US896790A - Violin. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED AUG. 25, 1908. P. A. AMUNDSON. I

VIOLIN.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30, 1908. I

PETER A. AMUNDSON, OF TOLAND,

WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THEODORE E.

AMUNDSON, OF TOLAND, WISCONSIN.

VIOLIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 30, 1908.

Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

Serial No. 424,01.

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER A. AMUNDSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Toland, in the county of Dodge and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Violins; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention consists in what is hereinafter particularly set forth with referenceto the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims its object being to provide simple, economical and unique musical instruments of the violin s ecies, that may be indefinitely varied in t e matter of tone volume and which are not dependent upon especially ada table wood or the skill of expert violin ma rers for tone quality.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents a plan View of a musical instrument in accordance with my invention; Fig; 2,. a side elevation of the same partly broken away and in section, and Fig. 3, a transverse sectional view of a detail of the instrument.

Referring by letter to the drawings, B indicates the stock of the instrument made from wood or other suitable material such as hard rubber, or sheet-metal of various kinds properly fashioned. The stock has a recessed-bend b, and for a violin or viola said stock is provided with a lateral chin-rest c at the butt-end. The top of the stock is fiat and for the most art tapering from the butt, its head d being broadened and slightly offset. Arranged to turn in the head are tunin -pegs e for strings E, A, D, G, that cross a ridge H of the instrument. The tuningpegs are herein shown in worm-gear connection with tuning-keys f similar to what is common in guitars and other stringed instruments but ordinary flat-headed tuning-pe s having friction-fit in said head may be su stituted for the pegs aforesaid.

The forward or neck portion of the stock is provided with a string-guide g, and a fingeroard h, the same as those commonly employed in connection with the neck of an ordinary violin, and an ordinary tail-piece v1 for said strings has its 100 engaged by a buttend knob ,y' of said stock.

Bridging the recess in the bend b of the stock B, at a suitable distance below the to of said stock, is a preferably metallic plate 8 having a depending hollow boss is 0 en at both ends. This boss is surrounded by a .brating material and the small sleeve m of rubber or other suitable non-vi- I right angle end n of a horn F is in slip-fit on the sleeve.

.The horn is of any suitable dimensions and it ordinarily extends at an acute angle to the stock of the instrument.

Mounted upon a non-vibrating gasket p on the top of the plate C, to inclose the upper open end of its boss 7c, is the preferably metallic shell Q of a single-head-drum. The drum-head r is of repared skin or parchment folded on a band ssurrounding the shell g that is surrounded by another band i above the one aforesaid, this u per band being engaged by hook-ends of bolts u that extend through the plate O and engage nuts 1), the stretch of said drum-head being determined by the adjustment of the nuts.

The strings are tuned and fingered the same as those of an ordinary violin, said strings being played upon by a violin bow.

The vibrations of the strings are communi- I cated to the head of the drum and amplified by the horn. The tone of the instrument is that of a violin and of excellent quality, all metallic parts of the sounding portion of said instrument being properly insulated. The volume of tone depends upon the dimensions of the horn, and horns of varying dimensions may be employed interchangeably with the boss of the drum-supporting plate.

While I have shown and described a violin form of my invention, the same invention extends to violas, violoncellos and violones, and the various instruments of my type herein s ecified are not only novel and pleasing, but 1; ey can be made to equal in tone quality the best of similar instruments of the ordinary construction and to excel the same in tone volume.

I claim:

. 1. A musical instrument comprising a stock having a recessed bend and provided with tuning-pegs, string-guide, finger-board, tail-piece and strings similar to an instrument of the ordinary violin type; a plate bridging the stock-recess and having a depending hollow boss open at both ends, a sin-' gle-head drum mounted on the plate over the upper end of its boss, a string-bridge mounted on the drum-head, and a horn having a right-angle small end engaged by the plateoss.

2. A musical instrument comprising a stock having a recessed bend and provided at its butt-end with a lateral chin-rest; tuning-pegs, a string-guide, finger-board, tailpiece and strings arranged and connected with reference to said stock the same. as in a violin or violaof the ordinary type; a plate bridging the stock-recess and having a depending hollow boss open at both ends, a single-head drum mounted on the plate over the upper end of its boss, a string-bridge mounted on the drum-head, and a horn having a right angle small end engaged by the plate-boss 3. A musical instrument comprising a stock having a recessed bend and provided with tuning-pegs, string-guide, finger-board, tail-piece and strings similar to an instrument of the ordinary violin type; a metallic plate bridging the stock-recess and having a depending hollow boss open at both ends, a non-vibrating sleeve on t e boss, a horn having a right-angle small end engaged bylthe insulated plate-boss, a non-vibrating gasket on said late, a metallic drum-shell superimposing t e gasket, a drum-head folded on a and surrounding the drum-shell, another band also surrounding said shell'above the band aforesaid, bolts extendin through the aforesaid plate and having hoo -ends engaging the upper band, nuts run on the opposite ends of the bolts, and a string-bridge mounted on the drum-head.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Hartford in the county of Washington and State of W'isconsin in the presence of two witnesses.

PETER A. AMUNDSON.

Witnesses P. A. RIX, ALMo MENZEL.

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