Sound side port?

Most people say the benifits are that you can hear a more natural sound of what you are playing, as opposed to what is projected out and reflected back at you.

Drawbacks? Maybe a little less sound projection forward? I really don't know. I've never played one with a side soundport, but a friend of mine has a Compass Rose with one and absolutely LOVES his.
 
I don't like them, especially on guitars. They make the music too loud for my ears. Volume is far less desirable than good tone. Some of the sweetest instruments I have played have laminated back and sides and solid tops. I like that combination.
 
So you don't like them on ukes either? Not sure what laminates have to do with sound ports... I am a bit lost.

Pippin, are you saying that sound ports degrade the tone?
 
I think it depends on the uke design/build. I've got a couple ukes with side sound ports. On some ukes it is great and on others it changes the sound/increases volume. If the builder is experienced with side ports as part of his normal design, it should be a positive addition.
 
Doc_J said:
I think it depends on the uke design/build. If the builder is experienced with side ports as part of his normal design, it should be a positive addition.
Click to expand...

I really like the side sound ports on my Compass Rose tenors, and despite the fact that I have not played a Compass Rose uke without a side sound port as a comparison, I would want the side sound port on any future Compass Rose ukuleles I purchase.
 
I really like them. I have them on two of my ukes and find the additional sound projected upwards towards the player as a plus. I don't find them too loud by any means.

And I like the looks of them as well. Both of mine are bound which adds to the appearance, IMO.
 
I think that this question cannot be adequately answered without first knowing the age of the responder.:rulez:
 
Similar to the argument about gloss vs satin finishes. (it's the thickness that counts). With sound holes, it's the combined total size of them vs the size and wood of the body. A luthier could explain it better than I, but if the sound holes are too large or too small for the instrument, you might have a problem. Some musicians like them because they like that they "can" hear the instrument better. Kind of like having a small personal monitor for your plugged in ukes when playing in a group. I wouldn't mind having one on my primary practice uke since, as I age, my hearing is deteriorating.
 
Depends who builds them....Chuck moore ukes sound amazing with them...what it does is puts the players ear closer so he/she can hear how it sounds while playing...
also I too thing like double hole ukes, the air and sounds flow does improve the sound and tone of the uke..sort of like cross circulation..:)
 
I had a laminated B&S Yamaha classical, with a very thuddy open G string. Al Carruth mentioned that sound ports can change the body's sound frequency response, and Kenny Hill was using them at the time as well. I put two sound ports on either side of the neck, like Kenny Hill, and the thuddy note shifted to A+. There was an increase in sound to the player as well, but I just wanted the thuddy G note gone. I had a much more expensive ($2,000) classical with a thuddy open A string, but I returned it a few days after buying it. I was not going to cut holes in it, especially when there was no way of knowing whether it would work. It was a shame, because the guitar was fantastic in all other aspects.....
 
FrankB said:
I had a laminated B&S Yamaha classical, with a very thuddy open G string. Al Carruth mentioned that sound ports can change the body's sound frequency response, and Kenny Hill was using them at the time as well. I put two sound ports on either side of the neck, like Kenny Hill, and the thuddy note shifted to A+. There was an increase in sound to the player as well, but I just wanted the thuddy G note gone. I had a much more expensive ($2,000) classical with a thuddy open A string, but I returned it a few days after buying it. I was not going to cut holes in it, especially when there was no way of knowing whether it would work. It was a shame, because the guitar was fantastic in all other aspects.....
Click to expand...
Aloha Frank,
Have you tried to release the tension on the G string to dropped tuning....does the thuddy sound go away, if so, try a thinner guage lower tension string set.
 
I have a uke with two holes on the top that seems to project better than one hole. I also just ordered a uke with f holes (I call it a mandolele) and I'm curious to hear what it sounds like when I get it. I get the feeling that more than one hole is good for the sound.

u6Hanknn 2 hole side brn.jpg

u9 Mando-Uke.jpg
 
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I thought this thread was about side sound ports:):)
I like them... helps me to hear my bad playing better...but I leave it up to the the builders...some don't like adding them
 
I just got a new instrument from builder Michael Zuch. It has a sound port, and I love the way it sounds. The conundrum here is, if it didn't have the port, would that make it sound different? How would you know, unless you played two identical ukes, save for that difference? And even then, there are all those other factors that make the tones of two "identical" instruments slightly different even if you are trying to make them sound the same.

This is one of those questions that depend on something other than a simple either/or answer, I think.

When I was a boy, my mother told me not to smoke cigarettes. In those days, pre-Surgeon General's report, the link to cancer and heart disease was not known, but Mama told me that smoking would stunt my growth. I'm a hair over six feet tall. But think: Maybe if I hadn't smoked as a teenager, I coulda had a career in the NBA …

Steve
 
Steveperrywriter said:
I just got a new instrument from builder Michael Zuch. It has a sound port, and I love the way it sounds. The conundrum here is, if it didn't have the port, would that make it sound different? How would you know, unless you played two identical ukes, save for that difference? And even then, there are all those other factors that make the tones of two "identical" instruments slightly different even if you are trying to make them sound the same.

This is one of those questions that depend on something other than a simple either/or answer, I think…

Steve
Click to expand...

Cover the port with your hand while strumming an Am7 chord, then remove it. That'll tell you how effective the SSP is.
The change in frequency that results in installing a side sound port can mean some minimal loss of the bottom end. This can be a positive thing though, especially with a linear tuning.
 
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I wish I had one. A side sound port, that is. I would love to hear how it really sounds.
 
My Compass Rose has one. I love it. My next custom will definitely have a side sound port.
 
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