Abstract: The present invention involves a tempering formula which utilizes specific pitch offsets, which when applied to the guitar, result in extraordinarily pleasing intonation.

Abstract: A system and method of balancing the torque applied to a stringed instrument's neck and headstock that allows the stringed instrument's neck and headstock to deflect evenly when a tremolo device included in said stringed instrument is operated is provided. The system includes a suspension string tree, which passes over each of the instrument strings at the instrument headstock intermediate a string nut and the tuning machines. The suspension string tree includes two adjustable fasteners, which pass through the string tree at opposite ends thereof and which adjustably retain the suspension string, tree to the headstock at a desired distance and vertical angle with respect to the headstock. The method includes balancing the torque applied to a stringed instrument's neck and headstock by the instrument's strings by adjusting adjustment fasteners located at opposite ends of, and which adjustably retain, a suspension string tree that passes over all of the instrument strings to an instrument headstock.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a hand-held device for tensioning and stabilizing the strings of a stringed musical instrument, such as a guitar, during tuning or installation of the strings. In one embodiment, the device comprises a structure having a pair of arms that define a substantially forked or "V" shape. In use, the device is positioned against the neck of the guitar and a string is threaded between a pair of spools on at least one of the arms of the device. The device is then pivoted about an apex to lift the string away from the guitar neck and apply tension thereto during tuning or installation of the string. The device allows for easy tensioning of the string during the tuning or installation process.

Abstract: A machine head for guitars is disclosed. In the machine head, the tension of a string is adjusted by sequentially rotating a manually operated adjusting knob, a worm engaging with the knob, a worm wheel engaging with the worm, and a winding peg integrated with the worm wheel with the string wound on or unwound from the winding peg. A cap guider is formed on the top end of the winding peg, while a string holding cap is rotatably fitted over the cap guider of the winding peg, thus being brought into a rotatable engagement with the guider. In an embodiment, the guider has upper and lower guide discs integrated at both ends of an eccentric shaft, while the cap has two string insert holes on its sidewall at eccentric positions. When the winding peg is rotated with a string passing through the two string insert holes, the string is firmly jammed at the junction between the eccentric shaft and the sidewall of the string holding cap.

Abstract: A tuning device for a stringed musical instrument consisting of stroboscopic light sources, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), positioned to be seen by a musician in or near normal playing position as partially eclipsed by the strings. The LEDs are driven at standard musical frequencies by a microprocessor. To use the device, a musician observes the illusion of a moving shadow around an untuned vibrating string, and adjusts the instrument until the shadow appears to slow down and stop. The LEDs are sufficiently powerful, and their duty cycles are sufficiently large, that no special shielding or means of observation are required by the musician in normal ambient lighting conditions. A plurality of LEDs is grouped behind each string, with each LED in the group having the same frequency but different phase, which creates an illusion of movement along the string in one direction or the other indicating whether the string is sharp or flat.

Abstract: A fully adjustable acoustic guitar bridge is claimed that allows the strings (e.g. nylon or steel) of an acoustic guitar to be separately and continuously intonated, accurately and easily, whenever necessary. The bridge system employs a minimum of alterations to the traditional non-adjustable acoustic guitar bridge to retain the acoustic qualities of the instrument. In one embodiment, recessed rear-loaded cap screws utilize the forward and downward pull of the strings to stabilize the adjustable saddles; in another, recessed, front-loaded cap screws utilize a c-clip to stabilize the saddles. A threaded saddle capture on each saddle provides stability, continuous threading capability, and the freedom to use acoustically resonant materials (e.g. bone, phenolic, composites, etc.) for saddles. In one embodiment, the string's downward pressure transmits string vibration to the soundboard; in another, a set-screw assists this transference of sound.

Abstract: Apparatus for tuning a stringed musical instrument includes an electronic tuner circuit and a visual display located in either the pickguard or the pickup mounting ring of the instrument.

Abstract: The plastic material called PBT (Polybutylene terephthalate) in polymeric chains in the form of continuous monofilaments or multifilaments is used for making the strings of plucked and bowed musical instruments.

