Acoustic Cutaway

[FatFingerCharli]

Greetings,
I am pretty new to playing the guitar and am wondering about cutaways on acoustic guitars. I understand that one can access further up the fretboard easier with a cutaway but does the cutaway affect how the guitar sounds?
I have not seen many guitars with cutaways at the Bluegrass festivals we have attended the past several years.
If this has been covered before, please point me in the direction of that thread.
I did not find it when I used the search function.
Thank you

[Rosewood99]

There’s some say that there is a slight difference in sound if you’re using instruments to measure those things. But in real world use you can’t tell the difference.

[Kerbie]

I think that's mostly personal opinion, but I once had a well-known luthier tell me cutaways reduced total sound by 15%. Whether or not that can actually be heard may vary.

[Dru Edwards]

Hey Charli, lots of bluegrass players are traditionalists so you won't see as many cutaways as you might in another genre of music.

I think if you want to access those upper frets then try out some cutaways. I've read many different opinions on tonal impacts but I've always thought (perhaps incorrectly) that if there's an impact it is minimal.

[mawmow]

My opinion does not have strong basis as I do not play Bluegrass, but here is my two cents :

Bluegrass would use mostly dreadnough for bigger sound and the player
would not go far up the neck : A cutaway, making the guitar more expensive,
would not be useful.

Fingerstyle players would use smaller orchestra guitar and would climb up
the neck to have access to all scales, so a cutaway is quite a must. In addition,
as orchestra models would project less than dreadnough, they generally leave
the shop with built in pickups (or maybe it appeared as such on the market to
somehow mimic electric guitars ?). Since one may not like the factory installed
pickup, a plain standard body maybe preferred, leaving room for personal choice
electronics.

[DukeX]

A lot of folks like cuts. A lot of folks don't.

If I were you I wouldn't worry about it. None of these people are you.

[Caddy]

I have played primarily acoustics since 1957 and have never been a fan of cutaway acoustics. But then I never play far enough on acoustics to need that, unlike my electrics. I also have never cared for the look of cutaway acoustics.

In the end it is just personal preference. Get what suits you. I would say that if possible get one without the electronics. Normally there are better after market systems and you won’t end up stuck with a stock one that may quit working or become outdated at some point.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by Caddy

I have...never been a fan of cutaway acoustics. But then I never play far enough on acoustics to need that...I also have never cared for the look of cutaway acoustics.

In the end it is just personal preference. Get what suits you. I would say that if possible get one without the electronics. Normally there are better after market systems and you won’t end up stuck with a stock one that may quit working or become outdated at some point.

^^^^^^^^^^
What Caddy said +1.

[sford52]

To paraphrase:

I have...become quite a fan of cutaway acoustics. I occasionally play far enough on acoustics to need that (*), something I couldn't do on a non-cutaway...I also really do like the look of cutaway acoustics.

In the end it is just personal preference. Get what suits you.


(*) My cutaway gives me access to octave "open" chords, a few with odd fingering (e.g. "E" without the bar, just the 3 finger E in the octave position) and octave scales.

[MThomson]

Originally Posted by DukeX

A lot of folks like cuts. A lot of folks don't.

If I were you I wouldn't worry about it. None of these people are you.

This might be my favourite post in the time I've been in the AGF. If be wary about too many people seeing it. If this thinking spreads, it could be the end of the AGF!

[TBman]

Just thinking if someone is playing in a bluegrass band, wouldn't they be plugged in? If so the cutaway has zero effect.

[TwangGang]

The builders of acoustic guitars with cutaways will tell you it doesn't have enough effect on the sound to matter (Taylor). The builders of acoustics without cutaways will tell you that is has a huge negative effect on the sound (Martin).

If you need to play above the 14th fret get a guitar with a cutaway it will make it easier to reach.

@Barry above - on the contrary a traditional Bluegrass band is NOT plugged in (thus the predominance of dreadnoughts and jumbos) all members stand around one microphone and if it's your turn to take a solo you move closer to it to be heard over the banjo, fiddle, and mandolin.

[RussellHawaii]

To my knowledge a cutaway does not detract from a guitar’s volume. Many respected luthiers have said such on the record. Most if not all of the volume comes from the larger lower bout where the bridge vibrates the largest portion of the soundboard.
In bluegrass, tradition and style are very important...most players prefer a major brand dreadnought in the traditional style, to fit in visually and stylistically.
Just my 2c.

[Tannin]

A cutaway changes the sound. This is a fact. Not opinion, not "one person's view", a simple fact, readily verifiable. The best way to do this is to play two otherwise identical guitars side-by-side. The non-cutaway model will be louder and richer in tone. It's not a huge difference, but it is clearly there.

Failing the opportunity to do it in person, there are plenty of examples on Youtube. These three are three using Maton guitars:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-3kA7BUv70
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud77WbYpB8E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0GssktxgBs

Here is another one using Martins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO453mG5c0Q

There are many more, but that should be enough to demonstrate the point.

Beware: it is fashionable here to deny this. I don't know why, but you will see any number of people who claim to be able to hear the very small differences between two different brands of phosphor bronze 12-53 strings, or between a dreadnought and a jumbo, or between Tusq and bone bridge pins, or between paddle and slotted headstocks turn around and say "Oh, no, we can't tell the difference". (See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FypS55b5LhQ )

So that is fact #1: there is a difference.

Fact #2 is that the difference is not huge. It's there but it is not earthshaking.

Fact #3 is that, most of the time, you won't really have a choice. It may be that you are a player who needs that upper fret access. If you really and truly need it (not many people actually do, but there are some) then you have to restrict your buying to cutaway models.

Otherwise, if you are sensible, you'll regard the presence or absence of a cutaway as a fairly minor factor; something to consider after you have decided on more important things like body type (dreadnought, auditorium, etc.), top and body timbers, and manufacturer.

For myself, I would always prefer to have the extra surface area of a non-cutaway and the better tone that brings, but I never let that stop me from buying a guitar I'm otherwise happy with. Of my 5 guitars, 3 have cutaways. The only one I regret is the Messiah 808. Yes, it sounds wonderful exactly as-is, but I often think about trading it in on a non-cutaway one just to make it that little bit better again. I probably won't though.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by FatFingerCharli

Greetings,
I am pretty new to playing the guitar and am wondering about cutaways on acoustic guitars. I understand that one can access further up the fretboard easier with a cutaway but does the cutaway affect how the guitar sounds?
I have not seen many guitars with cutaways at the Bluegrass festivals we have attended the past several years.
If this has been covered before, please point me in the direction of that thread.
I did not find it when I used the search function.
Thank you

Hi FFC

It's been discussed before, and argued about, agreed-with/disagreed-with, and still it's a valid question.

• A cutaway does give better access to higher frets
• Nobody can prove that it affects sound, because nobody can build all-solid guitars which are identical in order to test it (wood's tone varies in identically built models).
• Tradition is what some follow…which is why cutaway acoustic guitars are rare at Bluegrass festivals (but not cutaway Mandolins).
• And when you see the many designs of cutaways you soon realize a cutaway is not a cutaway, or is not like all other cutaways.

It's not in a very resonant/sensitive part of a guitar, but might slightly alter the air-flow or air-mass of an instrument…unless the luthier makes the body a tiny bit deeper to compensate.

How would you go about testing to see if it makes a difference?