WO1986004713A1 - Tremolo apparatus with individual hold-down saddles - Google Patents

Abstract

A tremolo plate (15) is pivotally mounted on the body of an electric guitar, so that operation of a tremolo arm (36) creates a tremolo action relative to the guitar strings (22). Mounted on the tremolo plate are a plurality of bridge saddles having shanks (20) and heads (21), each saddle receiving one of the guitar strings (22). The saddles are adjustably mounted on the plate (15) for adjustment by screws (18) longitudinally of strings (22), and by screws (23) vertically of the plate (15). Extending laterally from each saddle shank (20) are two horizontal members (30, 31), the former having a guitar string (22) extended beneath it and the latter having the string extended above it. Thus, the string (22) is caused to follow through such a path, before its ball-end is seated in plate (15), that the string will not lift off of head (21) even when the plate is pivoted upwardly to an extreme position in response to operation of handle (36). Member (31) insures against twisting of the saddle.

Description

TREMOLO APPARATUS WITH INDIVIDUAL HOLD-DOWN SADDLES

Background of the Invention

It has long been known, in both tremolo and non tremolo guitars, to provide individual bridge saddles that are height-adjustable by means of set screws, and are longitudinally adjustable by single screws disposed parallel to the tremolo plate. The single screws have helical compression springs therearound, which seat between the outer ends of the saddles and a flange of the tremolo plate. The openings in the flange are sufficiently large to permit substantial movement of the single screws and thus of the saddles, not only upwardly and downwardly, for saddle-height adjustment, but also laterally. Thus, the single screws do not themselves locate the saddles in any direction, except longitudinally of the strings.

When such saddles are provided on tremolo guitars, a distinct problem arises in that when the tremolo plate is pivoted upwardly to extreme positions, the strings tend to, and sometimes do, actually lift off the intonation points of the saddles. When this occurs, the pitches of the strings change markedly, the tuning of the guitar being nullified.

There is a distinct need for saddles which will stay fixedly down on the tremolo plate of a tremolo guitar, which do not require any hold-down screws, yet which do not prevent longitudinal shifting of the individual saddles to achieve the proper intonation.

Summary of the Invention

The individual saddles of the present tremolo apparatus incorporate first and second elements thereon, the first element being adapted to have a guitar string passed thereunder, and the second element being spaced rearwardly from the first and being adapted to have the string passed thereover. Tl e string then enters a ball-end receptacle on the tremolo plate.

With the described construction, the string is held downwardly on the intonation point of the saddle even at the extreme up ward -pivoted angle of the tremolo plate, yet the saddle is firmly clamped down on the tremolo plate without need for any clamping screws. The down clamping is effected by the second or rearward element, which cooperates with the string and ball-end seat to prevent the saddle from lifting off the tremolo plate, twisting about its longitudinal axis, or otherwise becoming maladjusted. It is emphasized that the set screws of the saddle seat in grooves in the tremolo plate and that it is important that at least one such set screw remain in its groove so that the saddle will be properly laterally located and the strings will be spaced the desired distance apart.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is an enlarged isometric view showing one of the saddles and an associated string extended thereover; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, taken longitudinally of the neck of the guitar, and illustrating two positions of a tremolo apparatus incorporating the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

The present tremolo apparatus is incorporated in a conventional guitar, one classic guitar being shown by Fender patent 2,741,146, which is hereby incor¬ porated by reference herein. The neck and head of the guitar are also conventional, reference being made to patent 4,204,679, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. The nut is, however, not that of patent 4,204,679, but instead the clamping nut of U.S. patent application Serial No. 697,220, filed January 31, 1985, for Clamping Nut & Method, inventors Charles A. Gressett, Jr., and John F. Page. Said application is hereby incorporated by referenced herein. The guitar has a wooden body 10, a portion of which is shown in Fig. 2, such body having a large recess 11 in the upper side thereof in order to receive portions of the tremolo apparatus. The recess is so shaped that there are suitable lands on one of which seats a pivot block 12, such block being anchored to the body of the guitar by fasteners, not shown. A V-groove 13 is provided in the outer side of pivot block 12 to receive a knife blade 14 that is anchored in the tremolo plate 15. Such plate 15 extends rearwardly from blade 14 and terminates at an upstanding flange 16.

