US2335244A - Stringed musical instrument - Google Patents

Description

` N qv. 30, 1943. c. GuGiNo 2,335g244 STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed July 9. 1942 lNvENToR mi W, ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 30, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a stringed musical instrument and more particularly to a stringed musical instrument of the guitar or mandolin type in which the construction is composed of a sound box, a neck and strings which are under relatively great tension and which terminate at the extremities of the neck and the sound box.

This application is an improvement on the construction described and claimed in my patent for Stringed musical instrument No. 2,113,446, issued April 5, 1938.

With instruments such as guitars where a relatively large number of strings are employed and Where the strings are under a comparatively high tension, the tension of the strings tends to bend the neck upwardly and to permanently distort it and the sound box. As this occurs the strings gradually move away from the fingerboard and render the instrument more and more diiiicult to play since the player is required to use a great deal more ringer pressure in fingering the strings and also is required to move them a greater distance to engage the frets of the fingerboard. The tonal qualities of the instrument are also adversely affected by the distortion of the instrument and with the abnormally high strings it is impossible to iinger the instrument expertly. In addition to this, the accuracy of each individual note played upon the strings is impaired due to the fact that each string is put under excessive tension and its pitch thereby considerably changed when the `player moves the string downwardly an excessive distance into contact with the desired fret.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide a musical instrument of the guitar type inv which the strings are connected at their opposite ends to a string carrying member which extends the full length of the neck and sound box and to which the sound box is separately connected, the strings having no direct connection with the sound box and the string carrying member being sufliciently rigid to adequately resist the tendency of the strings to distort the neck.

Another object is to provide an instrument in which the distance of the frets from the strings can readily be adjusted so that the player can adapt the instrument to his own fingering technique.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a construction in which the string carrying member supports the strings at the usual distance from the sound board of the sound box, this sound board being centrally grooved in its upper face to receive the string carrying member in recessed relation to the sound box.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a structure in which the string carrying member is constructed of wood thereby to overcome the prejudice of some musicians to the use of metal adjacent the sound box and also to permit of following conventional practice in ornamenting the instrument and render it substantially similar in appearance to conventional instruments as now manufactured.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a structure in which the neck portion of the string carrying member can be adjusted so as to straighten the neck if the neck has become bowed upwardly due to the tension of the strings, the string carrying member being internally provided with a straightening rod which is so arranged therein that upon adjusting the tension in this rod the neck of the instrument vcan be resorted to its straightened condition.

Another object of Jthe invention is to provide such an instrument which is prevented from sliding along the players knee when the instrument is being played. For this purpose the side of the sound box which rests on the player's knee is cut out to provide a knee-grip which prevents the instrument from sliding.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a guitar made in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, central, longitudinal section therethrough.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged, fragmentary sections, taken on the correspondingly numbered lines in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the bottom of the string carrying member.

Fig. 7 is atop plan view of a conventional shape of guitar embodying a modified form of my invention.

Fig. 8 is a side View thereof.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, vertical, longitudinal central section through the modied form of the invention shown in Fig. 7, this section being taken on line 9 9, Fig. 7.

Fig, 10 is a fragmentary, transverse section, taken on line Ill-I 0, Fig. 7.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary side elevation, similar to Fig. 8 and showing a still further modied form of the invention.

Referring to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-6, the invention is shown as embodied in a guitar, the sound box l0 of which comprises a sounding board Il and side walls l2 connecting this sounding board with the back I3 of the sound box. As best shown in Fig. 4, the sounding board II is formed to provide a central longitudinal groove Ill of substantial depth in its upper face, a part of the string carrying member being set into this groove, as hereinafter described. The groove I i is provided by cutting out a long, narrow slot in the sounding board II which slot extends longitudinally the full length of the sound box IIl. To the underside of each of the opposite edges of this slot a side wall I5 of suitable material is secured, these side walls being shown as extending longitudinally of the said slot substantially the full length thereof. The side walls I5 are shown as being thicker than the sounding board II and the opening provided by these side walls lis closed by an auxiliary section of sounding board I5 secured to the lower ends of these side walls.

