNOX.

FRED. CURTIS, EDWARD GRIFFITH.

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