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Posts: 56
Joined: Aug. 24 2009
From: Conroe, Texas
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to M.S.A.)
Should have posted this here before. I had made one hole in my guitar & wanted something more. I liked the oval shape, but didn't want a large open hole. I came up with this design. The outline of the shape is an oval with a matching hole at each end. I think it has a bit of a Spanish/Moorish flavor to it, yes?
I am working on a carved design to go behind the openings. It's proving to quite a challenge. Mainly to get the proper wood that is easy to carve a pattern without a lot of chipping off, but soft enough to work with. The curve is just a matter of working with a thin sheet or I may end up stacking veneer sheets. I look at the pictures of rosette carvings for the main sound hole & am encouraged. Problem is, my holes are 1/4 the size @ 1". I will post pictures when that is finished. Still need to do some touching up. I am liking the sound. Subtle, but definitely different.
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Posts: 56
Joined: Aug. 24 2009
From: Conroe, Texas
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to M.S.A.)
quote:
but I'm affraid, I will have no sample of the actual sound prior to drilling the holes
M.S.A. Just tape something over the sound port that will not act as a diaphragm or dampen the side vibration & you should be able to approximate the before sound. Cheers, kev
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Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to M.S.A.)
quote:
M.S.A. Just tape something over the sound port that will not act as a diaphragm or dampen the side vibration & you should be able to approximate the before sound. Cheers, kev
all i did for my sound tests was cover it with a cloth or my hand.
Posts: 56
Joined: Aug. 24 2009
From: Conroe, Texas
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to M.S.A.)
Hey, anyone have a pair of those old airline headphones that were just rubber tubes? You could hook them up to the sound port & really hear it! Cheers, kev
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Posts: 56
Joined: Aug. 24 2009
From: Conroe, Texas
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to bugeyed)
quote:
ORIGINAL: bugeyed
Should have posted this here before. I had made one hole in my guitar & wanted something more. I liked the oval shape, but didn't want a large open hole. I came up with this design. The outline of the shape is an oval with a matching hole at each end. I think it has a bit of a Spanish/Moorish flavor to it, yes?
I am working on a carved design to go behind the openings. It's proving to quite a challenge. Mainly to get the proper wood that is easy to carve a pattern without a lot of chipping off, but soft enough to work with. The curve is just a matter of working with a thin sheet or I may end up stacking veneer sheets. I look at the pictures of rosette carvings for the main sound hole & am encouraged. Problem is, my holes are 1/4 the size @ 1". I will post pictures when that is finished. Still need to do some touching up. I am liking the sound. Subtle, but definitely different.
I finally made some progress on my project. Took a bit of time to work it all out, but I am almost finished. A little more work with the sprayer & then buffing it out.
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It's not what they call you that matters, It's what you answer to.
Posts: 56
Joined: Aug. 24 2009
From: Conroe, Texas
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Anders Eliasson
Nice work. I´m working on something similare.
Do you reinforce the cypres with something before you cut.
No. The openings were drilled, very carefully, & then expanded with a rotary tool. A duplicate pattern, including the insert shape, was cut from some 3 ply veneer & glued inside to reinforce the side. The insert was cut on the bench & then glued into the cutout & onto the backing. I learned & lot in the process & my next will be done differently. Assuming I do another that is already built, I will make an insert that has a circular border & it will fit into the holes. That will look like the cutout is bound & cover the exposed wood. Anxious to see your creation. Cheers, kev
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RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to Ron.M)
That port looks great Bugeyed.
I have been wondering when someone was going to make the soundport look a little more flamenco. It's a huge improvement on the other ports I've seen. I imagine more people would be open to the soundport idea if they looked like yours.
Here's an Andres Domingues soundport that may inspire. Apparently it was built to mask a hole left by a microphone system.
Posts: 56
Joined: Aug. 24 2009
From: Conroe, Texas
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to orsonw)
quote:
ORIGINAL: orsonw
That port looks great Bugeyed.
