Digital guitar system

• US 20040144241A1
• Filed: 09/08/2003
• Published: 07/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gibson Brands, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gibson Guitar Corporation (Gibson Brands, Inc.)
• Inventors: Juskiewicz, Henry E., Yeakel, Nathan W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,220,912 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/723
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0058 Transmission between separate instruments or between individual components of a musical system G10H1/0083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/515 Staggered, i.e. two coils side by side
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/115 Instrument identification, i.e. recognizing an electrophonic musical instrument, e.g. on a network, by means of a code, e.g. IMEI, serial number, or a profile describing its capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/285 USB, i.e. either using a USB plug as power supply or using the USB protocol to exchange data
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/295 Packet switched network, e.g. token ring circuit-switched networks, e.g. traditional analog telephone transmission G10H2240/241
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/301 Ethernet, e.g. according to IEEE 802.3
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/185 in which the tones are picked up through the bridge structure
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/188 for converting the signal to digital format transmission using a MIDI interface G10H1/0066

Abstract

A digital guitar system and method includes a digital guitar and a digital guitar interface device, and a method of converting a conventional guitar into a digital guitar. The guitar is adapted to generate analog audio signals, convert those signals into digital signals, format the digital signals according to a digital communication protocol, and to output the formatted signals. The guitar may include a novel multi-signal guitar pickup that generates some of the analog audio signals. The guitar is further adapted to receive digital signals, convert those signals into analog signals, and output the analog signals. The interface device is adapted to receive digital signals, convert those signals into analog signals, and output the analog signals.

Claims

1. A digital guitar, comprising:

a guitar body;

guitar strings mounted on the guitar body;

a guitar pickup assembly mounted on the guitar body adjacent to the guitar strings;

a digital guitar processing circuit connected to the guitar pickup assembly; and

a guitar digital output assembly connected to the digital guitar processing circuit.

2. The digital guitar of claim 1, wherein the guitar pickup assembly includes a monophonic guitar pickup.

3. The digital guitar of claim 2, wherein the monophonic guitar pickup is a humbucker guitar pickup.

4. The digital guitar of claim 1, wherein the guitar pickup assembly includes a multi-signal guitar pickup.

5. The digital guitar of claim 4, wherein the multi-signal guitar pickup is a polyphonic multi-signal guitar pickup.

6. The digital guitar of claim 5, wherein the polyphonic multi-signal guitar pickup is a hexaphonic multi-signal guitar pickup.

7. The digital guitar of claim 1, wherein the guitar pickup assembly includes multiple guitar pickups.

8. The digital guitar of claim 7, wherein the guitar pickup assembly includes two or more different types of guitar pickups.

9. The digital guitar of claim 8, wherein the guitar pickup assembly includes a monophonic and a multi-signal guitar pickup.

10. The digital guitar of claim 1, wherein the digital guitar processing circuit includes a guitar analog/digital converter circuit connected to the guitar pickup assembly and the guitar digital output assembly.

11. The digital guitar of claim 10, wherein the digital guitar processing circuit includes a guitar digital communication circuit connected between the guitar analog/digital converter circuit and the guitar digital output assembly.

12. The digital guitar of claim 11, wherein the digital guitar processing circuit includes a guitar mixing circuit connected between the guitar analog/digital converter circuit and the guitar pickup assembly.

13. The digital guitar of claim 12, wherein the guitar mixing circuit includes a summing circuit and a subtracting circuit, both of which are connected to the guitar pickup assembly, and a combining circuit connected to the summing and subtracting circuits and the guitar analog/digital converter circuit.

14. The digital guitar of claim 13, wherein the guitar mixing circuit includes a noise subtracting circuit connected to the guitar pickup assembly and between the summing circuit and the combining circuit.

15. The digital guitar of claim 12, wherein the digital guitar processing circuit includes a guiter amplifier circuit connected between the guitar mixing circuit and the guitar pickup assembly.

16. The digital guitar of claim 11, wherein the guitar digital communication circuit includes a bi-directional interface circuit.

17. The digital guitar of claim 16, wherein the bi-directional interface circuit includes a bi-directional audio interface.

18. The digital guitar of claim 16, wherein the bi-directional interface circuit includes a bi-directional control interface.

19. The digital guitar of claim 11, wherein the guitar digital communication circuit includes an Ethernet interface.

20. The digital guitar of claim 11, wherein the guitar digital communication circuit includes a MaGIC chip.

21. The digital guitar of claim 11, wherein the guitar digital communication circuit includes an I2S Engine and sync.

22. The digital guitar of claim 21, wherein the I2S Engine and sync includes a field programmable gate array.

23. The digital guitar of claim 1, further comprising a guitar digital input assembly connected to the digital guitar processing circuit.

