Nickie
Well-known member
Does anyone know if the side port of an ukulele decreases the volume of sound coming from the top soundhole? If so, by how much?
I think if the uke with a ssp is built correctly it is louder than one without...but single traditionl ukes with no soundhole can be just as loud
....
But the original question was for the front hole, which would be toward the audience.
Correct. And I think if some of the sound pressure wave is escaping through the side port, the amount through the front port must be less. So less volume through the front (top) hole.
My Donaldson Concert with the offset sound hole and side sound port is one of my loudest, and sweetest ukes.
Would it be even louder without the side soundport, though? It's mostly expensive customs that come with a port, which are of high quality and thus well-built.
Sonic waves bounce around, so if there are two openings, I imagine what comes out of the front sound hole is less "bundled", but that is possibly different from overall volume since people who sit in front of the ukulele would still also hear what comes out of the side port (sort of like an almost-stereo effect). My completely uneducated guess is that the projection is different, but volume isn't necessarily lower.
Would it be even louder without the side soundport, though? It's mostly expensive customs that come with a port, which are of high quality and thus well-built.
Sonic waves bounce around, so if there are two openings, I imagine what comes out of the front sound hole is less "bundled", but that is possibly different from overall volume since people who sit in front of the ukulele would still also hear what comes out of the side port (sort of like an almost-stereo effect). My completely uneducated guess is that the projection is different, but volume isn't necessarily lower.
The hole I think does more than one thing. Sound doesn't just shoot out of the hole, and that's what you hear. Like.. on a speaker, the driver moves back and forth, and makes the sound. There's no hole in a speaker, and it makes sound.
And it's size does that. It affects the frequency response of hollow bodies. But response isn't the same as volume.
For instance.. gypsy style guitars come in 2 (probably more) flavors . One has the mouth looking hole, and the other has a very small hole. The small hole one isn't quiter, but it sounds different.