Sound port options

[jklotz]

When I practice, it's usually in front of my computer. It's one of the big imac's and is probably 2 - 3 feet in front of me. (all of my sheet music is digital these days anyway) I've really come to love the feedback of that immediate reflection I get from this set up. As soon as I move away and play (gigs don't count - I have a big audio monitor pointing in my face) it just feels empty. So it got me thinking; maybe I'd be a good candidate for a sound port in one of my guitars? I want it mostly for practicing around the house.

What are my options without breaking the bank? I don't have anything I am willing to cut a hole in. Those new eastman's announced at NAMN 2020 seemed like they might do the trick, but I have been told the virus thing will delay production for quite some time. I'm primarily looking for a 000/OM size body and a 1 3/4" nut width.

Any suggestions?

[ataylor]

A couple other ideas if you like more immersive sound.

What about playing with your guitar very lightly amplified? A basic soundhole pickup (I’m thinking the Dean Markley/Seymour Duncan style) would be easy and interchangeable for any guitar without electronics.

Have you played or heard of the Yamaha Transacoustic guitars? I played one a while back and was pleasantly surprised. Could be worth looking into.

Have you tried playing with the guitar just tilted up towards you a bit and not completely straight out facing away from you? A lot of times when I play, I like to sit back and let the guitar rest at an angle to where I can see into the soundhole.

Or you might just continue to find places in your home that give you that reflection. Makes sense that a large computer screen would have that effect. The bathroom is a tried and true classic. Most rooms with wood floors work too.

[The Bard Rocks]

Check on Reverb and also here. Soundports in general have not made the production lines of manufacturers; most are by individual luthiers. Once in a while a guitar from a lesser-known builder will be up at a great price - and some of them have ports.

[sford52]

I think some of the Eastman and Breedlove models may have soundholes

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by jklotz

When I practice, it's usually in front of my computer. It's one of the big imac's and is probably 2 - 3 feet in front of me. (all of my sheet music is digital these days anyway) I've really come to love the feedback of that immediate reflection I get from this set up. As soon as I move away and play (gigs don't count - I have a big audio monitor pointing in my face) it just feels empty. So it got me thinking; maybe I'd be a good candidate for a sound port in one of my guitars? I want it mostly for practicing around the house.

What are my options without breaking the bank? I don't have anything I am willing to cut a hole in. Those new eastman's announced at NAMN 2020 seemed like they might do the trick, but I have been told the virus thing will delay production for quite some time. I'm primarily looking for a 000/OM size body and a 1 3/4" nut width.

Any suggestions?

Hi jk

A small 1 or 2 channel computer interface with XLR inputs, with an inexpensive condenser mic and decent headphones would be far less expensive than an additional guitar, and would likely sound fabulous. And it would work with any guitar even in the future.

I owned/operated a small acoustic studio for several years, & I loved the times I was recording by myself in the basement, and was listening to my guitars that way!


I own a guitar with a side port (for over 15 years now), but it doesn't replicate the same sound as a guitar sends out the front. It does enhance the volume of the guitar so I can hear it better. I've owned (happily) three guitars with side ports so far, and played many more. It might satisfy you…

I put the first two in myself, and had the last one done by a luthier (who builds guitars).

[RP]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

...Soundports in general have not made the production lines of manufacturers; most are by individual luthiers...

I suppose Emerald falls somewhere in between those parameters, but I'd add that they produce sound holes as standard architecture...

[ChuckS]

Not sure of your budget for the experimentation, but maybe a used Eastman would be a possibility. Tim McKnight and fitness1 have contributed quite a bit on the AGF about DIY soundports. I definitely like ports.

[Wade Hampton]

I bought a Simon & Patrick dreadnought off Craigslist specifically to experiment with putting in a soundport. It definitely makes a difference in terms of what the player hears, at least when you're playing with bare fingers or playing softly. When I use a flatpick, though, it didn't seem to make any discernible difference, not for me, anyway.


whm

[CASD57]

Peavey Makes the Composer its a parlor size with a port, Never played one tho..