Official Luthiers Forum!

Likey?

No Likey?

Construction issues?
Structural strength issues?
Can it be done retroactively, i.e., on a used guitar?


Tell me why or why not. I picked up a guitar with a monitor hole and thought I wouldn't like it.....but it sure seemed to allow me to hear the sound much better. My ears aren't what they used to be either.......

I'm thinking of someday taking this on. Just for kicks and grins.

I've noticed you folks can be somewhat opinionated. You have the floor.

Arnie

I've never played a guitar with one, but you might have better luck searching for "sound port."

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Whoops! Is that what they're called? It seems that "sound port" would be indistinguishable from "sound hole", but what do I know?

Well.......it's either a boring topic or a to-hot-to-handle topic. I thought there would be a few more opinions than this.

Arnie,

Sound Port is the term I've most commonly seen used for these.

I've never retrofitted a guitar with one, but I know people have done it succussfully. Search around here and other forums and I'm sure you'll find something. Please don't take this as an endorsement to do it (i'd not recommend modifying a guitar in this way).

That said, I have them on both of the guitars I've built. It's not difficult to do. Just use your imagination.

1. Pick a spot
2. Pick a shape
3. Reinforce the inside of the spot with a laminate of some kind
4. Make a pretty hole
5. Profit!

Here are some pictures of the one on my concert.

This is just a simple oval hole near the peak of the upper bought, about the size of an egg. The laminate on the inside is a thin piece of maple and a cutoff from the EIR sides. Gives it a little character and will sufficiently reinforce the side to prevent cracks/splits.. I just tapered the lip a bit to accentuate the highlight a bit.




I'm not even going to touch the question about their affect on the sound of the instrument.

I will say definitively that sound definitely comes out of the sound port when I play it. I will also say that I like having it there. It looks cool, and I like how it sounds.

YMMV

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Jim Hansen

Thanks Jim......excellent insight, and beautiful work.

However, I'm somewhat surprised that you laminated the area for strength purposes. I'm not saying you're wrong. It just seems that at that particular area of the bend, there is a fair amount of inherent strength.

Seems to me with a soundport about half the width of the side is removed, and, if there was no reinforcement, unsupported end grain is exposed and liable to crack when the sides flex, both when strung up and with humidity changes.
This might well significantly weaken the side.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

EOArnie wrote:
"However, I'm somewhat surprised that you laminated the area for strength purposes. "

You've never had to fix a side crack, have you?

I think 'monitor hole' is probably a good name for the thing, since that's what it does, but by now 'side port' is the accepted term.

I like to make the 'main' soundhole smaller when I put in a port, but that's my opinion.

Alan:
The backing has the grain at 90* to the grain in the side and is more to protect against splitting at the exposed end-grain rather than for strength. That is the explanation usually used on ukuleles.

Bob

"Strength" isn't the word I used. I used "Reinforce"... I think cracking/splitting is the primary concern.

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Jim Hansen

Another take ... port mimics the ribrest shape ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Gotcha. Makes sense.

I have to say though.....

I thought there would be a little more reaction from the purist camp.

Maybe it is more of an accepted practice than I thought.