[loudtubeamps]

Once a year right around this time I get to do whatever I want.
This time I opted to add a hole.....a sound port....huge improvement and benefit for the player.

 

[Milkman]

Also makes it easier to get your picks out.

 

[Rollin Hand]

There is nothing like the sound hitting you right in the armpit.

 

[Tone Chaser]

I have a Tacoma with the paisley sound hole in the upper bout. That sound smacks you in the face, so to speak.

I have tried other guitars with additional holes similar to your idea, in other locations, but primarily, in the upper bout region, a few in the middle.

My Tacoma impresses just about everyone who gives the guitar a try. Interesting to watch that person’s face.

How do you feel about this mod, in that location?

 

[Mooh]

Three out of four House guitars I've had have side soundholes. One started with one, then Josh added another, then later closed the second one as I liked it better with one.

Here's the mando-cello:

Here's the six string:

Here's the first one, since sold, with evidence of the side hole history:

 

[loudtubeamps]

I have a Tacoma with the paisley sound hole in the upper bout. That sound smacks you in the face, so to speak.

I have tried other guitars with additional holes similar to your idea, in other locations, but primarily, in the upper bout region, a few in the middle.

My Tacoma impresses just about everyone who gives the guitar a try. Interesting to watch that person’s face.

How do you feel about this mod, in that location?

@Tone Chaser
I've heard upper bout ports and find that location is good for kicking out mids and highs.
I had my ear down along the side and heard the mid and lower frequencies, marked an X and went to town.
The Selmer style was designed for mids and highs...I needed to hear some lows.
When sitting comfortably, the sound projects up nicely against the side of my face.
I wanted an acoustic that would keep up in a jam against players who plug into small acoustic amps.
It is fairly loud and can be heard in the mix with the bunch.
This was a factory second from 2012 and hasn't been played much. I'm hoping it opens up after a couple of months.
I have a rosewood bridge coming to replace the factory ebony...apparently rosie will be a bit louder, we'll see.
Gitane 250 m.
Killer neck and comfortable string tension with.010-.046 on the longer scale.

 

[Mooh]

I'll follow this thread with interest as I'm considering a side port in an old Seagull.

 

[loudtubeamps]

I'll follow this thread with interest as I'm considering a side port in an old Seagull.

@Mooh as mentioned, I spent some time listening to the side before deciding on the location of the port...keeping in mind arm position and direction of sound.
I was fortunate with the design of this instrument....laminate sides so no bracing to avoid or modify.
If you are considering and sides are one piece, general consensus suggests bracing around the area prior to cutting the port to avoid cracking.
Sound out front is not affected too much , on mine it decreased the low mid resonance slightly and actually cleaned up the A and D strings.
The port does make a big difference , like having a mini monitor facing you.
I used a dremel,sealed with a semi gel ca...crazy glue type product with a spray accelerator.
One application to seal, sanded with 600...blacked out with magic marker and another sealer of ca...600 to 1500 wet and polished.
Biggest challenge was trying to keep the hole concentric.

 

[Mark Brown]

I used a dremel

Biggest challenge was trying to keep the hole concentric.

Why didn't you make a template and route it? Serious question, not a criticism.

 

[Mooh]

I've done a ton of A/B-ing ports vs non-ports vs multiple ports with a variety of brands but mostly House as he's local (pictures in post #5). I prefer single top or bottom bout as opposed to two. This Seagull has laminate sides but I'll still lightly brace the hole fore and aft to prevent de-lamination around the hole. A round hole will be easiest as I have drill bits for that, but I might make a template and rout it. A router will likely result in a cleaner inside edge, whereas a drill could shred the inside edge. I free-handed a side port in a uke once (there'd been a preamp in the spot) and just found it time consuming. Anyway, there's a nice flat area just north of the waist on the Seagull, ripe for a hole. I like the look of a group of smaller holes too, so that's an option, but I would glue a thin pad inside to support the edges.

A side port changes the way I place a mic when recording. There are more options.

@Mooh as mentioned, I spent some time listening to the side before deciding on the location of the port...keeping in mind arm position and direction of sound.
I was fortunate with the design of this instrument....laminate sides so no bracing to avoid or modify.
If you are considering and sides are one piece, general consensus suggests bracing around the area prior to cutting the port to avoid cracking.
Sound out front is not affected too much , on mine it decreased the low mid resonance slightly and actually cleaned up the A and D strings.
The port does make a big difference , like having a mini monitor facing you.
I used a dremel,sealed with a semi gel ca...crazy glue type product with a spray accelerator.
One application to seal, sanded with 600...blacked out with magic marker and another sealer of ca...600 to 1500 wet and polished.
Biggest challenge was trying to keep the hole concentric.

 

[loudtubeamps]

Why didn't you make a template and route it? Serious question, not a criticism.

Morning @Mark Brown ...
Short answer.. 7 years ago...retired, sorta. Sold or gave away most of my tools.
Pretty comfortable at free handing with limited tools at my disposal.
This was an experiment on a relatively inexpensive guitar.
I wanted to start with smaller cutout and listen to the changes as I opened up the port.
I used the sound hole as my template and ended up with a port slightly smaller.

 

[loudtubeamps]

Three out of four House guitars I've had have side soundholes. One started with one, then Josh added another, then later closed the second one as I liked it better with one.
@Mooh
Nice looking instruments..
I'm not much of an acoustic player but as a lead player,the potential volume and attack of the Selmer design I kept reading about led me to this point in time.
Lots of snap and no amp / cables to cart on occasion, what's not to like!

 

[Mark Brown]

Morning @Mark Brown ...
Short answer.. 7 years ago...retired, sorta. Sold or gave away most of my tools.
Pretty comfortable at free handing with limited tools at my disposal.
This was an experiment on a relatively inexpensive guitar.
I wanted to start with smaller cutout and listen to the changes as I opened up the port.
I used the sound hole as my template and ended up with a port slightly smaller.

That makes sense. I can respect the "I dont have the tool for this" as for the longest time (still now) I lacked the requisite tooling to do the things I wanted and I just make it work.

I free hand things like a rabid squirrel on the 6th day of a meth binge so I need templates for everything

 

[loudtubeamps]

That makes sense. I can respect the "I dont have the tool for this" as for the longest time (still now) I lacked the requisite tooling to do the things I wanted and I just make it work.

I free hand things like a rabid squirrel on the 6th day of a meth binge so I need templates for everything

haha...3 days was my absolute limit.

 

[silvertonebetty]

Lol @loudtubeamps i complained someone the other day for doing this 😂. At least yours looks nice and hearts or pears lol