Contemplating a sound port or two on my classical

TBman · #1 11-08-2014, 10:48 AM

Now this one I hold in the almost upright classical position at times, but sometimes not. Any pictures of multiple sound ports and design suggestions? I put one in my folk and my D-10S and I'm not crazy about the round plain shape, but I think two would boost this guitar quite a bit. I just want to get a little creative this time around.

ljguitar · #2 11-08-2014, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TBman

Now this one I hold in the almost upright classical position at times, but sometimes not. Any pictures of multiple sound ports and design suggestions? I put one in my folk and my D-10S and I'm not crazy about the round plain shape, but I think two would boost this guitar quite a bit. I just want to get a little creative this time around.

Hi Barry

I'd contact Alan Carruth. He built the classical 'Corker' experimental guitar to research and answer side port questions.

This picture was from his site way back when...

He and Tim McKnight have extensive knowledge of them.

FrankB2 · #3 11-08-2014, 11:20 AM

Al Carruth is a great guy, and I discussed sound ports with him on another forum years ago. I put two in a Yamaha classical, exactly like Kenny Hill does:

The holes were cut with a Dremel tool and 1/2" sanding drum attachment. They were finished with a vacuum hose extension, with appropriate grit sandpaper wrapped around it. It just happened to be the diameter I was looking for!
There was a sound boost, and the thuddy note that was bothering me disappeared.....well, the thuddiness, not the note.

Bill Lowther · #4 11-08-2014, 01:33 PM

Man. I would be scared to death of drilling a hole in my classical.

TBman · #5 11-08-2014, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Lowther

Man. I would be scared to death of drilling a hole in my classical.

Mine is a $100 Lucero LC 100. Easy to replace, but I've done sound ports before.

fitness1 · #6 11-08-2014, 02:56 PM

The single port in my C9 is more than enough - I play with the neck up in a "very close to classical" position (footstool) and it works great on the cure of the upper bass bout.

Interesting thing is it took some of the boominess out of the "out front" voice and made it easier to record with.

Here's what it looks like and how I did it, in case you haven't seen some of my previous threads....

I've got this 10" long, 3/4" diameter steel rod that is an accessory for one of my fitness machines. I wrapped it and taped it with fine grade sandpaper, taped off the side of the upper bout (leaving a "slot" open as a guide for where I wanted the port so it was perfectly centered) and started sanding, using the bar the long way. Because of the arc of the upper bout, it would leave a perfect, oblong port (which is what I had in mind all along....reasoning that long and narrow, top to bottom, would disperse sound to both ears more than a more round port.

I waited until I got through the wood, checking every so often to make sure I was still "straight" and hadn't gone off line, then I used an Xacto nife to get some more of the rosewood removed and started using needle files and sandpaper to get it the rest of the way.

By doing it this way, it left an oval in the finish and I just used that as a place to sand and file to. Still have a tiny bit of work to do, but it will have to be another day. Not too worried about cracking because the wood wasn't traumatized by power tools.

Bill Lowther · #7 11-08-2014, 05:15 PM

To my eyes, that looks much better than a round hole. Puts a nice chamfer on it in the process Very nice.

Dave T · #8 11-08-2014, 09:04 PM

Not trying to be snarky, I just have no experience with sound ports. Do these actually "boost" the sound of the guitar, or just the sound the player hears?

Dave

TBman · #9 11-08-2014, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave T

Not trying to be snarky, I just have no experience with sound ports. Do these actually "boost" the sound of the guitar, or just the sound the player hears?

Dave

I did it on inexpensive guitars and it made them sound a bit deeper to my ears. Its an improvement only to the player. I've read that it doesn't effect a listener in the front of the guitar.

fitness1 · #10 11-08-2014, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TBman

I did it on inexpensive guitars and it made them sound a bit deeper to my ears. Its an improvement only to the player. I've read that it doesn't effect a listener in the front of the guitar.

In several instances myself of having many hours with an instrument before and after installation, I can tell you that many times they work like a breather hole on a gas can and also boost output out front too.

I had a conversation with a very well known builder on the golf course the other day who has done some very reliable testing to that end as well.

k_russell · #11 11-14-2014, 08:54 AM

I have 2 similarly built guitars (bracing and wood). One has 2 sound ports (as in Frank's picture) the other has no sound port(s).

People, who listen to me play, tell me that the guitar with the sound ports sounds louder. The guitar with the sound ports sounds louder to me while I'm playing. I cannot detect a difference in volume while listening to recordings of each guitar.

What I like about the sound ports is that they allow me to better monitor my sound as I am playing. I can more easily detect sounds that I like and dislike and make adjustments more quickly.

ChuckS · #12 11-14-2014, 09:45 AM

For me, I believe the ports allow me to hear the guitar more similar to what the 'audience' hears. High frequencies don't wrap around to the player like the low frequencies do, and combined with my high frequency hearing loss the sound to me can be pretty boring without the port. It also gets the overall volume to me, as the player, higher. I have no idea as to how much/little it may affect the sound out front.

I'd suggest keeping the overall area of the port(s) to the minumum that does the job for you; especially if the port is being added to a guitar designed and originally built without a port. I'd also suggest placing it on the guitar's body where there is a direct path to your ear(s). So, if it were me I'd be putting it on the upper bout, and not up by the neck. I believe Alan Carruth stated that the further away from the soundhole you place the port the more the timbre of the guitar might change and that a port up by the neck might increase bass to the player; but my recollection may be wrong or I may have misunderstood this so I'd suggest contacting Alan.

redir · #13 11-14-2014, 03:47 PM

LOL wow that cork guitar is great!

I put some in a cheap acoustic guitar to test it and didn't notice much of a difference. Some claim it makes the guitar louder out front.

FrankB2 · #14 11-14-2014, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redir

LOL wow that cork guitar is great!

I put some in a cheap acoustic guitar to test it and didn't notice much of a difference. Some claim it makes the guitar louder out front.

The cool thing about Al's corker is the ability to cover the holes for comparison. You can tape an index card over any sound port, and it would act like Al's corker.

fitness1 · #15 11-14-2014, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankB2

The cool thing about Al's corker is the ability to cover the holes for comparison. You can tape an index card over any sound port, and it would act like Al's corker.

I've been known to just roll up a sock and stuff them in mine

- the difference is pretty incredible