Technical Field

The invention relates to a construction of musical instruments, in particular to a contruction element of the musical instrument that is able to influence the tone timbre by its acoustic characteristics. For instance, such design element is the soundboard including the massive body of electric string instruments, mainly like an electric guitar or electric bass guitar, but also other design elements of electric string instruments like, for example, a central block limiting the feedback and forming a reinforcement of the hollow or semi- hollow guitar massive body. The invention solves not only a specific sound achievement but also production standardization because the production of musical instrument massive body according to this invention reduces the result dependence on local deviations in characteristics of the used wood.

Description of Prior Art

As regards string musical instruments, it is known that string vibrations are transferred onto the musical instrument body whereas vibrations of musical instrument resonant elements and string vibrations influence each other. Therefore, the quality and type of musical instrument resonant elements have a fundamental effect on its sound characteristics. Concerning classic musical instruments with acoustic elements, the quality and type of musical instrument massive body have a fundamental effect on achieving a reasonable loudness of produced sound. Accordingly, massive bodies of classic musical instruments are hollow and have thin walls as well as characteristic size and shape for each musical instrument enabling a sufficient amplification of sound produced by a thin soundboard. At instruments having an optimal shape and size, characteristics of the produced tone are essentially influenced by properties of the material out of which the acoustic elements are made. For this reason, classic string musical instruments are made out of wood the quality of which is chosen according to requirements imposed on the quality of the respective string musical instrument. With regards to an admissible soundboard thickness, classic musical instruments have a disadvantage that consists in the fact that wood resonance characteristics coming out only at larger thicknesses cannot be used. When discussing electric string musical instruments, the requirement for intensity of the produced sound is not a priority. There exist string electric musical instruments without any requirements imposed on the massive body sound characteristics as well as instruments using acoustic characteristics of the massive body. The first group includes string musical instruments at which the massive body or string vibration sensing serves only as an identification of the tone played by the musician for an electric sound generator being thus fully electric as well as electric musical instruments at which the massive body or string vibrations are sensed electrically or acoustically. The resulting tone is generated in an acoustical transducer, most frequently in a loudspeaker, whereas the signal formed upon sensing string vibrations, massive body vibrations or their mixtures in various proportions is electrically processed before being brought into the acoustical transducer. The other group contains instruments the resulting sound of which is influenced by acoustic characteristics of the massive body. Massive bodies of such musical instruments are made out of wood whereas sound characteristics of the particular musical instrument, especially the tone timbre, can be influenced by the shape of design elements and choice of wood with required properties. Concerning the influence on acoustic characteristics of a musical instrument through choosing the shape of its design elements, it mainly relates to the choice of musical instrument shape, dislocation and size of openings or various recesses and projections, adaptation of soundboard thickness to wood acoustic characteristics or placement of reinforcements into hollow massive bodies of musical instruments. As the wood acoustic characteristics depend on the internal stress to which the wood is exposed and on the orientation toward year rings, the tone timbre can also be influenced by prestressing and orientation of the musical instrument design element shape toward year rings. For example, an axial pressure on the violin core can be influenced by the shape, rigidity and placement of the upper as well as bottom soundboard. As also known, for purposes of affecting the acoustic characteristics of musical instruments, their design elements are assembled from parts made out of various types of wood or parts with a different orientation of year rings. In the concrete, there are electric guitars the massive body of which is formed by two boards pasted together and made out of different wood types whereas the pasting plane is parallel not only to strings but also to upper or bottom surface planes of the massive body. As further known, there exist massive bodies of electric guitars at which the pasting plane of single parts is also parallel to strings but inclined or perpendicular to the upper or bottom board plane. An example could be the electric guitar having its neck part extended so that it forms the middle part of the massive body. Boards made out of different wood types are pasted to this middle part of massive body on both sides. As known, there are also massive bodies of electric guitars formed by more parts pasted together whereas the pasting planes have mutually different directions. The massive body of electric guitar formed by mutually connected wooden parts with planar walls and mutually diverse orientation of year rings belongs to this category. A common characteristic of the above described multi-part massive bodies is that differences of resonance potentials with regards to used materials can take effect only on plane surfaces. Therefore, their disadvantage consists in restraining the options to choose the timbre of sound. A disadvantage of all musical instruments containing the massive body made out of solid wood consists in the fact that wood acoustic characteristics vary depending on the place. On that ground, high-quality instruments can be made either upon a targeted material selection or randomly in the case of mass production.

