Stringless electronic musical instrument
OwnerFred J. Evangelistainventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is an electronic musical instrument resembling a guitar that is played like a guitar and sounds like a guitar; however, it is stringless and has a plurality of flexible actuator blade type members which are mounted on edge and are adapted to be strummed or picked. Flexing of each actuator blade in either direction closes one or more leaf type switches which controls the amplified output of an electronic oscillator whose fundamental operating frequency is further varied in accordance with finger actuation of a plurality of fret-board switches. Although the invention in its preferred embodiment is directed to a guitar-like instrument, it is also applicable to other types and classes of musical string instruments such as a violin.
Claims14
In an electronic musical instrument for simulating a stringed instrument having a body portion adapted to carry tone generating means and a neck portion adapted to carry a finger-board assembly coupled to said tone generator means and being operable to vary the tonal output thereof, the improvement comprising:
- tone generator means including an electrical oscillator circuit for each fundamental frequency desired to be simulated and including switch operated circuit means operable from said fingerboard assembly for selectively changing the tonal output frequency of said oscillator circuit;
- a respective output amplifier circuit coupled to said oscillator circuit and being energized in accordance with the operative state of a player actuated switch device;
- and
- said player actuated switch device consisting of a relatively thin flexible blade-type switch actuator member mounted on edge in a substantially upright position on the outer surface of said body portion adjacent said fingerboard assembly, being adapted thereby to be deflected bi-directionally transverse to said upright position when strummed, struck, picked or plucked or bowed by a player, and at least one pair of electrical switch contacts located on each side of said actuator element, wherein deflection of said actuator element in either direction operates one of said pair of switch contacts to energize said output amplifier circuit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.