A pickup system utilized in a stringed instrument has, in some embodiments, a bobbin body supporting at least one pole piece, a first coil, and a second coil with the first coil continuously extending between a first terminal of the bobbin body and a second terminal of the bobbin body while the second coil continuously extends from the second terminal to a third terminal of the bobbin body.
In other embodiments, a pickup has a first bobbin body supporting a first pole piece, a first coil, and a second coil. The first coil continuously extends between a first bobbin terminal of the bobbin body and a second bobbin terminal of the first bobbin body while the second coil continuously extends from the second bobbin terminal to a third bobbin terminal of the first bobbin body. A second bobbin body supports a second pole piece and a third coil with the third coil continuously extending from a first bobbin terminal of the second bobbin body to a second bobbin terminal of the second bobbin body. A baseplate is attached to the first and second bobbin bodies to position the first pole piece and second pole piece in vertical alignment with a string.
A pickup, in accordance with various embodiments, has a bobbin body supporting at least one pole piece in vertical alignment with a plurality of strings. A first coil continuously extends from a first terminal of the bobbin body to a second terminal of the bobbin body while a second coil continuously extends from the second terminal to a third terminal of the bobbin body. A third coil continuously extends from a fourth terminal of the bobbin body to a fifth terminal of the bobbin body.
Assorted embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a stringed instrument pickup consisting of multiple coils arranged to provide optimized detection and translation of string motion into electrical signals.
A stringed instrument pickup is a structure that converts movement of a tensioned string into electrical signals. Numerous different pickup structures and configurations have been utilized to customize the manner in which string motion and vibration is captured in an output electrical signal. However, the past arrangements for a single pickup have been static and failed to provide options for a user to customize the outputted electrical signal that are subsequently reproduced as audible sound, such as music.
While numerous different pickups can be positioned on a stringed instrument to provide different selectable characteristics for generating electrical signals, such pickups occupy valuable real estate on a stringed instrument and can have degraded sound quality due to the placement of the pickup(s) relative to the tensioned strings. In addition, positioning a pickup under a different section of the instrument strings can change the sound of the pickup as the harmonic mix of the string's output changes due to where the pickup is physically located relative to the string tensioning bridge of the instrument. By incorporating multiple coils into a single bobbin assembly, a user can select a diverse variety of means for translating string motion into electrical signals with a single pickup. The ability to customize the various coils of a bobbin assembly can additionally provide precise, or vast, alterations to the manner in which electrical signals are generated from string motion, which can optimize musical reproduction without the need for external signal processing, such as a pedal, mixer, or other circuitry.
Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a single stringed instrument pickup that provides options for a user to customize the manner in which string motion is captured by the pickup. By using multiple different coils in a single bobbin, multiple different coil structures can be employed in a single pickup to provide customized pickup structure. The ability to select different pickup coils provides selectable electrical impedance and magnetic fields that translate string motion and vibration with different output signals that reproduce different sounds.
An example stringed instrument 100 is conveyed in
The pickup 108 is configured to have a magnetic field that is influenced by movement of a string 106 and such magnetic activity is translated to electrical signals by a coil with such electrical signals being subsequently used by other audio equipment, such as an amplifier, speaker, or control board, to produce sound. However, the clarity and acoustic accuracy of stringed instrument pickups 108 have traditionally been imprecise. That is, the generated magnetic field and how it reacts to vibrating strings 108 in assorted configurations have not been able to accurately represent sound as if a user was listening to string motion in-person. For example, a pickup 108 can be constructed to be very accurate for a relatively narrow range of frequencies, but struggle to convey the other frequencies produced by string 106 motion. In another example, a pickup 108 can have relatively high sensitivity, which increases the strength of the representative electrical signal, but at the cost of losing the breadth and depth of the acoustic properties of the moving and/or vibrating string(s) 106.
With these issues in mind, many stringed instruments 100 employ multiple pickups 108 in an attempt to provide diversity in the manner in which string 106 motion is captured into electrical signals via magnetic and electrical aspects of a pickup 108.
