An improved Apparatus for Raising, and for Deadening or Damping, the Tone of the Different Strings in Stringed Instruments.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 11th May, 1895-Accepted, 15th June, 1895
CUMI LUID
An improved Apparatus for Raising, and for Deadening or Damping,
the Tone of the Different Strings in Stringed Instruments.
A communication to me from FRANZ PRRLICH, Senior, of Gleiz, HERMANN
WEBER, Tenober, of Greiz, FRANZ PERLICH, Junior, Gardener, of Berga,
in the Empire of Germany.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the Firm of Edwards and Co Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 65 and 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do horeby❤
declare the nature of this invention, and what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, and accompanying drawings, that is to say :-
Contiivances for raising the sounds in stinged instruments n semi-tone, by
shortening the strings, are already known. These contrivances consist either in
dovices by which the mechanism shortening the strings, is put in action during the
playing, or else those stungs are before the playing of a contain piece of music,
permanently raised by a seini-tone, by shortening those which are to sound a semi-
tone higher in this particular piece of music
The contrivance of pedal-stops in smaller stringed instruments makes them too
bulky and less easy to handle.
The contrivance for raising permanently and previously, by a semi-tone, each
string, by means of appropriate mechanism, which keeps the stings shortened
until the player sets free individually each string by putting out of operation the
coresponding mechanism, reduces considerably the use of euch stringed instru-
ment, because, before the execution of any piece of music, the stings previously
shortened must be lengthened again, and others on the contrary, must be shortened.
It is known that the sound of stinged instruments may be deadened by means
of plates, projections upon which may be pressed against the strings, so that by
touching all the strings, only the desired character of tones is produced. With
these projections on the plates juxtaposed, the points of contact for the deadening
of the sound of the strings, are dispersed, the different strings are touched at
different points of then length, and the deadening emams partly incomplete.
Moreover, with other instruinents of this kind (such as zithers) and in order to
allow all the transpositions, these instruments must be provided with strings in
perfectly chromatic succession, which makes the playing of a melody on the
instrument, and the tuning of the same, extremely difficult.
The present invention has for its object, to obviate the above-mentioned Incon-
veniences, which present themselves in the transposition and deadening or damping
of all the different strings
In the annexed drawing
Figure 11s a plan of a stringed instrument, provided with the devices forming
the subject of the invention.
Figures 2, 3, and 4 are respectively sections on the lines A-B, C-D and E-F
of Figure 1.
Besides the ordinary bridges, the stringed instrument is provided with a bridge S
for the deadening of the sound of the strings, by which, instead of the dispersed
position of the points of operation for the deadening of the strings as in other
instruments, these points of contact are situated at the place where the deadening is
most efficacious. The instrument, besides, is provided with a bridge St, serving for the

page_text: shortening of the strings, that is to say, for the raising of the sounds. The two
bridges S and S¹ may be rectilinear or curvilinear, according to what seems
necessary for obtaining a deadening as complete as possible, or a raising of tone
as pure as possible.
Near the bridge S are arranged moveable hooks or eyelets h, enveloped by soft
material, and near the bridge S₁ are arranged moveable hooks or eyelets h¹, not
enveloped by soft material.
The hooks or eyelets h and h¹ tiaverse with their lower ends the sounding-board
of the instrument, being fixed in the bars a and a', which are parallel to each
string and of which there are two for each string. Springs encicling the lower
ends or stems of the hooks, and pressing on the one hand against the head of the
hook and on the other against the sounding-board, automatically keep the hooks h
and from the strings, and keep at the same time the bars a and a' in their
elevated position
These bars a and a' extend to the middle of the instrument,
and act, when they are pressed down, as levers on the hooks and h¹, which
overcoming the reaction of the springs, press the strings down upon the
bridges S oi S'.