Disclosure of Invention

The mentioned disadvantages are solved through an acoustic element, especially soundboard or massive body of musical instrument, into which at least three boreholes are made whereas the acoustic element is formed at least by one body and at least by three segments. The subject matter of the acoustic element according to the invention consists in the fact that at least one of boreholes is made in at least one body and, at the same time, at least one segment is arranged at least in one borehole made at least, in one body and/or at least in one other segment. Alternatively, the subject matter consists in the fact that at least one segment has the shape of a rotationally symmetric body. According to other alternative, the subject matter consists in the fact that at least one segment fills up fully the inner space of the borehole. Within further alternatives, at least one segment may be equipped with at least one groove on its surface or may exceed the surface of the outer body in at least one direction; eventually, the axis of at least one segment may be perpendicular to the massive body surface. Alternatively, in the assembled state, at least one cavity may occur between at least one body and at least one segment or between at least two segments. According to further alternative, another segment may occur in this cavity. In accordance with other alternative, the boreholes made in at least one body and/or at least in one segment are clustered into at least one field whereas the smallest thickness of the wall of the body and/or segment between adjoining boreholes belonging to the same field equals at the most the sum of the greatest widths of mutually compared boreholes. Alternatively, the greatest width of the borehole in the plane perpendicular to the borehole axis may not exceed the triple of its smallest width. According to other alternatives, in the assembled state, at least one body and either of segments have different acoustic characteristics at least in one direction or the depth of the borehole may be greater than 1/4 of thickness of the body.

The advantage of massive body according to this invention consists in the fact that, through diameter sizes and depths of boreholes, their dislocation in the body as well as through selecting the shape of respective segments and materials out of which the body and segments are made, the massive body acoustic characteristics can be chosen in a broad range which enables to achieve various qualities of tones, for example their timbre, echo duration, etc. Description of the Drawings

Figures 1 up to 6 represent the massive body of electric musical instrument according to example 1 whereas figure 1 represents a ground-plan view of the massive body, figure 2 shows section A-A from figure 1, figure 3 shows section B-B from figure 2, figure 4 shows section C-C from figure 1, figure 5 shows section D-D from figure 1 and figure 6 shows section E-E from figure 1. Figures 7 up to 12 represent the sounboard according to example 2 whereas figure 7 represents a ground-plan view of the massive body, figure 8 shows section F-F from figure 7, figure 9 shows section G-G from figure 8, figure 10 shows section H-H from figure 7, figure 1 1 shows section I-I from figure 7 and figure 12 shows section J- J from figure 7. Figures 13 and 14 represent the massive body of electric musical instrument according to example 3 whereas figure 13 represents the massive body according to example 3 and figure 14 shows section K-K from figure 13. Figures 15 up to 19 represent the massive body of electric musical instrument according to example 4 whereas figure 15 represents a ground-plan view of the massive body, figure 16 shows section L-L from figure 15, figure 17 shows section M-M from figure 15, figure 18 shows section N-N from figure 15 and figure 19 shows section J- J from figure 18. Figures 20 and 21 represent the massive body of electric musical instrument according to example 5 whereas figure 20 represents a ground-plan view of the massive body and figure 21 shows section K-K from figure 20. Examples of Embodiments

