ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT SYSTEM AND EFFECTS MODULE FOR SUCH A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT SYSTEM

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic musical instrument system (1) for influencing the sound of an electric musical instrument having a housing (2) that has signal ports (14, 18) and a power supply port (15). In order to simplify the individual combination of different audio effects, the housing (2) contains control electronics (6) that have associated slots (4a-4f) for effects modules (19), wherein the slots (4a-4f) are arranged in the housing (2) and each slot (4a-4f) has a multipin connection (5a-5f) for connection to a plug-in effects module (19). The invention additionally relates to a corresponding effects module (19).

Claims

1. An electronic musical instrument system (1) for influencing the sound of an electric musical instrument having a housing (2) that has signal ports (14, 18) and a power supply port (15), wherein the housing (2) contains control electronics (6) that have associated slots (4a-4f) for effects modules (19), wherein the slots (4a-4f) are arranged in the housing (2) and each slot (4a-4f) has a multipin connection (5a-5f) for connection to a plug-in effects module (19), the multipin connection (5a-5f) being used at least for signal transmission and for supplying an operating voltage, and wherein the control electronics (6) have a computational unit, at least one memory, and a programming interface (16).

2. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slots (4a-4f) are particularly arranged parallel next to one another on a board (3) that has the control electronics (6).

3. (canceled)

4. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control electronics (6) have an input amplifier.

5. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing (2) has, above the slots (4a-4f), an opening (8) that can be closed particularly by cover elements (13a-13g), each slot (4a-4f) having an associated cover element (13a-13g).

6. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one effects module (19) is arranged in one of the slots (4a-4f), the effects module (19) being in the form of a preamplifier, distorter, tremolo, phaser, chorus, flanger, echo, reverb or the like.

7. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the effects module (19) has a plug-in card (20) on which electrical components and circuits are arranged.

8. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the cover elements (13a-13g) is associated with an effects module (19), the cover element (13a-13g) partially covering the opening (8) in the housing (2) when an effects module is inserted.

9. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cover element (13a-13g) is mountable, particularly latchable, on the housing (2).

10. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cover element (13a-13g) has a user interface (23) that can be used to influence the effects module (19).

11. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 5, wherein each slot (4a-4f) has an associated lighting device for indicating activity by the effects module (19), which lighting device is particularly arranged in the housing (2).

12. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing (2), particularly a top (7) of the housing (2), has operator control elements (9, 10), particularly foot switches, arranged on it, with particularly at least each slot (4a-4f) having an associated operator control element (10).

13. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the operator control elements (10) can be used to retrieve preset programs and/or to individually activate, particularly control, the effects modules (19) that are inserted.

14. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the operator control elements (9, 10) can be used to program the control electronics (6).

15. The musical instrument system as claimed in claim 1, wherein particularly the top (7) of the housing (2) has indicator elements (11, 12) arranged on it that can be actuated by means of the control electronics (6).

16. An effects module for a musical instrument system as claimed in claim 1 that has a plug-in card (20) that has a contact strip for introduction into a multipin connection of the musical instrument system.

17. The effects module as claimed in claim 16, wherein the contact strip comprises contacts for an operating voltage, a reference-ground potential, audio signals, control signals and MIDI signals.

18. The effects module as claimed in claim 16, wherein a side of the plug-in card (20) that is opposite the contact strip has a cover element (21) mounted on it that can be used to immobilize the effects module (19) in a housing of the musical instrument system.

Description

[0036] The invention is described in more detail below using a preferred exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the figures, in which:

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a musical instrument system with an open housing,

[0038] FIG. 2 shows the musical instrument system with cover elements inserted,

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a rear of the musical instrument system,

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a side view of an effects module,

[0041] FIG. 5 shows a front view of an effects module and

[0042] FIG. 6 shows an effects module from above.

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a musical instrument system 1 with a housing 2. Arranged within the housing 1 is a board 3 that provides an array of slots 4a-4f. Of the total of seven slots in this exemplary embodiment, the perspective of the representation allows only the six slots 4a-4f to be seen. In this case, each slot 4a-4f has an associated multipin connection 5a-5f, in particular the multipin connection 5a-5f is integrated in the slots 4a-4f in this case.

[0044] There is additionally a symbolic representation of control electronics 6 that are produced on the board 3. These are what is known as an integrated circuit, which has been put onto the board 3 by means of known surface mounting techniques, for example.

[0045] A top 7 of the housing 2 has an opening 8 produced in it that is situated above the slots 4a-4f arranged parallel to one another. This opening 8 allows effects modules to be inserted into the slots 4a to 4f without any problems.

[0046] In addition, the top 7 of the housing 2 has various operator control elements 9, 10 on it, of which the operator control elements 9 are used as keys for manual input while the operator control elements 10 are in the form of foot switches. In this case, each slot 4a-4f has at least one associated operator control element 10. The operator control elements 9 and foot switches 10 can have different control levels in this case in order to allow variable uses and/or access operations.

[0047] Arranged on the top 7 of the housing 2 is a seven-segment display 11 and a status bar 12 with differently colored LEDs. Alternatively or additionally, other indicator elements, particularly color displays, can also be provided.

[0048] FIG. 2 shows the musical instrument system 1 shown in FIG. 1 with the opening 8 closed. An array of cover elements 13a-13g are arranged next to one another, in each case above one of the slots 4a-4f, so that the opening 8 is completely closed. In this case, the cover elements 13a-13g can be individually removed and replaced by a cover element connected to an effects module. The cover elements 13a-13g shown in FIG. 2 are used in this case to protect the interior of the housing 2 from dirt and damage when there are not yet any effects modules inserted or when slots are still free. In this exemplary embodiment, the cover elements 13a-13g are screwed to the housing 2, that is to say detachably mounted and replaced by the cover element of the respective effects module when the effects modules are inserted.

