US631188A

US631188A - Stringed musical instrument.

Info

Publication number: US631188A
Application number: US71020099A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fredrick Stroh
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1899-03-23
Filing date: 1899-03-23
Publication date: 1899-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 1916-08-15

Description

Patented Aug. I5, |899.

F. STROH.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

(Application led Mar. 23, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDRICK STROII, 4OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 631,188, dated August 15, 1899.

Appncanon fue@ March ze, 1899.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, FREDRICK STROH, asubject of the Emperor of Germany, at present residing in the city of New York, borough of Bronx, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Stringed Musical Instrument, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved stringed musical instrument combining a eithern, mandolin, and violin and arranged to permit a single performer` to play any one of the instruments referred to or to allow two performers to play at the same time, one playing either the cithern or the mandolin and the other the violin, to execute duets or solos. In the latter case the music of one instrument forms the accompaniment for the music of the other.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate cor-- responding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a plan View of the improvement. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2.

The improved stringed musical instrument is provided with a body A, made approximately in the shape of an ordinary cithern, the body having a sounding-board B, provided with the usual sound-hole B. On the top of the sounding-board B and at the front of the body is arranged a finger-board C, and a similar finger-board D is arranged on the opposite side with sets of strings E and F extending over said finger-boards, a set of accompaniment-strings G being located between the two sets of strings E and F and extending over the sounding-board only. The sets of strings E pass over bridges II ll', and one end of each string'is secured to a fixed peg I, the other end being mounted on a tuningpin I', mounted to turn in the body of the instrument. The strings G, which are the accompaniment-strings for the cithern, likewise extend at one end over the bridge Il to be se- Serial No. 710,200. (No model.)

cured to pegs I2 similar to the pegs I and located at the same end of the body A. The other ends of the strings G after passing over the bridge H2 wind on tuning-pins I3, likewise mounted to turn in the body A of the instrument.

The strings F for the violin pass over bridges H3 H4 and. are secured at one end to fixed pegs ll and at the other end to tuning-pins I5, which latter, however, are disposed on the right-hand side of the instrument-that is, on that end opposite to where the other tuningpins I I3 are located.

The strings E are preferably in double sets, as indicated in Fig. l, so that these strings may be used as the melody-strings for the cithern at the time the accompaniment-strings G are used and are picked with the usual ring, and the said strings E may be picked with a mandolin-pickerwhen it is desired to play the strings E and the instrument as a mandolin only. f

One end J of the body portion of the violin extends beyond the end of the body A adjacent to the rear tuning-pins I3, so as to permit the performer on the Violin to readily pass the violin-bow over the strings F at the projecting end J of the violin-body, which latter, however, is integral with the body A and with only the end .I projecting, as above mentioned and for the purpose stated.v

In order to give the desiredsounding effect to the instrument when the several sets of strings E, F, and G are played, I provide the body A, between the sounding-board B and the bottom of the body, with a longitudinallylextending sounding-bar K, arranged under the inner end ofthe linger-board C. A soundingstrip K is secured to the under side of the sounding-board B directly below the front of the uger-board D, and diagonal soundingstrips Ir2 K3 are secured to the under side of the lsounding-board on opposite sides of the sound-hole B', said strips extending from the sounding-bar K to the strip K'.

lVhen it is desired to use the instrument as an ordinary cithern, the operator picks the melody strings E and effects the desired change in the pitch by lingering over the fiuger-board C and at the same time plays the accompaniment-strings G in the usual manner. lWhen it is desired to use the instru- TOO ment only as a mandolin, the operator picks the melody-strings E with the usual mandolinpicl, and likewise ngers the strings over the nger-board C to effect the desired change in the pitch.

In playing either the eithern or mandolin strings, as described, the operator sits in front of the instrument; but when it is desired to play the violin the operator is seated on the opposite side and applies the bow on the strings F at the projecting end .l of the violinbody and at the same time effects the desired change in the pitch by properly fingering the inger-board D.

lVhen it is desired to play the violin with either the eithern or the mandolin, two performers are necessary, one for playing the eithern or mandolin, as described, and the other for playing the strings F of the violin.

Thus it will be seen that the several instruments are combined in a simple and effective manner and can be readily used singly or two at a time, as described, to produce the desired music.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. A stringed musical instrument, comprising a body having a sounding-board over which extends a set of strings arranged for use either as eithern melody-strings or mandolin-strings, a set of eithern accompanimentstrings, and a set of violin-strings, the latter reaching overan extension on one end of said body, to form the end of a violin-body, substantially as shown and described.

2. A stringed musical instrument comprising a eithern, violin and mandolin having the same sounding-board, the Jtuning-pins of the violin being arranged at one end of the instrument, and the tuning-pins of the eithern and mandolin at the opposite end, one end of the violin portion of the instrument projecting beyond the main body of the instrument, for the purpose set forth.

3. Astringed musical instrument, comprising a body having a sounding-board, spaced iinger-boards on the top of the soundingboard, means for supporting and adjusting a set of strings over one of the finger-boards, the said set of strings being arranged for use either as eithern melody-strings or mandolinstrings, means for supporting eithern accompaniment-strings over the sounding-board between said finger-boards, and means for supporting and adjusting a set of violin-strings over the other finger-board, one end of said body being extended, to form the end of the violin-body, substantially as shown and described.

4v. A stringed musical instrument, comprising a body having a sounding-board, fingerboards on the top of the sounding-board at opposite sides of the instrument means for supporting and adjusting a set of strings over one of the linger-boards, the said strings serving as eithern melody-strings and mandolinstrings, means for supporting eithern accompaniment-strings over the sounding-board between the said finger-boards, means for supporting and adjusting a set of violin-strings over the other finger-board, the portion of the instrument carrying the violin-strings projecting at one end beyond the main body of the instrument, a longitudinallyextending sounding-bar arranged between the soun dingboard and the bottom of the body and located under the inner edge of one of said lingerboards, a sounding-strip secured tothe under side of the sounding-board and extending below the inner edge of the other finger-board, and diagonal sounding-strips secured to the under side of the sounding-board on opposite sides of the sound-opening and extending from the sounding-bar to the said strip, substantially as set forth.

5. Astringed musical instrument, comprising a eithern violin and mandolin having the same sounding-board, the body portion of the violin being integral with the main body of the instrument and having a projecting end extending beyond the end of the main body of the instrument to permit of readily passing the bow over the violin-strings at the said projecting end, substantially as set forth.

6. A stringed musical instrument comprising a body approximately in the shape of an ordinary eithern, the body having a soundingboard provided with an opening, the said body being also provided with an extension at one end, the said instrument having eithern accompaniment-strings, strings arranged in pairs and serving both as eithern melodystrings and as mandolin-strings, and violinstrings extending over the said extension at the end of the body of the instrument, substantially as set forth.

7. A stringed musical instrumentprovided with a set of eithern accompaniment-strings, strings arranged in pairs at one side ofthe set of accompaniment-strings and serving as eithern melody-strings or as mandolin-strings, and violin-strings extending at the opposite side of the eithern accompaniment-strings the body of the instrument at said side havinga projecting end portion over which the violinstrings extend, substantially as described.

FREDRICK S' ROR "Witnesses:

Miei-Linn A. Busen, Aunnos Scnin'rr.

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