Guitar-style synthesizer-controllers

• US 5,085,119 A
• Filed: 07/19/1990
• Issued: 02/04/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: John F. Cole
• Original Assignee: John F. Cole
• Inventors: Cole, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoop, Jr, William M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DONELS, JEFFREY
• Application Number:
  US07/554,409
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 84/615, 84/626, 84/627, 84/629, 84/644-647, 84/653, 84/662, 84/663, 84/670, 84/722, 84/723, 84/737, 84/738, 84/742, 84/743, 84/739, 84/727 , 84/DIG. 30, 84/724, 84/725, 84/730
• US Class Current: 84/724
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/342 for guitar-like instruments with or without strings and with a neck on which switches or string-fret contacts are used to detect the notes being played electric guitars in which the tones are generated by the vibration of strings G10H3/18
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 84/30 Fret control

Abstract

An instrument is structured as a guitar and control-box incorporating electronic circuitry to control an external electronic synthesizer and electronic sampling instruments via a conventional M.I.D.I. system. The instrument is played in the fashion of a guitar with digital signals generated in response to switches activated when a musician plays the instrument in a similar manner to playing a conventional guitar. Boards which are capable of movement with respect to the guitar body or arm together with displacement transducers and high efficiency touch-sensitive switches are used for note selection and to create pitch-bend, note-velocity and tremolo signals. The note and fret touch switches are mounted on fret boards which replace the strings of a conventional guitar. The fret boards also produce pitch bend signals.

A plurality of pluckboards initiate note-pluck and enable ergonomic multi-timbre playing.

Claims

1. A guitar-style synthesizer-controller comprising a body having a playing face with a pluck or strum region having an array of individual pluck-sensitive means for sensing a plucking motion to generate notes, an arm attached to the body and carrying a plurality of elongate lines of frets spaced alternatively with note-selection for selecting means, switch means adjacent to said pluck-sensitive means, said frets and said note-selection means for controlling note parameters an interface which is arranged to produce digital output signals, wherein the frets and note-selection means are resiliently displaceable in at least one direction and displacement sensing means are associated therewith to provide output signals representative of such movement, and wherein the pluck-sensitive means are mounted on pluck boards, each of which boards is resiliently movable in at least one direction with displacement means associated therewith to provide output signals representative of such movement.

2. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which the frets and note-selection means are mounted on a plurality of parallel fret boards which are each resiliently displaceable about three mutually perpendicular axes.

3. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, which includes individual touch-sensitive switches associated with each fret and each note-selection means.

4. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which output signals representative of displacement movement of the frets and note-selection means are assigned to pitch bend.

5. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which the pluck-sensitive means comprise touch-sensitive switches.

6. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which the displacement sensing means comprises magnets and Hall-effect devices.

7. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which output signals representative of displacement movement of the pluck boards are used to control velocity signals.

8. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, said pluck-sensitive means include means for selecting a plurality of timbres to be played simultaneously.

9. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which the pluck or strum region includes a plurality of tremolo boards each adapted to add tremolo to notes plucked on the adjacent said pluck board.

10. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which a tremolo board is provided adjacent to each pluck board to add tremolo to notes plucked on the adjacent pluck board and has a touch-sensitive switch associated therewith, with each associated pluck board and tremolo board pair being resiliently relatively movable towards and away from each other to generate an output signal.

11. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, which includes hold switches in the pluck of strum region to prevent note-off signals from being transmitted from the interface and enabling a plucked note to be sustained after it has been released on a fret board carrying the frets and the note-selection means.

12. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, which includes means located on the arm to permit adjacent of pitch bend sensitivity.

13. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, which includes touch-sensitive switches to permit adjustment of pluck sustain.

14. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 2, which includes an open-string circuit associated with each fret board, said open-string circuit including a switch movable between a mute position and a play position.

15. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which the pluck-sensitive means comprises an array of photo-sensors or photo-switches.

16. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which the pluck-sensitive means comprises a magnetic or piezoelectric pick-up for use with metal strings located in the pluck or strum region.

17. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 1, in which the frets are divided in preset combinations so that frets in different sections of the linear array of frets produce different timbres.

18. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 3, in which each touch-sensitive switch comprises a CMOS logic circuit with a Zener diode protecting the CMOS device, with the Zener voltage being lower than the supply voltage of the circuit between the circuit input and ground.

19. A synthesizer-controller as claimed in claim 5, in which each touch-sensitive switch comprises a CMOS logic circuit with a Zener diode protecting the CMOS device, with the Zener voltage being lower than the supply voltage of the circuit between the circuit input and ground.