In the device represented in the annexed drawing, the pressing down of the
bars a and a 18 effected by elastic combs k. The teeth of these combs pass
between the strings, and, traversing the sounding-board, are placed above the
bais a aud a', so that, by pressing on the button », different bais a and a' are
pressed down by the teeth of the comb, and the hooks h and are put into
action, that is to say, that certain strings are deadened and others are raised by a
semi-tone.
When the pressure on the button ceases, the springs b piess the comb
upwards, and the released bars a nod a' are drawn upwards by the spruge, and
the deadened and higher-toned strings are set free again.
The zither represented in the annexed drawing, and provided with the device
described for raising or deadening the tone of certain strings, embraces (as au
example), four octaves. The deadening of the tones is produced by 29 bars a
with books h, placed parallel to the stinge and beneath them, the raising of the
tones 18 produced by 29 similai bars a, with hooks /'. Upon these bais act
22 combs A, with buttons » The latter are desiguated in the drawing by the
hguies to 22 The combs 1 to 7 deaden certain isolated strings of each octave.
Thus, for instance, the combs operated by button 1, acts by its teeth on the
corresponding bars a of the strings re, fa, la, and st, of each octave, and deadens
their tone, whereas the strings do, mi, sol, can still sound freely, (see Figure 4).
The comb 8 aires sunultaneously by a semi-tone all the strings of the instrument
(see Figure 3). The combs 9 to 15 aise, each by a semi-tone, all the strings do,
c, mi, fa, sol, la, s. The combs 15 to 22 deaden and raise the sounds of certain
stings, whereas others sound normally. Thus, for instance, the comb 16 allows
to resound all the strings of do, mi, sol, whereas all the other stungs are
deadened.
In order to protect it hom the dust, the comb-mechanism is provided with a
cover o.
As may be seen from the foregoing, a simple pressure with the finger enables
the player to produce, with a simple set of strings, in simple gamut, the chiomatic
gamut without interval, and, by simply touching the stings, to produce any chord
which considerably sacilitates the playing of the instrument, as compared with
the instruments actually in existence, and which at the same time also simplifies the
tuning of the lustrumient It may be observed here that the mhas the same
pitch as fa, and the 61 as the do, which affords at the same time a starting point
for the correct tuning of the different tones of the gamut.
As in analogous instruments, completely made of wood and without finger-
board, the raising of the tones can only be obtained by a strong teusion of the
stungs, which overstrains the wooden body, and which consequently exposes the
harmony to great variations, there is arranged, in order to maintain the tuning of

page_text: In
this instrument, passing all round the same, a frame of aluminium R upon which
the strings are fastened, and whose outside form is shewn in the drawing.
order to increase its stability, its transverse section takes the form of a rectangle,
the horizontal branch of which allows the screwing on of the top cover, whereas
the other vertical branch forms the frame of the resounding body.
This aluminium frame R allows moreover of an easy mounting and dismounting
of the stringed instrument. Aluminium and its alloys are, on account of their
lightness, most fitted for this purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and what mauuer the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim 18-
1. A contrivance for raising and deadening or damping the tones of certain
stungs in stringed instruments, consisting of bars a and a', with hooks or eyelets h
and, which, when the bars a and a' are pressed downwards, bring the different
strings upon the bridges S and S' arranged near the hooks, substantially as described
and illustrated.
2. In stringed instruments provided with the contrivance described in Claim 1,
the combs k, whose teeth press down the bars a and a when the buttons n are
pressed upon, substantially as described and illustrated.
3. In the stringed instruments claimed above, in order to prevent, as far as
possible, the strings from giving a false sound or losing their tune, the con-
tiivance of frames R of aluminium, in the form as represented in the drawing,
and whose transverse section assumes the form of a rectangle, the horizontal
branch of the rectangle bearing the cover of the iustiument, and the vertical
branch serving as a frame for the sounding-board substantially as described and
illustrated.
Dated this 9th day of May 1895.
EDWARDS & Co.,
65 and 66, Chancery Lane, Londou, Agents for the Applicant.