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Topic: Flat top soundholes |
Darryl Hattenhauer
From:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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Posted 20 Jan 2008 9:46 am |
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On flat top acoustic guitars, what are the effects of the different shapes, sizes, and placements of soundholes? For example, why are some soundholes oval shaped? And why do some people enlarge the soundhole?
_________________
Steel crazy after all these years.
$100 reward for info leading to the purchase of a fender D8 white, yellow, or butterscotch. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 21 Jan 2008 9:24 pm
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| Different sizes and shapes change the tone. They also give a different "look" to the guitar, and many consider that just as important as the sound. |
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Darryl Hattenhauer
From:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2008 9:28 pm
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Donny,
When you enlarge the soundhole on a D28, how does the sound change? I think Clarence White enlarged a D28 soundhole, and I know others have. |
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Dave Harmonson
From:
Seattle, Wa
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Posted 21 Jan 2008 11:10 pm
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| I can't absolutely swear to it, but I believe a previous owner of Clarence's D28 did the enlarging. It's not generally considered to be a good thing to do as it can give the guitar a bit of a "tubby" sound. I've read that when Tony Rice got that guitar it was in pretty bad shape and had to have a neck reset and a number of other things repaired. Both of them made it sound pretty fair I'd say. Martin has a Clarence White model D28 with the big soundhole as well as Santa Cruz with their Tony Rice model. I've played a couple of each of them and they were nice sounding guitars. I can't say if there was a real noticeable difference between them and their standard soundhole counter parts. |
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Dave Boothroyd
From:
Staffordshire Moorlands
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Posted 21 Jan 2008 11:59 pm Soundholes & top plates
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If you regard the body of an acoustic guitar as a Helmholtz resonator, the size of the soundhole has a direct effect on the resonant frequency- the smaller the hole, the lower the frequency at which it will resonate.
In practice it's a lot more complex that that.
If you really want to investigate this, check this website:-
http://www.gmi.edu/~drussell/guitars/hummingbird.html
Don't be too alarmed- the movement is exaggerated!
Cheers
Dave |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 22 Jan 2008 12:05 am
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Here's my late 70s vintage Washburn Monterey with an oval soundhole.
This was the first electric acoustic cutaway on the market, and it doesn't have a built in pre-amp, which is just as well because it is a really nice sounding guitar.
Whether or not the shape of the sound hole is strictly cosmetic, or has some different acoustical properties I can't say.
There is a picture of Bob Dylan playing one on one of his album covers, and I think he may have played it on that horrible You Tube thing with the dead and Jerry Garcia playing steel. Obviously Dylan can have any guitar he wants. The fact that he chose one of these attests to their quality.
Unfortunately, Washburn doesn't make the model anymore, and the new ones, although the look the same, aren't as good.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Michael Douchette
From:
Gallatin, TN (deceased)
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 22 Jan 2008 5:26 am
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| Although not directly related to the sound hole on a flatop guitar, when I worked for Little Roy Wiggin's music store (and indirectly for Grammer Guitar Co), Bob Browning who also worked at the store had the Grammer factory build him a guitar with a body that was half the width of a standard guitar (so he could get closer to a mike when singing). The guitar turned out great and barely affected the tone of the guitar. |
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Joey Ace
From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 23 Jan 2008 11:22 am FWIW
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The story I heard about Clarence's D-28 is that he would extinguish cigarettes on the sounds hole edge.
When the burnt wood would become noticeable, he'd scrape a bit of the wood away with a pen knife.
Don't know if this is true... |
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Dave Harmonson
From:
Seattle, Wa
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Posted 23 Jan 2008 11:26 am
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| I hadn't heard of the cigarettes on the soundhole, but did hear that he shot a BB into a small hole on the top to fill it in. |
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Darryl Hattenhauer
From:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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Posted 23 Jan 2008 2:17 pm
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Sounds like Clarence was as imaginative as Mikey D.    |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 23 Jan 2008 3:29 pm
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What Dave says is essentially correct. Although other factors enter into the equation, smaller soundholes generally give better bass response, while larger ones give more treble. Round holes are most popular, probably due mostly to their ease of repeatability.
Be advised, however, that altering any guitar's soundhole (regardless of whether it improves the sound or not, and regardless of how good a job you do) will likely destroy much of it's value. |
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 23 Jan 2008 4:11 pm
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As far as Clarence's D-28, I've read that it was in rough shape when he and his brother Roland got it. I've also heard the cigarette burn story, and the pellet is still in the top! I also read where that D-28 wasn't necessarily all the same guitar. The back is DEFINITELY two pieces of wood, and we all know about the fingerboard. There sure are a lot of D-28's around with enlarged soundholes, though  .
And since that Washburn was both acoustic/electric, had that huge cutaway, AND a laminated top, I doubt if the shape of the soundhole had much to do with the guitar's tone. I knew a girl who had one, and it sounded pretty good through the board. She didn't, though...
Edited to keep from offending the faint of heart.
Last edited by Stephen Gambrell on 24 Jan 2008 8:07 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Darryl Hattenhauer
From:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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Posted 23 Jan 2008 8:12 pm
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| Quote: |
| I doubt if the shape of the soundhole had much to do with the guitar's tone. I knew a girl who had one |
Mikey, where are ya? |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 23 Jan 2008 11:19 pm
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| Never tried a Tacoma, but the McPherson's(sp) sure sound good! |
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Michael Douchette
From:
Gallatin, TN (deceased)
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