In order to improve the tonal quality of the instrument, the sounding board I I is provided at one side only with a sound opening I6. I have found that the degree to which the sounding board is perforated Vwith sound openings has a pronounced effect on the tonal qualities of the instrument and that the fewer sound openings employed the greater the' quality of the instrument. With this in view, instead of providing the sounding board with the conventional pair of sound openings, one on each side of the strings,

I leave the sounding board at one side of the strings mperforate and provide only one sound opening I6 at the opposite side of the strings.

A string carrying member, indicated generally at 20, is disposed within the groove I4 and is formed to provide an integral neck portion 2 I, thev underside of which is rounded to the conventional shape of a guitar neck. The forward end' of the neck portion 2| is broadened and attened to provide the key carrying head-22 which, as shown in Fig. 2, extends forwardly andv downwardly' from the neck portion 2|. 'I'he underside of the neck portion 2I at its rear end is provided with a downward extension 23 having a rear vertical transverse face 25. The upper flat face 25` of the neck extends rearwardlyY past the downward extension 23 to a point 26 where this upper face isV stepped down. The face`25 is provided with the usual frets 2'I over which the strings`28 extend. That portion of the string carryingfmernber, indicated generally at 3B, which extends rearwardly from the neck of the instrument ispreferablyT- shaped in cross section, as best illustratedin'Fig; 4, and forms a compression part. Startingv at the step 25 a fiat upper face 3l is provided by the laterally extending flanges 32 of the T-shaped compression part 33, the face 3l extending rearwardly to the extreme rear end of the sound box IIIA and this face also being preferably slightly curved downwardly toward the rear end ofthe sound box' so as to conform to the contour of the upper face of the sounding board I I.' The outer'ends-of the anges 32 do not extend laterally kas far as the broader upper flat face 25 of the" neck 2|. A` vertical reenforcing rib 33 is formed onthe'underside of the flanges 32 and forms the vertical leg of the T-shaped portion and thisl rib'extends into and substantiallylls the groove Ill provided in the sounding board, as bestshow'n in Fig. 4. The sides of this rib 33gradually`become smaller in vertical extent from the step`26 toward the rear vertical face 24 and immediately in rear of this rear vertical face 24 Vthe rib 33 is formed to extend laterally from each sideV a pair of notches 35, 35, as best shown in Fig. 3.

It is to be understood that the string carrying member is carved or otherwise suitably formed as an integral or one-piece structure from any suitable material such as a type of wood adapted for use in musical instruments of this character. It will also be noted that the upper face 25 of the neck 2i, as does the neck itself, gradually tapers downwardly toward its forward end and is slightly angularly formed with respect to the upper face 3l of the T-shaped portion 30, as best shown in Fig. 2. Also, the key carrying head 22 at the forward end of the neck 2| inclines downwardly relative to the axis of the neck.

The string carrying member 20 throughout its entire length is centrally provided with a bore 36 which is adapted to receive a flexible straightening rod 3l which is externally threaded at its opposite ends so as to receive the nuts 33 and 39 at the front and rear ends thereof, respectively. The front nut 3B is preferably knurled so as to facilitate its inanual adjustment.

The extreme rear end of the string carrying member is secured to the sound box I0 in any suitable manner and as best shown in Fig. 5 is screwed by means of a pair of transversely spaced screws 65 to a rear reenforcing block i6 which is centrally provided on the inside of the sound box I3 at the rear end thereof. A front reenforcing block 4'1 is also provided at the front end of the sound box and as best shown in Fig. 3 is provided with an inverted T-shaped slot G8 which is adapted to receive the locking lugs 3Q. In this manner the string carrying member can be securely attached to the sound box I by sliding the rear end of this string carrying member along the groove iii until the lugs 35 engage the slot 48 and the rear vertical face 24 abuts against the front outer face of the sound box, as best shown in Fig. 2, this providing a dove-tailed form of interlocking engagement, and the rear end of the string carrying member is secured to the' extreme rear end of the sound box by the screws t5. As shown in Fig. 3 the notches 35 receive the inner opposing edges of the slotted-sounding board II and the opposing flanges Ii/formed by the inverted T-shaped slot Q8 provided in the front reenforcing block e?.

