Stringed instrument and musical instrument

Abstract

This electric guitar 1 (stringed instrument) is provided with a body 5 that is connected to a neck 3. The body 5 comprises a mass-adding section 30 in which the mass of a bottom section 25, located on the opposite side from an end section to which the neck 3 is connected, gradually decreases toward a central section of the body 5. The mass-adding section 30 comprises a tapered section 31 that gradually decreases in thickness from the bottom section 25 toward the central section of the body 5. The body 5 comprises a back plate 23 and a side plate 24, and the mass-adding section 30 is provided integrally with the back plate 23 and / or the side plate 24.

Description

Stringed instruments and musical instruments

[0001] The present invention relates to stringed instruments and musical instruments.

[0002] In Patent Document 1, as a configuration of a stringed instrument such as an electric guitar, a configuration including a neck, a body, and strings stretched from the neck to the body is disclosed.

[0003] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-185156

[0004] By the way, when playing a stringed instrument such as an electric guitar by hanging it on the shoulder or back using a strap, if the weight of the neck relative to the body increases, a rotational moment is generated so that the neck shifts vertically downward, and the position of the stringed instrument may shift, which may prevent the player from concentrating on the performance. On the other hand, since an increase in the weight of the stringed instrument becomes a burden on the player, it is necessary to suppress the increase in weight.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a stringed instrument and a musical instrument capable of adjusting the center of gravity position while suppressing an increase in weight.

[0006] A first aspect of the present invention is a stringed instrument and a musical instrument including a body connected to a neck, wherein the body has a mass addition portion in which the mass of a bottom portion located on the side opposite to the end portion to which the neck is connected gradually decreases toward the central portion of the body.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a stringed instrument and a musical instrument capable of adjusting the center of gravity position while suppressing an increase in weight.

[0008] It is a plan view of the stringed instrument according to the first embodiment as viewed from the front side of the body. It is a perspective view of the body of the stringed instrument with the top member removed. It is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. It is a longitudinal sectional view of the body of the stringed instrument according to the second embodiment. It is a longitudinal sectional view of the body of the stringed instrument according to the third embodiment. It is a cross-sectional view of the body of the stringed instrument according to the fourth embodiment.

[0009] (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 is a plan view of the stringed instrument 1 according to the first embodiment, viewed from the front 5a side of the body 5. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the body 5 of the stringed instrument 1 with the top member 21 removed. Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along the line III-III in Figure 2. In this embodiment, the stringed instrument is an electric guitar 1. In the following description, the direction in which the neck 3 extends (the direction along the arrangement direction of the body 5 and the neck 3) is referred to as the longitudinal direction D1, and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction D1 and the thickness direction D3 of the body 5 is sometimes referred to as the transverse direction D2 (width direction of the claim). As shown in Figure 1, the instrument in this embodiment is a stringed instrument, and in particular, an electric guitar 1 will be described as an example of a stringed instrument. The electric guitar 1 comprises a body structure 2, a neck 3 (weight part of the claim), and strings 4.

[0010] The neck 3 is connected to the end of the body structure 2 and extends away from the body structure 2 (upward in Figure 1). The head 11, which forms the longitudinal end of the neck 3, is provided with a peg 12 around which the end of the string 4 is wound. The string 4 is stretched along the longitudinal direction of the neck 3.

[0011] The body structure 2 comprises a body 5 (the main body according to the claim) that forms the outer casing, and equipment 6 such as a bridge 41, an electromagnetic pickup 42, and a controller 43 housed within the body 5. The bridge 41, electromagnetic pickup 42, and controller 43 are exposed on the front surface 5a of the body 5, facing in the thickness direction of the body 5 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 1). One end of the string 4 is attached to the bridge 41. The electromagnetic pickup 42 is located between the neck 3 and the bridge 41 in the longitudinal direction of the neck 3. Multiple electromagnetic pickups 42 (two in the example shown in Figure 1) are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the neck 3. The controller 43 adjusts the volume, tone, etc., of the acoustic signal output from the electromagnetic pickup 42. The controller 43 includes two volume switches 44 and a pickup selector 45 for switching which electromagnetic pickup to activate.

[0012] The body 5 has a top member 21 (the soundboard according to the claim) which has a small thickness dimension, and a back member 22 (see Figures 2 and 3) which has a larger thickness dimension than the top member 21. The top member 21 and the back member 22 overlap in the thickness direction of the body 5 to form the body 5. The front surface 5a of the body 5, where the bridge 41 and the like are exposed, is made up of the top member 21. A sounding rib (not shown) is attached to the back surface of the top member 21 (the surface facing the back member 22) to transmit the vibrations of the strings 4 to the entire body 5 and to increase the strength of the top member 21.

