US3629483A - Multivocal music system - Google Patents

Abstract

A musical instrument having a plurality of strings for producing sound vibrations and including a plurality of electrical pickup devices, each of which includes a coil form defining a tapered opening, a tapered permanent magnet disposed in the opening, and a voltage coil wound around the form and peripherally disposed about the magnet. Each pickup device spans all the strings and is disposed at a different location of string vibration whereby the amplitudes of vibration have different values for each location. A plurality of amplifiers each having an input connected to a different pickup device and an output connected to one of a plurality of speakers is also provided.

Description

United States Patent [72] inventor Ruel E. Welch 4206 E. Delhi, Holt, Mich. 48842 [21] Appl. No. 785,845 [22] Filed Nov. 21, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 21,1971

[54] MULTIVOCAL MUSIC SYSTEM 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 84/l.16, 84/l.15, 84/D1G.1 [51] Int. Cl G10h 3/08, GlOh 3/00 [50] Field of Search 84/l.l5, 1.16;336/1l0;3l0l25;335/297; 179/117 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,325,579 6/1967 Cookerly et al. 84/1 l 6 3,456,063 7/1969 Teranishi et al. 84/l.16 3,185,755 5/1965 Wi1liamsetal...... 84/l.14X 3,194,870 7/1965 Tondreau et a1 84/116 7 Primary Examiner--Mi|ton O. Hirshfield Assistant Examiner-Stanley J Witkowski Attorney-Malcom R. McKinnon ABSTRACT: A musical instrument having a plurality of strings for producing sound vibrations and including a plurality of electrical pickup devices, each of which includes a coil form defining a tapered opening, a tapered permanent magnet disposed in the opening, and a voltage coil wound around the form and peripherally disposed about the magnet. Each pickup device spans all the strings and is disposed at a different location of string vibration whereby the amplitudes of vibration have different values for each location. A plurality of amplifiers each having an input connected to a different pickup device and an output connected to one of a plurality of speakers is also provided. a

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AMP i z [P-4 D s- 4 5 HIGH l 1 REVERE TQEMoLo 2-1- a FOOT SWITCH MULTIVOCAL MUSIC SYSTEM SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The purpose of my invention is to greatly improve the tonal range of musical instruments that depend on certain vibrating members in order to produce sound and be more responsive to a very broad range of vibratory motion, like air motion or elastic mass motion conducted through various materials. This motion is the resulting effect when certain objects have been struck or plucked causing them to vibrate at audio frequencies that represent musical notes.

My invention is designed to depend on various vibratory effects properly coupled to it in order to perform, processes all the vibratory motions into electrical voltage variations, which are detected and amplified as to conformity, as an interpretation of musical notes, and couple the results of the process to the outer air by a multielectro-mechanical acoustic system, in order to produce sound waves in combinations that contain certain characteristics in their makeup. Devices embodying the present invention are very sensitive to any voltage change, and respond to a flat audiofrequency range or to various humps or peaks that can occur in the musical spectrum. From this certain notes of musical expression can be made to rise and fall in respect to all other notes of musical expression in the process of manipulation or audiotonal colors. This being a result of controlling expansion and compression of natural sounds and inherent sympathetic infinite tonal colors, when reproduced by my invention constitute and entirely new means for musical expression.

Fabricating materials that compose my invention consist of many combinations of both solid and elastic matter. A mass of matter is shaped to form mechanical structures. Electronic resonant parallel and series circuit networks contain many fixed and variable configurations that incorporate switching arrangements, when assembled by fitting together in a certain order form a multivocal electronic and mechanical music system that will perform in a concert hall or an average room, being capable of filling the concert hall or the average room with high-fidelity high-pressure sound level.

My invention can have sound chambers that are a multiplicity of sound chambers, electronic circuits, audiofrequency amplifiers and selective switching. Each part or a combination of parts that make up a unit or the complete music system will be able to respond differently to a low or high-frequency tonal color and be more sensitive to a wider frequency range of modes, of vibrating steel members. Also when such a configuration of differently excited parts are combined they will not interact harshly and produce a distortion of tonal color.

My invention combines a combination of mechanical and electronic configurations that function as a single music system, one voice or more than one voice, multivocal that responds either to low rhythm or high-rhythm passages simultaneously and to all color tones worth reproducing. All the vibration effects from elastic steel members, such as fundamentals and harmonics, and transients that are present at the voltage coil or coils can be converted into electrical output voltage that can be shaped, split into multiples or fractional sections and from this tonal colors can be varied to contain a very high or very low frequency.

