Has anyone ever had "2nd soundport" regret?

[Strat80hm]

Not sure if the question deserves a new thread, but regardless it d go like this:

=> has anyone ever had "2nd soundport" regret?

- i m tempted to open a second hole on the top-side
- will probably close the main front soundhole
- i m hoping to get an even deeper feeling of being "into the guitar"
- although maybe i m wrong and will end up with a "no resonance" mute-guitar

Like on this pic (note that there s not top soundhole on this one)




Thoughts?

[Scallywag]

I never went so far as to seal up the main soundhole in the top, but what the heck, I'll share my experience...

I did something similar with a spruce/hog OM of mine. First soundport installed on the upper bout - awesome, loved it and I still do. Really brought this guitar to life. Tried a second slightly smaller one on the lower bout - hated the result. Changed the main air frequency in a way that sucked all the bass and low-mid resonance and/or energy out of the instrument. Sterilized the sound I loved.

So, triage mode. I made a nice looking figured rosewood "patch", bent it to match the side contours, finished it, and then glued it under the offending soundport from the inside of the guitar. Now, all is well, the lovely sound returned and I have what turned out to be a rather cool looking reminder that more is not necessarily better. Lesson learned.

Moral of the story: proceed with extreme caution. If you love the sound of your guitar as-is, consider leaving it well enough alone.

Or, go nuts and hope for the best! You are your own agent, after all!

[Strat80hm]

Originally Posted by Scallywag

I never went so far as to seal up the main soundhole in the top

Tried a second slightly smaller one on the lower bout - hated the result. Changed the main air frequency in a way that sucked all the bass and low-mid resonance and/or energy out of the instrument. Moral of the story: proceed with extreme caution. If you love the sound of your guitar as-is, consider leaving it well enough alone.

Or, go nuts and hope for the best! You are your own agent, after all!

Thank you so much for sharing this experience, very valuable!

What you are describing is pretty much what i was suspecting - too many holes would probably be detrimental.
=> while your guitar had that second soundhole on the side, have you tried to cover up the main soundhole on the top and see/hear what happened?

In my case, as much as i love the unique soundport on the upper bout, i find it a bit too loud in the end - it covers everything else when played with other intruments/singers. So i might do like you did and study a temporary/partial cover for these moments.

Also i find the sound to come too obviously from one side (left ear) only, it s like playing in "mono" - so i was hoping that a second soundport might bring a sweet sense of "stereo": from your experience, it might not be the case.

I m starting to think that the solution for me could be 2 smaller holes (left and right).

I have a second acoustic with the front soundhole totally blocked (for loud stage) - so i m playing with the idea of having 2 small-sealable-soundports on the side, that i could close up on stage, or open up backstage or for acoustic jams anywhere. I d have to figure out an efficient and sturdy solution for these "doors" though, not as easy as i thought..

Again, thanks for your experience - feel free to share a pic of your fix