With the implementation of multiple pickups 122/124 into a guitar 120 a user can select one or more of the pickups 122/124 to be active while playing the strings 106. For example, a selector, such as a button knob, lever, or switch, can be located on the guitar 120 to allow activation of a single pickup 122 or multiple pickups 122/124 concurrently. In the non-limiting example shown in
Although any number, and type, of pickup can be employed in a single guitar 120 the magnetic signature and electrical operation of pickups can be degraded if the pickups are positioned in close physical proximity. Thus, the physical size of the area under the strings 106 can limit how many pickups can be utilized to provide acoustic options for a user.
Accordingly, assorted embodiments are directed to a single pickup that is configured with multiple selectable coils that provide greater electrical, magnetic, and acoustic control to a guitar user.
In a humbucking configuration, as shown by segmented boxes, has a second bobbin 148 that separates and positions pole pieces 150 from a coil 152. One or more magnets 154 can be placed between the bobbins 142/148, sometimes in combination with one or more spacers, or shims, 156 so that the magnetic polarity of one coil 144 is the opposite of the other coil 152 and the bobbin assemblies 142/148 are out-of-phase. It is contemplated that individual bobbins 142/148 of a humbucker pickup configuration can be selected. As such, a pickup 140 can be configured to allow each bobbin 142/148 to be a combined single pickup or selectable single coil pickups to sense motion of adjacent string(s) 106 in different ways.
The bobbin 164, as shown, can be secured to a baseplate 168 that can provide structural rigidity and electrical contact terminals for the respective ends 170 of the coil 166. For instance, a positive end and negative end of the coil 166 can be attached to the baseplate 168 to allow for efficient and reliable electrical connections to a selector and/or output, such as a cable jack.
Each bobbin 182/184 has a single electrically conductive coil 188, in the non-limiting example of
Connecting the first ends 190 of each coil 188 and the second ends 192 of each coil 188, as represented by segmented terminals 196, provides a parallel wiring configuration that produces a different magnetic field than the series wiring configuration, which can produce different sound characteristics when a generated stream of electrical signals is outputted as sound, such as more prominent higher audible frequencies. While it is contemplated that a selector can be connected to the pickup 180 to allow for activation of either series or parallel wiring configuration, the ability to select two different magnetic fields for a pickup 180 with two bobbins 182/184 and coils 188 is relatively expensive in terms of physical size. Accordingly, various embodiments are directed to a coil and bobbin assembly that provides more magnetic field options, which corresponds with more diversity of how string motion is captured as a stream of electrical signals, for a user in either in a single bobbin pickup or a humbucking pickup.
Although the wound wire 206 may be continuous to define a single coil of a predetermined number of turns, such as 2500 or 5000 circumferential passes completely around the bobbin body 202, multiple coils can be provided by the bobbin assembly 200 by connecting different ends of wire 206 to the respective terminals. For instance, a first wire 206 can continuously extend from a first electrically conductive terminal 210 to a second electrically conductive terminal 212 to form a first coil and a second wire 214 can continuously extend from the second terminal 212 to third terminal 216 to form a second coil. Hence, the single bobbin body 202 concurrently supports multiple wire coils that can be independently, and concurrently, activated via the terminals 210/212/216.
With the bobbin body 202 sporting multiple selectable coils, the assembly 202 provides increased signal generation, impedance, and magnetic field options without taking up valuable real estate in an instrument body. It is noted that the bobbin assembly 200 can be constructed with more than two selectable coils. For instance, three coils can be activated via four separate terminals or five coils can be activated via six terminals. It is contemplated that a tap wire can extend from a terminal 208 to a tap in the wire 206/214 instead of having multiple wire ends connected to a common terminal.
It is contemplated that the coils 222/224 may be constructed of different materials, wire gauges, or electrically conducting properties. As a non-limiting example, a first coil 222 has 5000 turns and is constructed of copper while the second coil 224 has 2000 turns and is constructed of silver to provide different electrical impedances for selection by a user. The presence of multiple different coils in a single bobbin assembly 220 allows at least four configurable impedances, and corresponding magnetic fields, responding to instrument string 106 motion. That is, a user can select the first coil 222 alone, second coil 224 alone, the coils 222/224 connected in series, or the coils 222/224 connected in parallel via the various terminals provided by the bobbin body 202 to provide differing manners of translating string 106 motion into a stream of electrical signals.