My invention couples all vibration modes from solid or elastic matter, a path of masses that are oscillating, twisting, vibrating, expanding and contracting in rhythmic order or in unusual order that can influence the magnetic flux of one voltage coil or several voltage coils that are either parallel or of series resonant networks. From this it can be seen that positioning several voltage coils in certain relationships with respect to the elasticity of a vibrating steel member, particularly voltage coils that have tapered permanent magnets, results in exposing more or less area of the permanent magnets. When less area is exposed, magnetic flux is intensified at a faster rate which means the voltage soil is responding more to the high-frequency content of mode wavelengths, and when more area is exposed, magnetic flux is intensified at a slower rate, which also means the voltage coil is responding to the lower content of mode wavelength.

My invention incorporates many combinations of mechanical or electronic configurations into a music system that has the capability to be extremely sensitive to vibration changes, audiofrequency changes, length of air paths, and volume of air changes, in order to be able to reproduce the entire musical scale spectrum or fractional portions thereof. Such a system is more versatile in performance, because the musical scale can be divided into as many sections as necessary to obtain certain suboctal color tones or an entirely new concept in tone generation when music is produced. This permits the user, the musician, new dimensions when using such an electronic enhanced music system. The fingertips of the musician can have an almost unlimited combination of effects available, musical variations depending only on the musician's artistic ingenuity or freedom of expression.

My invention employs more than one voltage coil in order to respond to high-tonal colors or low-tonal colors. It also em ploys more than one audiofrequency amplifier that will respond to a divided audiofrequency spectrum and more than one speaker that is responsive to each channel of audio frequencies, such as bass channel, medium bass channel, medium high channel, and the treble channel. It can employ a multiple speaker enclosure that is constructed to absorb unwanted resonant effects that cause raucous sounds. The result are a music system that will produce a variety of low-amplitude signals or high-amplitude signals that will not be distorted when both low and high signals appear simultaneously. Interrnodulation can not occur because it would be impossible for the high frequencies to be modulated by the low frequencies.

My invention uses a multiple audiofrequency amplifier system that can handle output voltages from many other sources of pickup devices such as direct contact, indirect contact or air volume electronic pickups (that have low or highfrictional losses), all characteristics of masses that are analogous to inductance in an electronic circuit (this includes matter when at rest tends to stay at rest and when in motion tends to stay in motion) and that provide electronic pickup devices with their many certain characteristics of tonal color. Such characteristics of tonal color are also generated from various sound chambers, or sounding boards that serve as supports for a variety of acoustical steel stringed instruments. Types of musical instruments which have clamped at both ends elastic members that vibrate when struck or plucked at certain intervals or sequences that will represent the notes of a musical scale in variations of tempo are examples of such instruments.

The multiple audiofrequency amplifiers can serve one or more musical instruments individually or simultaneously because of more than one input and more than one output. Taped or live music can be mixed to accompaniment of electronic percussion instruments, and electronic organs and is particularly effective with stereo instruments. Music is a medium of communication between composer and listeners. So a musical system of this type permits a composer of music to produce more pleasing sounds or a combination of sounds to convey a musical message, and from this a creative musician would be able to create a musical language.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of one type of electrical guitar pickup constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of a sound system constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates the fundamental and harmonic modes of vibrations of steel strings when used with electrical pickups as shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 5 illustrates the arrangement of strings and pickups which produces the modes of vibration shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1-2, a pickup is provided with a lower pole piece and mounting plate which extends horizontally and supports a hollow coil form 12 which is elongated horizontally and having the shape of a wedge with a central wedge-shaped opening 14 into which a horizontal flat wedge-shaped permanent magnet 16 is disposed, the upper flat surface thereof being a NORTH-magnetic pole, and the lower flat surface thereof being a SOUTH-magnetic pole. A voltage coil 18 is would in the form peripherally about the magnet and has two ends 19 and 20 which serve as signal leads.

A guitar pickup constructed in the manner shown is more responsive to certain wavelengths of reed or stringed instruments, vibrating members, such as steel strings and steel reeds, where motion must be converted into electrical output.

More than one pickup of this type will tune one octave higher or lower when their permanent magnets are fabricated in the wedge shape, and this wedge shape can be made with more taper or less taper in order to be responsive to a desired wavelength.

String motion patterns called vibration modes, oscillations or burst frequencies can be selected by employing proper electronic pickup unit or units and placing the units in certain locations in respect to the vibrating members. Proper pickup location is most important in order to select a desired tone color.

