acoustics with no sound hole......

[martinedwards]

ok troops, we all know that acoustics have a soundhole.

McPherson & Tacoma migrated it from the centre, but for my 50th build I want a keeper, preferably something well off the beaten track.

I'm pretty sure it'll have fanned frets and a sound port, maybe even a manzer style wedge.

but.

if it has a sound port, does it actually NEED a front facing soundhole?

the soundhole isn't for the sound to escape or to enter from the strings, and it's the top vibrating that gets a the sound out there. the soundhole allows some air to move in & out as the top vibrates and blocking it without a port will reduce it's freedom to travel, so will an acoustic with a port and no front soundhole "work"?

95% of my playing is plugged in strumming through a PA if that makes a difference.

thanks for your wisdom!!

[Michael Watts]

Batson. No soundhole, un-interrupted top, cantilevered neck, Huge sound. Great guys.

Over.

[EVANSSS]

+1 on the batsons. Seriously cool guitars. Too cool for a sound hole...

http://www.batsonguitars.com

[vicov]

Tom Bills builds them that way too..........http://tbguitars.com/genesis-g2n-3/

[Michael Watts]

He does indeed, the main difference being that on a Batson the string pressure is pushing down onto the top as opposed to pulling away from it.

[martinedwards]

hmmmmmmm.... VERY nice.

[Michael Watts]

You have a PM

[Howard Klepper]

This guitar has the great majority of its aperture space on the shoulders and is very successful acoustically. It roars.

[Shadowraptor]

My Solitaire has a side mounted sound hole. It's supposed to direct the sound to the player rather than the audience. IOW, the player gets to hear what the audience normally does. I like the sound of the bass strings, but the sound hole doesn't do a lot for the trebles.

The thing I don't like about this particular model (other than the strange hole-less look!) is the location of the sound hole. It's near the bottom of the top side and gets covered by my right arm when holding and playing the guitar in a normal position. If I had a choice, I would rather have the sound hole nearer to the neck and the electronics nearer to the bottom.

[1cubilindo]

Originally Posted by Howard Klepper

This guitar has the great majority of its aperture space on the shoulders and is very successful acoustically. It roars.

My very basic understanding is that the soundhole or soundport is designed so that the body acts like a Helmholtz resonator. Do you guys figure this (size of area) out through trial and error, or calculations based on body volume?

[David Hilyard]

I have a Bills with no top soundhole. A pretty large side soundhole and Kasha style bracing. It works.

[rosewoodsteel]

[QUOTE=Howard Klepper;1853363]This guitar has the great majority of its aperture space on the shoulders and is very successful acoustically. It roars.



Golly Beaver, I wonder why the censors allow this?

[Raystrack]

Originally Posted by David Hilyard

I have a Bills with no top soundhole. A pretty large side soundhole and Kasha style bracing. It works.

That is lovely! I think they've been clever with
the asymetric body as well which (to me), doesn't look odd and yet does away with the need for a cutaway.

I was blown away with the Batsons I tried at Acoustic Music Company - particulary the white maple one. Very loud and bassy in your ear. The Tim Thompson videos though make them sound a bit more like an arch-top with that banjo fizz - great for the jazz he plays.

[Howard Klepper]

Originally Posted by 1cubilindo

My very basic understanding is that the soundhole or soundport is designed so that the body acts like a Helmholtz resonator. Do you guys figure this (size of area) out through trial and error, or calculations based on body volume?

The guitar body is only kinda sorta a Helmholtz resonator. It differs in a lot of ways that make it more complex, such as the shape, the short throat depth (just the thickness of the top at the soundhole), and the hole location. Probably the most significant difference is that a Helmholtz resonator has rigid walls, while the guitar body couples the air inside to the flexible top and back.

In short, we estimate size based on experience (both our own and all that came before), body dimensions, soundhole(s) location. There isn't a formula that will yield the exact main air frequency, calculated in advance. I make final adjustments in the bracing and top thickness to get the resonant frequency where I want it.

[1cubilindo]

Thanks Howard.