[0013] As shown in Figure 2, the back member 22 has a back plate 23 that forms the bottom surface, and side plates 24 that rise from the outer edge of the back plate 23 perpendicular to the back plate 23. As a result, the back member 22 is formed in a box shape with an open front. The back plate 23 and the side plates 24 are integrally formed. Of the back member 22, the end opposite to the end to which the neck 3 is connected in the vertical direction D1 is called the bottom portion 25 (the other end in the claim). A mass-adding portion 30 is provided in the bottom portion 25 of the body 5.

[0014] The mass-adding portion 30 is formed such that the mass of the bottom portion 25 gradually decreases as it moves toward the center of the body 5. In this embodiment, the mass-adding portion 30 is integrally formed with the back member 22. The mass-adding portion 30 is formed to protrude from the back plate 23 toward the front 5a side. Specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the mass-adding portion 30 has a tapered portion 31 on its front surface, the thickness of which gradually decreases as it moves from the bottom portion 25 toward the center of the body 5. In addition, the width dimension of the mass-adding portion 30 along the lateral direction D2 is formed to be larger than the width dimension of the neck 3. In this embodiment, the mass-adding portion 30 is provided over the entire area between the side plates 24 located on both sides in the lateral direction D2.

[0015] Because the body 5 has the mass-adding portion 30 formed in this manner, the weight of the electric guitar 1 is set such that the overall center of gravity G (see Figure 2) is located at a predetermined position between the two electromagnetic pickups 42. In other words, the mass-adding portion 30 is formed to have greater mass at positions further away from the center of gravity G of the electric guitar 1. The mass-adding portion 30 is positioned such that, when viewed from the thickness direction D3 of the body 5, it avoids positions that would be antinodes of vibration of the top member 21 when the top member 21 is attached.

[0016] As shown in Figure 2, below the base portion 48 to which the electromagnetic pickup 42 is attached, the back plate 23 is provided with a plurality of (three in this embodiment) raised extension portions 28 that extend from the base portion 48 toward the bottom portion 25. These raised extension portions 28 function as sound ribs when connected to the top plate. The raised extension portions 28 extend to a position in the vertical direction D1 that overlaps with the mass-adding portion 30. In other words, the mass-adding portion 30 is provided in a position in the vertical direction D1 where at least a part of it overlaps with the sound ribs provided on the body 5.

[0017] As described above, in the stringed instrument 1 of this embodiment, the mass of the bottom portion 25 is increased by providing a mass-adding portion 30 on the bottom portion 25 of the body 5. This allows the center of gravity of the electric guitar 1 to be brought closer to the center of the body 5 (near point G in Figure 2). Therefore, even when the performer plays the electric guitar 1 while it is slung over their shoulder or back using a strap, the movement of the electric guitar 1 due to rotational moment can be suppressed, allowing the performer to concentrate on playing. The mass-adding portion 30 is formed such that its mass gradually decreases as it moves from the bottom portion 25 towards the center of the body 5. Here, since the rotational moment is proportional to the mass and distance from the pivot point, by gradually decreasing the mass of the mass-adding portion 30 as it approaches the center of gravity G of the electric guitar 1, the position of the center of gravity can be effectively adjusted with a small increase in mass. Therefore, the generation of rotational moment can be suppressed while suppressing an excessive increase in weight. Thus, a stringed instrument and musical instrument can be provided that can adjust the position of the center of gravity while suppressing an increase in weight.

[0018] The mass-adding portion 30 is integrally provided with at least one of the back plate 23 and the side plate 24. As a result, the mass-adding portion 30 is not provided on the top member 21, which has a large impact on vibration characteristics, so even if the mass-adding portion 30 is provided, good sound quality can be achieved. Furthermore, in the top member 21, which is affected by the change in distance between the electromagnetic pickup 42 and the strings 4, the vibration antinodes are located near the center away from the side plate 24. Therefore, by providing the mass-adding portion 30 on the bottom portion 25, which is the end of the body 5, the movement of the vibration antinodes of the top member 21 is not hindered. Thus, the center of gravity can be adjusted while minimizing the impact on sound quality.

