Guitarists use electronic tuners to adjust the instrument to a standard or selected reference pitch, and can place capos in various positions on the guitar neck to change the pitch of all the strings on the instrument. Capos allow the use of chords or different chord versions that would not be available to the musician if he tried to play them without the capo. The use of a capo enables the musician to use chords in positions that include more open string combinations. Open strings tend to have unique sound characteristics that are desirable in many musical situations.
For ideal performance, the musician should re-tune the instrument after repositioning the capo. Many performers will take the stage with both a capo and a tuner in hand. This can be cumbersome to the artist and distracting to the audience.
There are many types of tuners available on the market. Each one directly or indirectly senses the vibrating string, processes the sensed audio signal to determine the closest corresponding note, and then compares the actual pitch of the string to the target tuning pitch. A display interface shows the user if the note is flat or sharp and the user tunes the string until he gets and in-tune indication from the tuner display. Tuner displays are typically LED lights, an analog needle mete, or an LCD or other digital graphic display device.
The audio signal from the instrument can be input into the tuner three ways. Some tuners have an input jack to directly wire the instrument to the tuner. Electric guitars or acoustic guitars with pickups (built in magnetic, piezo or microphone sensors) can be wired directly into the tuner. Some tuners use a built in microphone to pick up the signal. This is effective in quiet room conditions and for acoustic instruments. Noisy settings such as concert halls, studios, classrooms, and the like make it difficult to use a tuner in microphone mode. Some tuners clamp onto the instrument and utilize a built in sensor (usually a piezo type pickup) to pick up the vibrations in the guitar neck.
A plugged in version is the most efficient as the input signal is directly coupled to the input circuit of the tuner and no ambient noise will affect the sensitivity or accuracy of the signal recognition. The disadvantages are that the tuner must be plugged in. This can be an inconvenience or simply not possible in certain stage, recording or practice conditions. Serious musicians are reluctant to run their signal through a tuner and then into their amplification devices because deterioration of the audio signal is always possible when additional devices are wired into the signal path.
Tuners with a microphone input can be very effective also, but ambient room noise can confuse the input circuitry of the tuner giving erroneous readings. Using a microphone input tuner in a stage or studio environment is not practical.
Clip-on type tuners that use a sensor and pick up the vibrations from the guitar body can be very effective. If designed properly they can be as sensitive as a direct wired version and can work well in noisy environments. They are also very convenient. They can be kept in a pocket or clipped on to the headstock of the guitar when not being used.
The inventive concept is to provide the combination of a capo with attached tuner having a sensor that picks up vibrations through the capo. The capo and tuner are connected together as a unitary accessory that is attachable along the neck of the guitar, in the manner of a conventional capo, but with the significant advantage of automatic and continuous visibility of the tuner display while tuning at a particular capo position and while pausing between songs.
In one embodiment, the tuner can be purchased as a standalone item that is adapted to be retrofitted onto one or more standard capos.
There are at least three benefits that the performer will realize using this invention.
The performer will need only one tool on stage, in studio or while practicing.
The tuner functions efficiently and accurately when used in conjunction with the capo. The clamping force of the capo makes a strong connection with the guitar neck and efficiently transmits the string vibrations to the sensor in the tuner that is mounted on the capo. Ambient noise does not degrade the tuning. Tuning can be efficiently achieved upon placing the capo anywhere on the neck. The capo can also be stored on the headstock when not being used as a capo. The tuner will function perfectly as a stand alone, clip-on type tuner when stored on the headstock.
It is very common for an artist to make minor adjustments in tuning after installing or moving a capo to a different position on the guitar neck. Having the tuner right at the capo where his hand is during installation will make it very convenient and easy for him or her to re-tune quickly and perfectly after each move of the capo. It will not be necessary to clip on a tuner or reach up to the headstock if he is using a clip-on type tuner to turn the unit on. The artist can capo the strings and tune them very quickly without having to interrupt his performance.
The force to open the jaws is provided by a hand operated two bar toggle type linkage comprising link 18 and link 19 on graspable arm 22. While link 18 and link 19 comprise a toggle type of linkage, the motion is such that the linkage does not actually toggle, since the jaws are fully open before the two elements which form the toggle are aligned. This type of linkage is used to provide a reducing force requirement as the jaws are opened, but the links do no cross over, i.e., the force does not go to zero and become negative, as in usual toggle applications.
To open the capo, finger pressure is applied to arm 22 (which projects from link 19) and arm 21 (which projects from jaw 11). As graspable arm 22 approaches arm 21, link 18 rotates to become closer to aligning with graspable arm 22, and the opening force required correspondingly decreases, even while the spring 16 exerts increasing force. Hence, relatively little actuating force is required maintain the capo open, and the musician can position it on the instrument without having to exert excessive force.
In the combination 20 of capo and tuner according to
As is well known, the headstock 39 has a top surface 41 on which the strings (not shown) engage heads or pegs 42, which can be turned by respective tuning keys or winders 43. The neck 40 has a fret board 44 on its upper surface, with spaced apart frets 45.
The tuner 23 has a sensor or transducer such a piezo device 35 to detect mechanical vibration that originates with a plucked string and is transmitted through the capo, especially the upper jaw 11 via the shank 11′, to the tuner 23. The detected waveform is analyzed by a printed circuit board or the like 37 powered by battery 36, and the resulting tuning figure of merit is displayed as by a light pattern at 38. As can be appreciated from
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/214,759 filed Apr. 28, 2009 for, “Tuner With Capo”.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61214759 | Apr 2009 | US |