The Sound Hole

I used to be curious about why the acoustic guitar has a big hole in the middle and what’s in the hole. So I would throw stuff inside my mum’s old guitar, turn it around and shake the things out. And my mum used to hang the guitar on the wall so I would swing it like a pendulum until the guitar is scarred in curve marks at the back. It was a total abuse on my part but I didn’t know better. If anyone is caught doing that to my guitar, I would kill them!

I never really like my mum’s guitar though. It’s not comfortable on the grip and the tuning pegs seriously need oiling. Each time I try to tune it, I feel like the strings are on the verge of snapping. So the whole process of tuning is torturous for me as if I’m the one being stretched.

In the sound hole, you can see the guitar’s detail. Above is an Aria which was made in Japan. This is mum’s old guitar. It doesn’t have a pick guard so it’s purely a classical guitar. Below is an acoustic guitar manufactured in Indonesia. This guitar is good for pretty much anything acoustic. It is also my regular guitar.

However, I found a guitar recently that I have come to love, although it’s not mine. Below is a J&D from Taiwan and is sort of a semi-acoustic, which is just an acoustic with built-in pickups. Why I like the guitar so much? Its body is composed mainly of maple wood and is slender in design. Plus when plugged, and bass and treble adjusted, it’s just melody to the ear.