Soundhole sideways or frontal? (Sound for you or for everybody else?)

Finn Bjerke

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My Wonderfull Uluhru uke has soundhole "sideways" and sends the sound to me not away from me, I LOVE IT...

Also its the prettiest uke in da world...

How do you feel about alternative soundhole-placement (In the Ukulelle that is) Is ther eempirical grounds for having frontal sound holes ? Or F shaped ones ? Link to ukulele here:

cow uke.jpg
 
As an amateur builder I've experimented a lot with sound hole placement and shapes.
It's been my experience that sound hole placement is more critical then shape.
A few times I've built cigar box soprano ukuleles from boxes that were a little on the small side so I put in a side hole. I have always been pleased with the result.
 
I saw this design on eBay by Bruce Wei Arts in Vietnam from whom I've had a few customs made, and as soon as I saw it, I ordered one with solid spalted mango top, flame mango body, spalted mango binding, maple neck, ebony fretboard & bridge and Florentine cutaway. It has sound holes all the way around the body and a larger one in the cutaway (which was an accident of second language communication, but I like it). Everyone that hears it says it has really good projection and sustain. It plays great and makes a great impression.

side holes.jpg

Spalted done montage.jpg
 
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The sound hole as it is called is in fact a hole to let air in and out. Most frequencies will not emanate from the so called sound hole. I have stopped using frontal holes since 2008. This makes the bracing pattern of a uke or guitar far more flexible and opens up more top area for the strings to excite.
Traditionalists love their front holes as it is what is expected.
Look at a violin and listen to the volume of this instrument. No big round hole in the middle and all of that big sound does not come out of those little F holes.
It comes from the whole of the instrument and not out of the holes.
 
The sound hole as it is called is in fact a hole to let air in and out. Most frequencies will not emanate from the so called sound hole.


This is completely true, but it's surprising how many don't know it.

Look at your HiFi's speakers.. the hole is in the BACK!

The surface of the speaker cone takes the role of your ukes' soundboard.
 
I like both holes. I do think it sounds better, whether I'm right or wrong.
 
Kohanmike,
Are you happy with the sound results from you new ukulele? Very interesting design. I would love to hear a sound sample. Are you pleasnwith this BW build? Just curious. Cool looking ukulele.
 
Kohanmike, are you happy with the sound results from you new ukulele? Very interesting design. I would love to hear a sound sample. Are you pleased with this BW build? Just curious. Cool looking ukulele.

First, I'm very happy with the build, my customs and one ready made from him are built well, it feels really good to me, and yes I'm very happy with the sound. Other people have said that it is very present. I don't have a recording, I'll have to see when I can make one that will do justice to the uke. I normally add a preamp and pickup to my ukes, but not to this one, so I'll have to do a good mic setup.
 
Look at your HiFi's speakers.. the hole is in the BACK!

I don't think this is entirely the same. In a speaker, the hole is used for many things beyond just a vent. Some speakers have no hole. Some speakers use it to modify fundamental resonance. It's usually not just a hole, but a tube or horn, which effects fundamentals in addition to vas. In some speakers the hole acts as a cone to give a horn effect. It's almost never just a hole for a vent in a speaker design. It's used for direct physics.

To some extent the uke hole is an air vent. But it doesn't just vent air. It does vent sound. When you play a uke with a side port... it's definitely shooting sound up toward the player.

If you think the hole is just for pressure relief, why does nobody build a uke with a passive radiator? That would give you pressure relief, while using that relief to generate sound as well.
 
I had a bamboo ukulele on a long term loan with both a front sound hole and a side hole. I honestly couldn't tell that there was any difference in the sound that was emanating from that and my mahogany ukulele with just the sound hole in the front. It is a good place to stick a spit cup or a glass of whiskey, provided you find a glass or cup that will fit in there and not fall through. :) If I ever had a custom ukulele crafted for me that might be a consideration.
 
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