Abstract: This invention presents a modular circuit using a 3-gang pot to mix and compensate two signals, to produce an output of approximately uniform volume. One gang, Pga, physically simulates a pseudo-sine function, Q(x), where 0?×?1 is fractional pot rotation. A second gang, Pgb, physically simulates a pseudo-cosine function, R(x). The circuits using Pga & Pgb multiply the two input signals by the pseudo-functions, so that the length, SQRT(Q2+R2), of vector (Q,R) stays near one. The third gang, Pgc, modifies the gain of a summer/compensator op-amp, U3, which adds the two modified signals and compensates for variations in amplitude due to phase cancellations between the two input signals, maintaining an output of near-constant amplitude. A number of embodiments consider 3-gang pots with linear, custom nonlinear and mixed tapers. Any of the three gangs may be replaced by a digital pot, driven by a programmable processor.

Abstract: This invention discloses a hollow-body guitar with a large rectangular sound hole between the neck and bridge, with two pickup mounting slots on each side of the sound hole in removable top plates, including a system of top plates and mounting adapters for 7 different single-coil and dual-coil pickup types. The invention has a system humbucking pickup circuit mixing modules that can be cascaded in linear or tree form to mix all the types of pickups in the output, providing a much wider range of tones than current 3-way and 5-way switching systems. For example, three matched single-coil pickups and one humbucker can be mixed to provide 19 humbucking circuits and 18 circuits with hum. Mixed a different way, using switchless analog circuits, they can produce the tones of all 19 switched humbucking circuits, plus all the continuous variations in between.

Abstract: This invention eliminates most mechanical switching in vibrational pickup circuits by using variable gains to combine signals of sensors in differential amplifiers as J?1 humbucking pairs for J>1 number of sensors, with the sensors matched to produce the same level and phase of unwanted hum from external sources. It can also combine J>1 number of matched sensors with K>1 number of dissimilar sensors which are matched only to each other in the same manner. This produces not only all the possible mechanically switched humbucking signals, but all the continuously-varying combinations of humbucking signals in between.

Abstract: This invention continues and adds to the embodiments under Non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/840,644, adding circuits using small dual-coil humbucking pickups made to mount in the same holes as and replace single-coil pickups. It also develops circuits to match the value of tone capacitors to the lumped inductances of pickup circuits. A mechanical switching system for 3 single-sized humbuckers can produce 21 distinct tonal circuits from 48 different switch combinations, using a 6-way circuit switch and three 2-way mode switches. A digitally-controlled solid-state switching system can avoid the duplicate circuits, and control even more pickups for more tones.

Abstract: A modular single-coil electromagnetic stringed-instrument pickup, made to mount in replacement of a standard single-coil pickup, using the similar mounting screws and springs, has a replaceable base, core, blade pole and cover. The core unit has two flat coil forms glued to a bar magnet, which together form a trough for the coil. The outsides of the coil forms have printed circuits which form the coil end contacts and an integral electrostatic shield, with interconnect fixed after the coil is wound, so that the core unit can be flipped to change the magnetic polarity of the pickup, and thus the string vibration signal, while maintaining a humbucking pair circuit with equivalent pickup. The base, which can be either non-magnetic or ferro-magnetic material in different shapes and configurations to shape the magnetic field, contains three conductive index pins, which both make contact with the core unit contacts, and transmit string signals to any circuit or electrical contacts on the bottom of the base.

Abstract: This invention continues and adds to the embodiments under NPPA Ser. No. 16/840,644, adding circuits using small dual-coil humbucking pickups made to mount in the same holes as and replace single-coil pickups. It also develops circuits to match the value of tone capacitors to the lumped inductances of pickup circuits. A mechanical switching system for 3 single-sized humbuckers can produce 21 distinct tonal circuits from 48 different switch combinations, using a 6-way circuit switch and three 2-way mode switches. A digitally-controlled solid-state switching system can avoid the duplicate circuits, and control even more pickups for more tones. With such a switching system, the user can set the order of 2, 21, 120 and 705 distinct tonal circuits for 2, 3, 4 and 5 single-sized humbucking pickups, with expected extensions to larger numbers of pickups, and the caveat from previous work by this inventor that tones tend to bunch together at the warm end, decreasing the number of audibly distinct tones.