Flux density, magnetic field patterns of a coil of wire determines how well it will respond when influenced by steel string motion. The shape of the pole piece, coil and the power of the permanent magnet are most important in obtaining a certain varying output voltage that will represent vibrating motion. The wedge-shaped design of the pickup unit means that the magnetic field of the unit will be wedge shaped and its field effect pattern will be different along its entire length. Magnet flux intensity will also be effected more by the size or shape of the vibrating members. The narrow part of the wedge responds more to high-frequency tone colors and the wider part of the wedge responds to the lower frequency tone colors.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, a guitar has six elastic steel strings, arranged from first to sixth in order of decreasing fundamental frequency. Four pickups labeled P1, P2, P3 and P4 each span all six strings. Pl, which is the largest wedge, responds to the fundamental modes of all strings, is located at the point of maximum amplitude of strong vibration, and is connected via full bass amplifier 40 to full bass speaker 42.

P2 is the next largest wedge, responds to the second harmonic modes of all strings, is located at the point of next largest amplitude of string vibration, and is connected via medium bass amplifier 44 to medium bass speaker 46.

P3 is the next largest wedge, responds to the third harmonic modes of all strings, is located at the point of next largest amplitude of string vibration, and is connected via medium highfrequency amplifier 48 to medium high speaker 50.

P4 is thus the smallest wedge, responds to the fourth harmonic modes of all strings, is located at the point of least string vibration, and is connected via full high-frequency amplifier 52 to full high-frequency speaker 54.

All amplifiers are connected to a reverberation, tremolo and delay device 56 and are controlled by foot switch 58.

Thus the output of each pickup unit is fed into a separate audio amplifier, and each amplifier has its own speaker. Four speakers make up one unit and four audio amplifiers make up another unit. The reason for this unusual combination is to be able to distinctly hear the difference in voicing separations, the output voltage from each electronic pickup. This system I claim to be unmatched in performance and a very unusual combination because it will give the performance of four guitars bein played in unison.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to the drawing, such is not to be considered as limiting in its actual scope.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed is:

l. A musical instrument having a plurality of strings for producing sound vibrations and comprising, in combination, a plurality of electrical pickup devices, each of said pickup devices including a coil form defining a tapered opening, a tapered permanent magnet disposed in said opening, a voltage coil wound around said form and peripherally disposed about said magnet, said coil having two ends across which electrical signals appear in response to sound-producing vibratory movement of said strings, each of said pickup devices spanning all of said strings, each pickup device being disposed at a different location of string vibration whereby the amplitudes of vibration have different values for each pickup device, a like plurality of amplifiers each having an input and an output, each amplifier being connected at its input to a different pickup device, and a like plurality of speakers, each speaker being connected to the output of a different amplifier.

2. An instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein each pickup device comprises a first horizontal fixed pole piece; a coil form disposed on top of said 'piece, said form having an elongated opening of wedge shape; a horizontal wedge-shaped permanent magnet disposed in said opening, and a voltage coil wound around said form and peripherally disposed about said magnet, said coil having two ends across which electrical signals appear in response to sound vibrations.

3. An instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein each said location represents a different mode of vibrations commencing with the fundamental mode and continuing by integral steps through the second and higher hannonic modes.

4. An instrument as set forth in claim 3 wherein each pickup device and corresponding amplifier and speaker are adapted to respond particularly to the mode of vibration associated with the said each pickup.

Claims (4)

1. A musical instrument having a plurality of strings for producing sound vibrations and comprising, in combination, a plurality of electrical pickup devices, each of said pickup devices including a coil form defining a tapered opening, a tapered permanent magnet disposed in said opening, a voltage coil wound around said form and peripherally disposed about said magnet, said coil having two ends across which electrical signals appear in response to sound-producing vibratory movement of said strings, each of said pickup devices spanning all of said strings, each pickup device being disposed at a different location of string vibration whereby the amplitudes of vibration have different values for each pickup device, a like plurality of amplifiers each having an input and an output, each amplifier being connected at its input to a different pickup device, and a like plurality of speakers, each speaker being connected to the output of a different amplifier.

2. An instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein each pickup device comprises a first horizontal fixed pole piece; a coil form disposed on top of said piece, said form having an elongated opening of wedge shape; a horizontal wedge-shaped permanent magnet disposed in said opening, and a voltage coil wound around said form and peripherally disposed about said magnet, said coil having two ends across which electrical signals appear in response to sound vibrations.

3. An instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein each said location represents a different mode of vibrations commencing with the fundamental mode and continuing by integral steps through the second and higher harmonic modes.

4. An instrument as set forth in claim 3 wherein each pickup device and corresponding amplifier and speaker are adapted to respond particularly to the mode of vibration associated with the said each pickup.

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