Capo
OwnerDoran M. Osterinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus which clampingly engages the neck and the strings and fingerboard of a stringed instrument for selectively adjusting the pitch of the strings. The apparatus includes positioning guides for aligning the apparatus with respect to the frets which are disposed along the fingerboard and a pair of relatively thin, resilient string-engaging members which reduce undesirable string vibration and maintain proper string contact with the frets.
Claims11
An apparatus for selectively adjusting the pitch of a stringed instrument including a neck having a fingerboard with a plurality of frets spaced thereon over which the strings pass, comprising bar means extended over the strings and across the fingerboard, said bar means having upper and lower surfaces and front and rear walls, clamping means for operatively forcing said bar means toward the fingerboard, resilient string engaging means disposed along said lower surface of said bar means and adjacent said front wall, fret abutting stop means mounted on said bar means and extending downwardly therefrom, said stop means having a portion substantially in alignment with said string engaging means, whereby when said portion of said stop means abuts a selected fret, said string engaging means is in a position overlying the fret.
An apparatus for selectively adjusting the pitch of a stringed instrument having a neck portion along one side of which is disposed a fingerboard with a plurality of frets spaced thereon over which the strings pass comprising bar means disposed over and across the fingerboard and over the strings, said bar means having upper and lower surfaces, clamping means for operatively forcing said bar means toward the fingerboard, at least one resilient string engaging means securely retained within said bar means and extending downwardly from said lower surface, said resilient string engaging means being relatively narrow and having a width dimension substantially less than the height dimension, said string engaging means being yieldable enough to permit tuning of a string when said bar means is securely clamped with said string engaging means in pressured contact forcing the strings against a fret and rigid enough to prevent distortion of a portion of said string engaging means adjacent one string from being translated along said engaging means to another portion thereof adjacent another string, and means carried by said bar means for engaging a selected fret to space said resilient string engaging means relative to the selected fret.
An apparatus for selectively adjusting the pitch of a stringed instrument having a sounding body, neck, head and a plurality of frets disposed along the neck comprising clamping means having pressure bar means disposed above the strings and cooperative clamping member disposed below the neck, said pressure bar means having upper, lower and front and back surfaces, first and second relatively flexible string contacting means, said first and second string contacting means being relatively narrow and of a length to extend across the strings of the instrument, means for rigidly mounting said first and second string contacting means in spaced relationship along said lower surface of said pressure bar means, said first string contacting means being disposed adjacent to said front surface of said pressure bar means, a pair of adjustably mounted stop means extending from said lower surface of said pressure bar means, said stop means having an outer portion for abutting a fret, said outer portion of said stop means extending forwardly toward said front surface of said pressure bar means and terminating at a point which is substantially in alignment with said first string contacting means, whereby when said apparatus is placed along the neck of an instrument with said stop means abutting a selected fret, said first string contacting means is in contact with the strings along the selected fret.
In a capo having string engaging means for use with a stringed instrument having a body with an elongated neck and a plurality of spaced frets, the improvement comprising stop means carried by said capo for engaging a selected fret and positioning said string engaging means in a selected position relative to a fret.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.