I have been wondering when someone was going to make the soundport look a little more flamenco. It's a huge improvement on the other ports I've seen. I imagine more people would be open to the soundport idea if they looked like yours.
snip
Thanks so much everyone for the kind words. I am glad that you think that it looks flamenco! That was my intention. As the design evolved from a single round port I had a vision of a Moorish/Celtic/Spanish design. This design was influenced by my memories of the Alhambra, but I think that , for the next one, I will focus on the iron scrollwork that is very Spanish. I guess I am moving North from Andalusia toward Toledo. Anyway, I am having fun with this & it's always nice to get some validation from y'all. (That's Texan for all of you). Actually, yesterday I saw a posting on AGF where someone had cut a soundport based on my pattern, that I had posted months ago. It was quite a surprise. http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171671
Cheers, kev
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It's not what they call you that matters, It's what you answer to.
Posts: 56
Joined: Aug. 24 2009
From: Conroe, Texas
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to M.S.A.)
quote:
ORIGINAL: M.S.A.
good lord, it looks amazing, bugeyed! allthough, it could have been all just carved in from one piece, but I understand how it has been created so the idea with ornaments came later. never mind, it looks terrific anyway. it inspires me to tra such a nice soundport on my Navarro... I will perhaps make another soundhole, cause I do not have worries anymore. I have already proven for myself it doesn't reduce the quality of sound at all. unless the hole would be too large.
I'm happy for you man, enjoy the sound!
Thanks. As far as carving the pattern in the side, I would not want to try that on a completed guitar. The problem is that, depending on the wood, it can chip out or crumble in such a way as to ruin the work. I am sure that it is partly due to my skills, but I would not want to chance it. This was a second attempt at a rosette, the first being cut from cocobolo & it was very brittle & crumbled in a few places. I have a plan for an improved version that incorporates a ring around the scrollwork that would fit snugly into the hole & look more integrated. I will build a special mechanism for my flex shaft tool, so I can use it like a miniature shaper table, with the cutter working from the top side where I can control it better. One issue is that, to get the insert to follow the contour of the side, I have to leave it proud of the side & sand it down for match. That means that I have to refinish the side where I have sanded it flush. Not my area of expertise, but I am learning.
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RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to M.S.A.)
Last time when drilling a soundport in the Alhambra 3F I wasnt stable enough and the surface got a little scratched. It enoyed me and now I made it a "little" bit bigger. Maybe I am gonna add some fancy wood artwork...I liked that....or LED inside Anyway I am gonna try to make this a nice beach guitar....for so far it looks good....maybe just a little bigger to really remove the last part of the scratch, but I am already against the bindings so should be carefull I think....
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RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to Ron.M)
quote:
LOL! If your cat ever goes missing...it's probably just sleeping inside the guitar. Cats like new places to doss.
cheers,
Ron
Hahah, funny you say that. Today I received a picture from my sister. The have extended their family with Google and Beagle, the new explorers of the world. They would fit perfectly
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Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to M.S.A.)
hey kozz, you're the most hardcore partier at this soundport party! nice work, how does it sound?
random discovery of the day: i was looking at my soundport today and thought i'd try hitting it like an udu. then i covered parts of the soundhole to get different pitches. it actually works a little!
RE: soundportparty in my patio (in reply to at_leo_87)
quote:
hey kozz, you're the most hardcore partier at this soundport party! nice work, how does it sound?
random discovery of the day: i was looking at my soundport today and thought i'd try hitting it like an udu. then i covered parts of the soundhole to get different pitches. it actually works a little!
cute kittens! can you mail me one of them?
Hee Anthony, I never thought about it like playing as an udu....thats a good idea.... So when will you start your "Never explained techniques from A.T." by A.T.?
I never played the guitar anymore, but for this one it seemd good to have a big hole....I like the upward projection better than the sideward projection....still unshure if the FN will get the same treatment.
Today I will change the tuners, because they are real ****ty....its hard to tune when you got those free gaps in its mechanism. After that I need to make a new bridge and sadle but I'll have to read something more about it how to make them.
The kittens are on the way, fitted perfectly in a standard envelope...
By the way, do you already got an udu, or tried making one?
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