[0019] The mass-adding section 30 has a tapered section 31 in which the thickness gradually decreases from the bottom section 25 towards the center of the body 5. This allows the mass-adding section 30 to be provided with a simple configuration so that the mass gradually decreases from the bottom section 25 towards the center. Therefore, the rotational moment can be adjusted with a small increase in mass, thus reducing the burden on the performer due to excessive weight increase. Furthermore, for example, if the upper surface of the mass-adding section 30 is the tapered section 31, a gap is created between the top member 21 and the mass-adding section 30, so a sound rib can be placed in this gap. Therefore, the mass-adding section 30 can be placed without degrading the sound quality.

[0020] The width dimension of the mass-adding section 30 is greater than the width dimension of the neck 3. This effectively increases the mass of the bottom section 25, which is located on the opposite side of the neck 3. In other words, more mass-adding sections 30 can be placed further away from the center of gravity G, thereby suppressing the generation of rotational moment. Thus, the overall mass increase of the electric guitar 1 due to the provision of the mass-adding sections 30 can be minimized.

[0021] The mass-adding section 30 is positioned in the vertical direction D1 so as to overlap with a portion of the sound ribs provided on the body 5. This allows the sound ribs to be extended relatively close to the bottom section 25, even when the mass-adding section 30 is provided. Therefore, the center of gravity G can be adjusted by providing the mass-adding section 30 while suppressing a decrease in sound quality.

[0022] (Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the body 205 of the stringed instrument 201 according to the second embodiment. In the following description, components that are common to those already described will be denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant descriptions will be omitted. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that the mass-adding portion 230 has a stepped portion 233.

[0023] In the second embodiment, the mass-adding portion 230 has a stepped portion 233 on its front surface, instead of the tapered portion 31 in the first embodiment, in which the thickness dimension gradually decreases from the bottom portion 25 toward the center of the body 205. The stepped portion 233 has a width dimension along the lateral direction D2 that increases as the thickness decreases (i.e., toward the center of the body 205).

[0024] According to the second embodiment, the mass-adding portion 230 has a stepped portion 233 in which the thickness gradually decreases from the bottom portion 25 towards the center portion. This makes it possible to achieve the same effects as in the first embodiment. That is, it is possible to adjust the center of gravity while reducing the burden on the performer due to excessive weight increase. In addition, the stepped portion 233 can be formed more easily compared to the case in which a tapered portion 31 is provided. Therefore, the processability of the mass-adding portion 230 can be improved.

[0025] (Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 5. Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the body 305 of the stringed instrument 301 according to the third embodiment. The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that the mass-adding portion 330 is provided on the side plate 24.

[0026] In the third embodiment, the mass-adding portion 330 is connected to the side plate 24 of the back member 22 and is formed having tapered portions 335 and 336 whose thickness gradually decreases from the bottom portion 25 toward the central portion. In this embodiment, the mass-adding portion 330 is integrally formed with the side plate 24. The mass-adding portion 330 has an upper tapered portion 335 in which the height of the upper surface is located from the top member 21 side toward the back plate 23 side as it moves from the bottom portion 25 side connected to the side plate 24 toward the central portion of the body 305, and a lower tapered portion 336 in which the height of the lower surface is located from the back plate 23 side toward the top member 21 side as it moves from the bottom portion 25 side connected to the side plate 24 toward the central portion of the body 305. The side plate 24, the upper tapered portion 335 and the lower tapered portion 336 form a triangular shape in cross-section. In this embodiment, the mass-adding portion 330 is formed in a triangular shape in cross-section, but it may also be formed in a trapezoidal shape or the like in cross-section. The mass-adding portion 330 is continuously provided along the periphery of the lower half region of the body 305 where the bottom portion 25 is located. The distance between the connection portion between the upper tapered portion 335 and the lower tapered portion 336 (i.e., the vertex of the triangle located on the opposite side of the side plate 24) and the side plate 24 decreases as it moves away from the bottom portion 25.

[0027] According to the third embodiment, the same effects and advantages as the first embodiment described above are achieved, and since the mass-adding portion 330 is provided on the side plate 24, the mass-adding portion 330 does not come into contact with the top member 21 and the back plate 23. As a result, the mass-adding portion 330 can be provided without affecting the vibration characteristics of the top member 21 and the back plate 23. Therefore, the center of gravity can be adjusted while minimizing the impact on sound quality.

[0028] (Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the body 405 of the stringed instrument 401 according to the fourth embodiment. The fourth embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that a mass addition part 430 is provided to adjust the center of gravity of the electric guitar 401 in the lateral direction D2.