[0049] FIG. 3 shows a rear of the musical instrument system 1. This is the location for signal ports 14, with at least two signal ports being associated with each slot. These are particularly ports for control signals and/or inputs and outputs for audio signals. In addition, there is a power supply port 15 on the rear of the housing 2, which power supply port can be connected to a public grid, for example. Conversion into the currents and voltages required for the effects modules then takes place within the musical instrument system, said currents and voltages then being made available to the respective effects module via the multipin connections 5a to 5f.

[0050] The musical instrument system 1 can furthermore provide further interfaces, for example a MIDI interface 16, 18, and a USB port 17.

[0051] FIG. 4 schematically shows an effects module 19 that has a plug-in card 20 with electronic components arranged thereon for producing the desired effect, and also a cover element 21 that is permanently connected to the plug-in card 20. In this case, the plug-in card 20 can have its port region 22 plugged into one of the slots 4a-4f to set up a connection to the multipin connection 5a-5f. In this case, the effects module 19 is additionally mounted on the housing 2 by means of the cover element 21.

[0052] The cover element 21 has various user interfaces 23 mounted on it for controlling the effects module 19. By way of example, these are potentiometers and the like.

[0053] FIG. 5 shows a side view of the effects module 19. This figure clearly shows that a dedicated housing is dispensed with, since the effects module is held within the housing 2 of the musical instrument system 1 and is then protected from external influences by the closure of the opening that is required for insertion by means of the cover element 21.

[0054] FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the effects module with the operator control elements 23 that are freely accessible from above.

[0055] The musical instrument system according to the invention is used for accommodating and connecting up various effects modules that can be used to produce different audio effects for electric musical instruments. In particular, the musical instrument system is in this case used for holding effects modules for electric guitars, such as preamplifiers, dis-torters and the like. In this case, the effects modules are characterized by a standard plug-in card format. Control electronics that are permanently installed within the musical instrument system are then used to provide all the required signal and power supply ports. In this case, the required ports are also produced in the housing. The effects modules then need to have only the electronics that are required for the respective effect.

[0056] In this case, the signal ports comprise both control ports and signal ports for audio signals. In particular, in this case two signal inputs and two signal outputs are provided, which allow stereo operation, but can also be used as dual mono ports in order to allow switching between different amplifier inputs. At least one of these signal outputs can also have an associated connectable 180 phase rotation in this case. Possibly additionally, a symmetrical output with speaker simulation and/or an equalizer may also be provided. At least some of the signal ports of the housing may in this case be equipped with switcha-ble stereo jack sockets that can be used to achieve switching states, such as channel changeover, on external units.

[0057] If need be, it is also possible for the multipin connection to be used to provide different connection and control options for influencing individual parameters. By way of example, it is thus possible to synchronize individual effects modules to one another or to apply an effect provided by the control electronics synchronously.

[0058] A preferred and advantageous embodiment of the multipin connection is achieved by virtue of double-sided contact connection that provides a total of 30 contacts, with a corresponding number of contacts being provided in the contact strip of the effects module. In this case, the assignment has the following appearance, in particular:

TABLE-US-00001 Con- tact Contact No. One side No. Opposite side 1 Audio input L 16 Audio output L 2 Audio input R 17 Audio output R 3 Reference-ground potential 18 Reference-ground potential 4 External control Signal in 19 External control signal out 5 External control signal 20 Reference-ground potential 6 +9 V DC 21 +30 V DC 7 +9 V DC 22 +30 V DC 8 Reference-ground potential 23 Reference-ground potential 9 Control signal (TAP) 24 MIDI signal 10 Functional port 25 MIDI signal 11 Reference-ground potential 26 Reference-ground potential 12 Reference-ground potential 27 Reference-ground potential 13 Reference-ground potential 28 Reference-ground potential 14 12 V AC 29 12 V AC 15 12 V AC 30 12 V AC

[0059] Such assignment allows relatively high powers to be transmitted, with interference in the signals, for example as a result of feedback, being largely avoided. At the same time, the multipin connection of the slot and the contact strip provides all the required connections for insertion of the effects modules, external input units also not needing to be connected directly to the effects module, but rather being able to be connected to the relevant ports of the housing.

[0060] The invention is not limited to one of the exemplary embodiments shown above. By way of example, it is thus possible for the form of the housing to differ from the shape shown. It is also possible for more or fewer slots to be provided for more or fewer effects modules. In this case, the control electronics can also already provide individual effects, so that frequently used effects are preinstalled and only additional effects need to be added by means of the effects modules. By way of example, a tuner, loudspeaker simulation and an equalizer are integrated, while further effects are added by corresponding effects modules. In this case, the effects modules can be combined with one another relatively freely, so that the musical instrument system can easily be individualized for the desired purposes. In comparison with the conventional approach, in which a multiplicity of standalone effects units are connected up to one another, this results in lower interconnection complexity, low susceptibility to interference and reduced space requirement.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0061] 1 Musical instrument system [0062] 2 Housing [0063] 3 Board [0064] 4a-4f Slots [0065] 5a-5f Multipin connection [0066] 6 Control electronics [0067] 7 Top [0068] 8 Opening [0069] 9 Operator control element [0070] 10 Operator control element [0071] 11 Seven-segment display [0072] 12 Status indicator [0073] 13a-g Cover elements [0074] 14 Signal and control ports [0075] 15 Power supply port [0076] 16 MIDI interface [0077] 17 USB interface [0078] 18 MIDI interface [0079] 19 Effects module [0080] 20 Plug-in card [0081] 21 Cover element [0082] 22 Port region [0083] 23 User interface