I heard the O-Port sounds good (pun unintended), but hearsay is one thing, actually having a product performing in the real-world is another.
So today we sat down to give the O-Port a good workout, to see if it really is as good as it claims.
For the uninitiated, the O-Port is new product hailing for the USA that is currently making some serious waves in the guitaring community.
It's basically a device that fits directly into your soundhole, with the simple and noble aim of improving your acoustic guitar's sound.
The following is the official literature from O-Port.
The O-Port installs in minutes.
No wires.
No installation kits.
Simply loosen the strings and snap the O-Port into the soundhole.
Instantly have:
- fuller sound
- better clarity
- more volume
- suppresses feedback
HANDLING TEST:
So let's see if it holds up to its claims.
The phrase 'installs in minutes' is vague, 120 minutes would similarly fall under that same phrase.
It took me all but 5 minutes to loosen my strings, pop the O-Port in, tighten and re-tune the strings. I think the longest part in this process is the loosening and re-tuning. But since these are simple, routine tasks, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
If you are wondering how to fit that huge cone of a thing into the miniscule soundhole, well, the O-Port is plastic and it's flexible. You just somewhat fold it slightly and slot it in. Much of the O-Port resides inside your guitar, there is very little of it actually showing once fitted, so unless you tell someone you've an O-Port fitted, chances are that they wouldn't visually notice it being there at all.
So, case in point. No wires, installation kits and it's a simple, discreet install.
TONE TEST:
UNPLUGGED:
Moving on to how it affects the tone of your acoustic guitar.
Playing it unplugged, I noticed something different right off the bat. Not overt, but noticeable.
The guitar sounds fuller and meatier, more body.
Clarity-wise, I seriously cannot tell the difference.
It surely helps with the projection though, the guitar is audibly louder.
Another thing is that I can physically feel an increase in the vibrations, reverberating through the body and even on the neck. That is surely a good thing.
So in conclusion, unplugged, it helps with giving you a fuller tone and a kick to the volume.
The difference, as mentioned, is audible enough that you don't have to scrunge your face and concentrate to hear it, but it's not a 'day-and-night' kind of thing here.
PLUGGED-IN:
When plugged in though, it's a very different story and I was very pleasantly surprised.
The O-Port gives the guitar a serious boost in the clarity department, when I say clarity it means that I can make out the different notes when I strum a chord. The separation is impressive, to say the very least.
I don't know if it's my imagination, but to me, the guitar sounds harmonically richer and has more extension.
The point about it suppressing feedback holds up as well, as we all know, there are a lot of factors to feedback.
But I know for a fact that this guitar that I'm using now tends to start wailing when I go too near to this particular amp.
This makes for the ideal test, and the O-Port passed with flying colours, since the feedback induced was greatly reduced.
The increase in volume is even more audible when plugged in, this is probably due to the O-Port enhancing the signal being sent to the internal pickup. Granted, you can turn up the volume with your volume knob. But more volume isn't the main thing about the the O-Port enabling a stronger signal. The stronger signals help significantly with the tone, and following in the same trend, the difference in fullness and richness very marked when plugged-in.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, the O-Port is something I would want in my guitar.
I like that it's a simple and hassle-free install that is non-invasive. And the clincher is that it helps improve the sound of my guitar, an improvement that I can actually hear.
Additionally, the O-Port comes in various sizes, so there's one that fits for almost for every guitar.
As always, don't just simply take our word for it. Come try it out for yourselves at any of our Maestro stores and hear the difference for yourself.
regards,
Phil
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