Electric guitar tremolo bridge piezo pickup

• US 6,198,036 B1
• Filed: 08/24/1999
• Issued: 03/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hoshino Gakki Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Hoshino Gakki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Hoshino, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Witkowski, Stanley J.
• Application Number:
  US09/373,641
• Time in Patent Office: 560 Days
• Field of Search: 847/31, 847/39, 847/40, 842/67, 843/13, 84D/IG.24
• US Class Current: 84/731
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/211 Pitch vibrato, i.e. repetitive and smooth variation in pitch, e.g. as obtainable with a whammy bar or tremolo arm on a guitar non-repetitive smooth pitch variation, e.g. glissando G10H2220/221; repeatedly alternating stepwise in pitch between two notes G10H2210/191
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/481 on top, i.e. transducer positioned between the strings and the bridge structure itself
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/485 One transducer per string, e.g. 6 transducers for a 6 string guitar
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/525 Piezoelectric transducers for vibration sensing or vibration excitation in the audio range; Piezoelectric strain sensing, e.g. as key velocity sensor; Piezoelectric actuators, e.g. key actuation in response to a control voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/185 in which the tones are picked up through the bridge structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 84/24 Piezoelectrical transducers

Abstract

An electric guitar which is equipped with a piezo pickup wherein the lengths of the strings are not changed by the rotation of the main saddle body in connection with fine tuning and during tremolo performance. The electric guitar has a piezo pickup and has a main saddle body that is held so as to be rotatably adjustable in a back and forth direction about an axle. The main saddle body is held pivotally by a saddle holding member on a base plate on the guitar body. The base plate is installed so as to freely swing with respect to the surface of the guitar body to provide a tremolo effect. The top surface of the piezo pickup constantly contacts the string that is held by the main saddle body, at least during fine tuning, by rotatable adjustment of the main saddle body and in the possible swinging range of the base plate during a tremolo performance, thereby avoiding an out of tune situation during the tremolo performance.

Claims

1. An electric guitar comprising:

a guitar body including guitar string support elements for supporting guitar strings to extend in a direction over the body and a string holding member;

a base plate swingably mounted on the guitar body for swinging through a free swinging range with respect to the body around a first axis across the strings;

a bridge saddle on the base plate comprising a saddle holding member and a main saddle body;

the saddle holding member having a top portion;

the main saddle body including elements for fixing an end of a guitar string;

the main saddle body being mounted to the saddle holding member at an axle which extends across the direction of the strings and being rotatably adjustable in a forward and backward direction about the axle on the saddle holding member thereby to allow a fine tuning adjustment of the guitar string; and

a piezo pickup so shaped and so located at the top portion of the saddle holding member that the piezo pickup is in contact with the guitar string at a contact point, the guitar string being fixed by the main saddle body, at least over the free-swinging range of the base plate;

wherein the contact point moves together with said string holding member during intonation adjustment.

2. The electric guitar of claim 1, wherein the piezo pickup has an upper surface that is higher than a front part of the main saddle body.

3. The electric guitar of claim 1, wherein the piezo pickup is disposed alongside a line extending though the axis of rotation of the main saddle body and perpendicular to a surface of the base plate.

4. The electric guitar of claim 3, wherein the piezo pickup is disposed in the saddle holding member and is not rotatable with the main saddle body about the axis of rotation of the main saddle body.

5. The electric guitar of claim 1, wherein the piezo pickup is disposed in the main saddle body and is rotatable with the main saddle body about the axis of rotation of the main saddle body.

6. The electric guitar of claim 1, wherein the base plate is pivotable through the free swinging range to provide a tremolo effect.

7. The electric guitar of claim 1, wherein the piezo is so shaped and placed that the string contacts the piezo pickup approximately at the same location on the piezo pickup during a fine tuning adjustment of the string.

8. The electric guitar of claim 1, wherein the piezo pickup has an upper surface for contacting the string and the upper surface is above an uppermost surface of the saddle holding member and is in line with the string and the main saddle body having an uppermost surface contacting the string.

9. An electric guitar comprising:

a guitar body including guitar string support elements for supporting guitar strings to extend in a direction over the body and a string holding member;

a base plate swingable mounted on the guitar body for swinging through a free swinging range with respect to the body around a first axis across the strings;

a bridge saddle on the base plate comprising a saddle holding member and a main saddle body;

the saddle holding member having a top portion;

the main saddle body including elements for fixing an end of a guitar string;

the main saddle body being mounted to the saddle holding member at an axle which extends across the direction of the strings and being rotatable adjustable in a forward and backward direction about the axle on the saddle holding member thereby to allow a fine tuning adjustment of the guitar string; and

a piezo pickup so shaped and so located above the axle of the main saddle body that the piezo pickup is in contact with the guitar string at a contact point, the guitar string being fixed by the main saddle body, at least over the free-swinging range of the base plate;

wherein the contact point moves together with said string holding member during intonation adjustment.

10. The electric guitar of claim 9, wherein the piezo pickup has an upper surface that is curved convexly around an axis across the direction of the string and positioned for contact with the guitar string.

11. The electric guitar of claim 9, wherein the piezo pickup is so shaped and so disposed above the axis of rotation of the main saddle body that the string contacts the piezo pickup approximately at the same location on the piezo pickup during the fine tuning adjustment of the string.

12. The electric guitar of claim 11, wherein the piezo is so shaped and placed that the string contacts the piezo pickup at a point on the piezo pickup defined by a line perpendicular to an upper surface of the base plate that passes approximately through a center of the axis of rotation of the main saddle body.