3@ of the string carrying member 2li and the legs of which bear against the upper face of the sounding board II in the usual manner. It is desirable that the bridge be at all times out'A of contact with the string carrying member, the vibrations of the strings being conducted directly to the sounding board without any interference by the T-shaped portionil of the'string carrying member.

As shown in Fig. 2 the strings are at a uniform distance above the upper fiat face 25er the neck 2| so that the same amount of finger pressure is required at any point along the face 25thereby to provide a uniform playing condition. TheA extreme rear ends of the strings 28v are anchored in the usual cross bar 3S whichin -turn is connected by a rU-shaped linkV 5'. with a strap 58.

Thisstrap extends over'the extreme-rear corner of the T-shaped portion-353 ofthe'stringcar'ryig structure so thatl substantially all of the tension of the strings is borne by the string .carrying vthrough anv opening providedin the strap and Y securely heldin place'by the nut 39;

n y The strings 2S rest on a bridge Sii-which straddles theT-shaped portion The key carrying head 22 carries in holes pro-- vided therein a plurality of the usual adjustable keys 60 in spaced relation to one another and the extreme front ends of the strings 28 are suitably fastened to these keys.

If the neck of the instrument becomes bowed upwardly due to the tension of the strings, the nut 38 can be adjusted by tightening the same so as to straighten out the neck and restore it to its normal position.

In order to prevent the instrument when held in its playing position from sliding along or off the players knee, the sound box is formed as follows:

That side of the sound box which rests upon the knee of the player is cut out or recessed to a substantial extent to provide a recess 65 of substantial depth, the portion of the sound box im mediately adjacent the forward end of this recess being extended outwardly, as indicated at 66, to provide a hook or grip which conforms to the knee of the player and prevents the instrument from sliding orf the knee. To further facilitate accommodation of the fingering hand of the player when lingering the higher section of the face 25, the forward wall of the sound box on the same side of the sound box in which the kneegrip is pro-vided is cut back, as indicated at 61, to permit of greater reach.

In Figs. '1-10 is illustrated a guitar embodying a modified form of means for adjusting the distance of the strings from the frets on the neck so that the player can adjust this distance to obtain any desired resistance of the strings to the lingering and thereby adapt the instrument to such iinger pressure as best suits his technique. The guitar is shown as having a sound box 68 of conventional shape, the sounding board 69 having, however, only one sound opening at one side with the other side imperforate as with the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-6. As with the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-6, a flexible straightening rod is arranged in a bore provided centrally in the neck 1I and key carrying head 12, the rear end of this rod being suitably anchored in the rear extremity of the neck 1l and the front end of this straightening rod being exteriorly threaded and carrying a manual adjusting nut 14 which can be tightened in the same manner in which the adjusting nut 38 in the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1-6 is adjusted in order to straighten out the neck and thereby restore it to its normal and proper condition. As with the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-6, it will be seen that this straightening rod extends from one extremity of the neck structure to the other.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. '1- 10, the sound box is provided at its front end with a reenforcing block 15 and this block and the overlying part of the sounding board 69 are provided with a horizontal T-shaped groove or slot 16, this slot extending rearwardly from the front end of the sound box. In the sounding board, this slot 16 is carried rearwardly to a cross bar 1B under the sounding board and under this rearward extension of the slot 16, the reenforcing block 15 is stepped downwardly, as indicated at 19 in Fig. 9. The neck 1l is provided at its rear end with a downward extension 88 which ts into the upper part of the T-shaped slot 16 and extends into the sound box above the stepped portion 19 of the reenforcing block 15. This portion 80 of the neck carries a plate 82 the sides of which extend beyond the neck and t in the broad lower part of the T-shaped slot 16. This plate may be fastened to the underside of the neck by screws 83 and since the T-shaped slot 16 extends to the front extremity of the sound box, it will be seen that the neck assembly can be slipped endwise into this slot from the front end of the sound box and upon Stringing the instrument, the sound box and neck are held together by the strings. The it of the neck and plate 82 in the T-shaped slot 16 is sufficiently loose that the neck is free to pivot slightly about the outer upper corner 84 of the reenforcing block 15, this pivotal mounting for the neck forming an important feature of the invention.