Abstract: A tuner for stringed musical instruments which has a transducer pickup for converting sound vibrations of the strings to electrical signals and a body being either hollow or solid with a front and back surface and a edge surface extending between the front and back surface. The tuner has a tuner circuit attachable to an interior of the sound box with an input couplable to an output of the transducer and a digital display positionable on one of the edge or front surfaces of the body so that it faces a player when the instrument is in a playing position.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus determine tuning frequencies for an instrument, such as a piano, by sounding at least three musical notes of the instrument. The sounded notes are recorded and digitally filtered to generate directly partial ladders representative of the sounded notes. The partial ladders are equalized with respective to a reference frequency or one another to determine tuning frequencies for the sounded notes. Tuning frequencies for the remaining notes of the instrument are then determined from the equalized partial ladders. Tone generators which produce the musical notes, such as strings on a piano, are then adjusted to conform the musical notes which they generate to the tuning frequencies. Preferably, the tone generators are adjusted using a display which provides highly accurate macro and micro tuning information in a single display by graphically and dynamically displaying pitch differences of the musical notes generated by the tone generators relative to pitches of the tuning frequencies.

Abstract: A method is specified for pitch recognition, in particular for musical instruments which are excited by plucking or striking, in the case of which method the interval between zero crossings of a signal waveform of an audio signal is used as a measure for the period length of the audio signal.Reliable pitch recognition is intended to be possible in a simple manner using such a method. The method is intended to be capable of being implemented with a low level of computation power.To this end, the magnitude of the gradient of the signal waveform is in each case determined in the region of its zero crossings, and the magnitude of the gradient is used as an assessment criterion for the selection of the zero crossings to be evaluated.

Abstract: A musical pitch control for each of the strings on a musical instrument. A pivot arm is secured to one end of each string. Controlled current is applied to a length of memory wire secured between the arm and an anchor point. The bending strain on the arm is sensed and circuitry responsive to the sensor is arranged to rock the arm to maintain a desired tension on the string. A second biasing device also acts upon the arm in opposition to the alloy wire to urge the wire alloy to return to its original condition when no current is flowing through the memory wire.

Abstract: Apparatus for selectively increasing the pitch of a string of a string instrument at any time while the instrument is being played in a normal manner. The apparatus includes a string guide which is adapted to bear against a tuned string of the instrument, reciprocating means adapted to be mounted on the peghead of the instrument and secured to the string guide, and an actuator operatively connected to the reciprocating means for selectively moving the string guide to "bend" the associated string and increase the tension thereon a predetermined amount.

Abstract: A musical instrument training system for a stringed musical instrument having a body, a fingerboard, a plurality of strings, and an electric pickup. A fingering display (left hand) and a playing display (right hand) are mounted on the fingerboard. A control circuit, mounted on the body, receives input signals from one channel of a stereo for controlling the fingering and playing displays. The fingering and playing displays comprise an array of LEDs and LCDs that indicate the strings to finger, the fingers to use, the strings to play and the direction of play. A freeze control permits the user to "freeze" a section of the input signals in a buffer for repetitive practice. A tuning circuit permits the user to compare the tone of a string with a stored tone via a tuning display to help tune the instrument.

Abstract: A device and method for very rapidly and accurately tuning each string of a guitar by contacting the string perpendicularly in order to change the tension in the string. The device is located at a position between the bridge of the guitar and the end of the guitar string. A tensioning member consisting of a shaft and disk is located perpendicularly to each string. The disk has a string engagement means which contacts the string. The tensioning member is connected to a stepping motor. The stepping motor causes the tensioning member to displace axially. The vertical movement of the member causes the disk to contact the string perpendicularly and change the tension in the string, causing the string to become tuned.

Abstract: Automatic tuning control arrangement for a string musical instrument, such as a guitar, has a pivoted tone arm with a hook at one end for attaching to an associated one of the guitar strings, and a shape memory metal wire tension motor extending between the tone arm and an anchor point on the instrument to rock the tone arm in opposition to the tension of the musical string. A strain sensor, such as a strain gauge, is mounted on the tone arm and it is electrically coupled to a control circuit that supplies a control current to the shape memory metal wire in the traction motor. A biasing spring can also be coupled between the tone arm and a bias anchor on the instrument to apply a spring bias in opposition to the musical string tension. As the guitar string or other string stretches over time, the traction motor will rock the tone arm to take up the slack and maintain an even tension on the string, thus keeping the string in tune.