The tremolo plate seats six saddle elements for the six-stringed conven¬ tional guitar, so that most elements described below are duplicated six times in side-by-side relationship. For simplicily of description and illustration, only one saddle and associated adjustment elements are shown in the drawings, it being understood that the remaining five are identical to the one illustrated in all material respects. It is pointed out that three such saddles are preferably "left" and three "right". In other words, the three adjacent saddles on one side of a vertical plane containing the longitudinal axis of the guitar are mirror images — relative to said plane — of the three adjacent saddles on the other side of such vertical plane. The shapes are preferably such that saddle heads 21, described below, extend laterally toward said vertical plane from the saddle shanks 20.

Projected forwardly through an oversized hole in flange 16 is a single screw . 5 18 for each saddle, the screw being threaded into an internally-threaded bore 19

(Fig. 1) in a shank portion 20 of the saddle. The saddle also has a large, integral, laterally-extending head portion 21, shown at the right in Figs. 1 and 2. There are two set screws threaded downwardly through vertical bores at the forward end of the shank and in the head 21, respectively, to adjust the height thereof

10 and thus the spacing of the associated guitar string 22 above the fingerboard. Only one such set screw is illustrated, being numbered 23, it being pointed out that the other set screw (not shown) extends downwardly through the internally- threaded bore 24 shown in Fig. 1.

The bottom end of one of the set screws, for example, the illustrated set

15 screw 23, is pointed, and fits in a V-groove at the upper-forward portion of tremolo plate 15. Preferably, the other (unshown) set screw is relatively flat on the bottom and seats on a wide, smooth groove, the result being that the association between the pointed set screw 23 and V-groove 26 is what determines the lateral position of the saddle.

20 The longitudinal position of the saddle, to change the intonation, is determined solely by rotation of the single screw 18 to move the saddle closer to or farther away from flange 16. A helical compression spring 27 is mounted around the shank of screw 18, between flange 16 and the rear end of saddle shank 20, to maintain the saddle spaced away from flange 16 to the maximum extent

25 permitted by the head of the screw 18.

The strmg 22 passes over the forward edge of the saddle at a region between the two set screws, this being the intonation point and numbered 28. Then, the string passes rearwardly below a first horizontal member 30 that, in the illustrated embodiment, projects laterally from shank 20 and is preferably

30 integral therewith. Thereafter, the string 22 bends upwardly over a second horizontal member 31, which is disposed between member 30 and the rear end of the shank 20. As in the case of member 30, the second horizontal member 31 is

*4 extended laterally from shank 20 and is preferably integral therewith. After passing over the member 31, the string bends downwardly through an opening in

35 tremolo plate 15, being held in the opening by the ball end 34 at the end of the string. Stated more definitely, when the guitar is strung, the ball end 34 passes downwardly through an opening 32 in the tremolo plate, following which the ball end is moved forwardly beneath a notch 33 in such plate, the size of the notch being insufficiently large to permit upward passage of the balL In the prior art, the angle of the string portion between intonation point 22 and the ball end vary in accordance with the longitudinal position of the saddle. In the present apparatus, on the other hand, such angle is constant, because the location of the first horizontal member 30 is fixed relative to the location of the intonation point 28. A very important function of the second horizontal member, number 31, is to prevent the saddle from twisting or lifting off the bridge plate 15. Such member 31 cooperates with the string portion between it and the ball end, and with the ball end and the seat for the ball end, to hold the saddle down, even when the bridge plate 15 is pivoted upwardly to an extreme position shown in dashed lines in Fig. 2. Thus, because of the cooperative action of the second horizontal member 32 relative to the other elements, the bottom of set screw 23 remains seated in its groove 26, and there is no twisting or tilting (rotation of the saddle generally about its horizontal axis).

At all times, even when the bridge plate is pivoted upwardly to the extreme position shown in dashed lines, the string 22 remains effectively seated on the intonation point 28, as is necessary for the generation of tones of proper pitch.

