4,106,387

43,75. De STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

Arthur William Alifano, West Sand Lake, New York 15 August 1978 (Class 84/312 P); filed 19 March 1976

This patent covers the mechanism for a pedal steel guitar. The construction is such that the operation of a particular pedal may raise the pitch of some strings while lowering the pitch of others and leaving still others unchanged. The instrument may be equipped with several pedals, each producing a different combination of pitch changes upon the various strings. The pedals may be used individu- ally or in combination. The player preprograms the effect of each pedal by adjusting limit stop screws associated with the individual strings.- RWP

4,112,804

43.75. De STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

Jack Cecchini, Chicago, Illinois 12 September 1978 (Class 84/173); fried 18 March 1977

This is a "stringed musical device for teaching purposes" aimed at students of plucked stringed instruments such as guitar, mando- lin, or ukelele. In shape, it is a rectangular box with strings running the length of the top surface. A removable fingerboard can be placed under the strings for fingering practice, or they can be plucked for plucking practice. "Due to the relatively large sound box provided in the present invention, plucking or strumming pro- duces a relatively high quality tone thereby enabling the user to hear clearly the results of his right-hand practice technique, but since the overall dimensions of the device are much less than a normal guitar or violin, the device lends itself to practice during car trips and the like."-RWP

4,116,107

43.75.De STRINGED INSTRUMENT MUTE MECHANISM

James H. Rickard, assignor to Ovation Instruments, Incorporated

26 September 1978 (Class 84/267); filed 19 January 1977

"A mute mechanism for an electric string bass or other stringed musical instrument is permanently mounted on the body of the in- strument and includes a rubber-faced mute movable into and out of

engagement with the instrument's strings by a manually shiftable slide readily accessible by a performer playing the instrument." The mute is unobtrusively mounted beneath the strings in such a way as not to interfere with normal playing.-RWP

4,119,0 09

43.75. De STRINGED INSTRUMENT NECK WITH PEGHEAD

Charles William Kaman, II, assignor to Kaman Aerospace Corporation

10 October 1978 (Class 84/293); filed 29 November 1977

"A neck for a stringed musical instrument has a metallic frame running substantially the entire length of the neck to provide a fin- gerboard and also to provide support for a peghead at the outer or upper end of the neck. The peghead portion of the frame cooper- ates with a mounting plate which may be varied in shape to suit dif- ferent peghead styles and arrangements of the machine heads at- tached to the peghead, thereby allowing identical frames to be used

in making necks with various different peghead designs. In addition to the frame, a major portion of the neck is comprised of structural foamed plastic with the construction being such as to enable quanti- ty manufacture of the necks at low unit cost."-RWP

4,121,492

43.75.De REINFORCED NECK FOR STRINGED

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Dennis A. Berardi, Manasquan, New Jersey, and Phillip J. Petillo, Ocean, New Jersey

24 October 1978 (Class 84/293); fried 15 July 1976

Warpage and deformation of guitar necks due to string tension seems to be a chronic problem, to judge from the number of patents dealing with it. In this one there is an aluminum "reinforcing mem- ber having a T-shaped cross-sectional area extending throughout the length of the instrument neck and terminating in a forked head. The generafly semicircular cross-sectional configuration of the neck is achieved by the addition of a top lamination and side inserts of materials which produce the desired feel and appearance." The head is forked to reduce its weight.- RWP

4,122,745

43.75.De STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT WITH

AUXILIARY STRINGS

Francisco J. Darias Paya, Alcoy, Spain 31 October 1978 (Class 84/267); filed 17 February 1977

"A stringed instrument, such as a guitar, is provided with one or more auxiliary strings which are parallel to the regular strings of per- formance and between the regular strings and the sound box or body to be actuated under the influence and vibrations of the regu- lar strings." In view of the long history of sympathetic strings, it is a little surprising to find a patent being granted at this late date for what appears to be perfectly straightforward construction along tra- ditional lines. The sympathetic strings pass beneath the finger- board.-RWP

4,126,072

43.75.De STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

Robert A. Taylor, Nashville, Tennessee 21 November 1978 (Class 84/173); filed 3 May 1977

"The present invention pertains to a stringed musical instru- ment... requiring a minimum of inexpensive parts .... The... instrument is played by placing the same on a suitable surface which acts as a sounding board and produces a tone of good quality." The instrument resembles a small Appalachian dulcimer. The entire

44 36 52.5456

body and peghead are cut from a single board, typically 1 in. thick. The bottom face is hollowed out to form a cavity 36, leaving a rela- tively thin top surface. The fingerboard is attached directly to this top surface, as is common in dulcimers. The patent does not men- tion any preferred type of wood.-RWP

2129 J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67(6), June 1980; 0001-4966/80/062129-01500.80; ¸ 1980 Acoust. Soc. Am.; Patent Reviews 2129

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