Abstract:
Improved bridges and tailpieces for stringed instruments, such as guitars and banjos. The bridge and tailpiece each include a void at each end of their respective base pieces, near the vertical hole or slot, into which is fixedly set a permanent magnet. The magnet attracts to the ferromagnetic metal bridge posts or tailpiece posts to retain the bridge or tailpiece on the posts and keep them from falling off when the strings are removed from the instrument.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to bridges and tailpieces for stringed instruments, and more particularly to bridges for guitars known as Tune-o-matic style bridges, and tailpieces designed for use therewith, and similar designs, which are typically mounted on adjustable posts or studs that are screwed or mounted into the guitar body. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Some stringed instruments, such as some electric guitars, use a style of bridge and tailpiece in which each is connected to the instrument&#39;s body via two threaded bridge or tailpiece posts (respectively) that are screwed or secured directly into the top of the stringed instrument body. In the case of the bridge, it rests on two knurled nuts or adjustment wheels that allow for the height of the bridge to be adjusted. In the case of the tailpiece, slots at each end of the tailpiece rest within a circumferential groove on the tailpiece posts. This type of bridge is commonly referred to in the industry as a Tune-o-matic bridge. Also, other stringed instruments with arched tops such as mandolins, bouzoukis and hollow-body electric/acoustic guitars with arched tops and backs (such as jazz guitars) use a similar style bridge and tailpiece. 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  shows an exemplary top view of a Tune-o-matic style guitar bridge  10  as it would be typically mounted on a guitar body  12 , together with a tailpiece  14 . The tailpiece  14  holds one end of strings  16  and provides the mechanical strength for the tension of the stretched strings against the body of the guitar. The strings  16  then pass over the bridge  10 , and in the case of an electric stringed instrument or guitar, the strings  16  will also pass over one or more pickups and then pass over the neck of the instrument and over a nut to the tuning pegs or machine heads. 
         [0006]    Typically, a Tune-o-matic style guitar bridge  10  comprises an elongate base piece or bar  18  that is typically formed of metal, such as steel or brass. A top surface  20  of the bar  18  is generally flat, while the opposite bottom surface is generally concave to match the curvature of a guitar. Cut or formed in the bar  18  are several square or rectangular holes  24  extending from the top surface  20  through the bottom surface. In each of the square or rectangular holes  24  is movably mounted a saddle  26  that supports the strings  16  and that is adjustable longitudinally in relation to the strings by means of an adjustment screw. Vertically through each end of the bar  18  are vertical alignment holes  28  extending from the top surface  20  to the bottom surface. A pair of adjustable metal bridge posts  32  comprising of a partially or completely threaded post member  34  on which is mounted an adjustment wheel  36  having a complementary threaded central hole. The top portion of the post member  34  is sized to fit within vertical alignment holes  28 . The most common of Tune-o-matic style bridges use either a 4 mm or 6 mm diameter vertical alignment holes  28 . The lower portion of the bridge post  32  is fixedly mounted in the guitar body in a configuration such that the post members  34  align with the two vertical alignment holes  28  in the bar  18 . In a conventional Tune-o-matic style bridge the bar  18  rests upon the adjustment wheel  36  such that the post members  34  are received within vertical alignment holes  28 . Adjustment wheels  36  on each adjustment post  32  are either raised or lowered to achieve a desired height of the bar  18 . 
         [0007]    Typically, the tailpiece  14  comprises an elongate base piece  40  that is formed of metal, such as steel or brass. A top  42  and an opposite bottom surfaces of the tailpiece  14  are generally curved in order to aesthetically match the surface curve of a guitar upon which the tailpiece  14  is to be mounted. Several string holes traverse the base piece  40  and are generally evenly spaced apart along the length of the tailpiece  14 , are formed or machined through the tailpiece  14 . These string holes also have chamfered edges or indentations of a slightly larger diameter on both the front and rear entries of the string holes to accommodate small balls which are manufactured at the ends of steel strings used in some guitars. The strings are placed through the string holes towards the bridge  14  and nut of the instrument, not shown. It is the balls on the ends of the strings which act as stops and absorb the tension on the strings after top ends of the strings are mounted on tuning screws on a neck of the instrument. 
