Digital high speed guitar synthesizer
OwnerRobert D. Polsoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A musical instrument is structured as a guitar and incorporates electronic circuitry to synthesize musical tones. The instrument is played in the fashion of a guitar with tones generated in response to switches activated through strumming action. The pitch of the tones is controlled by touch-sensitive switch devices mounted at addresses corresponding to fret and string locations. The instrument may be polyphonic with separate tones generated by activation of a plurality of devices corresponding to strings.
Claims16
An electronic instrument configurated and arranged for operation by approximately the same physical motions involved in playing an electronic guitar to produce electronically generated music, comprising:
- an arm with a grid of addresses corresponding to the intersection regions of a plurality of ranks of fret locations and a plurality of files of string locations, each said address being associated with touch-sensitive electronic means in circuit with pitch-control means;
- a strum structure including at least one strum switch in circuit with tone-generating means;
- and
- control circuit means interconnecting said pitch control means, said tone-generating means and a power supply,
- wherein said touch-sensitive, electronic means associated with an address is a normally-open switching circuit including:
- a conductive element carried by said arm and arranged for contact with the palm of the hand of an individual holding the arm to press the fret location of that address in the manner of a guitar player, said conductive element constituting a first contact and
- said fret location including a second contact at that address;
- and
- said normally-open switching circuit is adapted to close when said first and second contacts are connected through the hand of an individual holding said arm and touching said fret location at that address.
An electronic instrument configurated and arranged for operation by approximately the same physical motions involved in playing an electric guitar to produce electronically generated music, comprising:
- an arm with a grid of addresses corresponding to the intersection regions of a plurality of ranks of fret locations and a plurality of files of string locations, each said address being associated with touch-sensitive, electronic means in circuit with pitch-control means;
- a strum structure including a conductor with one end suspended through a bore in a conductive block at reference potential such that it is normally electrically isolated from said block but is brought into conductive relationship therewith by pressure in any direction upon said conductor;
- and
- control circuit means interconnecting said pitch control means, said tone-generating means and a power supply.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.