Sound Ports

[bruno]

I'm intrigued by the sound ports that some luthiers like Robert Ruck and Kenny Hill have bee featuring on their guitars. Can anyone comment on them? What is their effect on the sound and timbre of the guitar?

[APERTURE]

Randy Reynolds also builds with them and has a pretty good explanation on his web site found here: http://reynoldsguitars.com/port.shtml
James

[Pepe Vergara]

I discovered the effect of "soundports" independently from Ruck since several years ago. A candle holder felt on top of one of my guitars and dig a one inch hole on the side (bass-side) near the neck. I saved the almost one quarter diameter piece of wood to glue it later. When I fixed the crack on the side, I played the guitar, and a great sound came to me. I never heard my guitar that way before. I understood then that other people enjoy the sound more thatn the player. It is like smoking a pipe, the smoker does not feel the smell of the tobacco, but everyone around will. Then I adopted a velcro type thing in the interior of the guitar. I close the hole whenever I want, and I open it whenever I want. It is good for the player. I do not know how this affect the sound others perceive.

[Jubilee Valence]

Boy, that got me good last year!...a lot of us electric players, old ones anyway...occasionally will put our ear down on the side(upper bout-where you can reach it!)while playing,not plugged in...sounds fabulous,unbelievable...but w/ acoustics & nylons,..WOW!!!!! we're talkin' instant "zone";biofeedback etc....& THAT!, everyone,everywhere right now,RIGHT NOW! ...can-- TRY!....Al Carruth, at ... http://www.alcarruthluthier.com/index.htm ... is gonna be the answer man on the port phenomonon w/ text,pics & everything...He's one heck of a guy,& didn't get shook when I treated the "ports" thread at AG to a extra-special "JUBI-CIDE"(...thought it was a gag,...I SWEAR!!!!!)--make sure you see the photo of the LoPrinze Nova Futura guitar ;This port is --ART.

[keith]

check out this guitar:
http://www.alcarruthluthier.com/guitars/corker.htm

last november i visited al carruth at his new hampshire home/shop/lab. while he was doing the work i needed done he invited me to play the corker. the concept does seem to make sense and he explained it to me--he even has a chalk board in his shop. al is very respected in these parts (new england) and world wide--check out his postings in acguitar.com

[DWPC]

From my own experiences playing casually in positions that put my ear closer and more in front of the plane of the top, its clear that the player misses a lot of his guitar's sound. But simple physics says any acoustic energy exiting a side port will be subtracted from that going in other directions (i.e., forward toward an audience), so I'd imagine the volume for listeners will be somewhat less depending on the arrangement and size of the port. I also question what it does for overall tonal quality since it will introduce assymetry into a symmetric system and alter the internal resonances and acoustic interferences that create the instrument's "normal" tone signature. Its all those vibrations bouncing around inside in a supercomplex pattern that give each instrument its own sound. Its just a guess, but I think the best location for a port is at the least acoustically active spot on the side.

It would be great if players could more clearly hear the full tonal quality of their own instruments but it may also result in them adjusting their coloration for their own ear to the deteriment of what an audience 20 feet or more away hears.

For those who play mostly for themselves this could be the bane of luthiers; a 1" hole saw might make an inexpensive factory guitar sound (much more) like a concert instrument to the player's very close ear.

[nebula_34]

Hey Bruno,

When I was purchasing my classical guitar last summer, I had a number of options... and one of the final 3 guitars I had it narrowed down to was a Kenny Hill Ruck Model. The ports certainly do make playing a more enjoyable experience, as has been said - you can HEAR what you're playing, and the nuances more clearly. In terms of volume, the Kenny Hill model, or an original Ruck, both have great projection. I am sure DWPC is absolutely correct in saying the sound focus will be slightly dimished, but I didnt find that it was any less volume than any of the other guitars I was trying (my wife was standing on the other side of the room giving me the feedback as to how each of the guitars sounded from a bit of a distance). When I was at "The Classical guitar Store" in Philly, they mentioned that the ruck model I was trying out was the same one Ana Vidovic was deciding on - since she had the money though, she went out an bought an authentic Ruck (for whatever it's worth). All in all though, go for the tone you want - I went with a Kenny Hill Rodriquez because I was looking for a different sound than the ruck offered, but it was a joy to play.

[Section_10]

Ahh sound ports, I also owned once of the La Mancha Ruck models with the sound port. It wasn't a very loud guitar, but the ports did help. Originally it was Roger Thurman who developed the idea although I think Ruck claims the "hole" as something that he stumbled upon. Thurman was trying to get Ruck to build his guitar with the ports he invented but didn't. Although he did incorporate the holes on the sides of the guitar shortly after. So Thurman got Loprinzi to build some guitars like that. THey were called the Nova Futura. You may have seen some guitarists playing them like Stanley Yates and Nikita Koshkin. They do much more than provide extra sound. They free up the air travel in the upper bout that usually gets trapped and create odd frequencies. That's why part of the soundboard and the sides are removed, allowing the air to move more freely making the guitar louder more responsive and project an incredible amount. It's also easier to play higher registers since it almost a cutaway. And it acts as a monitor for the player as well. They're called the Thurman Mulit-dimensional ports. Having just a hole only lets some sound out but it doesn't make the guitar any more efficient. Its the best way to have a loud guitar with the traditional sound.

[J]

A number of years back I worked on a project where we built a guitar with the soundhold on the side facing the player. The design was based on the work of Dr. Kasha and was featured in Acoustic guitar magazine a few years back if anyone happens to remember it. The guitar sounded amazing to the player.

[Jonny Hotnuts]

I have always wanted a classical guitar with cello type "f" holes as apposed to the round sound hole (not really about the topic).

I tend to think that you dont get something for nothing.
If the guitar is louder for the player it may not have the projection and volume for the audience.
It would be sweet for a practice guitar.