Music – Instruments – Stringed
Patent
1999-04-16
2000-09-05
Donels, Jeffrey
Music
Instruments
Stringed
84454, G10D 306
Patent
active
061146188
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method for optimizing the position of the strings of stringed and plucked instruments.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Playability, which is primarily characterized by the force required to press down the strings, is a major criterion for the quality of musical instruments of the above-mentioned type. First of all, this string pressdown force depends on the distance between the lower edge of the string and the upper edge of the fingerboard, or, with fretted instruments, the frets.
The term "fingerboard surface" shall denote herein the surface profile of the fingerboard, both for fretted instruments (such as guitars) and fretless instruments (such as stringed instruments, but also fretless electric bass guitars), no matter whether fretwires are inwrought or not. In top view, most fingerboards have a trapezoid plane as they get wider towards the body; this plane is found, for example, in classical guitars. But they may also have a cambered surface as with stringed instruments, electric and Western guitars; in this case, their three-dimensional shape corresponds to a patch of the lateral surface of a truncated cone.
Although this description focuses on measuring and processing fretted instruments (e.g. guitars) for convenience and clarity, the facts described apply likewise to fretless instruments, only that with the latter the string does not strike on the frets but on the wood of the fingerboard if, for example, the distance is too small.
However, the distance between the strings and the frets cannot be reduced to any small measure to keep the string pressdown force to a minimum as the vibration of the string may be impeded by its striking on the nearest following frets. The neck of the instrument or a line across its fret surfaces has to be slightly curved to give a vibrating string the space required at each point of the fingerboard. There is only one optimum fingerboard profile for each string of an instrument at a constant temperament. Any deviation from this line means that either the string is positioned too high above the fingerboard, which impedes playability, or it is positioned too low and strikes on the nearest following frets (or on the fingerboard surface) when vibrating.
Unless prevented by the design or material properties of, the neck of some instruments can be deflected due to the tensile stress exerted by the strings. Such deflection, on the one hand, is not uniform because the neck of the instrument thickens towards the body, and because the end of the fingerboard is directly glued onto the sound board (or onto the solid body, for example, of an electric guitar); on the other hand, it can hardly be predetermined due to the specific properties of the material wood. The result are composite curve sections with different curvatures. Optimum curvature adjustment using the neck adjusting screw that some instruments have (it counteracts the tensile stress exerted by the strings inside the neck) is also impossible due to the varying thickness of the neck.
Another problem is the fact that the distance of the fret surfaces from the wood of the fingerboard surface is not uniform, which is caused by the manufacturing process (manual hammering or pressing in of the fretwires) and by fret wear and tear when the instrument is played. The mechanized and the manual manufacturing process both cause deviation in the relevant range (>0.02 mm). This is traditionally taken into account by manual grinding (so-called tuning) of the fret surfaces. The deflection caused by the tensile stress exerted on the neck by the strings cannot be taken into account in this process because the strings have to be removed and no precise values are known as regards the quantity of material to be ground off from the fret surfaces.
The mode of vibration of the string also influences the required curvature of the fingerboard. It mainly depends on the properties of the string material (steel
ylon, diameter, bare/covered, tensile stress, diapason length, etc.) and on the force w
REFERENCES:
patent: 4037510 (1977-07-01), Ginex et al.
patent: 4777858 (1988-10-01), Petschulat et al.
Donels Jeffrey
Plek Gitarrentechnologie GmbH
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