Music – Instruments – Stringed
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-11
2003-10-28
Lockett, Kimberly (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Stringed
Reexamination Certificate
active
06639135
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to hollow body stringed instrument fabrication techniques, and more specifically to techniques for fabricating stringed instrument body components.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hollow body stringed instruments, such as violins, cellos, upright basses, acoustic guitars, and the like, as well as pianos, organs and other keyboard instruments, have traditionally been fabricated from solid hardwoods, and wood species for the various instrument components have typically been carefully selected by luthiers to achieve a balance of strength, hardness, tone and other properties. In the steel string, flat top, acoustic guitar industry, for example, choices for guitar tops (or soundboards) typically focus on the tonal properties of the wood, and soundboards are commonly selected from a variety of known tone woods such as spruce, cedar, Koa, mahogany, and the like. Wood choices for other body components, such as the guitar backs and sides, typically take into consideration not only the tonal properties of the wood but its aesthetic appearance as well. Many hardwood varieties have accordingly been used to construct acoustic guitar backs and sides including, for example, mahogany, rosewood, ash, Koa, ebony, maple, and the like.
Regardless of the types and/or species of woods selected for hollow body stringed instrument construction, such wood must not only satisfy tonal objectives, but must also possess a combination of strength and hardness that is sufficient to withstand tension applied thereto by the plurality of strings and bracing arrangements while resisting deformation, cracking and deleterious effects associated with changes in, and extremes of, temperature and humidity. Wood for hollow body stringed instrument construction is typically prepared from quarter-sawn (e.g., vertical grain) hardwood lumber as illustrated in
FIGS. 1-3
. Referring to
FIG. 1
, an end view of a typical log
10
is shown with a characteristic concentric grain pattern
10
a
. Quarter-sawn sheets or boards
12
are cut from log
10
such that the grain pattern
10
a
runs generally parallel with the longitudinal axis
10
b
of board
12
. Sheets
14
of thickness d
1
are then sliced from board
12
, as shown in
FIG. 2
, wherein d
1
typically ranges between 0.08 and 0.125 inches. Book matched sheets
14
a
and
14
b
are then typically joined via an appropriate bonding medium to form the instrument top or back
16
as illustrated in FIG.
3
. Although not specifically illustrated in the drawings, the instrument sides are likewise typically book matched and joined via an appropriate bonding medium during construction of the instrument body.
Over the years, luthiers have made various attempts to depart from the traditional solid wood hollow body stringed instrument construction shown and described hereinabove for various reasons. Referring to
FIG. 4
, for example, one such alternative construction is illustrated wherein a hollow body stringed instrument body component
15
(e.g., top, back or side) is shown in cross section as comprising a lamination of two veneers
14
c
and
14
d
, each typically having thickness d
2
, wherein veneers
14
c
and
14
d
are bonded together using a suitable bonding medium with the grain patterns of veneers
14
c
and
14
d
arranged transverse to each other for increased strength and resistance to cracking. Another example of an alternative construction of a hollow body stringed instrument body component
15
′ is illustrated in
FIG. 5
as comprising a wood core member
18
, having thickness d
3
, sandwiched between two veneers
14
e
and
14
f
, each typically having thickness d
4
. Veneers
14
e
and
14
f
are typically formed of wood types and species traditionally used in the construction of hollow body stringed instrument body components as described hereinabove, while core member
18
is typically formed of a different wood type or species that may not have stiffness and/or density characteristics similar to that of veneers
14
e
and
14
f
. Hollow body stringed instrument construction of the type illustrated in
FIG. 5
is commonly used to produce cheaper instruments in terms of material cost yet simulate the look of traditional solid wood instruments.
While each of the foregoing hollow body stringed instrument construction techniques illustrated in
FIGS. 4 and 5
are viable alternatives to the traditional solid wood construction techniques, both have drawbacks associated therewith in terms of instrument performance. It is generally understood that transverse grain and non-uniform wood species laminations tend to dampen the response of a stringed instrument, and hollow body stringed instruments produced thereby are accordingly less preferred by musicians striving for excellence in tonal response.
Other hollow body stringed instrument manufacturers have sought to develop instrument construction techniques that avoid such drawbacks yet still provide alternatives to the traditional solid wood structures. For example, traditional solid wood backs and sides for steel string acoustic guitars have been replaced on some models with polymer-based bowls or domes of uniform construction in an effort to controllably direct sound from inside the instrument back to the instrument soundboard and/or to reduce material costs. As another example, steel string acoustic guitars have recently been constructed, in whole and in part, from graphite/resin compositions in an effort to provide rugged and robust instruments that attempt to replicate the tonal response of traditional solid wood instruments. However, regardless of the efficacy of such alternative construction techniques, there remains a great demand among musicians and stringed instrument collectors ranging from the most discriminating to the inexperienced novice for hollow body stringed instruments constructed of solid wood components.
Although hollow body stringed instruments constructed of solid wood components have employed a variety of different hard wood species as the back and side body components as described briefly hereinabove, two particular wood types have traditionally been used universally by individual luthiers and large-scale instrument manufacturers alike; namely mahogany and rosewood. It is generally understood that a hollow body stringed instrument constructed with a mahogany back and sides produces “brighter” tones more tightly focused in the mid-range frequencies while those constructed with rosewood back and sides produce “darker” tones with comparatively better bass frequency response. Hollow body stringed instruments of both wood types are highly sought after by musicians and novices alike, and many instruments of both types have been, and continue to be, constructed. However, while mahogany continues to be sufficiently abundant, one particularly desirable species of rosewood is in short supply.
Beginning approximately in the late 1800's, flat top acoustic guitars produced in the United States having rosewood backs and sides were typically constructed from Dalbergia Nigra, commonly known as Brazilian rosewood. This species was generally preferred by luthiers over other rosewood species in part because of its superior hardness, strength, tonal properties and aesthetic appearance, but also because of its abundance, ready availability and close proximity to U.S. guitar manufacturers. This trend continued into the 20
th
century, and flat top acoustic guitar production began to increase dramatically after World War II.
Around 1969, the Brazilian government placed certain restrictions on the exportation of Brazilian rosewood, requiring it to be at least partially milled within Brazil. This dramatically increased the cost of Brazilian rosewood to consumers outside of Brazil, and U.S. acoustic guitar manufacturers generally responded to this embargo by seeking out other species of rosewood for guitar fabrication. Consequently, most acoustic guitars built by major U.S. acoustic guitar manufacturers and others after 1969 with rosewood backs
Barnes & Thornburg
Lockett Kimberly
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