Patent Publication Number: US-2011067556-A1

Title: Output selection system for stringed instruments

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This device pertains to the field of electronically amplified musical instruments. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The current state of electronics in popular stringed musical instruments, such as the guitar, generally consists of only one output for sending the signal of all strings at once to a speaker. Because of this, any desired sound modification using effects will apply the effect to all strings at once. 
     To fix this problem there have been many advancements in technology to allow the use of polyphonic pickups that detect the signal of every string and transmit them all to be processed as multiple signals as opposed to one signal, but these devices cannot freely interchange between where the string signal is sent. 
     One such device is U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,780 to Dawson (1976) which discloses a method of changing how the pickups are coiled initially to create a stereo effect of specially spreading out the volume of every string to make it sound like the strings are far apart, but because the device is so permanent, one cannot change the volumes or location of strings through the speaker at a moment&#39;s notice. 
     SUMMARY 
     A multi-stringed musical instrument with strings stretched across two points across the body with tension, with a method of changing the tension to create a desired musical tone when struck. Given a polyphonic pickup device that creates one electrical signal per string provided in said stringed musical instrument either by means of electromagnetism through magnetic coils sensing vibrations from ferromagnetic strings, or by the sensation of pressure creating current through piezoelectric pickups placed under the strings, the electric signal of every string is sent to it&#39;s own multi-positional electric toggle switch, whose position decides which pre-amp to send the electrical string signal to, or a potentiometer whose position will decide how much signal goes to one direction, and how much signal goes to another direction. In doing so, one can selectively choose what string signal goes to which output or preamp so as to have different strings going through different speakers. Running these signals through different series of signal effects can give the effect of playing a plurality of instruments at once using only one instrument. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1 : An electrical diagram depicting the device 
         FIG. 2 : The neck of said multi-stringed musical instrument. 
         FIG. 3 : The body, and preferred embodiment of device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In reference to  FIGS. 2 , and  3 , pictured is a typical electric guitar, constructed by combining a body  13 , a neck  14 , a bridge  15  to hold the strings  4   a - f,  which are then stretched across the body and neck and attached to tuning pegs  5   a - f  on the head  6  with which to tune the strings of the guitar to the desired musical pitch. A polyphonic pickup meant for changing the string vibrations into an electrical signal, pictured in  FIGS. 1 , and  3 . In this illustrative embodiment, pickups  7   a - f  are magnetic pickups, which detect the vibrations of ferromagnetic strings, and transform the vibrations into an electrical current. In an alternative embodiment, pickups  7   a - f  are piezoelectric pickups, which detect the vibrations of the strings through the sensation of pressure, with one pickup per string, the signals from every string then going to one electrical switch per string. In this illustrative embodiment, electrical switches  9   a - f  are multi-positional toggle switches, whose positions equal the number of outputs or preamps  10   a - b  to send the signals to, which then send the signals to a number of effects chains  11   a - b  that modify the existing electrical signals, which equals the number of outputs or preamps, which then go to any number of speakers  12   a - b.  In an alternative embodiment, switches  9   a - f  are potentiometers, where, in this example, the more a potentiometer is turned toward output or preamp  10   a,  the higher a percentage of that signal is sent to said output or preamp, while a lesser percentage of said signal is still being sent to output or preamp  10   b.