Patents
From Pickupedia
Contents |
Guitar Pickup Patents
- PAF US Patent 2,896,491 Magnetic Pickup for Stringed Musical Instrument (Seth Lover, 1959)
- Alumitone by Agi-Lace US Patent 5,767,431 Sensor assembly for stringed musical instruments (Lace, 2005)
- Slidable Pickup US Patent 3911777 Electric Guitar with Slidable Pickups Beneath Strings (Stanley E. Rendell 1975)
- Blade Pickup US Patent 5525750 Humbucking Pickup for Electric Guitar (Kevin J. Beller 1996)
More Patents
This pickup patent list is work in progress and will grow with time. The patent number links directly to the documents uploaded to Ampix (with rare exceptions).
We will fill in the patent titles and add a short comment as time permits.
Eventually, it should be made into a downloadable spreadsheet.
The hope is that this list can be annotated and cross-referenced to pickup models.
| Patent # | Date | Assignee | Title/Comments | Pup Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2087106 | Jul 1937 | Gibson | Electrical Musical Intrument (Charlie Christian pickup) | Blade,SC |
| 2089171 | Aug 1937 | Rickenbacker/Beauchamp | Electrical Stringed Musical Intrument (horseshoe) | horseshoe |
| 2262335 | Nov 1941 | CW Russell (1941) | Musical instrument (horseshoe mag, string-through blades) | horseshoe |
| 2294861 | Sep 1942 | Fuller (Gibson) | Electrical Pickup For Stringed Musical Intrument (P90ish pickup, mounting mechanism on strings) | SC |
| 2455046 | Nov 1948 | De Armond | Guitar Magnetic Microphone | SC |
| 2557754 | Jun 1951 | Morrison, Mickley | Magnetic pickup unit for guitars (mag poles, adjustable and held by set screws) | SC |
| 2612072 | Sep1952 | De Armond | Individual Magnet Adjustable Pickup (has screw poles) | SC |
| 2683388 | Jul 1954 | Keller(Valco) | Pickup device for stringed instruments (longitudinal mag field extension) | SC |
| 2686270 | Aug 1954 | Ayres et al. | Electrical Input Circuit with Noise Cancelling Means (hum-canceling electronics,no pickups) | other |
| 2737842 | Mar 1956 | Polfus, Lester W. | Gibson Les Paul combined bridge and tailpiece | bridge |
| 2892371 | Jun 1959 | Butts | Pickup (Filtertron humbucker) | HB |
| 2896491 | Jul 1959 | Lover | Magnetic Pickup For Stringed Musical Instrument (original PAF Humbucker) | PAF |
| 2897709 | Aug 1959 | McCarty | Electrical Pickup For Stringed Musical Instruments (steel pedal pickup) | |
| 2909092 | Oct 1959 | De Armond (Rowe) | Electrical pickups for musical instruments (nylon sleeves on adjustable slotted mag poles) | SC |
| 2911871 | Nov 1959 | Schultz | Magnetic Pickup Device (early P-90 style) | P90 |
| 2964985 | Dec 1960 | Webster | Sound Pickup Device For Stringed Instruments (3+3 split and movable) | split |
| 2968204 | Jan 1961 | Fender | Electromagnetic Pickup for Lute-Type Musical Instrument (Single coil type) | SC |
| 3147332 | Sep 1964 | Fender | pickup adapted to minimize beating effects (2x3 SC staggered poles) | SC,2x3 |
| 3177283 | Apr 1965 | Fender | 4+2 split pickup | split |
| 3249677 | May 1966 | Burns et al. | Pick-Ups for Guitars and Coupling Circuits Therefor (6x1 pickups,et.al.) | |
| 3236930 | Feb 1966 | Fender | Jaguar | SC |
| 3290424 | Dec 1966 | Fender | Pickups under the pick guard | |
| 3483303 | Dec 1969 | Warner | elongated pickup for metal stringed musical instruments having ferromagnetic shielding | |
| 3535968 | Oct 1970 | Rickard | ADJUSTABLE ELECTROMAGNETIC PICK-UP FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (Dynasonic) | |
| 3541219 | Nov 1970 | Abair | magnetic pick unit for musical instruments (adjustable poles, shielding) | |
| 3544696 | Dec 1970 | Broussard | Plural Electromagnetic pickup system for stringed instruments | |
| 3571483 | Mar 1971 | Davidson | VARIABLE RELUCTANCE GUITAR PICKUP SYSTEM (horse shoe magnet around string) | |
| 3715446 | MAGNETIC PICKUP FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS | |||
| 3588311 | Jun 1971 | Zoller | bidirectional electromagnetic pickup device for stringed musical instruments | |
| 3657461 | Apr 1972 | Freeman | SINGLE PICKUP FREQUENCY CONTROL FOR STRINGED INSTRUMENT | |
