Acoustic Guitar FAQ's on the Archtop Guitar and F Soundhole Guitars

Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2004 13:26:53 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: F Holes?

Folkwood,

Can you tell me some pros and cons of having F holes
in your acoustic guitar instead of a regular sound
hole? What are the purpose of F holes? Are they
better?
Are guitars with them more expensive? How is the sound
diffrent than with a regular sound hole?

I hope you have time to answer my email,
Thanx,
Jenna

Greetings Jenna,

Glad to assist:

The F soundhole guitar was common in big band settings...it was usually called the archtop guitar...and, even to this day, most all archtop guitars usually have the f soundholes. Now, the biggest advantage to having an archtop f soundhole guitar is for projection...these guitars are known to cut through a large wall of sound; hence, this is the main reason these were so popular in the big band settings of yesteryear...today, many jazz guitarists still play the archtop f soundhole guitar...only usually with magnetic pick-up systems.

An archtop f soundhole guitar is not necessarily more expensive...it really depends on the make...most of the vintage ones, with respectable names such as Gibson, are quite expensive...however, you can find older Harmony's that are relatively inexpensive...

The sound of an archtop seems to be less resonate than a standard acoustic guitar...they don't seem as alive...they do have more projection...only they do not appear to be loud...this is deceptive, for once they're comped in a larger band setting, it's really surprising when the slice through with full presence.

Hope this helps, Mickey