         [0008]    Vertical slots  44  are formed on each end of the tailpiece  14 . These slots  44  are typically rounded and extend from the top surface  42  through the bottom surface, and accommodate the tailpiece studs or posts  46  upon which the tailpiece  14  is mounted. 
         [0009]    Many of these kinds of bridges and tailpieces of the prior art are only held in place by the tension of the strings  16  such that when the strings are removed, the bridge and tailpiece become freely removable. If proper care is not taken, the bridge, tailpiece and other components may fall off the instrument during string replacement and possible mar the instrument body or the components. Furthermore, a complete readjustment of all the components of the stringed instrument is typically required after every loosening and/or removal of strings for simple operations such as cleaning and simple maintenance, thereby necessitating considerable time and effort to return the instrument to a playable condition. 
         [0010]    To address some of these problems with the prior art, some manufacturers of Tune-o-matic style bridges added the feature of one or more set-screws on the bridge and tailpiece, located adjacent and perpendicular to the vertical adjustment hole  26  and slot  44  respectively. The setscrew is within a threaded hole on the edge of the bridge or tailpiece, extending from the edge into the vertical adjustment hole  26  or slot  44 . The setscrew is tightened against the top portion of the post member  34  in the case of a bridge, and against the tailpiece post  46  in the case of a tailpiece, to secure the respective part onto its post. A problem with the use of a setscrew is that the threads of the setscrew hole can become stripped which would necessitate replacement of the entire bridge or tailpiece. Another problem is that over tightening the setscrew causes damage to the upper portion of the post member  34 , which in the case of a post having a threaded upper portion, would destroy the threads thereby limiting the range of movement of the adjustment wheel  36 . A further problem is that the setscrew requires the use of another tool, such as a small sized hex key or Allen wrench, which can be lost, causing an inconvenience to the user until a replacement is found. In addition, the vertical alignment holes in the kinds of bridges often have a very slight taper as a result of the manufacturing process and the tightening of a setscrew forces the tapered internal wall of the vertical adjustment hole against the post which imparts a slight tilt to the bridge. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved devices and methods for securing a bridge and tailpiece to a stringed instrument body, such as a guitar body. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The above shortcomings may be addressed by providing, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, an improved bridge and tailpiece for securing to a stringed instrument, such as a guitar, banjo, and the like. In some aspects, the present invention provides a bridge for a stringed instrument, having an elongate base piece with top, bottom, front, and rear surfaces. There is a vertical alignment hole at each end of the base piece formed from the top surface through the bottom surface. The bridge also includes a void near each vertical alignment hole in which is set a permanent magnet that magnetically attracts a bridge post made of one or more ferromagnetic materials situated within the vertical alignment hole to releasably retain the bridge connected to the bridge post. 
         [0012]    In some aspects, the present invention also provides a tailpiece for a stringed instrument, having an elongate base piece with top, bottom, front, and rear surfaces. The base piece includes string holes in the base piece formed from the front surface through the rear surface. A vertical alignment slot is provided at each end of the base piece formed from the top surface through the bottom surface. Through each of the slots of the tailpiece is a horizontally aligned void within which is set a permanent magnet magnetically attracts a tailpiece post made of one or more ferromagnetic materials situated within the slot to releasably retain the tailpiece connected to the tailpiece post. 
         [0013]    In some embodiments, the present invention provides a bridge for a stringed instrument comprising an elongate base piece with top and bottom surfaces, a vertical alignment hole at each end of the base piece, the vertical alignment hole being formed from the top surface through the bottom surface, and at least one magnetic means situated at a proximity to each vertical alignment hole sufficient to magnetically attract a ferromagnetic post located within the vertical alignment hole to releasably connect the bridge to the post. 
