Stereo Sound Ports?

LorenFL

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Pardon my intrusion. I'm no luthier (though I might hack something together just for fun eventually... and I do mean hack), but I think you guys might have the best answer to my question.

Without getting into the "side sound port or not" debate, which seems to have been thoroughly covered...

Has anyone ever played with the notion of doing side sound holes such that there was one on each side of the player for a "stereo" effect? I'm thinking like 1" sound holes, one right near the neck, and one horizontally opposed to it at the angle the uke is normally played... so above where my strumming forearm rests on the soundboard.

With the holes being in vastly different places on the body (and then echoing off of different walls in the room), would the sounds be slightly different? Different overtones or harmonics on each side? Maybe a slight delay? Maybe a little more perceived depth?

I was thinking about experimenting with a little side port on my cheap uke, anyway. Just a crazy idea that came to mind.

Bear in mind that I don't play publicly or in a group. This uke is 98% for my ears only. (my wife hears it, but she doesn't really care) Overall volume one way or the other isn't a significant issue, I'm just playing with different ideas that affect tone from the player's perspective.
 
It doesn't matter where you put holes on a uke or guitar, acoustic instruments are not stereo in any way. There is no such thing as a treble side or bass side on an acoustic instrument, assuming the instrument has a single top plate.

Pardon my intrusion. I'm no luthier (though I might hack something together just for fun eventually... and I do mean hack), but I think you guys might have the best answer to my question.

Without getting into the "side sound port or not" debate, which seems to have been thoroughly covered...

Has anyone ever played with the notion of doing side sound holes such that there was one on each side of the player for a "stereo" effect? I'm thinking like 1" sound holes, one right near the neck, and one horizontally opposed to it at the angle the uke is normally played... so above where my strumming forearm rests on the soundboard.

With the holes being in vastly different places on the body (and then echoing off of different walls in the room), would the sounds be slightly different? Different overtones or harmonics on each side? Maybe a slight delay? Maybe a little more perceived depth?

I was thinking about experimenting with a little side port on my cheap uke, anyway. Just a crazy idea that came to mind.

Bear in mind that I don't play publicly or in a group. This uke is 98% for my ears only. (my wife hears it, but she doesn't really care) Overall volume one way or the other isn't a significant issue, I'm just playing with different ideas that affect tone from the player's perspective.
 
It doesn't matter where you put holes on a uke or guitar, acoustic instruments are not stereo in any way. There is no such thing as a treble side or bass side on an acoustic instrument, assuming the instrument has a single top plate.

Right. The same sound is going to come out of each port. Since the ports are in different locations, there is a theoretical difference in how the sound could be absorbed or reflected. But I think the differences would be so subtle as to be meaningless. It's probably not worth worrying about, unless the OP just really wants a side port.

OP, try playing a mono signal through two speakers, with one against a wall and one out in the open. Or one turned backwards and the other forwards. You will be definitely be able to modify the overall sound based on where the speakers are placed, but I don't think you'll get a stereo-like effect no matter what you do.
 
I think the difference in sound projection between the two holes would be so slight as to require delicate electronic equipment to detect. Just as a traditional sound port lets the player hear more of the sound, another port near the bottom of the bout would let more sound out there, but it would be hard to detect. Just my non-audio engineer's opinion.
 
Okay, disregarding that the sound would be largely the same... if I have a soundport that points towards, say the left side... am I going to hear it louder in my left ear vs. my right?

Even though my ears ring like mad, I do like symmetry and balance. :)
 
Okay, disregarding that the sound would be largely the same... if I have a soundport that points towards, say the left side... am I going to hear it louder in my left ear vs. my right?

I would say No. You might have an app on your phone that displays decibels. Have someone hold that in different locations and see if there is a difference in sound.
 
Good idea. I'll play with that and see what kind of directionality there is with the existing sound port.
 
Okay, disregarding that the sound would be largely the same... if I have a soundport that points towards, say the left side... am I going to hear it louder in my left ear vs. my right?

Even though my ears ring like mad, I do like symmetry and balance. :)

I have owned probably 10 or more ukuleles with a side sound port in the traditional upper left bout area. I play with a strap and seated or standing my uke is at about a 45* angle. The sound hits me in the face and I have never noticed a difference in volume between my left ear and right ear.
 
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