Music – Instruments
Patent
1976-07-02
1977-08-02
Schaefer, Robert K.
Music
Instruments
84 127, G10H 100
Patent
active
040388956
ABSTRACT:
A musical instrument having a general body outline similar to that of a saxaphone. A front key panel having a plurality of keys mounted thereon is located for easy fingering access to the keys which are in the same general location as the fingering keys on a saxaphone. A rear control panel is provided for mounting instrument voice characteristic and special effects controls. A mouthpiece is provided for engagement by a player's mouth and a pressure transducer is carried in the mouthpiece for communication with the player's breath pressure and for producing a pressure signal corresponding thereto. The pressure signal is connected to a pressure attack circuit for producing a pressure attack signal. Finger pressure applied to predetermined combinations of keys provides predetermined combinations of key pulses for connection to a key decoder. The key decoder produces a binary output corresponding to the predetermined combinations of key pulses which ranges from zero to 1111. A digital to analog converter receives the digital signal and provides an analog tone signal corresponding thereto which is connected to the input of an exponential voltage controlled oscillator. The voltage controlled oscillator provides a tone frequency in a predetermined band which is related exponentially to the tone signal. The tone frequency is divided and shaped to obtain an audio frequency which is connected to the input of a variable harmonic control filter which provides an audio frequency output having a given proportion of harmonics for a given setting at any audio frequency in the instrument range band. The harmonic controlled audio frequency is connected to a format filter for providing a voice frequency having wave shape characteristics similar to those of a predetermined voice. A variable gain amplifier receives the voice frequency at the input thereof. The pressure signal and the pressure attack signal are connected to control the variable gain amplifier for producing an instrument voice output which is interrupted and reinitiated each time the pressure signal falls below and thereafter rises above the pressure attack circuit threshold. Circuits are provided for the production of attack signals as a result of key changes. Means are provided for extensive modification of the audio signal through the action of any of several effect circuits controllable by any of several transducers.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3166622 (1965-01-01), Neustadt
patent: 3318991 (1967-05-01), Cookerly et al.
patent: 3439106 (1969-04-01), Goodale
patent: 3483304 (1969-12-01), Jenny
Campbell Kenneth Strong
Clement Carl Jennings
Walker James Terrell
Clement Laboratories
Miska Vit W.
Schaefer Robert K.
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