         [0014]    In some embodiments, the present invention provides a tailpiece for a stringed instrument comprising an elongate base piece with top, bottom, front, and rear surfaces and having string holes being formed from the front surface through the rear surface, a vertical slot at each end of the base piece, the vertical slots being formed from the top surface through the bottom surface, and at least one magnetic means situated at a proximity to each slot sufficient to magnetically attract a ferromagnetic post located within the slot to releasably connect the tailpiece to the post. 
         [0015]    In some embodiments, the magnetic means comprises a void provided in the base piece of the bridge or tailpiece, near the vertical alignment hole or slot, and a permanent magnet fixedly set into the void. Preferably, the permanent magnet is a rare earth magnet. 
         [0016]    The invention further provides a method for mounting a bridge or a tailpiece to a stringed instrument comprising the steps of providing the bridge or tailpiece that comprises a base piece having vertical alignment holes or slots at each end of the base piece, providing magnetic means situated at a proximity to each vertical alignment hole or slot sufficient to magnetically attract a ferromagnetic post located within the vertical alignment hole or slot, mounting posts of a ferromagnetic material to the body of the stringed instrument, and placing the bridge or tailpiece on the posts such that the posts are inserted into vertical alignment holes or slots at each end of the base piece such that the magnetic means attracts the ferromagnetic posts to releasably connect the bridge or tailpiece to the post. 
         [0017]    The components described herein are also designed to fit or retrofit most instruments without any modification to the original instrument. Even expensive “vintage” instruments can be fitted with the new components without any modification to the instrument, and the use of the new components does not detract from the “vintage” look of the instrument. The new components may be constructed to make visual detection of any difference between original stock components and the new components difficult. The new components are easy to use, install, and adjust by a purchaser. A professional installation and adjustment of the components is likely not needed after the first such installation and adjustment, as the instrument owner or user can perform the installation and maintenance. 
         [0018]    Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures and claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    In drawings which illustrate by way of example only embodiments of the invention: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  exemplary top view of a conventional Tune-o-matic style bridge and a tailpiece known in the prior art shown mounted in a body of a stringed instrument; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  an exemplary front, bottom and cross section view of a bridge according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  an exemplary top and front view of a tailpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , front, bottom and cross section views of an improved, exemplary guitar bridge  100  are shown. The guitar bridge  100  comprises an elongate base piece  112  that is typically formed of standard metal, such as steel or brass. A top surface  114  is generally flat, while a bottom surface  116  is generally concaved to match the curvature of a guitar. Alternatively, the top and bottom surfaces  114  and  116  may consist of other shapes. Cut or formed in the bridge  100  are several square or rectangular holes  118  extending from the top surface  114  through the bottom surface  116 . It is within these rectangular holes  118  that the saddles for each string are mounted as is known in the art. Vertically through each end of the base piece  112  are vertical alignment holes  120  extending from the top surface  114  to the bottom surface  116 . Also formed into the bottom surface  116  of base piece  112  at each end near each vertical alignment hole  120  are voids  124 . Within each of the voids  124  is fixedly set a complementary shaped permanent magnet  126 , preferably a compact high-strength magnet such as a rare earth magnet like samarium-cobalt and neodymium-iron-boron (NIB) magnets. The positioning and proximity of the voids  124 , hence the magnets  126 , relative to the vertical alignment holes  120  is such that the magnets  126  are able to magnetically attract a ferromagnetic post, such as a post member  34  comprising one or more ferromagnetic material (such as iron, nickel, cobalt and manganese, or their alloys) situated within the vertical alignment hole  120  to releasably retain the bridge on the post member  34 . The voids  124  and the magnets  126  are examples of at least one magnetic means situated at a proximity to each vertical alignment hole sufficient to magnetically attract a ferromagnetic post located within the vertical alignment hole to releasably connect the bridge to the post. 
