This disclosure pertains to stringed musical instruments having a pitch shifting mechanism. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a tremolo device and an adjustable bridge.
Techniques are known for redirecting the strings on stringed instruments and for pitch shifting by varying string tension. Traditional floating tremolo units, the activation of which may result in a pitch shift up or down of a number of vibrating strings, and which act as both the bridge and tremolo unit, use springs to counteract the tension exerted on the tremolo and bridge unit by the strings. These tremolo units have the fundamental flaw of requiring re-balancing whenever the player changes tunings, changes string gauges, or breaks a string.
Instruments without a tremolo unit (hardtail) have immobile bridge units, with strings anchored in the bridge or inside the body of the instrument. These instruments do not have instantaneous pitch altering capabilities like those with tremolo units, but do have the advantage of remaining generally consistent across tuning and string gauge changes and string breakage incidents.
A Bigsby tremolo system (U.S. Pat. No. D170,109) utilizes a stationary bridge unit with a separate rotating cylinder onto which the strings are mounted. The tremolo arm is supported by a spring, which counters the rotational force induced by the tension of the strings. This has advantages in some aspects over floating tremolos, such as ease of setup and stability across tuning changes initiated at the tuning pegs, but lacks the versatility, scope of pitch shift, and tuning stability present in other systems.
There exists a need for a tremolo system that improves pitch shifting, tuning stability, and ease of setup which allows for pitch shifting both up and down, and provides a consistency of tuning before and after tremolo activation, provides for a consistent pitch of the remaining strings when the pitch of any given string is altered by tuning machines, and provides an ease of setup and maintenance.
A tremolo device and an accompanying adjustable string guide and bridge assembly are provided for use on any stringed musical instrument, such as electric guitars and basses. The tremolo device is configured to alter the pitch of the strings by changing the tension exerted on said strings in a manner that optimizes desirable tonal qualities into the structures of the stringed instrument, such as a soundboard.
According to one aspect, a tremolo apparatus is provided having a stationary frame, a moving frame, at least one linear guideway, a string retainer bar, and at least one spring. The stationary frame is configured to be rigidly affixed to a planar surface of a resonant body on a stringed instrument. The moving frame has at least one ramp with a medial flat segment, and the moving frame is guided for oscillation relative to the stationary frame. The at least one linear guideway extends substantially parallel to the planar surface and is provided by at least one of the stationary frame and the moving frame and is configured to support the moving frame for oscillation. The string retainer bar has a plurality of string capture bores carried by the guide frame for movement toward and away from the planar surface and configured to engage with the ramp surface to carry a plurality of strings substantially perpendicular with the planar surface to vary string tension as the string mounting assembly rides the ramp surface and reciprocates to respectively raise and lower tension of a plurality of strings carried terminally of the string mounting assembly. The at least one spring is interposed between the stationary frame and the moving frame to position the string bar within the medial flat segment.
According to another aspect, a tremolo apparatus is provided having a stationary frame, a moving frame, a track, a string retainer, and at least one spring. The stationary frame is configured to be rigidly affixed to a planar surface of a resonant body on a stringed instrument. The moving frame has at least one ramp with a medial flat segment, and the moving frame is guided for reciprocation relative to the stationary frame. The track extends substantially parallel to the planar surface and is provided by at least one of the stationary frame and the moving frame and is configured to support the moving frame for reciprocation relative to the stationary frame. The string retainer bar is configured to carry a plurality of strings on the guide frame for movement toward and away from the planar surface and configured to engage with the ramp surface to carry a plurality of strings substantially perpendicular with the planar surface to vary string tension as the string mounting assembly rides the ramp surface responsive to reciprocation to respectively raise and lower tension of a plurality of strings carried terminally of the string mounting assembly. The at least one spring is interposed between the stationary frame and the moving frame to position the string bar within the medial flat segment.
According to yet another aspect, a tremolo apparatus is provided having a moving frame, a stationary frame, an actuator arm, a string retainer bar, and a resilient elongated member. The moving frame has at least one ramp surface with a flat medial portion. The stationary frame is carried by a mounting surface of a stringed instrument body and is configured to support the moving frame for oscillation in substantially perpendicular relation with the direction of string tension. The actuator arm is coupled with the moving frame and is carried by the stationary frame configured to drive the moving frame in oscillation with the stationary frame. The string retainer bar is provided by the stationary frame and is configured to provide oscillatory movement of at least one string along the direction of string tension, the moving frame configured to be driven in oscillation by a user relative to the stationary frame to respectively raise and lower tension of the at least one string affixed to the string retainer bar as the string retainer bar rides the ramp surface. The resilient elongated member is configured to position the flat medial portion of the ramp surface against the string retainer bar when in a resting state.
