Sound port - yes or no

[Joyful Uke]

If you were having a build done, would you include a sound port? Why would you make your choice to include it or not?
It saves a little bit of money to not include one, of course, but lets take that out of consideration. Would your dream ukulele include a sound port?

 

[rainbow21]

For my BR ukuleles, I ordered it on my concert. Would do so again. It looks good and is supposed to improve the sound projection to the player. For my soprano (being built now), I did not order one. Cannot give a definitive reason as cost is not part of the equation.

If it was my "ukuleles to end UAS" one, I would probably get the soundhole.

 

[Cadia]

Probably, yes, if it were going to be my perfect dream uke and i wanted it to have everything, lol. If it didn't have one, though, I wouldn't care. I'm kind of "meh" about side soundports.

 

[Moore Bettah Ukuleles]

If a SSP is an option and it’s affordable then I’d say go for it. My experience with side sound ports on my own ukes is that it opens them up overall, making the instrument sound fuller while increasing projection to both the player AND the listener. There is no downside. While the difference isn’t extreme it is certainly noticeable. I started installing them a dozen years ago and they quickly became standard on all my instruments.

 

[tensen]

I don't have a uke with a soundport yet, so my opinion doesn't have any verifiable data attached.

If I was having one built it would be for playing for my enjoyment. So I'd want one.

Playing for the audience I'd be using something with pickups so I might as well be listening to it through the monitor.

 

[70sSanO]

I have some traditional sound hole ukuleles, a few with only a side sound port, and one with both.

A lot depends on the environment where you play. A SSP helps to hear your playing when in a group or noisier conditions. Other than an additional cost, I haven't found any detriment having an SSP.

John

 

[Ed1]

I've had ukes with and without soundports. I liked them enough to have them on the last three I bought.

 

[Patty]

No. Don’t like the look. Don’t need the extra volume. And it seems a little unnatural.

PS: I feel the same about cutaways. Nah.

 

[Veritas99]

My wife and I have a custom set of ukes arriving this week and both have side sound ports. So to answer your question, yes I would include them if I had the option.

As others have said, they add something to the sound you hear when you play. That's not to say a uke without one won't sound good, but I like them.

 

[Arik]

For a custom, I vote yes! Well unless they are charging you an insane amount of money to do it. I think $150 is fair. I have 3 ukes with a side port and I love how it serves as a monitor. I also think they look cool. That is IMO.

 

[rainbow21]

If a SSP is an option and it’s affordable then I’d say go for it. My experience with side sound ports on my own ukes is that it opens them up overall, making the instrument sound fuller while increasing projection to both the player AND the listener. There is no downside. While the difference isn’t extreme it is certainly noticeable. I started installing them a dozen years ago and they quickly became standard on all my instruments.

So you should get one! I now wish I had ordered it on my soprano...

And if you don't like it, you can order another! No downside...

 

[don_b]

Depends on the rest of the uke!

 

[clear]

I don't care for a sound port. But if I get one, I'd also want a matching cover for it in the same wood (so I have the flexibility to open or close it).

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Short answer is "absolutely". I also agree with @clear that a cover of the same wood, capable of fitting firmly with some sort of gasket, should come along with a custom uke. I personally prefer slot-style ports rather than a circle or ellipse. I recently cut a slot-style port in my wacky DIY soprano. It's slightly smaller than, but otherwise the exact shape of, a military dog tag. I can hear better while I play and there is little, if any, difference in front-end volume.

You've given me an idea: I'm going to bend my "extra" Army dog tag (the one they thankfully didn't need to clamp between the teeth of my corpse) to match the upper bout contour and fabricate some sort of gasket to enable me to keep the port closed while the uke is hanging on its hook.

 

[rhiggie]

Hands down YES! I won't buy another new uke without one, of course there are some great older ukes before SSP's were being done and I wouldn't pass up something with a different voice because it was made before SSP's. As everyone has said (who has one), the sound difference is game changing, kind of like listening to your "no SSP" uke from above while playing it, then standing in front while someone else plays it... whole different voice! I can't imagine when I would want to slide a cover over my SSP so that is an option I wouldn't pay extra for. No downside, and I love being able to see the insides of my uke without a mirror. I have built a couple ukes and a guitar and put side ports in all of them (sounds great on an acoustic guitar as well).

A side story, I've heard when Augustino LoPrinzi was experimenting with his acoustic guitar builds, he put sand on the guitar top and strummed the strings to see where the "energy" was focused and found the sand danced on the 2 sides of the upper bout. So he cut out a slice of the top and side on both sides of the strings, and the "Nova Model" was born. He used it on both Classical and steel string acoustic guitars and later on ukuleles. I've had 2 tenor Nova's, one spruce top and the all Koa I still own. It does make a difference and is kind of like a side port, before SSP's were a thing!

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

No. Don’t like the look. Don’t need the extra volume. And it seems a little unnatural.

PS: I feel the same about cutaways. Nah.

Oddly since I'm a SSP enthusiast, I feel the same about cutaways (guitars as well as ukes). While we're on the subject of style and shape, I really like pineapple and figure-eight bodies but am not a fan of scepters [sp] or boat paddles. Also, the smaller (shorter in terms of length) the head stock the better.

 

[Poul Hansen]

No. Don’t like the look. Don’t need the extra volume. And it seems a little unnatural.

PS: I feel the same about cutaways. Nah.

Hehe Metoo ;-)

 

[ghostrdr]

Hands down YES! I won't buy another new uke without one, of course there are some great older ukes before SSP's were being done and I wouldn't pass up something with a different voice because it was made before SSP's. As everyone has said (who has one), the sound difference is game changing, kind of like listening to your "no SSP" uke from above while playing it, then standing in front while someone else plays it... whole different voice! I can't imagine when I would want to slide a cover over my SSP so that is an option I wouldn't pay extra for. No downside, and I love being able to see the insides of my uke without a mirror. I have built a couple ukes and a guitar and put side ports in all of them (sounds great on an acoustic guitar as well).

A side story, I've heard when Augustino LoPrinzi was experimenting with his acoustic guitar builds, he put sand on the guitar top and strummed the strings to see where the "energy" was focused and found the sand danced on the 2 sides of the upper bout. So he cut out a slice of the top and side on both sides of the strings, and the "Nova Model" was born. He used it on both Classical and steel string acoustic guitars and later on ukuleles. I've had 2 tenor Nova's, one spruce top and the all Koa I still own. It does make a difference and is kind of like a side port, before SSP's were a thing!

Interesting. Is this the same thinking for I’iwi 3 hole soundboards? Or Kanile’a‘s platinum leaves sound board?

 

[UkingViking]

To me the sound port looks a bit weird.
I like the uke to look simpler. I dont go for cutaways either, if I played high up the neck I might. Also I dont like bling. I am a real grinch .

Anyway, my Cocobolo has a side sound port. The only make them with. And it still looks good.
And it provides a bit more sound my direction that my other ukes. I dont have a similar uke without, so I have no perfect control group, but I assume it makes a difference.

Since high end luthiers say that there are no downsides soundwise, I will accept that. Personally I probably wouldnt pay extra for it because of my taste in looks though.

 

[Joyful Uke]

So you should get one! I now wish I had ordered it on my soprano...

And if you don't like it, you can order another! No downside...

Is it too late to ask for that to be added in? I know you said that the build is underway, but I don't know at what point Allen would need to know about the SSP.

Or, you could just order another one, too. LOL.

It's going to feel like a long wait for me, even though it's not really.