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  #1  
Old 09-02-2011, 07:48 AM
rgregg48 rgregg48 is offline
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Default Trying sound ports for the first time

I sent one of my classical guitars to the original builder, to touch up
some french polish and while he was at it, add sound ports.,
He usually does it like Ruck,, two small ports not all that far
from the neck, one bass side, one treble.
I thought about asking for a little larger oval port,
but i figure i should let him do it the way he always did,
since if oval ports screw up , its my fault.
I dont know the wisdom of this,, but i will try it for once,
any input, opinions, suggestions, etc, would be welcome.,

Rick
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  #2  
Old 09-02-2011, 08:43 AM
Misty44 Misty44 is offline
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Quote:
two small ports not all that far from the neck, one bass side, one treble
I've never heard of a port on the treble side - always thought ports were for the benefit of the player to hear better what those out front are hearing, which means bass side, directed upward.

What's the advantage I wonder?
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Old 09-02-2011, 11:57 AM
rgregg48 rgregg48 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Misty44 View Post
I've never heard of a port on the treble side - always thought ports were for the benefit of the player to hear better what those out front are hearing, which means bass side, directed upward.

What's the advantage I wonder?

I think the idea is if there is only a bass side vent, the player will
hear mostly bass,, the idea of one hole on the treble side is to
balance that out... who knows what the answer is?
rick
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Old 09-02-2011, 07:25 PM
runamuck runamuck is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rgregg48 View Post
I think the idea is if there is only a bass side vent, the player will
hear mostly bass,, the idea of one hole on the treble side is to
balance that out... who knows what the answer is?
rick
In my experience, a port on the bass side does not enhance low frequencies
over high or vice-versa.

Jim McCarthy
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Old 09-03-2011, 06:28 AM
Misty44 Misty44 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rgregg48 View Post
who knows what the answer is?
rick
You should call him and ask.

To me - not an audio expert I hasten to say - a port placed away from my ears would be useless if there's another one already pointing directly at me.

Let us know what he says.

Or do you mean he puts one on the lower and upper bouts, same side?

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  #6  
Old 09-04-2011, 01:53 PM
Alan Carruth Alan Carruth is offline
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I've done a bunch of work on ports over the years. As far as I can tell, it's best used as a monitor for the player.

Adding a port to an existing guitar raises the pitch of the 'main air' resonance, and makes that resonance more powerful. You may not notice either of those effects simply because of the way your hearing works. OTOH, the port also puts out some high frequency sound in the direction it's facing. Since most guitars generally put the highs out toward the front, rather than toward the player, you may not hear much of that sound if you're in a 'dead' or noisy space. Thus the port can give the player some sound that they're not normally going to hear so long as they can actually see it while they're playing.

My own experiments tell me that the best place for a port is in the right (bass) side of the upper bout, approximately at the widest point. I don't think you need a very big one to act as an effective monitor: something between an inch and an inch-and-a-half in diameter should do it. I'm trying to run a series of listening tests with players to find out the conditions where this sort of port will be most beneficial, and how much good it can actually do (if any). This is going to take a while...
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