Patent ID: 7164073

Claim:
A stringed musical instrument, said stringed musical instrument comprising a body portion, a neck portion connected with and extending outward from said body portion, a head portion connected with said neck portion, a plurality of tuning devices mounted on said head portion, a plurality of strings each of which extends from one of said tuning devices along said neck portion to said body portion of said instrument, a base member connected with said musical instrument adjacent to a connection between said head and neck portions, and a plurality of pairs of string support members connected with said base member, a first one of said pairs of string support members including first and second string support members which cooperate with a first one of said strings of said plurality of strings, said first string support member in said first one of said pairs of string support members including a first mounting section which is connected with said base member, a first string positioning section which extends from said first mounting section, said first string positioning section having a first arcuate outer side surface which engages said first one of said strings of said plurality of strings, and a first blocking section which extends from said first string positioning section in a direction away from said first mounting section to block movement of said first one of said strings from between said first and second string support members in a first direction, said second string support member in said first one of said pairs of string support members including a second mounting section which is connected with said base member, a second string positioning section which extends from said second mounting section, said second string positioning section having a second arcuate side surface which engages said first one of said strings of said plurality of strings, and a second blocking section which extends from said second string positioning section in a direction away from said second mounting section to block movement of said first one of said strings from between said first and second string support members in a second direction.