Guitar construction

Jan. 8, 1963 g. _R burke 3,072,007

GUITAR CONSTRUCTION

Filed Aug. 1. I960

<img file="US3072007A_D0001.tif" />

<img file="US3072007A_D0002.tif" />

ΑΎγαζΛ/ί- KgUnited States Patent Office

3,072,007

Patented Jan. 8, 1963

3,072,007

GUITAR CONSTRUCTION

Glen F. Burke, 4502 E. 17th Ave., Eugene, Oreg. Filed Aug. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 46,685

Claims. (Cl. 84—267)

This invention relates to an electric guitar, and has as its primary object the provision of an improved guitar which is characterized by a metal neck portion, preferably aluminum, which is hollow, thus in combination with the body of the guitar affording an additional sounding board.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of such a device wherein the hollow aluminum peck adds resilience and tone to the instrument.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an electric guitar provided with such a hollow aluminum neck which extends entirely through the guitar to the base, and has the body portion attached to the sides thereof.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of an electric guitar of this character wherein the strings extend the full length of the guitar. Instead of being attached to the tone chamber at points spaced inwardly of the outer end of the latter, they are attached at one end to a tail piece at the outer end of the tone chamber, are held lengthwise of the guitar along the neck, which latter extends through the tone chamber, and are attached at their other ends to the head on the neck.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a guitar having an elongated aluminum hollow neck whereby the fingerboard may terminate at the end of the neck, rather than extending down over the body of the guitar as is conventional, thus making all the frets more readily accessible.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of a guitar which may be sold in disassembled form, and assembled by the ultimate user.

Still other objects reside in the combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and features of construction, all as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter, and disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein there is shown a preferred embodiment of this inventive concept. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of one form of electric guitar embodying features of the instant invention.

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the guitar of FIG. 1, with the bottom part of the body removed.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the single metallic casting comprising the neck of the guitar, and the extension thereof which extends through the body.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 4—4 of FIG. 2 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows; and '

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 5—5 of FIG. 1 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Having reference now to the drawing in detail, there is generally indicated at 10 a guitar constructed in accordance with the present invention. The guitar includes an elongated neck 11, which is longer than in a conventional guitar, and which is constructed preferably of cast aluminum, magnesium or other nonferrous metal and provided with a hollow V-shaped groove 12 extending substantially the entire length thereof. The upper end of the casting comprises an outwardly flared head 13, which is tapped as at 14, to include side tuning keys if desired. Addi2 tional taps may be provided for the provision of tuning keys 15, as shown in FIG. 1, perpendicular to the plane of the instrument.

Integral with the neck portion 11 there is a body por5 tion 16, which is preferably in the form of a substantially right angle parallelpiped block, having a hollow interior 17, and provided with side apertures 18, for a purpose to be more fully described hereinafter.

The open V-shaped groove 12 in the neck portion is 10 covered by a keyboard section 19, which is substantially flat, and which is provided with the customary frets 20, over which the strings 21 of the instrument extend, the strings being connected to the tuning keys 15 in the usual manner. The body of the guitar is preferably made of 15 light wood or the like, and, as best shown in FIG. 2, is comprised by two complementary half sections 23, each of which has inwardly turned end portions 24 and 25 at its base and its juncture with the neck respectively. These inwardly turned flanges are apertured, for the purpose of 20 receiving bolts or rivets 27 for securing the body portion of the rectangular member 16, so that, in effect both the hollow interior 17 of portion 16 and the V-shaped cutaway portion 12 of the neck all effectively function as a sounding board. Top and bottom closure plates 29 and 25 30, respectively, are provided, as best shown in FIG. 1, and the usual bridge 32 is provided for the passage of the strings. It is noted that the strings, instead of being connected to the top plate 29, extend to the end of the body, and are secured to a tail piece as indicated at 33, thus exθ tending the full length of the instrument and providing for greater tonal range. The extra length of the neck portion 11 permits a greater tonal range, and at the same time precludes the necessity of extending the keyboard 19 downwardly over the body of the instrument as is usually ³⁵ the case. The customary pick-up 35 is provided interiorly of the guitar, and carries tuning screws 26 to vary the volume of the tone,

A suitable wire or electrically conductive cord 37 extends from the member 35 to any desired electrical amplifier or the like.

By virtue of the elongated hollow aluminum neck having an integrally formed body portion, an electrical instrument of high improved tonal qualities is produced, which is characterized by the other advantages above enumerated.

When sold as a kit, the neck unit 11 and its associated integral body portion 16 are provided as one piece, with the two side body sections as additional pieces, and the ₅₀ top and bottom plates 29 and 30 all supplied separately. The keyboard 19 may also be supplied as a part of the kit, disassembled from the hollow neck 11 to which it is subsequently attached by gluing when in kit form, and the strings 21 and keys 15 are then assembled as may be 55 desired by the individual user.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that there is herein provided an improved electrical guitar, which accomplishes all the objects of this invention, and others, including many advantages of great practical utility and g₀ commercial importance.

As many embodiments may be made of this inventive concept, and as many modifications may be made in the embodiment hereinbefore shown and described, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted ₆₅ merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.