Claims
- 1. A pickup apparatus for use with a stringed instrument having a plurality of strings, comprising:
- a plurality of transducer elements each of which is associated with one of said plurality of strings, at least some of said transducer elements being movable relative to each other in a direction transverse to a length of said strings so that a volume output of said strings relative to each other may be adjusted.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of said transducer elements is a piezo-electric transducer element.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:
- each of said piezo-electric transducer elements having top and bottom poles of opposite polarity;
- a first conductor means in electrically conductive contact with said bottom poles of said plurality of piezo-electric transducer elements;
- a second conductor means in electrically conductive contact with said top poles of said plurality of piezo-electric transducer elements; and
- each of said piezo-electric transducer elements being movable in a direction transverse to said length of said strings so that a relative volume output of its associated string relative to the others of said plurality of strings may be adjusted.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:
- a strip of insulating material having a plurality of openings defined therethrough, each of said openings having a respective one of said piezo-electric transducer elements received therein, each of said openings having a lateral dimension transverse to said length of said strings, said lateral dimension being greater than a lateral width of said transducer elements transverse to said length of said strings, said lateral dimension of each of said openings defining a zone of movability of its associated transducer element.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein:
- said strip of insulating material has a thickness less than a thickness of each of said piezo-electric transducer elements defined-between its top and bottom poles.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein:
- said first conductor means is a first common conductor which electrically connects all of said bottom poles of said plurality of transducer elements; and
- said second conductor means is a second common conductor which electrically connects all of said top poles of said plurality of transducer elements.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein:
- at least one of said first and second conductor means includes a tacky conductive adhesive surface in electrically conductive contact with said plurality of piezo-electric transducer elements to hold said transducer elements in place relative to said first and second conductor means, said tacky conductive adhesive surface being capable of being repeatedly removed from contact with said plurality of transducer elements so that a position of one or more of said transducer elements relative to said first and second conductor means can be adjusted.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:
- an electrically conductive channel having a bottom and first and second flanges extending upward from opposite edges of said bottom; and
- a layer of insulating material separating said first conductor means from said bottom of said channel.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein:
- said first and second flanges each have upper end portions; and
- said second conductor means is in electrical contact with said upper end portions of said first and second flanges.
- 10. The pickup apparatus of claim 9, further comprising in combination therewith a bridge saddle arranged in load-bearing engagement with said pickup apparatus.
- 11. The combination of claim 10, wherein:
- said channel has an outside width defined between outside surfaces of said first and second flanges;
- said piezo-electric transducer elements extend higher than said first and second flanges;
- said second conductor means is separate from said bridge saddle; and
- said bridge saddle has a saddle width at least as great as said outside width of said channel.
- 12. The combination of claim 10, wherein:
- said channel has an inside width defined between inside surfaces of said first and second flanges;
- said first and second flanges extend higher than said piezo-electric transducer elements;
- said second conductor means is a conducting layer attached to a lower portion of said bridge saddle; and
- said lower portion of said bridge saddle is received between said inside surfaces of said first and second flanges.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein:
- said channel has an inside width defined between inside surfaces of said first and second flanges;
- each of said piezo-electric transducer elements has first and second opposite edges nearest to said first and second flanges, respectively, said piezo-electric transducer elements having an element width defined between said first and second edges, said element width being less than said inside width of said channel; and
- further including first and second electrically insulating separators located between said first and second edges of each of said piezo-electric transducer elements and said inside surfaces of said first and second flanges, respectively, said separators engaging said inside surfaces of said flanges and said first and second edges of said piezo-electric transducer elements so that said piezo-electric transducer elements are snugly held between said flanges.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein:
- said first and second electrically insulating separators associated with each piezo-electric transducer element are opposite sides of a four-sided frame surrounding said piezo-electric transducer element.
- 15. A stringed instrument, comprising:
- a body having a body top;
- a bridge mounted on said body top, said bridge having a saddle slot defined therein;
- a neck extending from said body;
- a plurality of strings mounted on said body and neck;
- a pickup received in said saddle slot, said pickup including a plurality of transducer elements each of which is located below at least one of said strings and which has an element width transverse to said strings, said pickup having defined therein a plurality of zones within which said transducer elements are received, said zones having dimensions transverse to said strings greater than said element widths so that a position of each transducer element within its associated zone can be varied; and
- a bridge saddle received in said saddle slot on top of said pickup and supporting said plurality of strings.
- 16. The instrument of claim 15, wherein:
- each of said transducer elements of said pickup is a piezo-electric transducer element.
- 17. The instrument of claim 16, said instrument being a guitar, wherein:
- said plurality of strings includes six and only six strings; and
- said plurality of transducer elements includes six and only six transducer elements.
- 18. The instrument of claim 17, wherein:
- said bridge saddle includes three saddle segments each of which supports two of said strings and spans two of said transducer elements.
- 19. A stringed instrument, comprising:
- a body having a top;
- a bridge mounted on top of said body, said bridge having a saddle slot defined therein;
- a neck extending from said body;
- a plurality of strings mounted on said body and neck;
- a pickup received in said saddle slot, said pickup including a plurality of transducer elements;
- a bridge saddle received in said saddle slot above said pickup; and
- means for adjusting a lateral position of each of said transducer elements individually relative to said strings so that a volume output of said strings relative to each other may be adjusted.
- 20. The instrument of claim 19, further comprising:
- intonation adjustment means for adjusting an intonation point of each of said strings so that a most perfect intonation may be selected for each of said strings from a plurality of available intonation points for each of said strings.
- 21. A method of setting up a stringed instrument having a plurality of strings supported by an instrument saddle, and having a pickup including a plurality of transducer elements, comprising:
- (a) adjusting a position of at least one of said transducer elements in a direction transverse to a length of said strings; and
- (b) changing a volume output of at least one of said strings as a result of step (a).
- 22. The method of claim 21, said pickup including first and second conductors having said transducer elements sandwiched therebetween, said transducer elements being piezo-electric transducer elements, said step (a) further comprising:
- (a)(1) separating said first and second conductors;
- (a)(2) moving said at least one piezo-electric transducer element to a new position relative to said first and second conductors; and
- (a)(3) reassembling said pickup so that said piezo-electric transducer elements are held in their new positions between said first and second conductors.
- 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:
- (c) selecting a most nearly perfect intonation point for each of said strings from a plurality of selectable distinctly spaced intonation points on said saddle.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein said step (c) further comprises:
- (c)(1) determining for each of said strings which one intonation point of said plurality of selectable distinctly spaced intonation points provides a most nearly perfect intonation; and
- (c)(2) assembling said instrument saddle from a group of saddle segments providing said one intonation point for each of said strings.
- 25. The method of claim 24, said plurality of strings including six strings, wherein said group of saddle segments includes three saddle segments each of which supports two of said strings.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional application Ser. No. 07/897,787 filed on Jun. 12, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,394.
US Referenced Citations (31)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
Advertising brochure entitled "Acoustic Guitars-Washburn-What a Great Guitar Should Be" (1990), pp. 9-11. |
Advertising brochure entitled "Takamine--Acoustic--Classic--Specifications" under item 7. |
The Guitar Handbook, Denyer, 1982, p. 171. |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
897787 |
Jun 1992 |
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