Examples of embodiments 1 up to 4 relate to soundboards or massive bodies of electric musical instrument formed by one body I consisting of a massive material in which boreholes 2 for pasting segments 30.31,32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.301.302 are made. The massive body of electric musical instrument according to example 5 is formed by two bodies 1, 11 whereas the first body 1 consists of a massive material in which boreholes 2 are made and the second body ϋ is hollow. The first body 1 occurs in the cavity of the second body Within some of described examples, boreholes 2 for pasting other segments 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 301. 302 are made also in segments 32. 39. Boreholes 2 pass through the whole body I or through the whole segment 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 301. 302. or they have their depth less than the thickness of body 1 or segment 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 301. 302. Segments 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 301. 302 are pasted in boreholes 2. It is described also an exemplary embodiment in which the boreholes 2 are made at the boundary between the body 1 and segment 32 or at the boundary between two segments 32. 39. Paste-in segments 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 301. 302 can thus reach simultaneously both into the body I and segment 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37, 38. 39. 301. 302 or also into two or more segments 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 301. 302. If the distance of centres of adjoining boreholes 2 is less than or equal to the sum of their diameters, then the adjoining boreholes 2 touch or merge into each other. The first segment 3_1, as described within examples, has the shape of a solid cylinder with its axis perpendicular to the plane of some basis. The second segment 32 has the shape of a collar and is formed by the cylinder containing a concentric borehole 2 passing through the whole cylinder height. The third segment 33 differs from the second segment 32 by the fact that the centric borehole depth is less than the cylinder height. The fourth segment 34 has the shape of a cylinder the axis of which is not perpendicular to any cylinder base. The fifth segment 35 has the shape of a cylinder containing two pairs of grooves 351. 352 in the circumferential wall. The second grooves 352 are situated in the middle part of the height appertaining to the fifth segment 35 and have the profile shaped as a segment of a circle while the first grooves 351 occur above them and have the profile shaped as a rectangle. The sixth segment 36 has the shape of a cylinder whereas the circumferential groove 36J. is made in the middle part of its jacket. The seventh segment 37 has the shape of a truncated cone. The eighth segment 38 has the shape of a truncated cone the basis of which having larger diameter merges into a cylinder with identical diameter. The ninth segment 39 has the shape of a collar with annular bases of different sizes. The tenth segment 30 has the shape of a cylinder at which the circumferential edge of one base is rounded, eventually, at which one base may be replaced with a spherical segment or hemisphere. The eleventh segment 301 has the shape of a cone the base of which merges into a cylinder with identical diameter. The twelfth segment 302 has the shape of two coaxially placed cylinders one of which has its base diameter larger than the other. The thirteenth segment 303 has the shape of a truncated cone with elliptic bases. In the majority of cases, bases of segments follow the upper or bottom surface of the body 1 and, therefore, they may not be necessarily planar.

Example 1

The massive body of electric musical instrument according to example 1 is formed by the body 1 made out of mahogany wood containing boreholes 2 with axes perpendicular to the upper massive body surface dislocated on four concentric circles and one borehole 2 the axis of which is inclined toward the upper plane of the body L Segments made out of maple wood, having different resonance characteristics compared to mahogany, are pasted in boreholes 2. All the segments 31. 32. 33 pasted in boreholes 2 situated on concentric circles are rotationally symmetric and their axes are perpendicular to the massive body surface. The fourth segment 34 having the shape of a cylinder the axis of which is not perpendicular to bases is pasted in the inclined borehole 2. Counted from the edge of the body I, there are eight boreholes 2 dislocated in the same distance on the first circle whereas six of them fully pass through the body \ and two have their depth smaller than the thickness of the body \. In these boreholes 2, the following segments are pasted: second segments 32 having the shape of a cylinder in the axis of which an empty cylindrical borehole 2 occurs across its whole height or third segments 33 having the shape of a cylinder in the axis of which an empty cylindrical borehole 2 occurs in a part of its height or third segments 33 with the cylindrically shaped first segment 3J_ pasted in their borehole 2 and also made out of maple wood but with a diverse orientation of year rings. All the boreholes 2 situated on the second and every other circle fully pass through the body 1. On the second circle, there are eight pairs of uniformly distributed boreholes 2 filled with first segments 31 having the shape of a solid cylinder whereas boreholes forming the pair touch each other which causes that adjoining first segments 31 pasted in them with their side walls touch each other as well.

On the third circle, there are eight uniformly distributed boreholes 2. Each of these boreholes 2 is filled with two third segments 33 oriented with their boreholes to each other so that both third segments 33 close inside the cavity 4 or with two third segments 33 oriented to each other whereas the first segment 3J, having the shape of a solid cylinder occurs inside the cavity 4 which they close. On the fourth circle, there are eight uniformly distributed boreholes 2 fully filled with first segments 3 L Example 2