Abstract: A system for tuning pianos and other string instruments utilizes a clamp-on probe with a feedback loop to induce a controlled vibration of the string and its natural frequency of vibration. This frequency is electronically compared to an accurate reference frequency. An associated electronic circuit controls an electric motor driven mechanism which adjusts the string tension until the correct frequency is achieved.

Abstract: In a stringed instrument which generates sound reproduction output signals by way of a transducer which are amplified for sound reproduction, a fundamentally correct note frequency signal is generated and electromagnetically broadcast by cycles of electromagnetic energy directly from a metallic string to be tuned to the transducer of the instrument, and blends with a correlated note as it issues from the same said vibrating metal string to be tuned, and through discernment by the ear of the user of the resulting blended signal the string is adjusted as necessary to match the two notes and therefore the string is quickly and easily brought into tune with the fundamentally correct note frequency, and when repeated upon each string of said instrument the task of tuning is done.

Abstract: The string tensioning apparatus includes a string tensioning device to provide the mechanical string tension control function and associated control electronics to regulate the operation of the string tensioning device. The string tensioning device includes a bidirectional motor as the mechanical means to vary, control and maintain string tension. The associated string is directly connected to the motor shaft, whose rotation is regulated by the associated control electronics. A transducer is used to measure the frequency of operation of each string. The measured frequency is then compared to a value stored in memory to produce an indication of the difference between the actual and desired frequency of operation. This difference is then used to control the direction and amount of rotation of the motor shaft to bring the string frequency of operation into compliance with the stored frequency value.

Abstract: An electronic tuner generates a pulse train signal from an analog signal transduced from vibrations on a selected one of several strings of a musical instrument. The pulse train signal has a plurality of successive pulses, each of the pulses having a pulse width which may vary between successive pulses. Two of the pulses have a longest pulse width of all pulses in the pulse string are identified. The tuner then computes a current fundamental frequency on the selected string as a function of a ratio between a numerical count of the pulses occurring between these two pulses, the count including one of these pulses, and a sum of the pulse width of each of the pulses included in the count. The two of the pulses have a longest pulse width of all pulses in the pulse string. A difference signal is developed as a function of a difference between the current fundamental frequency and a known in-tune frequency associated with the selected string being tuned.

Abstract: A tuning apparatus for a keyboard musical instrument, having a load applicator for applying a load of a predetermined value to a string set up in place, a calculating device for calculating a deviation between a displacement value of the string produced when the load is applied to the string and a preset value of displacement predetermined to give a required frequency of vibration, and a rotating device for turning a tuning pin until the deviation calculated by the calculating device is reduced to zero.

Abstract: A muting strip for use in tuning the un-wound three string unisons of the treble section in pianos consisting of a strip of muting material having on it a series of wedges spaced at a distance from each other so that they will fit into every other space between the unisons. In tuning, two mutes are used with one above the other and offset one unison so that all spaces between the unisons are muted as is normal. After the center string of each unison is tuned one of the mutes is removed and one outer string of each unison is tuned. Then the remaining mute is shifted over one space and the remaining strings are tuned.

Abstract: A tuning aid for tuning musical instruments, particularly keyboard instruments, includes a sensor unit (12) which has an elongate capacitative sensor probe which is capable of extending across one octave of the instrument, and an octave switch (22) and a tone switch (20) on which are manually set the nominal octave and note of the string being measured. Amplifiers (16,24) including an AGC amplifier and controlled band-pass filters (18,26) are responsive to the octave and tone switches to select the measured tone. A divider (32) responsive to the octave switch divides the measured frequency by a power of two. A divider (38) is connected to the output of a crystal oscillator (36) to divide by a factor dependent upon the tone switch setting. The outputs of the two dividers are compared in a discriminator (34) which compares the two frequencies. A meter (50) displays the sense and magnitude of the discriminator output so as to display in terms of cents the amount by which the frequencies differ.