This disclosure is submitted in furtherance of the constitutional purposes of the U.S. Patent Laws “to promote the progress of science and useful arts” (Article 1, Section 8).
A common feature on modern stringed musical instruments (though primarily fitted to electric guitars and basses) is the tremolo device. The purpose of the tremolo device is to alter the pitch of the strings by changing the tension exerted on the strings. Traditional tremolo devices mount to the top of the instrument via a number of different mechanisms, and alter the tension of the strings via rotation around a fixed point. These tremolo devices counter the tension of the strings via tension provided by springs mounted into the back of the instrument or directly to the tremolo device. The springs typically need to be adjusted so that they provide a tension equal to the combined tension of all of the strings at their designated individual pitches. This method has a side-effect of overcompensating for any changes to tuning initiated by the tuning posts at the nut end of the instrument and causing undesired pitch alterations. For example, if one decreases the tension, and thus the pitch, of a single string then the tension and pitch of the remaining strings increases to match the constant tension provided by the springs, causing the remaining strings to go out of tune.
In view of such inherent design inadequacies, the present tremolo apparatus is mounted inside the body of the instrument underneath the bridge mechanism. This design does not rely on the rotation of the bridge and the direct action of the balancing springs, but instead on the translational motion of the aforementioned sled and ramp system. As the sled is moved back and forth by the interaction of the tremolo arm, gears, and toothed track, the strings are stretched or slackened by the variation of the shape of the ramp in the direction of string tension over the course of its length. Modern stringed-instrument strings are constructed such that one end of the string is secured by a ball-end. The ball end of the string is retained in the string-mounting apparatus of my invention. The string mounting apparatus is constantly supported by the ramp, which isolates the effect of spring tension, as it serves only to return the sled, ramp, and strings to their pre-activation position and tension instead of directly countering string tension. Through the ramp, the force of the strings is transferred to the body by way of the sled, the gears, and the base framework apparatus, similar to the way in which the strings are supported in an instrument with a hardtail bridge. The friction on the ramp is reduced by the bearings which translate the force of the strings onto the ramp. The shape of the ramp, and the mounted return springs mean that whenever the device is not activated, the ramp, and thus the strings, return to the original (pre-activation) position and tension regardless of string tuning. Having a constant resting position to return to, and relying on the support of the body means that any tuning changes initiated at the nut end of the instrument do not affect the tuning of the other strings. This means that the guitar has the ease of use, tuning flexibility, and tuning stability of a hardtail system and the full functionality of a tremolo system.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Ideally, at each point at which the string 18 (of
According to one construction, whammy bar 20 is made of steel tubing, frame 24 is made of brass, frame 26 is made of steel, frame 36 is made of brass, yokes 38 are made of steel, and rollers 40 are made of brass. Other remaining structural components of tremolo assembly 10 and adjustable bridge 22 can be made using any suitable structural material, such as steel, brass, aluminum, metal, composite, plastic, or other suitable structural materials. Optionally, previously enumerated components can also be made of any such suitable structural materials. Selection of materials, for example, brass versus steel can impart certain attributes to tonal quality from vibration transfer through associated structures of a stringed instrument, and vice versa.
As shown in
A pair of linear gear tracks 60 and 62 are provided along spaced apart opposed sides of sled, or moving frame 26, as shown in
As shown in
Stationary frame 24 is affixed with four spaced-apart threaded fasteners, or screws 48 through holes, or bores 49 and into a wooden guitar body (not shown) as seen in
Sled, or moving frame 26 of
A bottom view of tremolo assembly 10 is shown in
It is to be understood that while the embodiment of this invention shown and described is fully capable of achieving the objects and advantages desired, a number of modifications or variations could be made whilst achieving similar results. For instance, the sled and ramp may move rotationally on an axis perpendicular to the tension of the strings and thus move the mounting assembly via a cam-type actuation, the number of strings may be increased or decreased from a standard six, or the orientation of the sled and ramp relative to the base framework may be reversed in such a way that the pitch altering motions cause the opposite effect of those illustrated. These examples are not an exhaustive list of such changes and are not intended to outline all such possible dissimilarities, but to give an example of similar devices which follow the general spirit and method described herein. It is intended that the present invention encapsulates any such modifications or variations provided they follow the spirit of the invention. The particular embodiment shown has been for purposes of illustration only, and not for purposes of limitation.
In compliance with the statute, the subject matter disclosed herein has been described in language more or less specific as to structural and methodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the claims are not limited to the specific features shown and described, since the means herein disclosed comprise example embodiments. The claims are thus to be afforded full scope as literally worded, and to be appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.
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