24. The digital guitar of claim 23, wherein the guitar digital output assembly and guitar digital input assembly are integrated together into a single guitar digital input/output assembly.

25. The digital guitar of claim 24, wherein the guitar digital input/output assembly includes an RJ-45 connector.

26. The digital guitar of claim 1, further including a guitar analog input/output assembly.

27. The digital guitar of claim 1, further including a guitar control assembly.

28. A guitar, comprising:

a guitar body;

a plurality of guitar strings mounted on the guitar body;

a pickup mounted on the body under the strings, the pickup generating at least one analog electrical string signal corresponding to vibration of the strings;

an analog to digital converter circuit mounted on the guitar, and operably associated with the pickup, for converting the analog electrical string signal to a digital electrical string signal; and

a digital output connector, mounted on the guitar, for outputting the digital electrical string signal.

29. The guitar of claim 28, wherein:

the pickup generates at least one analog electrical string signal for each string of the plurality of strings so that a plurality of analog electrical string signals is generated;

the analog to digital converter circuit converts the plurality of analog electrical string signals into a plurality of corresponding digital electrical string signals; and

the output connector outputs the plurality of digital electrical string signals.

30. The guitar of claim 28, wherein:

the analog to digital converter circuit formats the digital electrical string signal in a MaGIC communication protocol format.

31. The guitar of claim 28, further comprising:

an analog output connector, mounted on the guitar, for outputting the analog electrical string signal.

32. The guitar of claim 31, further comprising:

a volume control and a tone control, operatively associated with the analog to digital converter circuit, so that both the analog and digital electrical string signals output by the guitar can be modified by the volume control and the tone control.

33. The guitar of claim 28, wherein:

the pickup is a first pickup which generates at least one analog electrical string signal for each string; and

the guitar further includes;

a second pickup which generates one blended analog string signal corresponding to vibration of all of the strings; and

an analog output connector, mounted on the guitar, for outputting the blended analog string signal.

34. The guitar of claim 33, further comprising:

a volume control and a tone control, operatively associated with the analog to digital converter circuit, so that both the blended analog string signal and the digital electrical string signal can be modified by the volume control and the tone control.

35. The guitar of claim 28, in combination with:

a breakout box including;

an input for receiving the digital electrical guitar signal from the guitar;

a digital to analog converter circuit for converting the digital electrical guitar signal to an analog breakout box signal; and

a breakout box output for outputting the analog breakout box signal, so that the digital guitar may be used with a conventional analog amplifier and speakers.

36. A guitar, comprising:

a guitar body;

a plurality of guitar strings mounted on the guitar body;

an audio transducer for generating analog audio data corresponding to vibration of the guitar strings;

a device interface module operative to convert the analog audio data into digital audio data; and

an output, operatively associated with the device interface module, for outputting the digital audio data.

37. A guitar, comprising:

an audio transducer assembly adapted to generate a predetermined number of analog string signals representative of string vibrations of guitar strings mounted on the guitar when the guitar strings are strummed;

a guitar processing circuit in communication with the audio transducer assembly, the guitar processing circuit adapted to generate a predetermined number of digital string signals based on the analog string signals and to format the digital string signals generated by the processing circuit to be compatible with a predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

a guitar output assembly in communication with the guitar processing circuit and adapted to output the digital string signals generated by the guitar processing circuit.

38. The guitar of claim 37, wherein the guitar processing circuit is adapted to format the digital string signals to be compatible with a single digital communication protocol.

39. The guitar of claim 37, wherein the guitar processing circuit is adapted to format the digital string signals to be compatible with a MaGIC digital communication protocol.

40. The guitar of claim 37, wherein the guitar processing circuit is adapted to format the digital string signals to be compatible with multiple different digital communication protocols.

41. The guitar of claim 37, wherein the guitar processing circuit is adapted to format the digital string signals to be compatible with a MaGIC digital communication protocol and a Musical Instrument Digital Interface digital communication protocol.

42. The guitar of claim 37, wherein the guitar output assembly includes an RJ-45 connector.

43. The guitar of claim 37, further comprising:

a guitar input assembly adapted to receive and transmit a predetermined number of external analog signals to the guitar processing circuit for processing; and

wherein

the guitar processing circuit is further adapted to generate a predetermined number of external digital signals based on the external analog signals and to format the external digital signals to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is further adapted to output the external digital signals.

44. The guitar of claim 37, further comprising:

a guitar input assembly adapted to receive and transmit an analog microphone signal to the guitar processing circuit for processing; and

wherein

the guitar processing circuit is further adapted to generate a digital microphone signal based on the analog microphone signal and to format the digital microphone signal to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is further adapted to output the digital microphone signal.