Abstract: An electronic tuning aid with luminous digital readout adapted by structural and functional features to be operational by placement on the body of string and musical instruments such as the guitar. A shiftable photoelectric probe constituting a unitized component of the device is of an optical character uniquely sensitive to both damped and undamped string vibration of slight amplitude to activate included solid-state counting and translating components affording a numeric display of the frequency of individually selected strings. Steel strings are automatically driven in sustained vibration by an electromagnetic drive system affecting only the selected string and timed by such string in a feedback circuit with the probe.

Abstract: The invention comprises a method and apparatus for the tuning of a piano and other similar musical instruments to equal temperament. A transducer is operative to receive two notes being struck, one of which is tuned and the other of which is to be tuned. The electrical output signal provided by the transducer is processed by bandpass filtering to isolate a predetermined beat note which is associated with the two notes being struck. The filter output signal is applied to an output transducer such as headphones which provides an audible rendition of essentially only the intended beat note.

Abstract: A tuning fork for use in tuning a string instrument, the tuning fork having a groove or notch formed in the free end of its stem to enable it to conveniently ride on a string to be tuned and resist slipping off the string.

Abstract: A stroboscopic tuning device for a stringed musical instrument that is mounted on the musical instrument adjacent to the strings to be tuned. A solid state circuit employs a frequency generator, such as a piezoelectric crystal oscillator or a tuning fork oscillator, to operate the stroboscopic light source at a preselected frequency. In the use of the device, a string is plucked, and when the vibratory motion of the plucked string is either the fundamental frequency or the harmonic frequency of the preselected operating frequency of the stroboscopic light source, the string will appear to an operator to be in a nonvibrating condition. At that time, the string is tuned or adjusted to the desired tone.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for adjusting the vibration frequency of vibrating objects such as piano strings, by stepwise adjustment of the vibration frequency of a vibrating object. The amount of the required adjusting operation in each of the adjustment steps is calculated by the equation:.DELTA..theta..sub.i = K.sub.i (f.sub.s - f.sub.pi-1)wherein:i represents an integer such as 1, 2, 3, ...;.DELTA..theta..sub.i represents the amount of adjustment in the i-th adjusting step;f.sub.pi -1 represents the vibration frequency after the (i-1)th adjusting step;K.sub.i represents the constant employed in the calculation of the i-th adjusting step;The constant (K.sub.1) for the initial (i=1) adjusting step is predetermined; andThe constant K.sub.i (i=2, 3, ...) for the second and subsequent adjusting steps is calculated by the equation: ##EQU1## WHEREIN: .DELTA..theta..sub.I-1 REPRESENTS THE AMOUNT OF ADJUSTMENT IN THE (I-1)TH ADJUSTING STEP;f.sub.

Abstract: A floor mounted electric bass instrument which generates a musical signal in response to depression of one of its strings against an appropriate fret. The instrument is compact, yet it provides structure for spacing the strings a substantial distance apart to permit quick and convenient selection and depression of a desired string by a relatively large or blunt portion of the musician's foot while avoiding operative contact with adjacent strings.

Abstract: A musical instrument tuning device for tuning a musical instrument, having a vibrating sound producing member, is herein disclosed. The musical instrument tuning device includes a tone sensor, connected to the vibrating sound producing member. A comparator is connected to the tone sensor. A signal generator is also connected to the tone sensor. A tone adjustor is connected to the comparator, and to the vibrating sound producing member. The tone sensor senses the rate of vibration of the vibrating sound producing element, and produces a tone sensor signal indicative of the rate of vibration. The signal generator produces a selected frequency signal. The comparator receives the tone sensor signal and selected frequency signal, and produces an error signal indicative of the difference between the tone sensor signal and selected frequency signal. The tone adjustor receives the error signal, and adjusts the rate of vibration of the vibrating sound producing element in response thereto.

Abstract: A method for tuning a fretted string instrument such, for example, as a guitar, by the use of a tuning fork of predetermined pitch by positioning a vibrating tuning fork on the string to be tuned and then adjusting the tension of the string until the vibrating tuning fork causes an audible sympathetic resonance of the string when the tuning fork is at a position where the pitch of the tuning fork and pitch of the string (as determined by the fret scale of the instrument) coincide.