idea for a very cheap, low unit cost MIDI violin input device and [solid state stringed bowed instrument simulation] for a global market

1. HARBINGER MIDI FIDDLE
Orchestral violin and bowed stringed instruments comprise a large part
of a global market for schools and students.
This includes, Asia and the Far East, Europe, America etc
Many students can fall away from e.g. violin because of the degree of
difficulty in obtaining an aesthetic and interesting sound from the
instrument.
Surprisingly though, the genre of electrical musical instruments via
guitar effects processors and other post production can change a poor
violinist into a rock star on European stages.
In the market place for the world and electronic music market is the
array of synthesisers and looped sounds available to the modern music
industry. This is a planet wide genre that attracts the young.
There is a huge world of synthesised sounds accessible via General
MIDI.
Getting access to the electronic music genre via input devices for studio
and stage performance can be a very expensive business for a violinist
unless they can also play keyboards or guitar, for there is no cheap
General MIDI input device for the Violin.
The Zeta Jazz MIDI Violin for example retails at a few thousand dollars.
The reason being is that MIDI technology for violin – the translation
device that turns audio string sounds into accurate programmable notes
has been unable to accurately locate pitch on a violin for many years
now.
There is a way round that though and it involves totally removing the
acoustics of a violin from the violin.
A hardwired non-acoustic violin or cello, or double bass or viola ,,
There are two components to this bowed instrument.
The first is the fingerboard which would be made of a long piece of
touch sensitive membrane with simulated ridges to guide the fingers
onto and around the string area. This would act like a long resistor or
rheostat and whenever finger pressure closed the circuit between the
nut and bridge – a small processor would record and then look-up the
resistance value to see what resistance had been allocated to a series
of MIDI notes.
The second component of the Harbinger MIDI violin is the bowed area of
the bridge. This would be a solid platform with artificial string guides –
with one lever assembly under each of the four string platforms. The
platforms surface could be bowed as usual but the pressure of the
bowing would be interpreted by pressure sensitive resistors under the
bowing area which would record the volume pressure played on each
string for each note fingered.

2. Patent searches in 1997 and 2003 produced no synthesis of touch
membrane technology and pressure sensitive resistors in the context of
a bowed musical instrument like a violin.