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#31
11-20-2017, 11:55 AM
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On my D-18 I venture up to the 12-14 fret once-in-a-while but no further. And only on the high E and B strings. Any lower notes you should be able to find down the neck. If I need higher notes I switch over to my mandolin.
 I have a cutaway parlor 12 fret and I do take advantage of the extra real estate on that guitar quite a bit but I don't think it is much of an adjustment for me. Yes, technique is the answer to make that adjustment. I can find most all the notes I need below the 12 fret although I do spend a fair amount of time between the 5th and 10th frets, too. It really means you need to play a dread a bit and decide for yourself if you can adjust or not. Is that beautiful dread tone worth it? It sure was for me but that access was never really a consideration. Love my D-18!
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2019 E6/10OM Eastman (adi topped E6) 2016 Martin D-18 (Centennial) FG700 Yamaha Dirty 30's Parlor 7 series 2007 Redline Rambler Square Neck Resonator https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB1...K6oxpANeRr1_oQ 
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#32
11-20-2017, 12:58 PM
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Cutaway or No Cutaway?
When I bought my first acoustic, I had to have one with cutaway because I like to tweedely weedely on my electric. 5 years later, and I rarely use the upper frets on my acoustic, but it’s nice to have I guess.
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#33
11-20-2017, 01:15 PM
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IMO it depends entirely on your playing style. I wouldn't miss it for fingerpicking, but they are a definite asset for slide.
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Tony D http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...?bandID=784456 http://www.flickr.com/photos/done_family/
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#34
11-20-2017, 01:16 PM
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I love the look of a non cutaway. However after recently picking up a Taylor with a cutaway I realized how much I like to have the access to solo up in the G minor- A major territory
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#35
11-20-2017, 01:34 PM
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Quote:
I use a fairly simple strategy. Guitars that come with no pickup? No cutaway. Guitars with a pickup? Cutaway. Typically I would only buy a guitar with a pickup if I intended steady use it in a gig situation. If I can get up there, I go further up the neck. Acoustic only are usually for my use, limited small settings or very limited mic'd situations, though many years ago I played non-cutaway mic'd all the time. If I can't get up there, I don't go up there. On a non-cutaway with a 14 fret neck, you get some access at the 12th fret. On a non-cutaway 12 fret, like all of my acoustic only nylon string guitars, it is pretty tough to do a lot at or above the 12th. Just means it is time to adjust how I play. So both cutaway and non-cutaway are OK by me, both work. A D18 is about my favorite steel string so I know how I'd be thinking. hunter hunter
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#36
11-20-2017, 01:48 PM
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I have a D-18 and Love it, but it seems to me you answered your own question. If you play up high on the neck, keep the cutaway!
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Fender "58" Re-Issue American Precision Bass, , , 2014 Martin D-18, 2009 Rickenbacker 330 Mapleglo.. 1967 Fender Bassman with 2x12 Cabinet,.. Fender Tweed Lacquer Blues Junior. "And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain"?
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#37
11-20-2017, 01:56 PM
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I use the cutaway upper fret access. So I have two cutaway OM's (Martin OMC-18E and Collings OM2H Cutaway. I also have a non cutaway Collings OM1A.
The OM1A might be my best souding acoustic. But when I go to gig, what do I grab first? The cutaways. If you are asking whether you need a cutaway or not, ..the question tells me you do use the upper fret access. Non Cutaways are harder to deal with up high. No getting around it. If you find a dread who's tone speaks to you so much that it offsets the value of a cutaway, buy and play the Non Cutaway for the tone knowing it will present challenges for playing higher above the 12th fret.
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Martin DC-18E (Ambertone) Martin HDC-28E Martin D-18 (2015) Collings D1 Traditional Emerald X20 Fender CS '63 Telecaster Custom Collings I-35LCV Collings I-30LC Collings 290 www.heartsoulaz.com
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#38
11-20-2017, 01:57 PM
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Quote:
Answering my own question, I suspect most folks buy what they like or, more to the point, what they run across and can afford and they don't care much about a cutaway or not. (I don't believe AGF folks are not that representative of "most folks" on that.) By the same token, most don't use the pickup that was such a selling point when they were looking. Pickups are mostly used on stage and most folks only get there when they are congratulating a performer. On the AGF here, it's safe to say that a greater portion of folks are more advanced than is representative of the rest of the guitar-owning world, so I am speaking in a far broader way. Back to cutaways, quite a few folks dislike the sight or them, and a surprisingly large few love their looks, but the greater share don't seem to have strong opinions one way or another. I think that though this last group has no real use for a cutaway, they vaguely hope they might at some point, so it becomes a minor selling point. Look at how many beginner guitars feature both cutaways and pickups. And look at how many are dreads. These things sell and because they sell, beginners feel they are somehow needed, something of a self-perpetuating cycle. Some of these beginners will go one to actually need and use these things, but the majority will remain content to strum along on cowboy chords - and there is not a doggone thing wrong with that as long as you are happy. After all, music is supposed to make us happy.
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#39
11-20-2017, 02:20 PM
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The correct answer is yes.
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#40
11-21-2017, 08:05 PM
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I have to thank everyone for their input - I sure got a debate going didn't I??
I went to my local store and played a D-18 today. Man that thing was NICE!!! I was on my lunch break and the sales guy had to go find one downstairs so I might have played it for 15 minutes. I was having a "hands feel like they never touched a string before" kind of day though. Totally not in the groove  My takeaway on the D-18. Rings like a bell. No comparison between a richlite and ebony fretboard. Light. Stellar!! The cons: not sure I can do a dreadnought sized body. Two days ago, I was really thinking hard about throwing caution and personal finances to the wind and just getting that guitar. Today, I crashed down to reality. Hey, it happens I'm a closet picker, never played in a band and financially, right now I gotta get some bills paid off first. So, I have a GPCPA4 Rosewood, what's wrong with that? Probably because I came from noodling on my strat for 20 some years, the scale length is still an adjustment. The neck is wider than the Yamaha I own as well, so that is a factor. It sounds amazing really. It doesn't ring like a D-18 but it has a lot of features that the dread doesn't. Why would I even think of parting with it? I can see myself leaning maybe towards a 00 style body - quite the opposite of a dread no? If one calls my name, who knows right? Stay tuned........ Thanks again for all your thoughts, greatly appreciated. This is a fantastic community here. Give yourselves a pat on the back  Cheers
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#41
11-21-2017, 08:29 PM
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Perhaps this guy could teach you a thing or two about playing up the fretboard without a cutaway...
https://youtu.be/Pgb4AvMWNYE
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#42
11-21-2017, 09:02 PM
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Quote:
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#44
11-21-2017, 09:17 PM
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If you loved the D-18 but aren’t sure about the dreadnought size, you owe it to yourself to play the 000-18. It is every bit as fantastic. I was really surprised when I played it and if I didn’t have my heart set on a D-18 (hoping to get that next spring), I’d be obsessing over it right now.
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#45
11-21-2017, 09:35 PM
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Many Martin standard series now come with cutaways and electronics. It's their attempt to get in with the Taylor crowd. If possible try a DC-18E, it's a D-18 with a cutaway and built in electronics. Or an OM or a GPC, with a cutaway and electronics. Martin is building some good stuff, and you owe it to yourself to get what you really want.
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Pura Vida 2011 Martin M-36 2016 Martin GPC-35E 2016 Martin D12X1 Custom Centennial 1992 Takamine EF-341C, great for campfires 85 Gibson Les Paul Custom 82 Gibson SG 96 Fender Clapton Stratocaster 91 Fender Deluxe Telecaster Plus 86 Fender MIJ E-series Stratocaster
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