US 4,497,234 AGranted

Sound attachment for a reed instrument

OwnerFrank F. Strnadinventor

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A sound attachment for a reed instrument such as a harmonica. A housing is provided having an open end adapted for attachment to the instrument, covering the full width of the portion of the instrument from which sound is emitted, and a closed opposite end. Interior walls of the housing converge from the open end to an area intermediate the length of the housing, defining a sound funnel. A sound absorbing collar is mounted transversely within the housing, located between the intermediate area and the closed end of the housing, and has an electronic sound pick up element mounted therein. The pick up element is located to provide an air chamber on both sides of the collar pick up element assembly which achieves a balanced condition such that when the chambers are filled with air, virtually total sound from the instrument is received by the pick up element with very little or no distortion, and thus may be amplified without distortion.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A sound attachment for a reed musical instrument such as a harmonica and the like comprising a housing having an open end adapted to be attached to a harmonica and a closed end, a first portion in said housing having symmetrically converging walls defining a sound funnel between said open end and an intermediate relatively narrow area along said housing, a second portion in said housing having symmetrically diverging walls and extending between said intermediate relatively narrow area and said closed end, a sound absorbing collar disposed in said second portion in said housing between said intermediate relatively narrow area and said closed end, said collar having an opening generally centrally thereof, and electronic sound pick up means held in said collar opening, said pick up means being located at a predetermined location such that substantially all sound waves emitting from said instrument are received by said pick up means and air pressure is reduced prior to said sound waves making contact with said pick up means.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.