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  #16  
Old 02-12-2020, 11:23 AM
619TF 619TF is offline
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Originally Posted by bufflehead View Post
Maybe it's the music we're playing these days? I have only one cutaway, but I don't often use any frets above ten, and never above twelve. From that perspective, the cutaway is a waste of valuable real estate.

Looks cool, I guess.
Looks aside I think you have that backwards. If your fingerboard has more than 12 then all those frets you're not using is the "waste of valuable real estate"...and tonality.

But, with guitars as in much of life, my policy is "to each their own".
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  #17  
Old 02-12-2020, 11:26 AM
PorkPieGuy PorkPieGuy is offline
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Trends come and go.

We have millions of choices.

Play what you like, and heck with the rest.
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  #18  
Old 02-12-2020, 11:27 AM
Edgar Poe Edgar Poe is offline
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I have a healthy dislike for Cutaway guitars. Does anyone actually use the feature ?

Ed
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  #19  
Old 02-12-2020, 11:35 AM
619TF 619TF is offline
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Originally Posted by Edgar Poe View Post
I have a healthy dislike for Cutaway guitars. Does anyone actually use the feature ?

Ed
Lots of people do. It makes harmonizing with another player easier, adds some more notes to the repertoire and allows for easy duplication of some electric solos on your acoustic.

I know people who feel that a guitar should only have 5 frets as they never venture up more than that. Same perspective as you've suggested here.
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  #20  
Old 02-12-2020, 11:51 AM
Ed66 Ed66 is offline
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Agreed. I find it invaluable for what I play and the way I play. Not having a cutaway is a negative to me - not that it would eliminate a guitar from purchase, but it would make me have to want it more. Additionally I haven't really noticed the trend mentioned by OP, but I have been told I am fairly non-trendy. However, this was by my teen-aged daughters so I'm not sure it's a valid observation.
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  #21  
Old 02-12-2020, 11:54 AM
swampyankee swampyankee is offline
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I bought my 000C-16GTE when cutaways were all the rage back in 2000 or so. I was playing electric in a church band but I was also doing a bunch of solo acoustic stuff so a good acoustic was in order. The Martin fit my hand and played well, and had the electrics I needed. The fact that it was a cutaway was secondary, but since everyone was doing it, it seemed the thing to do.

Looking back, I would've been better long term with a straight up 000-16, and I'm thinking of trading mine for one, but being a lead electric player, I do go up the neck far enough to take advantage of the cutaway.

They're just not cool anymore..
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  #22  
Old 02-12-2020, 11:56 AM
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There is a lot of music that I've played that suggested a capo at various frets. Without a cutaway much of it would be difficult to play.

There's no rule that you have to use a capo in the position noted in the notation, but most of the time the tune sounded best that way.
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  #23  
Old 02-12-2020, 12:20 PM
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They're just not cool anymore..[/QUOTE]

That's what I was thinking.
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  #24  
Old 02-12-2020, 12:37 PM
ManyMartinMan ManyMartinMan is offline
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Originally Posted by tomiv9 View Post
I'm not so sure. Martin just released a big new cutaway model. Bourgeois has been releasing new cutaway models. ..
Not to mention almost every Taylor guitar.
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  #25  
Old 02-12-2020, 12:53 PM
Black-n-Nan Black-n-Nan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgar Poe View Post
I have a healthy dislike for Cutaway guitars. Does anyone actually use the feature ?

Ed
Solo in Bohemian Rhapsody up to 19 fret
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  #26  
Old 02-12-2020, 01:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 619TF View Post
Other than the GP I haven't noticed such a "trend".
I agree. I'm not a fan of cutaways although I definitely see the need for those who play up the neck. I really don't see them going away...
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  #27  
Old 02-12-2020, 01:06 PM
jgottsman11 jgottsman11 is offline
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I've become very attracted to the Bourgeois Soloist model. The minimal cutaway on that is beautiful, to me.
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  #28  
Old 02-12-2020, 01:08 PM
DukeX DukeX is offline
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Like most things, supply and demand.
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  #29  
Old 02-12-2020, 01:22 PM
gmel555 gmel555 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BluesBelly View Post

..........I feel all of the folks that thought they needed an acoustic cutaway back in the day are getting a bit older and their music style has evolved and matured. I find this to be my mindset as I have abandoned my cutaway acoustic guitars (Save for one cut dread and my Archtop Jazz Box) for full bodied acoustics, five of which are OM or smaller and four are 12 fretters.
I have also been concentrating on fingerstyle guitar which has limited use for a cutaway.
Blues
Blues, I've only copied part of your response above, but on the whole, it's a very thoughtful commentary. It raises another question in my mind. When you say [I]"I have abandoned my cutaway acoustic guitars", it suggests that despite what luthiers say about the lower treble bout having little affect on tone, in fact, it does. I ask this because you may not need the cutaway for fingerstyle, but it doesn't get in the way of playing fingerstyle. In theory, if I had a cutaway on which I loved the tone (and feel), I'd still be playing it whether I needed access to the upper frets or not....? In other words a cutaway may be superfluous for most fingerstyle but that shouldn't exclude its use in fingerstyle unless there's something else about it......? Just curious what you and others think.
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  #30  
Old 02-12-2020, 02:00 PM
Christian Reno Christian Reno is offline
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For what it’s worth - Just for fun, I did a quick search on Guitar Center acoustics and only looked at the first 60 guitars displayed in the following ranges. For $2000 - $3000 price range, 63% (38 of the first 60) guitars displayed were cutaways.For $1500 - $2000, 60% (36 of the first 60) displayed were cutaways. Then $1000 - $1500 and 45% (27 of the first 60) displayed were cutaways. Then $750 - $1000 and it was 53% (32 of first 60) displayed as cutaways.

Not sure if cutaways are fading away, but in terms of big-box marketing it would seem Guitar Center is still marketing cutaways at least equally with non-cutaways and maybe a little heavier in the upper price range.
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