The soundboard of electric musical instrument according to example 2 is formed by the body I made out of ash-tree wood containing boreholes 2 that are concentrated into five fields 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. Axes of all boreholes 2 are perpendicular to the upper plane of the body 1. Boreholes 2 are situated in mutually parallel lines. Boreholes 2 occurring in the first two lines on the first soundboard side have two different sizes whereas each of boreholes 2 has an elliptic section in the plane perpendicular to the borehole axis. Smaller boreholes 2 are arranged into the line closer to the soundboard edge being oriented in a way that the direction of their greatest widths is perpendicular to the direction of greatest widths of the greater boreholes 2 that form the second line more distant from edges. The greatest width 9J, of none of these boreholes 2 does not exceed the triple of its smallest width 96. The smallest thickness of the wall 93 of the body 1 between adjoining boreholes 2 occurring in two outer lines is less than the sum of the greatest width 91 of larger borehole and the greatest width 92 of smaller borehole thus being equal at the most to the sum of the greatest widths 91. 92 of mutually compared boreholes. Consequently, these boreholes 2 belong to the same field, in this case to the first field 51. The width of boreholes 2 appertaining to the first field 51 decreases in the plane perpendicular to the axis of borehole 2 whereas thirteenth segments 303 having the shape of a truncated cone with elliptic bases are inserted into these boreholes. Boreholes 2 situated in one line on the other edge of the body1 forming the soundboard are concentrated into the second field 52 and filled with tenth segments 30 formed by a solid cylinder the height of which is greater than thickness of the body1. With their upper part, the tenth segments 30 exceed the outer surface of the body 1, more accurately its upper plane, whereas the upper base edge of tenth segments 30 is rounded. In two lines situated in the middle part of soundboard, there are boreholes 2 forming other three independent fields 53. 54. 55. The third field 53 and fifth field 55 occur closer to soundboard edges while the fourth field 54 occurs closer to the soundboard centre. All the boreholes 2 forming the third field 53 have the same diameter whereas boreholes 2 of this field touch each other so that the smallest wall thickness of the body I between them is zero thus being less than the sum of their two diameters. In boreholes 2 of the third field 53, there are fifth segments 35 having the shape of cylinders in the side walls of which, on opposite sides, two pairs of mutually parallel grooves 351. 352 are milled out. The second grooves 352 are situated in the middle part of the height appertaining to the fifth segment 35 and have the profile shaped as a segment of a circle while the first grooves 351 occur closer to one of bases, in particular above the second grooves 352, and have the profile shaped as a rectangle. After pasting the fifth segments 35 into the body 1, grooves 351. 352 form cavities 4 inside this body. Connecting lines between centres of boreholes 2 appertaining to the third field 53 make together an angle of 60 degrees and paste-in fifth segments 35 touch each other with their side walls. Also all the boreholes 2 appertaining to the fourth field 54 have the same diameter which, however, differs from diameters of boreholes 2 appertaining to the third field 53. Connecting lines between centres of boreholes appertaining to the fourth field 54 make together an angle of 90 degrees. In boreholes 2 of the fourth field 54, the first segments 31 are pasted also touching each other with their side walls. As regards the fifth field 55 being closest to the outer edge of the body 1, connecting lines between centres of boreholes 2 make an obtuse angle. Segments 31. 37 are pasted in boreholes 2 and do not touch each other. Boreholes 2 with smaller diameter appertaining to the fifth field 55 have the shape of a cone and their depth is less than thickness of the body 1 but greater than 1/4 of thickness of the body 1 round this borehole 2. The seventh segments 37 having the shape of a truncated cone are pasted in these boreholes 2. Each of larger boreholes 2 is partly filled with a pair formed by the first segment 3_1 and twelfth segment 302. The total height of segments 31. 302 is lower than thickness of the body . As the first segment 31 is pasted in from the upper surface side of the body I and twelfth segment 302 from the bottom surface side of the body I, the cavity 4 occurs between both segments 31. 302. Larger boreholes of the fifth field 55 have their upper side diameter equal to the diameter of the first segment 3_i and their bottom side diameter equal to the diameter of larger base appertaining to the twelfth segment 302. The smallest thickness of the wall 94 of the body 1 between the closest adjoining boreholes 2 appertaining to the first field 51 and fourth field 54 is greater than the sum of the greatest width 91 of larger borehole appertaining to the first field 51 and width 95 of the circular borehole 2 appertaining to the fourth field 54 thus not being equal at the most to the sum of greatest widths 91. 95 of mutually compared boreholes 2. Therefore, boreholes 2 of the fourth field 54 do not belong simultaneously to the first field 51. All the segments 31. 35. 37 are also made out of maple wood but the orientation of year rings of paste-in segments 31. 35. 37 always differs from the orientation of year rings of the body \ so that wood of the body 1 and wood of segments 31. 35. 37 have different acoustic characteristics in the same direction. The orientation of year rings of thirteenth segments 303 is congruent with the orientation of year rings of the body I. However, the thirteenth segments 303 were pushed into the respective boreholes 2 by force so that a stress originated both in wood of the body 1 and wood of thirteenth segments 303 in the place of mutual contact which changes acoustic characteristics in comparison with the compact body L The tenth segments 30 are made out of glass. Also these segments were pushed into the respective boreholes 2 by force. The stress originating in the body 1 changed acoustic characteristics of the wood out of which the body 1 is made. The soundboard according to example 2 can be directly used as a massive body of solid electric guitar or a massive body of required shape can be cut out of it. In reality, the fields described in example 2 may contain much more boreholes with respective segments. A massive body of electric string instrument containing just one of fields 51. 52. 53. 54. 55 can also be made out of such soundboard. Example 3

