Any difference between an open hole vs f-hole style tenor guitar?

[dmcginnis]

I have never played a tenor, so excuse me if this is an obvious question...but it seems like tenor guitars come in two flavors - a mini-guitar style with an open hole and a arch top f-style. Is there any fundamental difference in the sound and tone? I am sure each individual guitar has pros and cons...I am most curious about the fundamental characteristics.

Thanks for the input!

[Pete Martin]

The oval hole tenor will generally be a warmer fuller sound and f hole much more percussive. Of course individual guitars will vary

[Ed Goist]

This is a great question..

When it comes to tenors, does the sound difference mostly come from the ff-hole vs. round/oval hole differentiation, or from the archtop vs. flat-top differentiation?

I'd love to hear a general tonal description (and the major differences in tone) of the following from someone who has played examples of each:

* flat-top, ff-hole tenor guitar (is there such a thing?)
* flat-top, round/oval hole tenor guitar (like my Blueridge BR-40T, which I will say is very "Martin Guitar Like")
* arch-top, ff-hole tenor guitar
* arch-top, round/oval hole tenor guitar

[mrmando]

The heck with it all ... get a resophonic.