| 3668295 | Jun 1972 | Broussard | ELECTROMAGNETIC AUDIO PICKUP FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, WITH VOLUME CONTROL MEANS, AND SUITABLE FOR USE WITH ANY TYPE STRINGS | |
| 3711619 | Jan 1973 | Jones and Stich | NATURAL PERFORMANCE EXTENDED RANGE PICK-UP DEVICE (bifilar 4:1 winding) | |
| 3715446 | Feb 1973 | Kosinski | MAGNETIC PICKUP FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS | |
| 3742113 | Jun 1973 | Cohen | STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT WITH ELECTRICAL FEEDBACK | sustainer |
| 3781451 | Dec 1973 | Contri | GUITAR, RADIO, MICROPHONE COMBINATION WITH SELF-CONTAINED ENERGY SOURCE AND AMPLIFIER | |
| 3902394 | Sep 1975 | Stich | Electrical pickup for a stringed musical instrument (stacked humbucker) | |
| 3911777 | Oct 1975 | Rendell/Norlin (Gibson?) | Electric guitarwith slidable pickups beneath the strings | |
| 3915048 | Oct 1975 | Stich | Electric guitar circuit | |
| 3916751 | Nov 1975 | Stich | Electrical pickup for a stringed musical instrument(stacked humbucker with side magnets) | HB |
| 3962946 | Jun 1976 | Rickard | Magnetic induction stringed instrument pickup | |
| 3983777 | Oct 1976 | Bartolini | Single face, high asymmetry variable reluctance pickup for steel string musical instruments | |
| 3983778 | Oct 1976 | Bartolini | High asymmetry variable reluctance pickup system for stringed instruments | HB blade |
| 3992972 | Nov 1976 | Rickard | Pickup mounting for stringed instrument | |
| 4010334 | Mar 1977 | Demeter | Moving magnet contact acoustic transducer | |
| 4026178 | May 1977 | Fuller | Magnetic pickup for stringed musical instrument (Norlin/Gibson bass pickup) | SC bass |
| 4050341 | Sep 1977 | Underwood | Electromagnetic pickup for stringed musical instruments | |
| 4096780 | Jun 1978 | Dawson | Stereophonic electromagnetic pickup device for stringed musical instruments | |
| 4133243 | DiMarzio | |||
| 4143575 | Mar 1979 | Oliver | Electronic sound generating system for a stringed instrument | |
| 4145944 | Mar 1979 | Helpinstill,II | Guitar pick-up apparatus | |
| 4151776 | May 1979 | Stich | Electronic pickup system for stringed musical instrument | |
| 4184399 | Jan 1980 | Zuniga | Magnetic pickup assembly | |
| 4188849 | Feb 1980 | Rickard | Pickup for stringed musical instrument | |
| 4220069 | Fender | (G&L pickup) | ||
| 4222301 | Valdez | |||
| 4261240 | Apr 1981 | Aaroe | Oscillating electromagnetic transducer for generating tremolo | |
| 4283982 | Aug 1981 | Armstrong | Magnetic pickup for electric guitars | |
| 4295404 | DiMarzio | |||
| 4314495 | Feb 1982 | Baggs | Piezoelectric saddle for musical instruments and method of making | piezo |
| 4319510 | Mar 1982 | Fender | Splitter switch for humbucking musical instrument pick-ups | |
| 4320681 | DiMarzio | |||
| 4364295 | Dec 1982 | Stich | Musical instrument sound pickup and method of assembly thereof | |
| 4372186 | Aaroe | |||
| 4378722 | Apr 1983 | Isakson | Magnetic pickup for stringed musical instruments | |
| 4408513 | Clevinger | |||
| 4442749 | Apr 1984 | DiMarzio | Electrical pickup for a stringed instrument having ferromagnetic strings | |
| 4463648 | Aug 1984 | Fender | Angled humbucking pick-up for an electrical musical instrument of the stringed type | HB |
| 4499809 | Feb 1985 | Clevinger | Dual signal magnetic pickup with even response of strings of different diameters | |
| 4501185 | Feb 1985 | Blucher (DiMarzio) | Transducer for stringer musical instrument (regular HB with diff gauge wire on each bobbin) | HB |
| 4524667 | Jun 1985 | Duncan | Electromagnetic pickup for a stringed musical instrument having ferromagnetic strings and method | |
| 4534258 | Aug 1985 | Anderson | Transducing assembly responsive to string movement in intersecting planes | |
| 4545278 | Oct 1985 | Gagon et al. | Apparatus and method for adjusting the characteristic sounds of electric guitars, and for controlling tones | |
| 4581974 | Apr 1986 | Fender | Humbucking pick-up assembly including an unmagnetized, disassociated coil | HB |
| 4581975 | Apr 1986 | Fender | Pick-up for an electrical musical instrument of the stringed type | |