         [0024]    In the illustrated embodiment of the guitar bridge  100 , the voids  124  and the magnets  126  are shown as vertically aligned and partially extending from the bottom surface  116  towards the top surface  114 . This location of the voids  124  and the magnets  126  preserves the aesthetics of the top surface  114  of the bridge and provides a relatively easy and economical way to manufacture the bridge as the voids  124  can be easily machined or molded into the base piece. However, other orientations, configurations, and positioning of the voids  124  and magnets  126  may be employed provided that such alternative orientations, configurations and positions of the magnets achieve a degree of magnetic attraction between the magnets in the bridge and a ferromagnetic post member of a bridge post sufficient to keep the bridge from falling off the bridge posts when the strings of the guitar are loosened or removed. 
         [0025]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , top and front views of an exemplary, new guitar tailpiece  200  are shown. The guitar tailpiece  200  comprises an elongate base piece  212  that is formed of standard metal, such as steel or brass. A top  214  and bottom  216  surfaces of the tailpiece  200  are generally curved in order to aesthetically match the surface curve of a guitar upon which the tailpiece  200  is to be mounted. Several longitudinal string holes  218 , generally evenly spaced apart along the width of the tailpiece  200 , are formed or machined through the tailpiece  200 . These string holes  218  also have chamfered edges or indentations  218   a  of a slightly larger diameter on both the front and rear entries of the string holes  218  to accommodate small balls which are manufactured at the ends of steel strings used in some guitars. The strings are placed through the string holes  218  towards the bridge  100  ( FIG. 2 ) and nut of the guitar, not shown. It is these balls on the ends of the strings which absorb all of the tension on the strings after top ends of the strings are mounted on tuning screws on a neck of the guitar. 
         [0026]    Vertical slots  220  are formed on each end of the tailpiece  200 . These slots  220  are typically rounded and extend from the top surface  214  through the bottom surface  216 , and accommodate adjustment studs or tailpiece posts  46  upon which the tailpiece  200  is mounted. Alternatively, the slots  220  may comprise openings through a side of the tailpiece  200 . 
         [0027]    Through each of the slots  220  of the tailpiece  200  are horizontally aligned voids  226  within which is fixedly set a complementary shaped permanent magnet  228 , preferably a compact high-strength magnet such as a rare earth magnet like samarium-cobalt and neodymium-iron-boron (NIB) magnets. The positioning and proximity of the voids  226 , hence the magnets  228 , relative to the slots  220  is such that the magnets  228  are able to magnetically attract an adjustment studs such as tailpiece post  46  comprising one or more ferromagnetic material (such as iron, nickel, cobalt and manganese, or their alloys) situated within the slots  220  to releasably retain the tailpiece  200  connected to the tailpiece posts  46 . The voids  226  and the magnets  228  are examples of at least one magnetic means situated at a proximity to each slot sufficient to magnetically attract a ferromagnetic post located within the slot to releasably connect the tailpiece to the post. 
         [0028]    In the illustrated embodiment of the tailpiece  200 , the voids  226  and the magnets  228  are shown as horizontally aligned and through the material at the base of the slots  220 . This location of the voids  226  and the magnets  228  preserves the aesthetics of the top surface  214  of the tailpiece and provides a relatively easy and economical way to manufacture the tailpiece as the voids  226  can be easily machined or molded into the tailpiece. However, other orientations, configurations, and positioning of the voids  226  and magnets  228  may be employed provided that such alternative orientations, configurations and positions of the magnets achieve a degree of magnetic attraction between the magnets in the tailpiece and a ferromagnetic adjustment stud sufficient to keep the tailpiece from falling off the adjustment studs when the strings of the guitar are loosened or removed. 
         [0029]    While the above description and illustrations constitute preferred or alternate embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that numerous variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the embodiments described and illustrated herein should not be considered to limit the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.