Abstract: This invention uses a simple, decorative and effective way to hold picks to a guitar body, especially a solid electric guitar body or the head of a neck. It comprises a flat plate, which can be conveniently included in the design of a pick guard, using at least one mounting screw, one or more fingers to hold down individual picks, each tensioned by separate screw, and a thin shield under the pick holder to keep each pick from rubbing on the body finish. The parts can be cut, carved or printed to decorative designs.

Abstract: This invention discloses a pickup based upon the core of a common lipstick pickup for an electric stringed musical instrument with a core and housing, the core comprised of a magnet, coil form, and a wire coil connected to electrical contacts on the coil form, and a separate housing providing mounting to the body of the instrument and mating electrical contacts for that core, such that the core can be removed from the housing, flipped so as to reverse the magnetic field towards the strings, and reinserted into the housing, such that any humbucking circuit constructed with other matching pickups will remain humbucking.

Abstract: This invention uses a simple, decorative and effective way to hold picks to a guitar body, especially a solid electric guitar body or the head of a neck. It comprises a flat plate, which can be conveniently included in the design of a pick guard, using at least one mounting screw, one or more fingers to hold down individual picks, each tensioned by separate screw, and a thin shield under the pick holder to keep each pick from rubbing on the body finish. The parts can be cut, carved or printed to decorative designs.

Abstract: This invention eliminates most mechanical switching in vibrational pickup circuits by using variable gains to combine signals of sensors in differential amplifiers as J?1 humbucking pairs for J>1 number of sensors, with the sensors matched to produce the same level and phase of unwanted hum from external sources. It can also combine J>1 number of matched sensors with K>1 number of dissimilar sensors which are matched only to each other in the same manner. This produces not only all the possible mechanically switched humbucking signals, but all the continuously-varying combinations of humbucking signals in between.

Abstract: This invention refines and expands the use of mode switches in common-point connection circuits for matched pickups on musical instruments. For example, on a 3-coil S-type electric guitar, where the common-point connection circuit with a single-ended output provides three humbucking pair outputs and three humbucking triple outputs, a 4P2T mode switch can ground the common point and provide both all of the standard non-humbucking 5-way switch outputs, as well as adjusting the tone capacitor to make both humbucking and non-humbucking tone outputs more compatible. On an electric guitar with three dual-coil humbuckers, mode switches of one 6P2T, one 2P2T and three 1P2T can choose between dual-coil and single-coil operation modes, humbucking and non-humbucking modes, and partially simulate the effect of flipping single-coil magnets at will, by choosing which coil of each humbucker is used.

Abstract: This invention derives directly from U.S. Pat. No. 10,380,986 (Baker, 2019). Primarily, it makes better use of the mode switches, SWa and SWb in FIG. 17 of U.S. Pat. No. 10,380,986, and similar functions in SW1 to SWj+k in the same Figure to provide a better-organized and expanded set of outputs for sets of either 3 single-coil pickups or 3 dual-coil humbucker pickups, in such a way that all of the electro-mechanical controls will fit on a standard-sized electric guitar. In addition, the expanded use of mode switches allows 3 dual-coil humbuckers to partially simulate 3 single-coil pickups with reversible magnets to see what kind of tonal options might result, and justify the inventions in NPPAs Ser. No. 15/917,389 (Baker, 2018), Ser. No. 16/752,670 (Baker, 2020) and Ser. No. 16/812,970 (Baker, 2020). While the invention can be extended to more than 3 pickups with the switch concatenation disclosed in FIG. 19 of U.S. Pat. No. 10,217,450 (Baker, 2019), the digital-analog switching in U.S. Pat. No.

Abstract: This invention discloses a pickup based upon the core of a common lipstick pickup for an electric stringed musical instrument with a core and housing, the core comprised of a magnet, coil form, and a wire coil connected to electrical contacts on the coil form, and a separate housing providing mounting to the body of the instrument and mating electrical contacts for that core, such that the core can be removed from the housing, flipped so as to reverse the magnetic field towards the strings, and reinserted into the housing, such that any humbucking circuit constructed with other matching pickups will remain humbucking.