| 4809578 | Mar 1989 | Lace,Jr. | Magnetic field shaping in an acoustic pick-up assembly | |
| 4869144 | Sep 1989 | Lieber | Pickup assembly for stringed musical instrument | |
| 4872386 | Oct 1989 | Betticare | Interchangeable pick-up for electric guitar | |
| 4885970 | Dec 1989 | Fender | Moisture-free electromagnetic pickup for an electrical musical instrument of the stringed type | |
| 4911054 | Mar 1990 | McClish | Noise-cancelling pickup for stringed instruments | |
| 4941388 | Jul 1990 | Hoover | String vibration sustaining device | sustainer |
| 4941389 | Jul 1990 | Wendler | Electronic pickup with mounting assembly for a hollow bodied musical instrument | |
| 5027691 | Jul 1991 | Kennedy | Fiddle stick | |
| 5111728 | May 1992 | Blucher et al. | Electromagnetic pickup device for electrical string musical instruments | |
| 5136918 | Gibson | |||
| 5148733 | Beller | (Beller trem bucker) | ||
| 5168117 | Dec 1992 | Anderson | Electromagnetic pickup with flexible magnetic carrier | |
| 5189241 | Feb 1993 | Nakamura | Pickup apparatus for detecting string vibration free from external inductive noise(active) | |
| 5200569 | Apr 1993 | Moore | Musical instrument pickup systems and sustainer systems | |
| 5252777 | Oct 1993 | Allen | Electric guitar with transducer cradles | |
| 5290968 | Mar 1994 | Mirigliano et al. | Magnetic pickup for musical instruments | |
| 5292998 | Mar 1994 | Knapp | Electronic guitar equipped with asymmetrical humbucking electromagnetic pickup | |
| 5292999 | Mar 1994 | Tumura | Electric stringed instrument having a device for sustaining the vibration of the string | |
| 5311806 | May 1994 | Riboloff | Guitar pickup system for selecting from multiple tonalities | |
| 5336845 | Lace | |||
| 5354949 | Zwaan | (Q-Tuner) | other | |
| 5376754 | Dec 1994 | Stich | Pickup apparatus, having a winding with an adjacent closed circuit, for stringed musical instruments(tuned dummy coils) | |
| 5389731 | Feb 1995 | Lace | Electromagnetic musical pickup using main and auxiliary permanent magnets | |
| 5391831 | Feb 1995 | Lace | Electromagnetic musical pickup having U-shaped ferromagnetic core | |
| 5391832 | Feb 1995 | Lace | Electromagnetic musical pickup with wraparound permanent magnet | |
| 5399802 | Mar 1995 | Blucher | Electromagnetic pickup for stringed musical instruments | |
| 5401900 | Mar 1995 | Lace | Mounting assembly for an acoustic pick-up | |
| 5408043 | Apr 1995 | Lace | Electromagnetic musical pickups with central permanent magnets | |
| 5418327 | Mounting assembly | |||
| 5422432 | Jun 1995 | Lace | Electromagnetic pickup for a plural-string musical instrument incorporating a coil around a multi-laminate ferromagnetic core | |
| 5430246 | Jul 1995 | Lace,Sr. et al. | Dual coil pick-up assembly for a springed musical instrument | |
| 5438157 | Lace | |||
| 5438158 | Aug 1995 | Riboloff | Pickup, including mounting apparatus thereof, for a stringed musical instrument having a soundhole | |
| 5464948 | Nov 1995 | Lace | Sensor assembly for a stringed musical instrument | |
| 5484958 | Jan 1996 | Ogawa | Musical instrument and a method of applying a low impedance amplifier to a musical instrument | |
| 5525750 | ??? 1996 | Kevin J. Beller | Humbucking Pickup for Electric Guitar Blade Pickup | |
| 5530199 | ??? 1996 | Blucher et al | Electromagnetic pickup for stringed musical instruments | |
| 5610357 | Mar 1997 | Frank-Braun | Stringed musical instrument pickup with two electromagnetic coil assemblies having toothed cores | |
| 5641932 | Jun 1997 | Lace | Sensor assembly for stringed musical instruments | |
| 5668520 | Kinman | |||
| 5684263 | Lace | |||
| 5767431 | Jun 1998 | Khanagov | Sensor assembly for stringed musical instruments | |
| 5789691 | Stich | (stack) | ||
| 5792973 | Aug 1998 | Riboloff | ||
| 5811710 | ??? 1999 | Blucher et al | Electromagnetic pickup for stringed musical instruments | |
| 5831196 | Nov 1998 | Khanagov | Pickup for stringed musical instrument | |
| 5834999 | Kinman | |||
| 5908998 | ??? 1999 | Blucher et al | High inductance electromagnetic pickup for stringed musical instruments | |