At its inner extremity, immediately above the step 19 oi the reenorcing block 15, the neck is provided on its underside with a push plate 85. Below this push plate a plate 86 is secured to the step 19 of the reeniorcing block, this plate 86 having a threaded opening receiving a verticalA screw 81, the upper end of which bears against the push plate 85 and the lower end of which extends through the reenforcing block 'l5 and through the back of the sound box so as to be accessible from the exterior of the sound box. This exposed end of the screw 81 is sho-wn as slotted so as to be capable of being turned by a screw driver.

It will be seen that upon screwing the screw 81 in, the inwardly projecting end of the neck is moved upwardly and the entire neck structure is pivoted around the corner 84 oi the reenforcing block 15. This brings the strings closer to the frets on the neck so that the strings are pressed against the frets with greater ease. The strings are thereby also brought into closer parallelism with the upper surface of the neck.

It is apparent that the sliding connection between the neck and the sound box with the neck pivoting around the corner 84 could be substituted by an actual pivotal connection. Such a modication is illustrated in Fig. l1 in which the sound box 9D is connected with the neck 9| by a hinge 92, the adjustment being achieved by a screw mounted similarly to the screw 81 in the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-10.

From the foregoing and with reference to the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1-6, it will be seen that the present invention provides a very simple, attractive and rigid means for securing the strings of a musical instrument, such as a guitar, to a string carrying member to which the sound box is substantially independently secured, the sound box being thereby free from the liability of becoming distorted due to the heavy strains imposed by the numerous strings and the string carrying structure being sumciently rigid to adequately withstand these strains. At the same time the use of metal over the sounding board is avoided and by recessing the string carrying member into a groove provided in the sounding board a compression bar of greater cross sectional dimensions can be employed without raising the strings unduly high or without noticeably departing from conventional practice in the manufacture of guitars. It will further be seen that both forms of the invention provide a very simple and effective way of restoring a distorted neck back to its normal position by employing a venting the instrument for sliding off the `kneeoi the player. It will also be s'een that a guitar having the advantages of the invention can .be pro: duced at a pricey not substantially greater than the cost of standard instruments. It will also be seen that the pivotal mounting of thel neck in combination with the adjusting screw in the sound box, as shown in Figs. 71l, provides a veryusi'mple and eiective means for raising or lowering the` strin'gselatve to the frets thereby to adapt the ngering of the instrument to the touch of the player.

I claim as my invention:

, 1. A stringed musical instrument, comprising a sound box having a' sounding board and an internal reenforcing block at one end, a neck pivotally connected to said one end of said sound boxv to swing transversely of said sounding board and having an end projecting into' said sound box above said reenforcing bloc, a bridge on said sounding board, strings connected adjacent the opposite extermities of said sound boxr and neck and bearing against said bridge, and an adjust-v box to swing transversely of. said sounding board and having an end projecting into said sound box above said reenforcing block, a bridge on said sounding board, strings connected adjacent the opposite extremities of said sound boxxandneck and bearing against said bridge, and an adjustingscrew interposed between said reenforcing block and said projecting end of said neck and having threaded engagement with said reenforcl ing block tohold said neck in dii'ere'nt positions about its pivotal connection with saidrsound box, the end of said screw being accessible from the exterior of said sound box.

. 3. A stringed musical instrument, comprising a sound box having a sounding board and an in V ternal reenforcing 'block at one end, the sounding board and said reenforcing block being provided with a horizontal T-slot extendinginwardly from said one end of said sound box, a neck havngone end fitting in said T-shaped slot and projecting into said sound box, said neck pivoting trans'- versely of said sounding board about the. outer horizontal corner of said reenforcingY block, yal bridge on said sound box, strings connected adjacent the opposite extremities of said sound box and neck and bearing against said bridge, and a vertical adjusting screw interposed betweensaid reenforcing block and said projecting end ofsad neck and having threaded engagement with one to hold said neck in ,different positions about its pivotal connection with saidreenfor'cing block, the end of said screw being accessible from the exterior of said sound box. Y Y

CARMELOy GUGINO.

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