The Drop Tuner comprising a pivoting lever element and two ring-like elements in an arrangement operable to quickly alter the position of a macro-tuner or other string tuning element on the instrument body to change the tension of a musical instrument string from one pre-selected pitch to another and back by moving the lever to one of two corresponding adjustable pre-selected positions. “Drop Tuner” refers to an adjustment device added to a string tuner element, macro-tuner or similar, with the capacity to quickly change from one adjustable predetermined pitch to another adjustable predetermined pitch and back comprising at least two adjustable predetermined tensioning positions.

A tuning machine for a stringed instrument comprising an input shaft having an eccentric at an end and being rotatable by a user, a gear member with a central axial bore to receive the eccentric to move the gear member though an eccentric circular motion as the input shaft rotates, the gear member having external teeth, a ring gear having internal teeth positioned around the external teeth of the gear member, the ring gear accommodates the gear member such that at least one of the external teeth meshes with and drives at least one of the internal teeth as the gear member moves through its eccentric circular motion to rotate the ring gear about its central axis, and a string post driven by the ring gear to wind or unwind a string of the instrument as a result of rotation of the input shaft.

A tuning machine for a stringed instrument comprising an input shaft having an eccentric at an end and being rotatable by a user, a gear member with a central axial bore to receive the eccentric to move the gear member though an eccentric circular motion as the input shaft rotates, the gear member having external teeth, a ring gear having internal teeth positioned around the external teeth of the gear member, the ring gear accommodates the gear member such that at least one of the external teeth meshes with and drives at least one of the internal teeth as the gear member moves through its eccentric circular motion to rotate the ring gear about its central axis, and a string post driven by the ring gear to wind or unwind a string of the instrument as a result of rotation of the input shaft.

A tremolo and tuning apparatus is provided for a stringed musical instrument having a body, a neck extending from the body, a nut on an end of the neck remote from the body, and a string extending over the neck. The string makes a first critical contact at a point on the nut of the instrument and a second critical contact at a point on the apparatus. The apparatus includes a mounting frame configured for mounting on the surface of the body, an attachment post secured to the body, a base plate pivotally mounted with respect to the attachment post and having a surface adapted to receive a force, a string mounting assembly mounted on the base plate for holding the string, and a resilient member assembly for engagement with the mounting frame outside the body of the instrument and supplying a force to the base plate surface.

A self-releasing and self-locking string locking mechanism for adjusting a string includes a fixed seat mounted on a stringed instrument, a worm shaft, a worm gear, a rotating shaft and a sleeve. The worm shaft drives and rotates the worm gear, and is installed on the fixed seat. The rotating shaft, pivotally connected on the fixed seat and secured on the worm gear, includes a self-releasing thread having a pitch thread between 1.25 mm and 1.6 mm and applied with a lubricant, and a locking pin. The sleeve is for the locking pin to be inserted therein, and internally includes an inner thread corresponding to the self-releasing thread and a lower surface for the locking pin to abut against. The sleeve is further provided with a through opening for the string to pass through near the lower surface.

A self-releasing and self-locking string locking mechanism for adjusting a string includes a fixed seat mounted on a stringed instrument, a worm shaft, a worm gear, a rotating shaft and a sleeve. The worm shaft drives and rotates the worm gear, and is installed on the fixed seat. The rotating shaft, pivotally connected on the fixed seat and secured on the worm gear, includes a self-releasing thread having a pitch thread between 1.25 mm and 1.6 mm and applied with a lubricant, and a locking pin. The sleeve is for the locking pin to be inserted therein, and internally includes an inner thread corresponding to the self-releasing thread and a lower surface for the locking pin to abut against. The sleeve is further provided with a through opening for the string to pass through near the lower surface.

The invention relates to an attachment arrangement for the strings of a stringed instrument, especially a guitar. To the body of the stringed instrument is attached a bridge body, first restraining means for restraining the strings from the first end area, second restraining means, which are arranged in conjunction with the bridge body for restraining the strings from the second end area. Lever means are arranged in conjunction with the bridge body in order to move the second restraining means for temporarily loosening and/or tightening the strings by means of a lever part included in the lever means. The lever means are provided with moving means comprising at least one moving mechanism, which is a mechanism separate from the lever means. One or more second restraining means are arranged to move with respect to the bridge body. The moving means are arranged to transmit the movement of the lever means into the desired movement of one or more restraining means.

A mechanical device is described, integrated in a fret board of a cord-type music instrument as replacement of a fret adapted to cross the fret board from the front surface to the rear surface of the fret board; the mechanical device comprises: a bridge element arranged on the rear surface of the fret board; a rider means, adapted to vertically cross the fret board of the cord-type music instrument and to be connected with the bridge element; an elastic means, equipped with a first end connected to the bridge element, and with a second end strictly connected to at least one room obtained in the fret board.

A foldable stringed instrument, for example in the form of a travel guitar that folds mid-neck to assume a reduced profile is described. The mid-neck folding is accomplished in a symmetrical manner about a three-part hinge located in the neck to configure the travel guitar into a reduced profile. The bridge assembly can be translated longitudinally relative to the head of the guitar to allow sufficient detensioning of the guitar strings to enable an upper portion of the neck to be folded away from a lower portion of the neck and/or body to assume a reduced profile. To deploy the travel guitar for playing, the upper portion of the neck is unfolded into alignment with the lower portion of the neck and/or body, and the bridge assembly translated longitudinally relative to the head and locked in position to allow the guitar to be tuned for playing.

Provided is a modular string instrument including a core string instrument and interchangeable instrument body types. The core including: a core shell forming a basic shape of the core string instrument, a string instrument head, a neck base, a chassis assembly configured to be inserted into the core shell, extending from the head to the neck base and comprising a strings anchoring bridge, a plastic fret board configured to have frets attached thereon, the fret board configured to cover the core shell and to encase the chassis assembly within the core shell, a neck base cover configured to be attached to the neck base, a pickup cassette bay configured to encase an interchangeable pickup cassette, and strings stretched from the bridge over the pickup cassette bay, over the neck base to the head.