Abstract: This invention discloses a switching system for any odd or even number of two or more matched vibrations sensors, such that all possible circuits of such sensors that can be produced by the system are humbucking, rejecting external interferences signals. The sensors must be matched, especially with respect to response to external hum and internal impedance, and be capable of being made or arranged so that the responses of individual sensors to vibration can be inverted, compared to another matched sensor, placed in the same physical position, while the interference signal is not. Such that for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 sensors, there exist 1, 6, 25, 90, 301, 966 and 3025 unique humbucking circuits, respectively, with signal outputs that can be either single-ended or differential.

Abstract: This invention develops the math and topology necessary to determine the potential number of tonally distinct connections of sensors, musical vibration sensors in particular. It claims the methods and sensor topological circuit combinations, including phase reversals from inverting sensor connections, up to any arbitrary number of sensors, excepting those already patented or in use. It distinguishes which of those sensor topological circuit combinations are humbucking for electromagnetic pickups. It presents a micro-controller system driving a crosspoint switch, with a simplified human interface, which allows a shift from bright to warm tones and back, particularly for humbucking outputs, without the user needing to know which pickups are used in what combinations. It suggests the limits of mechanical switches and develops a pickup switching system for dual-coil humbucking pickups.

Abstract: This invention discloses and claims means and methods for producing a continuous range of humbucking vibration signals from matched sensors, from bright to warm tones, using variable gains, with either manual control or automatic control by a digital micro-computing device and system. It shows how electronic circuits can control the linear combination of tones from humbucking pairs of sensors, based upon simulating humbucking basis vectors.

Abstract: This invention discloses a switching system for any odd or even number of two or more matched vibrations sensors, such that all possible circuits of such sensors that can be produced by the system are humbucking, rejecting external interferences signals. The sensors must be matched, especially with respect to response to external hum and internal impedance, and be capable of being made or arranged so that the responses of individual sensors to vibration can be inverted, compared to another matched sensor, placed in the same physical position, while the interference signal is not. Such that for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 sensors, there exist 1, 6, 25, 90, 301, 966 and 3025 unique humbucking circuits, respectively, with signal outputs that can be either single-ended or differential.

Abstract: This invention develops the math and topology necessary to determine the potential number of tonally distinct connections of sensors, musical vibration sensors in particular. It claims the methods and sensor topological circuit combinations, including phase reversals from inverting sensor connections, up to any arbitrary number of sensors, excepting those already patented or in use. It distinguishes which of those sensor topological circuit combinations are humbucking for electromagnetic pickups. It presents a micro-controller system driving a crosspoint switch, with a simplified human interface, which allows a shift from bright to warm tones and back, particularly for humbucking outputs, without the user needing to know which pickups are used in what combinations. It suggests the limits of mechanical switches and develops a pickup switching system for dual-coil humbucking pickups.

Abstract: An electric-acoustic stringed instrument has a removable, adjustable and acoustic artwork top with a decorative bridge and tailpiece; a mounting system for electric string vibration pickups that allows five degrees of freedom in placement and orientation of each pickup anyplace between the neck and bridge; a pickup switching system that provides K*(K?1)/2 series-connected and K*(K?1)/2 parallel-connected humbucking circuits for K matched single-coil pickups; and an on-board preamplifier and distortion circuit, running for over 100 hours on two AA cells, that provides control over second-and third-harmonic distortion. The switched pickups, and up to M=12 switched tone capacitors provide up to M*K*(K?1) tonal options, plus a linear combination of linear, near second-harmonic and near-third harmonic signals, preamp settings, and possible additional vibration sensors in or on the acoustic top.

Abstract: An electric-acoustic stringed instrument has a removable, adjustable and acoustic artwork top with a decorative bridge and tailpiece; a mounting system for electric string vibration pickups that allows five degrees of freedom in placement and orientation of each pickup anyplace between the neck and bridge; a pickup switching system that provides K*(K?1)/2 series-connected and K*(K?1)/2 parallel-connected humbucking circuits for K matched single-coil pickups; and an on-board preamplifier and distortion circuit, running for over 100 hours on two AA cells, that provides control over second- and third-harmonic distortion. The switched pickups, and up to M=12 switched tone capacitors provide up to M*K*(K?1) tonal options, plus a linear combination of linear, near second-harmonic and near-third harmonic signals, preamp settings, and possible additional vibration sensors in or on the acoustic top.