I originally came up with this when I was about 16. I was “hearing sounds in my head” and needed a way to play them (yadayada). Like many, I had the guitar hero wannabe syndrome.
I did a drawing of the concept at first. Then I started to work on a prototype. Initially I sawed a Floyd Rose in half.
I took a Kramer body and then drilled two extra base plate mounting holes, and got two additional spare Floyd Rose mounting screws. Basically, there were a total of four mounting screws – two for each base plate.
It actually worked, and it felt like something new. There was no instruction manual.
Then I showed it to a couple of science engineer/patent attorneys at Xerox Parc where my mom worked. They asked, “How many other things can you do with it?” So that was my homework, and my first lesson in brainstorming. They gave me two weeks.
When I went back, it had evolved into selective and simultaneous control of individual sets of strings.
I moved ahead and drafted a set of drawings for a CNC machined version, with all strings as individual units, and a “key” to use to join some non-adjacent strings. It was rudimentary, but it worked too. Not saying it was all coming up roses. It took a bit of effort to wrangle and play that particular prototype.
I wrote the patent, did the drawings, and filed it. It issued. Multiple Tremolo Method and Apparatus – No. 5,194,679.
Ultimately, my patent claims cover joining of “non-adjacent” strings. I couldn’t get adjacent because an engineer at Yamaha had already done it shortly before I filed the patent. Now, that is serendipity.
This device took me on many amazing adventures, including standing in a room during NAMM with Floyd Rose and all the main executives at Fender. Alas it was too much of a niche for the market.
I ended up preferring my original split tremolo idea. Now it’s just a secret weapon with some distinctive sounds that I use here and there when writing songs.