The tilting of the bridge plate 15, that is to say, the pivotal movement thereof at the junction between knife blade 14 and the V-groove 13 in pivot block 12, is effected by a tremolo handle shown, in part, at 36. The force exerted by the string 22 and other strings is counterbalanced by spring means 37 that is suitably anchored at a forward region of the guitar body and that extends rearwardly to a downwardly-extending crank 38, the latter being fixedly secured (as by screws or welds, not shown) to the underside of the bridge plate 15. Adjustment means, not shown, are provided to vary the tension of the spring means 37. The preferred adjustment means is described and illustrated in co- pending patent application Serial No. 697,219, filed January 31, 1985, for Tremolo Spring Adjustment Mechanism for Electric Guitars, inventor Charles A. Gressett, Jr. There has thus been described a tremolo mechanism including saddles that are simple, economical, and do not require hold-down screws, yet which are fully adjustable longitudinally of the strings and positively prevent the strings from lifting off the intonation points even when the bridge is in its extreme upper pivoted position. The means for accomplishing this important result are very economical, adding little or nothing to the cost of the instrument. Because the horizontal members 30 and 31 are cantilevered laterally from the shank of the saddle, stringing of the instrument is not substantially impeded, and a string change may be rapidly effected. The member 31 is preferably substantially longer than is member 30, because this aids in one method of string change.

By causing the first horizontal member 30 to be somewhat larger, it may be internally threaded and a fine-timing screw threaded downwardly there- through. Such fine-tuning screw may have, at the lower end of its shank, a freely .rotatable member the bottom surface of which is provided with a groove to receive the string. Thus, fine tuning may also be effected.

The foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as given by way of illustration and example only, the spirit and scope of this invention being limited solely by the appended claims. What is claimed is:

Claims

[received by the International Bureau on 29 April 1986 (29.04.86); original claims 1-6 unchanged; new claims 7 and 8 added (2 pages)]

each hold-down member preventing the associated string from lifting off its intonation point even when said tremolo plate is pivoted to a high angle relative to the guitar body,

(e) means to hold each saddle down on said tremolo plate even when said tremolo plate is pivoted to a high angle relative to the guitar body,

(f) means to anchor the end of each guitar string, and

(g) spring means associated with said tremolo plate to counter¬ balance the string tension.

6. The invention as claimed in claim 5, in which each hold-down member is so oriented relative to other portions of each saddle, that each guitar string passes over the intonation point of the saddle, then bends downwardly beneath one of said hold-down members, then bends upwardly prior to being anchored.

7.- In combination with an electric guitar having a body, a neck projecting from one end of said body, and strings extending over said neck and body, a tremolo apparatus comprising:

(a) a tremolo plate pivotally associated with said body,

(b) a tremolo arm connected to said plate to pivot it for achieve¬ ment of a tremolo sound,

(c) a plurality of bridge saddles disposed on said tremolo plate, there being one bridge saddle for each guitar string,

(d) a plurality of adjustment screws disposed on said tremolo plate and extending longitudinally of the guitar strings, each adjustment screw being threadedly associated with a bridge saddle,

(e) means on said tremolo plate to provide loose mountings for the heads of said adjustment screws, said loose mounting permitting said screws and the asso¬ ciated saddles to move off said tremolo plate during vertical adjustment of said saddles,

(f) set screws provided vertically in said saddles and bearing against said tremolo plate for vertical adjustment of said saddles, (g) a hold-down member provided on each bridge saddle, each hold-down member having a lower portion disposed lower than the intonation point of the associated saddle, each hold-down member being farther from the guitar neck than is the intonation point, (h) means disposed on said tremolo plate, farther from said neck than is said hold-down member, to seat and anchor the end of each guitar string, each hold-down member preventing the associated string from lifting off its intonation point even when said tremolo plate is pivoted to a high angle relative to the guitar body, and (i) spring means associated with said tremolo plate to counter¬ balance the string tension.

8. The invention as claimed in claim 7, in which each saddle has a shank extending away from the guitar neck, and into which an adjustment screw (d) is threaded, and in which each said hold-down member is cantilevered laterally from said shank.