Abstract: An electronic percussion system having the look, feel and response of an acoustic drum is provided by a combination of a drum body shell, conventional drum heads held at adjustable tension across open ends of the shell, and within the interior drum cavity a sound-to-electrical transducer is embedded in layers of rubber foam filler material. The sound energy attenuating characteristics of the foam filler material prevent the transducer from being falsely triggered by ambient sound exterior to the drum, by sympathetic vibrations of the drum, and resists false triggering due to lightly, inadvertently hitting the drum stand.

Abstract: A planar wave transducer assembly comprising a rigid structure formed by a pair of foot pads, each with an upstanding leg and a span bar extending across the top of the legs. A piezoelectric transducer element is attached to the span bar, preferably in a channel extending between the legs, to convert wave motion in the plane defined by the flat bases of the foot pads into an electrical signal. The transducer assembly herein disclosed has been found to be remarkably effective as a pick up when applied to the soundboard of a piano, achieving excellent signal isolation as well as enhancing the acoustic sound produced by the instrument.

Abstract: A pickup responsive in all planes of vibration of a vibrating element of a musical instrument uses two transducers, each maximally responsive in a different plane of vibration. The transducer signals are dephased with respect to each other in order to reduce and possibly eliminate the additive and substractive tendencies of the common portion of the signals when they are combined to produce the pickup signal. The signals may be dephased using a phase shifting network or device, or by using different types of transducers (i.e.: position-sensing for the first transducer and velocity-sensing for the second transducer) which produce signals which are already dephased and thus only require to be combined in order to produce the claimed response.

Abstract: An electro-mechanical pickup for a musical instrument having a plurality of strings. The pickup includes a core, a first piezoelectric transducer element connected in parallel with a second piezoelectric transducer element, and a two-conductor output lead. Using two piezoelectric transducer elements connected in parallel increases the output voltage and capacitance of the pickup compared with using a single piezoelectric transducer element. The core is elongated, and has a first face opposite a second face. The first piezoelectric transducer element includes first and second electrodes on opposite faces of a first piezoelectric film. The second piezoelectric transducer element includes third and fourth electrodes on opposite faces of a second piezoelectric film. The piezoelectric transducer elements are each responsive to more than one string of the musical instrument. The first piezoelectric transducer element is stacked on the core with the second electrode in contact with the first face of the core.

Abstract: Transducer device (12) for drums including a head structure (18) mountable to a drum by means of a mounting structure (20). The head structure includes a piezo electric transducer (24) clamped between metal plates (26, 28), plate (26) forces against the drum skin (16) by application of force through the mounting structure (20). The force is applied to a plate (34) forming part of the head structure (18) which is acoustically isolated from the transducer (24) by an isolating element (36) positioned between the plates (34) and (28). Electrical output is taken via a cable (36) to a preamplifier (74).

Abstract: An electro-mechanical pickup for a stringed musical instrument, such as a guitar, fits in the bottom of the saddle slot of the instrument and provides an electrical output signal representing the vibrations of the strings of the instrument. The electrical output of the transducer is generated by a piezoelectric transducer element having an long, narrow piece of piezoelectric film with an electrode on each face. One electrode of the piezoelectric transducer element is attached to the conductive face of an elongated core. One conductor of a two-conductor electrical output lead is also attached to the conductive face of the core. The core provides electrical contact and a strong mechanical attachment for the output lead. A conductive contact strip is attached to the second electrode of the piezoelectric transducer element, and the second conductor of the output lead is attached to the contact strip.

Abstract: A floating metallic striker plate with a transducer positioned by selective antinode alignment at the resonance point of the striker plate, i.e., the point of greatest vibration. A thin disk made from a plastic laminate or wood veneer is positioned at the bottom of a metallic shell and held in place by a locking rim. A metallic bottom plate is placed on top of and attached to the disk. An isolation ring and isolation foam disk are attached to the bottom plate. The metallic striker plate is attached to the isolation ring and interior surface of the shell by silicon adhesive. A flat transducer with electrical connections to a jack in the side of the shell is attached to the striker plate undersurface at the plate's resonance point. A pure gum rubber disk is attached to the striker surface of the striker plate.

Abstract: An instrument is structured as a guitar and control-box incorporating electronic circuitry to control an external electronic synthesizer and electronic sampling instruments via a conventional M.I.D.I. system. The instrument is played in the fashion of a guitar with digital signals generated in response to switches activated when a musician plays the instrument in a similar manner to playing a conventional guitar. Boards which are capable of movement with respect to the guitar body or arm together with displacement transducers and high efficiency touch-sensitive switches are used for note selection and to create pitch-bend, note-velocity and tremolo signals. The note and fret touch switches are mounted on fret boards which replace the strings of a conventional guitar. The fret boards also produce pitch bend signals.A plurality of pluckboards initiate note-pluck and enable ergonomic multi-timbre playing.

Abstract: A percussion instrument transducer for converting a striking impact into a representative electrical impulse triggering signal. The transducer is formed of a piezoelectric member of disc shape secured to an electrically conductive disc. The piezoelectric member and disc are supported in a housing on a support platform of smaller diameter than the diameter of the disc so that the periphery of the disc is cantilevered beyond the support platform to provide enhanced piezoelectric impulse action.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument having (a) a body portion, (b) a plurality of fret members located at predetermined spacings on the body portion, (c) a string stretched over the body portion, (d) an anchoring device installed on the body portion for anchoring one end of the string, (e) a probe located under the string and between the anchoring device and the plural fret members for making a lateral movement responsive to a deviation of the string in a lateral direction, and (f) a string deviation detector connected to the probe for detecting the deviation of the string based on the lateral movement of the probe and producing a detection signal responsive to the deviation of the string.

Abstract: A vibration plate and cushioning plate are arranged, as a layered structure, within a drum shell in that order as viewed from the inner bottom of the drum shell toward a batter head with a vibration sensing/electric signal producing sensor attached to the vibration plate. A cushioning member is located within the drum shell to elastically support the cushioning plate between the inner bottom surface of the drum shell and the vibration plate. The cushioning member includes an externally urging section for externally urging the vibration plate toward the drum shell and an elastic support section which, when receiving an external strike force exceeding a predetermined value, is elastically deformed toward the inner bottom surface of the drum shell.

Abstract: An electronic drum has cylindrical non-planar playing surface, and a force sensing detection unit is attached to the playing surface. The force sensing detection unit converts external striking forces applied to the playing surface into electrical output pulses. The electronic drum is attached to a mount shaft assembly with a resilient portion interposed between the electronic drum and the mount shaft. The mount shaft assembly enables the electronic drum to be mounted onto various support stands.

Abstract: A triggering apparatus for triggering an acoustic drum synthesizer includes(a) a body attachable to the frame of an acoustic drum to transmit acoustic vibrations from the drum frame or shell, the body configured to pass a drum receiver rod,(b) dual transducer structures carried by the body to be responsive to the transmitted vibrations, to produce signals,(c) and circuitry connected to the dual transducer structures to process the signals, passing only a selected high frequency band of such signals to the synthesizer, to trigger same.

Abstract: An electronic keyboard percussion instrument includes a hammer such as a mallet, a plurality of plates, striking detection devices, and a musical tone generating section. The plates respectively correspond to note names of musical tones to be produced and aligned parallel to each other. The striking detection devices are respectively mounted on lower surfaces of the plates to detect striking of the plate with the mallet and to generate a striking detection signal. The musical tone generating section generates a musical tone of the note name corresponding to the struck plate in response to the striking detection signal. The striking detecting section may include a pressure sensitive element in order to make the musical tone responsive to a force striking the plate.