Sound hole covers

TonyKgull, actually, on some of the sites I looked at where someone asked the same question as me, stuffing socks into the guitar cropped up as a suggestion more often than I would have expected. That and, 'buy an electric'. Oh, and one person suggested putting an un-inflated balloon in the soundhole and then inflating it. He didn't mention how to get it out again. Wonder what a ballon popping inside a guitar body sounds like...

Or (it suddenly occurred to me) you might try the trick bass players sometimes use to stop strings from resonating and mute them: get a piece of foam and put it under your strings at the bridge. That should cut down the volume a fair amount (though you also won't get any sustain from your guitar at all.)

This is one of the reasons I'd like to get an electric actually.  For when I get the urge to noodle late at night or sometimes even in the middle of the night.  Derick , apparently does this and even has a thing that he can plug headphones into so he can really hear the guitar sound, but no one else can.  Not a bad idea at all. 

acousticguitarcabin.boards.net/thread/25/luteholes


acousticguitarcabin.boards.net/thread/104/lutehole-knock-offs


perhaps those two threads might help?

Luteholes, the brand, has models for 3 loudness levels. Each has different filigree cutouts.

I have a Maple and a Walnut Lutehole, a plywood knock off and a non-decorative rubber one which I was never able to install. .

The lutehole covers looks really nice and decorative on a guitar, but since much (if not the majority) of an acoustic's sound comes for the top's vibrations, they also aren't going to cut the volume that much, as was jamesM 's goal. To quote from their website (http://lutehole.com/index.php): "They fight feedback beautifully and protect your guitar from pick damage. But they won't deaden your soundboard and cut off air flow like other soundhole covers." Translation: they won't significantly cut down the volume of your guitar.

And this, from their FAQs: "Q: How does a LuteHole affect the sound of the guitar?

"A: That depends on the design, but in general they really don't affect the tone of a guitar much at all. In the case of the #02 design it's unlikely you will notice any difference whatsoever. The more of the soundhole that is covered, the more the volume of the guitar will be reduced, but the tone of a guitar is primarily determined by the vibration of the top. The variety of wood and the size and shape of the top are what give an instrument its unique sound. The soundhole size primarily affects the volume of the instrument not its tone. So, the #15 design will reduce the acoustic volume of your guitar a bit (emphasis mine, not the website's) but won't ruin the tone or dampen the sound as much as a soundhole cover that blocks the entire soundhole. The #02 won't affect volume or tone much - if any - and the #01 is somewhere in the middle. Your guitar will still sound great no matter which one you choose. Many people believe their guitar sounds better when they use a LuteHole."

Seems to me that the solution to this problem has become blatantly obvious. '... but I really need to get a Les Paul. I'm just thinking of you...'