[0029] In the fourth embodiment, a mass-adding portion 430 is provided on the bottom portion 25 of the body 405. The mass-adding portion 430 is formed such that its mass gradually decreases from the outer edge of the body 405 toward the inside in the lateral direction D2 of the body 405. The mass-adding portion 430 is integrally formed with the back member 22. The mass-adding portion 430 has a tapered portion 431 on its front surface, the thickness of which gradually decreases from the outer edge of the body 405 toward the inside of the body 405. More specifically, the tapered portion 431 is inclined such that the front surface facing the top member 21 is positioned toward the back plate 23 side as it moves inward from the outer edge of the body 405. As a result, in a cross-sectional view along the lateral direction D2, the mass-adding portion 430 is formed in a gently curved shape that is recessed toward the rear (towards the back plate 23 side).

[0030] According to the fourth embodiment, the center of gravity of the electric guitar 401 in the lateral direction D2 can be adjusted by providing the mass-adding part 430. Therefore, the center of gravity of the electric guitar 401 can be adjusted with greater precision, reducing discomfort for the player. Furthermore, by providing the mass-adding part 430 near the bottom part 25, the center of gravity in the vertical direction D1 can also be adjusted. Therefore, the versatility of the mass-adding part 430 can be increased.

[0031] Although the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, in the above embodiments, the mass-adding portions 30, 230, 330, and 430 are configured to have a tapered portion 31 or a stepped portion 233, resulting in a gradual decrease in mass, but the invention is not limited to this. The mass-adding portion 30 may be formed such that its density decreases as it moves from the bottom portion 25 towards the center of the body 5. In this case, the mass-adding portion 30 may be formed by combining multiple materials with different densities, such as a material combining resin and metal, or a material combining wood and metal. Alternatively, members of the same material but with different densities may be combined. Specifically, for example, the mass-adding portion 30 may be formed such that the portion of the mass-adding portion 30 closer to the center of the body 5 has a larger cavity (or weight-reducing portion, etc.). These configurations may be combined with the above-described configuration of the tapered portion 31 or stepped portion 233.

[0032] The shape of the electric guitar 1 and the shape of the mass-adding part 30 are not limited to the shapes of the embodiments described above. The back plate 23 and the side plates 24 may be constructed as separate parts. The mass-adding part 30 may be connected to the side plate 24 or the back plate 23 by means of adhesive, for example.

[0033] In the embodiments described above, the electric guitar 1 was given as an example of a stringed instrument, but the configuration of the present invention may be applied to stringed instruments other than the electric guitar 1. For example, the configuration of the present invention may be applied to instruments such as bass guitars, acoustic guitars, classical guitars, violoncello da spalla, mandolins, lutes, ukuleles, balalaikas, and bouzoukis. Furthermore, any instrument that is held by the performer using a strap may be used, even if it is not a stringed instrument. For example, the configuration of the present invention may be applied to instruments such as brass instruments, percussion instruments, and keyboards.

[0034] 1, 201, 301, 401... Electric guitar (stringed instrument, musical instrument), 3... Neck (weight part), 5, 205, 305, 405... Body (main body part), 23... Back plate, 24... Side plate, 25... Bottom part (other end), 28... Raised extension part (sounding bar), 30, 230, 330, 430... Mass-adding part, 31, 431... Tapered part, 233... Stepped part.

Claims

1. A stringed instrument comprising a body connected to a neck, wherein the body has a mass-adding portion in which the mass of the bottom portion located opposite the end to which the neck is connected gradually decreases as it moves toward the center of the body.

2. The stringed instrument according to claim 1, wherein the body has a back plate and side plates, and the mass-adding portion is integrally provided with at least one of the back plate and the side plates.

3. The stringed instrument according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the mass-adding portion has a tapered portion in which the thickness gradually decreases from the bottom portion toward the central portion.

4. The stringed instrument according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mass-adding portion has a stepped portion in which the thickness decreases in stages from the bottom portion toward the central portion.

5. The stringed instrument according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mass-adding portion is formed such that its density decreases from the bottom portion toward the central portion.

6. The stringed instrument according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, in the width direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the body and the neck, the width dimension of the mass-adding portion is greater than the width dimension of the neck.

7. The stringed instrument according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mass-adding portion is provided in a position that overlaps with a part of the sound rib provided on the body in the longitudinal direction along the arrangement direction of the body and the neck.

8. A musical instrument comprising: a main body having a weighted portion at one end; and a mass-adding portion provided at the other end of the main body located opposite to the weighted portion, wherein the mass-adding portion is formed such that the mass at the other end gradually decreases as it moves toward the center of the main body.

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