The physical separation of coils 242/244 can correspond with matching coil configurations. For instance, the coils 242/244 can be constructed of the same material and wrapped about the body 202 for a matching number of turns, at least within a range of tolerance, such as within 5% of the overall amount of turns or 2% of the overall length of wound wire. The very close, or exact, construction of the coils 242/244 can provide a greater range of customizable acoustic properties due to the greater variance in electrical impedance than if there was a smaller overall length of wound wire for the multiple coils 242/244. It is contemplated that the wire can pass through internal cavities in the bobbin body 202, or otherwise be electrically and/or magnetically insulated from the wire of the other coil, to reach a terminal 226/228/232 positioned on the bottom of the body 202, which prevents the coils from physically touching or interfering (electrically and/or magnetically) with one another during activation.
A bobbin assembly with multiple selectable coils can be employed in a stringed instrument alone. However, some embodiments pair one or more bobbin assemblies together with additional structure.
The bottom view of the pickup 260 shown in
In the non-limiting embodiment where the baseplate 266 comprises plate terminals 268, the respective plate terminals 268 can physically contact the respective bobbin terminals 208. Regardless of whether the baseplate 266 consists of plate terminals 268, the physical separation of terminals corresponding to different coils allows one or more coils of the bobbin assemblies 262/264 to be activated via electrical interconnections that are fixed in place by at least one support 270. It is noted that in operation the respective bobbin assemblies 262/264 will each be rotated so that the electrical terminals physically contact the corresponding plate terminals 268 and the pole pieces 272 face and are vertically aligned with instrument strings 106, as generally shown in
The respective bobbin assemblies 262/264 can be secured to the baseplate 266 with one or more fasteners, such as rivets, screws, pins, tabs, or retainers. It is contemplated that one or more bobbin assemblies 262/264 are mounted atop at least one spring, or other suspension, that dampens movement and positioning the pole pieces 272 a predetermined distance from the respective instrument strings. The baseplate 266 may also be mounted to the body, or neck, of a stringed instrument with one or more fasteners and may employ a motion, and/or vibration, dampening suspension.
The assorted views of the pickup 260 shown in
Once the pickup is assembled with the bobbin assemblies 262/264 mounted to the baseplate 266 with the various plate terminals 268 electrically connected to the bobbin terminals 208, a user can selectively activate a diverse variety of coils that correspond with different electrical impedances, magnetic fields, and acoustic characteristics captured in electrical signals outputted by the pickup 260. In the non-limiting example pickup 260 configuration shown in
By selecting any two of the three plate terminals 276/278/280 corresponding to the first bobbin assembly 262, or terminals 282/284/286 corresponding to the second bobbin assembly 264, different numbers of coils, and lengths of conducting wire acting as an electrical resistor, receive electrical current that produces different magnetic fields that respond differently to vibrations and movement of adjacent strings 106 to produce different acoustic characteristics in the generated electrical signals.
By selecting plate terminals 274 and 278, both coils of the first bobbin assembly 262 are activated with greater electrical resistance provided by the increased number of wire windings of the second coil. The exemplary electrical configuration of
As a result of the dual coil bobbin assemblies 262/264, nine different pickup configurations can be selected, each of which has different impedance, magnetic, and acoustic properties that provide diverse acoustic generation to a user without adding nine separate single-coil bobbin assemblies to an instrument. It is noted that the selection of various coils can provide matching, or mismatching, electrical impedances between the bobbin assemblies 262/264. The ability to selectively utilize different electrical impedances, such as impedances differences of 100, 500, 1000, or more ohms, allows for a broad range of useful sonic properties from a single pickup 260.
In some embodiments, a single bobbin assembly is utilized without a humbucking counterpart bobbin assembly. Such a configuration may, or may not, employ a baseplate 266, but can provide selective activation of different wound coils that correspond with different magnetic properties that translate to different acoustic characteristics. Regardless of the humbucking configuration of a pickup, the use of a bobbin assembly with more than one coil allows for precise, or vast, alterations to the manner in which string movement and vibration translates to outputted electrical signals depending on the structural configuration of the coils.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments of the disclosure, this detailed description is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of structure and arrangements of parts within the principles of the present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
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