Classical style guitars are conventionally constructed of a large wooden body to which the neck is attached. The wooden body, consisting of spaced panels, supplies the resonance which produces the acoustical sound of the instrument. Due to the shape of the body, it is necessary to raise the left leg of the player by use of a footstool in order to attain the proper playing position. The object of altering the natural height of the leg is to balance the guitar so that there is no extra energy or strain expended to hold the instrument. This leaves the player free to concentrate on the performance. A conventional guitar is supported by resting the concave side of the body on the left leg, the bottom of the guitar on the right leg, and by holding the upper back of the guitar body close to the chest.
This balance can be difficult to achieve, and over time is uncomfortable due to the need to bend the spine so that the upper torso encompasses the instrument. It is the purpose of the invention to provide the proper relationship of the instrument to the player in an effortless manner. This serves as useful training for using the conventional concert instrument.
Another object of the invention is to provide a full size instrument which is easily transportable without disassembly, without compromise on any dimension of the width of the neck or the number of frets, as is the case with some reduced size "travel guitars".
Practioners of the Classical guitar require the use of their concert instrument during the extended hours of practice necessary to produce a successful performance. A guitar that is used for practice must duplicate the concert instruments' neck and bridge dimensions in order not to have to relearn the intricate movements of the fingers on another instrument.
The invention supplies the need for a full size instrument in a fraction of the space of the conventional guitar. This makes it practicable for the performer to use the invention in situations where it would be undesirable or ungainly to transport the conventional concert instrument, and when the privacy of practicing the instrument without producing an acoustic sound is desirable.
The electronics housing contains a preamplifier, a band pass filter, an amplifier, and an electronic reverb circuit. Additionally, jacks for an external effects loop are provided so that the player may alter the sound of the instrument with any combination of commercially available units such as equalizers, chorus units, and the like.
The band pass filter is provided with the invention in order to eliminate the sound of the left hand fingers as they run up and down the lower three strings, which are wirewound. This noise is generally considered objectionable to the Classical performer. The reverb circuit is supplied with the invention in order to enhance the sound of the piezoelectric pickup, making the invention approximate the sound of a conventional instrument.
In the practice of the invention, the neck is held to the chassis by a pivot, and by the tension of the strings. This allows the player to adjust the "action", or the distance between the strings and the neck, by turning a knob. This pivot arrangement also makes it possible for the guitar to be disassembled by loosening the strings, and releasing the knob.
Relevant examples of previous work include U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,002 to Clevinger, which discloses a transportable electric bass guitar. U.S. Pat No. 4,567,805, also to Clevinger, discloses a bridge and pickup designed to electrically reproduce the acoustic sound of the instrument. U.S. Pat No. 4,111,093 discloses a folding neck instrument. U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,391 to White discloses an inflatable knock-down guitar. U.S. Pat No. 5,078,041 describes a switchable multiple piezoelectric pickup arrangement. U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,397 to Asborth-Jones describes a pickup in which the periphery of a bimorphic transducer is secured via two mounting pads to the underside of a transverse bridge support. U.S. Pat No. 5,291,816 describes a harness designed to hold the instrument to the wearer when in a standing position.
None of the devices shown in the aforementioned patents approaches the simplicity of the neck and bridge design of this invention, and none is designed for the Classical guitar.
In prior art, guitars were made more easily transportable by mechanically complicated means. The folding neck in U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,093 is constructed of many parts, as is the inflatable guitar of U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,391. It has been discovered that the need to disassemble the guitar into its component parts for transport is infrequent, and therefore, a complicated construction is neither desired nor economical to produce. If it is desired to disassemble the invention, such as for airline travel, it is only necessary to loosen the strings and remove the pivot knob. The invention, which when assembled is 33" long and 7" wide at the bridge, is capable of fitting diagonally in a standard 22" airline carrier suitcase when disassembled.
The bridge design of the invention consists of only four parts, namely the pickup, the bridge, grommets, and screws. The pickup, a standard commercial part, is mounted on the top of the bridge. The bridge is also a standard part, as is the neck of the instrument.
A conventional instrument is 40" long, by 15" wide at the bridge, yet the 33" long by 7" wide invention maintains all critical and useful dimensions of the conventional instrument. An area of approximately 230 square inches, and over 900 cubic inches for the body alone is required to store the conventional instrument. The invention has no need of this space.