Patent ID: 6271456
Filing Date: 2001-08-07
Classification: G10H

Abstract:
A transducer for use with a stringed instrument, said transducer generating an electrical signal corresponding to movement of a vibrating string as the instrument is played, the transducer comprising:a plurality of magnetoresistive elements, each having an electrical resistance that varies in response to a parameter of a magnetic field;said plurality of magnetoresistive elements electrically connected in a Wheatstone bridge configuration having a pair of input terminals and a pair of output terminals;a first pair of said magnetoresistive elements corresponding to a first pair of opposite legs of said Wheatstone bridge and being physically located on a first side of said string, and a second pair of said magnetoresistive elements corresponding to a second pair of opposite legs of said Wheatstone bridge and being physically located on a second side of the string; and means for generating a magnetic field adapted to interact with said magnetoresistive elements such that perturbations in the magnetic field caused by movement of the string alter the resistance of at least some of said magnetoresistive elements whereby, when a voltage is applied across the input terminals of said Wheatstone bridge, an output signal that varies with the changing resistance of said magnetoresistive elements is developed across the output terminals.