| 5932827 | Sustainer for a musical instrument | |||
| 5945622 | Aug 1999 | Yamada | Silent stringed musical instrument equipped with pickup for faithfully converting vibrations of strings to electric signal without changing vibration characteristics of bridge | |
| 5945632 | DiMarzio | |||
| 6043422 | Mar 2000 | Chapman | Compartmentalized pickup module for stringed musical instruments | |
| 6103966 | Kinman | |||
| 6111184 | Aug 2000 | Cloud et al. | Interchangeable pickup, electric stringed instrument and system for an electric stringed musical instrument | |
| 6111185 | Aug 2000 | Lace | Sensor assembly for stringed musical instruments | |
| 6162984 | Dec 2000 | Engard | Linearly-positional, multi-configurational, stringed musical instrument pickup | |
| 6271457 | Aug 2001 | Hudak | Piezoelectric bridge-type pickup for a stringed musical instrument | |
| 6291758 | Fender | (Turner/Fender) | ||
| 6291759 | Fender | (Turner 2001 stack) | ||
| 6372976 | Gibson | |||
| 6476309 | Nov 2002 | Gaglio | Magnetic pick-up device for stringed musical instrument(Novel bifilar windings coupled by mutual inductance) | SC,HB,etc. |
| 6525258 | Electromechanical musical instrument pickup | |||
| 6605771 | Aug 2003 | Baggs | Pickup assembly for musical instrument | |
| 6846981 | Devers | (stack) | ||
| 6849792 | Gibson | |||
| 6897369 | Lace | |||
| 6965066 | Lace | |||
| 7022909 | Kinman | |||
| 7166793 | Beller | |||
| 7166794 | Gibson | (Gibson hex pickup) | ||
| 7189916 | Kinman | |||
| 20020020281 | Devers | |||
| 20020083819 | Kinman | |||
| 20050150364 | PRS | |||
| 20050150365 | PRS | |||
| 20060112816 | Kinman | |||
| d279380 | Feb 1983 | Stich | Acoustic pickup for stringed instrument (soundhole mount design) | |
| D354507 | Pickup unit for a stringed musical instrument | |||
| d355207 | Beller | (Beller JB Jr) | ||
| d520048 | PRS | |||
| RE20070 | Lesti (1936) | (electromagnet) | ||
| JP2006337688 | Dec 2006 | Yoshihiro | Pickup for stringed musical instrument (uses magnets coupled with super-magnetorestrictive elements) | |
| 7259318 | Aug 2007 | Chiliachki | Magnetic pickup device for a stringed musical instrument with large free shape low impedance coil for noise cancelation(Dummy coil, currently licensed by Suhr) |
Searching The Patent Database
Since many patents are for minor changes to antique crafts, the patent filer/assignee will want to impede public knowledge of his or her little money maker by an obscurant patent title.
In our case, they don't usually put guitar pickup in the title.
Most technically, a guitar pickup is a specific type of variable reluctance transducer.
In patents, guitar pickups have often been listed as some combination of
- pickups, transducers, sensors, or assemblies thereof,
- of the type magnetic, electromagnetic, piezo-electric,
- for guitars, musical instruments, or stringed instruments.
So put on your hip boots because you may actually wade through articles titled
"variable reluctance transducer assembly for stringed musical instruments".
Getting Patent Documents
The United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO is the primary resource for all patents issued in the United States of America.
Delphion is an online patent research service that has a powerful search engine and access to international patent databases. It is expensive for the individual at $250/month at this time of writing (12/28/2007).
esp@cenet is an online patent research service provided by the European Patent Office that has a powerful search engine and access to international patent databases. It is free for the individual at this time of writing (12/28/2007).
Knowing the patent number, one can download it in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) from several other sites such as:
Drstrangelove 11:44, 27 December 2007 (MST)
Alternatively, searching for string "84/1.15" using Google's patent search will return those patents issued prior to 1972 and reference the older classification numbering for pickups/transducers. --Dave Kerr 12:23, 1 January 2008 (MST)