45. The guitar of claim 37, wherein the guitar output assembly is further adapted to output one or more of the predetermined number of analog string signals generated by the audio transducer assembly.

46. The guitar of claim 37, further comprising:

a guitar input assembly adapted to receive and transmit a predetermined number of external digital signals to the guitar processing circuit for processing; and

wherein

the guitar processing circuit is further adapted to generate a predetermined number of external analog signals based on the external digital signals; and

the guitar output assembly is further adapted to output the external analog signals.

47. The guitar of claim 37, further comprising:

a guitar control assembly adapted to generate and transmit a predetermined number of analog control signals to the guitar processing circuit for processing; and

wherein

the guitar processing circuit is further adapted to generate a predetermined number of digital control signals based on the analog control signals and to format the digital control signals to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is further adapted to output the digital control signals.

48. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is further adapted to generate a predetermined number of analog noise signals representative of noise in one or more of the predetermined number of analog string signals; and

the guitar processing circuit is further adapted to generate the predetermined number of digital string signals based on the analog noise and string signals.

49. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate a single analog string signal when one or more guitar strings are strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to convert the single analog string signal into a single digital string signal and to format the single digital string signal to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the single digital string signal.

50. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate a separate analog string signal for each guitar string that is strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to convert the separate analog string signals into separate digital string signals and to format the separate digital string signals to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the separate digital string signals.

51. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate a separate analog string signal for each guitar string that is strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to process the separate analog string signals to generate a predetermined number of processed analog string signals, convert the processed analog string signals into processed digital string signals, and to format the processed digital string signals to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the processed digital string signals.

52. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate a separate analog string signal for each guitar string that is strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to convert the separate analog string signals into separate digital string signals, to process the separate digital string signals to generate a predetermined number of processed digital string signals, and to format the processed digital string signals to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the processed digital string signals.

53. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate a separate analog string signal for each guitar string that is strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to combine the separate analog string signals to generate a single analog string signal, convert the single analog string signal into a single digital string signal, and to format the single digital string signal to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the single digital string signal.

54. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate a separate analog string signal for each guitar string that is strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to combine two or more of the separate analog string signals to generate a predetermined number of combined analog string signals, convert the combined analog string signals into a combined digital string signals, and to format the combined digital string signals to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the combined digital string signals.

55. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate two or more separate analog string signals for each guitar string that is strummed;

.

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to convert the separate analog string signals for each guitar string into separate digital string signals for each guitar string and to format the separate digital string signals to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the separate digital string signals for each guitar string.

56. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate two or more separate analog string signals for each guitar string that is strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to convert the separate analog string signals for each guitar string into a single combined digital string signal for each guitar string and to format the single combined digital string signal for each string to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the single combined digital string signal for each guitar string.

57. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate two or more separate analog string signals for each guitar string that is strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to generate an analog x-plane string signal and an analog y-plane string signal for each guitar string based on the separate analog string signals for each guitar string, convert the analog x-plane and y-plane string signals for each guitar string into digital x-plane and y-plane string signals for each guitar string, and to format the digital x-plane and y-plane string signals for each string to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the digital x-plane and y-plane string signals for each guitar string.

58. The guitar of claim 37, wherein:

the audio transducer assembly is adapted to generate two or more separate analog string signals for each guitar string that is strummed;

the guitar processing circuit is adapted to;

generate an analog x-plane string signal and an analog y-plane string signal for each guitar string based on the separate analog string signals for each guitar string,

combine the analog x-plane and y-plane string signals for each guitar string to generate a single combined string signal for each guitar string;

convert the single combined string signal for each guitar string into a single digital combined string signal for each guitar string, and

format the single combined string signal for each string to be compatible with the predetermined number of digital communication protocols; and

the guitar output assembly is adapted to output the single combined string signal for each guitar string.

59. A retrofit method for converting a guitar from an analog guitar into a digital guitar, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) removing an analog output assembly from an analog guitar;

(b) inserting and mounting a digital guitar processing circuit inside the analog guitar;

(c) connecting the digital guitar processing circuit to a guitar pickup assembly of the analog guitar;

(d) connecting the digital guitar processing circuit to a digital output assembly; and

(e) mounting the digital output assembly on the analog guitar.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein step (e) occurs prior to step (d).

61. A retrofit method for converting a guitar from an analog guitar into a digital guitar, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) inserting and mounting a digital guitar processing circuit inside the analog guitar;

(b) connecting the digital guitar processing circuit to a guitar pickup assembly of the analog guitar;

(c) connecting the digital guitar processing circuit to a digital output assembly; and

(d) mounting the digital output assembly on the analog guitar.