Planetwaves O-Port Review
So Davis Guitar kindly asked me to check out the O-port, formally by DMG-Austin, now acquired by Planetwaves. I've seen it and have read about it but never thought of giving it a shot since I was pretty chuffed with the way my guitar already sounded. =) From the manufacturer: "O-Port gives any guitar more clarity, richer sound and brighter notes. It is a unique product of soundwave science that does more than just suppress feedback; with the O-Port, your acoustic guitar will have more clarity, better projection and a sound so enhanced that you will never want to take it out again."
I had once asked someone to demo it for me before and after; he had taken so long to install it (Honestly at least 5-8 minutes) that I had forgotten what the guitar had even sounded like… oh bother. So I took it out in it's simple packaging, with little/no instructions (who needs em) and quickly instead within a minute (HA!). It fits standard guitar soundholes and comes in 2 sizes, the small (3.375"-3.5") and large (3.875-4") though I'm not sure if Davis guitar stocks both so you might wanna measure the diameter of your soundhole before heading down. The Large fit my Taylor GS perfectly. It's a simple flexible plastic cone which sits inverted within your guitar. The only thing visible from the outside would be a thin portion of the lid sitting around the circumference of the soundhole, nothing else is in contact with the soundbox, that's good to know.
Immediately I noticed a difference; not so much sonic, but physical difference. I couldn't put my hand to it but I knew something was different. I removed it and repeated the process, hoping for a better knowledge of what was going on. I felt a different response of the guitar body against my own. It had a faster attack, "snappy" would be the appropriate use to use. The bass had slightly more slam, and I'd say the "meat" of the guitar bloomed more quickly. I also felt the sustain also dropped slightly, coupled with a tad of what I thought was compression- i could hear my Taylor GSRS sound just a little more like it was recorded in a band ( admit it, we have all tried to sound tight and fit well in a band, but on some guitars, it just opens up too much, that's why sometimes maple guitars are favored). Tone-wise, I can't say that it's a world of difference, I felt and heard the above differences, but whether I can say it's warmer, or fuller, or more sparkle and whatever adjective you could use to describe and "improved tone", I'd rather not go there.. It'd probably be more apparent on other guitars, I've read it makes a "cheap guitar sound great, an already great guitar sound pretty much the same". That'll be for you to decide. =)
What really impressed me and justified the $19 price tag is how well it works on stage. Sonic improvements aside, it's a very effective feedback buster. I don't know the physics of it, but it does work. I took it off and set my monitors at what I'd consider pretty loud stage volume and just slowly inched my guitar nearer to the monitors till there was the hint of feedback. With the O-port installed, I could get considerably closer to the monitors, amazing! The only feedback buster I'd use before this was a lutehole cover which is much more expensive and some might not like an extra wooden disc covering the soundhole albeit the usually nice designs. The rubber discs that are readily available pretty much everywhere are the most effective, but kill whatever tone and bass your guitar inherently has.
There you go… Sound wise, I do notice some differences, I can't discern yet if i've a strong opinion bout that, all I can conclude is that it's different. I'm gonna continue leaving it in my guitar just cos it's so low profile and invisible to the outside, and works amazing on stage. For less than $20, it's probably the best feedback killer I can think of at that price range which doesn't affect your tone detrimentally, all the other extras are bonuses.
