View Full Version : sound port on the side
I have not seen any mandolin with sound port on the upper side, but ukulele yes and one kind of mandolin (made in Vietnam) has a lot of holes around its side, it sounds loud.
Today, I need to remove the pre-amp from one of my guitar to test on a different guitar (while waiting for my pre-amp order to get to me) . This leaves a rectangular "sound port" on the first one. SURPRISE: when I play it, it sound much much louder to my ears. Of course, I will put the preamp back so the "sound port" will go away.
But this encourages me to cut an extra ROUND round port on the upper side to get more volume for the player.
Any guitar with sound port out there (by design) ?
Found this you tube video on how to make a sound port. So easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMX9CQJGvzE
JEStanek
May-12-2015, 8:59pm
See this thread (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?11270-Side-Port).
Jamie
Bill Snyder
May-12-2015, 11:38pm
There are several of the builders that post regularly on the Mandolin Cafe that have done side sound ports on mandolins. kkmm, I have no doubt you can add one to an instrument. However, I doubt that you can do it without it looking like YOU did it.
I know you have done quite a bit of work on inexpensive instruments you have purchased and I don't mean to call your abilities into question, but I think to do this well may take a higher level of skill than you realize.
OldSausage
May-13-2015, 7:32am
There are several of the builders that post regularly on the Mandolin Cafe that have done side sound ports on mandolins. kkmm, I have no doubt you can add one to an instrument. However, I doubt that you can do it without it looking like YOU did it.
I know you have done quite a bit of work on inexpensive instruments you have purchased and I don't mean to call your abilities into question, but I think to do this well may take a higher level of skill than you realize.
So, you mean a power drill and a hole saw is out of the question, then?
Pick&Grin
May-13-2015, 7:58am
This is something that I've been wondering about.
Does cutting an extra hole, while increasing sound for the player, affect resonance in the sound chamber?
In other words, does it increase volume for the players while decreasing it for the audience?
k0k0peli
May-13-2015, 7:58am
So, you mean a power drill and a hole saw is out of the question, then? Just put a little decorative piping around the hole, hey?
How about a side port in a totally enclosed banjo-mandolin? Would that be redundant?
OldSausage
May-13-2015, 8:52am
This is something that I've been wondering about.
Does cutting an extra hole, while increasing sound for the player, affect resonance in the sound chamber?
In other words, does it increase volume for the players while decreasing it for the audience?
Some luthiers who tried it out discussed it at length in the other thread, and their conclusion was: no.
Petrus
May-13-2015, 9:44am
Easy peasey.
134024
fscotte
May-13-2015, 9:49am
At a certain point it would - I just don't know what point that would be. Since the sound coming out of the mandolin is pressure, you reduce that pressure when you start opening up ports. Too many or too large and you may have a very quiet mandolin or one that lacks in tone of some sort.
Pick&Grin
May-13-2015, 5:53pm
That's what I was thinking, fscotte. I'm not a physicist, but I'd think twice before having one.
mandroid
May-13-2015, 6:18pm
if part of the build in the 1st place a sliding door can be part of the sound port.
It's been done before..
David Houchens
May-13-2015, 7:15pm
134048
David Houchens
May-13-2015, 7:16pm
134049
Pick&Grin
May-13-2015, 8:12pm
That's amazingly cool, mandroid!
Petrus
May-13-2015, 9:15pm
Kudos ... it seems all the really well done ones I've seen are oval like in the pictures, not round, so you couldn't just use a router. They also seem to show up more on A-style mandolins with f-holes, where there's a) room on the side to place it without the scroll getting in the way and b) not too much of an opening already which an oval hole instrument would have. (I might be wrong about that though)
Bertram Henze
May-14-2015, 2:27am
Just put a little decorative piping around the hole, hey?
Piping is indeed the way to go if you want more volume for the player, even without a hole...
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4101GCET4GL._SX300_.jpg
Jim Hudson
May-14-2015, 5:49am
Check out everettguitars.com. Carlos builds guitars and Mando's with replaceable side sound ports and they're very well done. I'm picking mine up in less than a month! Hoo hoo!
jclover
May-14-2015, 10:13am
Here is the sound port on my Black A4:
134070
The mandolin is loud for both player and listener. Plus, it is a great view of the Virzi!
I have seen round sound ports. Can't remember where, but the mandolin had 3 round holes of different diameters in the side and was fitted with corks to close/open them as desired.
Pick&Grin
May-14-2015, 8:37pm
Cool, Jim. I've heard great things about Black's mangos!
MysTiK PiKn
May-14-2015, 9:07pm
There was a nice one in Builder/Repair forum recently.
- a few of us were speculating on what size bullet made the hole.
Results, however, were inconclusive.
- somewhat strangely, however, the general intent seemed
to be mainly focused on closing the hole. They should have known.
The stethoscope is an interesting approach, esp. if it had a piezo installed.
this would enable direct sound porting to a mixer/PA for further desired enhancement.
I almost fell out of my chair laughing at one of the previous posts - I don't recall which one, maybe two.
Another thread on virzi installation prompted the appearance of pix of
an old artform - a "ship in a bottle". that too was in the latter stages of evolution.
Finger Stylish
May-15-2015, 3:51am
A young Luthier Charlottesville VA has a rather innovative approach to instruments.
Here is a top vented model. Dubova Mandolin #20
https://dubovainstruments.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/img_3962.jpg
Pick&Grin
May-15-2015, 1:01pm
Yikes!
jclover
May-15-2015, 1:15pm
Cool, Jim. I've heard great things about Black's mangos!
And his mandolins aint bad either! :))
Sorry, I had to do it.
Pick&Grin
May-15-2015, 3:18pm
Ha! Well... *tugs collar*
Roger Moss
May-15-2015, 3:24pm
A young Luthier Charlottesville VA has a rather innovative approach to instruments.
Here is a top vented model. Dubova Mandolin #20
https://dubovainstruments.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/img_3962.jpg
Wow! Does that actually improve the sound? it seems a little drastic to me.
k0k0peli
May-15-2015, 7:47pm
My first 'uke was/is a wee Kohala KT-STPU soprano with a tuner in the side. The tuner easily slides out for battery replacement -- instant side sound port! I wondered, "Does is presence make a difference?" I setup a rough experiment: 'Uke on a towel on the table, tablet running a sound-level app sitting beside it. The tuner is IN. I strum hard: 75db. Now, the tuner is OUT. I strum what feels like equally hard: also 75db. My conclusion: If the port affects sound, it's at an irrelevant level. No, it's not a rigorous experiment. I didn't measure the pressure of the strum. I didn't try this in an anechoic chamber. And that port is only about 5/8 x 9/8 inches. Further research is needed. Can we get a grant?