The massive body of electric musical instrument according to example 3 is formed by the body I made out of alder wood containing one borehole 2 within its middle part into which four segments 31. 32. 33. 39 made out of ash-tree wood are centrically pasted. In the direction from the massive body outer edge, firstly the second segment 32 is pasted in whereas its height is less than thickness of the body \ . Subsequently, the ninth segment 39 having the shape of a collar is pasted in whereas its upper side borehole 2 has the diameter smaller than its borehole 2 on the bottom side. In the bottom borehole 2 of the ninth segment 39, the third segment 33 is pasted with its borehole 2 having the same diameter as the upper borehole of the ninth segment 39 upwards. The first segment 3J. is pasted into the upper borehole 2 of the ninth segment 39 and, simultaneously, into the borehole 2 of the third segment 33.

Example 4 The massive body of electric musical instrument according to example 4 differs from the massive body described in example 3 by the fact that the first segment 3J_ further contains three boreholes 2 the centres of which form corners of an equilateral triangle. These boreholes 2 have the shape of a cylinder merging into a cone in the upward direction. Into the upper conical part of each of the boreholes 2 situated in the first segment 3_1, the seventh segment 37 is pasted having the shape of a truncated cone and being oriented with its larger base upwards while the eleventh segment 301 is pasted in the bottom side of the same borehole 2 with its cylindrical part heading to the bottom surface of the body 1. The massive body according to this example further differs from the massive body described in example 3 by the fact that other two boreholes 2 located in the massive body axis occur between the body 1 and the second segment 32 and between the second segment 32 and the ninth segment 39. In the borehole 2 being situated on the side of electric guitar neck, the eighth segment 38 is pasted from the upper side and the twelfth segment 302 from the bottom side. Both segments 38, 302 are oriented with their smaller bases to each other. The sixth segment 36 is pasted in the borehole 2 being situated closer to the edge of the body I and contains the circumferential groove 361 in the middle of its height delimitating the cavity 4 within this borehole. Cavities 4 occur between segments 38, 37 and 301 in boreholes 2.

Example 5

The massive body of electric guitar according to this example is formed by two bodies I I . The first body I has an oblong shape and is formed by a massive material in which twenty boreholes 2 are made being arranged into two lines parallel to strings in the assembled state. All the boreholes 2 have the same diameter not touching each other. All the boreholes 2 are fully filled with first segments 3J _. the height of which matches up with the height of the body I. The second body ϋ is hollow and has the classic shape of guitar massive body. The first body 1 is narrower than the inner space of the second body H in its narrowest place and, in the assembled state, it occurs within the middle part of the cavity of the second body 11. Height of the first body 1 is identical to the inner space height of the second body JJ.. In the assembled state, the upper as well as bottom plane of the first body I are pasted to inner surfaces of upper and bottom board of the second body JJ.. In the longitudinal direction, the first body I fully fills the middle part of the second body ϋ so that the first body 1 divides the inner space of the second body 11 into two parts.

The stated examples represent the most advantageous but not the only solutions which, within the claims, might be created by a person experienced in the respective branch; for instance, segments of other profiles can be used too. In case the upper and bottom body surfaces are not planar, the segment bases follow their shape and, therefore, they may not be planar as well. Industrial Applicability

The presented invention can be used in all areas where there is a need to modify targetedly natural properties of solid wood, especially acoustic characteristics.