Patent ID: 7166788

Claim:
A stringed musical instrument comprising: a body comprising: a first plate; a second plate; and a rib coupling the first and second plates to form a cavity enclosed by the first and second plates and by the rib; wherein the second plate comprises: a concentrated mass continuously extending across the second plate between a first section of the rib and a second section of the rib, and having ends in proximity to respectively the first and second rib sections; a first distributed mass extending from the concentrated mass to a third section of the rib between the first and second rib sections; and a second distributed mass extending from the concentrated mass to a fourth section of the rib between the first and second rib sections, the first rib section being between the third and fourth rib sections, and the second rib section being between the third and fourth rib sections; a plurality of strings; and a bridge acoustically coupling the strings to one of the first and second plates; wherein the second plate comprises a sheet of wood of a first density; and wherein the concentrated mass comprises a first strip of wood secured to the wood sheet, the first wood strip being continuous and extending across the wood sheet between the first rib section and the second rib section, the first wood strip having a second density greater than the first density.