How many can't live without a cutaway?

[Mooh]

I like to have at least one for upper fret access. To that end I have a House steel string and a Cervantes nylon with cutaways. Other than that I prefer non-cutaways, not so much for looks as price, personal tradition, and chance.

[Wade Hampton]

Since I’ve never been an electric guitarist but always played acoustic instruments, I used to assume that once I got a guitar that had a cutaway that it would transform my playing. Since I could reach higher, I would automatically take advantage of those upper frets that are fairly inaccessible on non-cutaway acoustics.

But once I finally got a guitar with a cutaway, I discovered that I really didn’t care much for the tone of those notes way up there. They just sounded to my ear as though the guitar had a soundboard of cardboard or styrofoam instead of the spruce top creating the rich sound of the rest of the notes in the instrument.

On a solidbody electric guitar, of course, the magnetic pickups do all the work generating the sound, so the tone achieved in that transition from the lower notes to way up the neck is seamless. On an acoustic guitar, though, the only energy input is the mechanical vibration of the strings, and when the strings are shortened so drastically, they can’t generate much energy.

I have seen some fine players do remarkable things playing up the neck of their acoustic guitars, but I just couldn’t get it to sound where I like it.

So I traded that guitar off and have never owned another cutaway acoustic guitar.

More power to those of you who have the chops to take advantage of a cutaway - I salute you, but I won’t be joining you. If I want to play in that upper register I’ll play mandolin or mountain dulcimer or, everybody’s favorite, five string banjo.

The banjo is such an unrelenting assault on all that is true and beautiful that playing way the neck on one just compounds the general assault on the senses that playing banjo entails!

Short version: I think cutaways on acoustic guitars are a great idea for those of us who can take advantage of the access they offer. I’m just not one of those people.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

PS: Even though I’ve never bought or traded for another acoustic guitar with a cutaway, that’s just been happenstance. If a cutaway guitar happened along that I liked enough to buy, the cutaway wouldn’t stop me from buying it.

[llew]

I could see the need on a 12 fret model if you're playing up in that region of the neck. But I'm not a fan of cutaways in general.

[mikealpine]

I'm a strummer/singer. When I play acoustic guitar on my own, I rarely go above a 7th fret barre chord. When I play in an acoustic duo, I'm up above the 12th fret often, adding single note fills or doing some kind of short acoustic lead break. I'm sure I could get away without a cutaway, and my audience would never know the difference between what I wanted to play and what I wound up playing, but I would miss it for my own enjoyment.

[Kerbie]

I'm not a fan either, but I don't hate them. I couldn't figure out how to vote since I don't really fit a category. I enjoy going above fret 12, but I can usually do it without too much struggle. I've heard builders say that some tone is lost which I imagine is true, although it is difficult to discern. I don't prefer the looks of a cutaway, but it wouldn't make me turn down a particular guitar.

[madison]

My only cutaway is a nylon string Alvarez with pickup. My six steel string guitars are all traditional. I prefer the traditional look, I rarely use a capo, and I can't help but feel the cutaway compromises the soundboard. Nevertheless, I've come to feel that I should have at least one cutaway for fingerstyle, and I'm currently in the market for a mahogany cutaway.

[LeDave]

I only have one guitar and it's a cutaway. My next guitar might not be because I've grown into liking the full shape from looking at too many photos of it on AGF. It just looks much classier and cooler.

[boneuphtoner]

For my feeble playing, I certainly don't need a cutaway as I've only had to play up to the 12th fret for one song in my 3 year guitar journey. I like the look on some of the cutaways, some others not so much. I voted that it doesn't matter to me

[lossforgain]

My first higher-end guitars were Takamines and then Taylors. They all had cutaways, so that was attractive to me for a long time. Somewhere between 5-10 years ago I gravitated toward Martin and later Gibson, and most of the guitars I was buying didn't have cutaways. Now I find that a cutaway is not a plus for me, but there's nothing pragmatic about that since I seldom play my acoustics up that high. It's mostly a question of looks. I still think Taylors look better with a cutaway, but Martins don't look right with one.

[Bob Womack]

Most of mine have a cutaway. I've always played both acoustic and electric so when they began being available I was tickled. I find that when I am working out new arrangements as an auxiliary multi-instrumentalist or lead player and I'm playing inversions of the cowboy chords the singer/vocalista or rhythm player is using, that I end up near the upper end of the neck and my wide palms start banging away at the body.

It isn't always a deal-breaker but I prefer cutaways.

Bob

[Dru Edwards]

I could live without a cutaway since I usually don't use those upper frets. I'm glad I have one though.

[brijas99]

I'm not a fan of the cutaway on an acoustic guitar. Probably because I rarely play acoustic beyond the 10th-12th fret. The other reason is because to me, the cutaway just looks off, it just doesn't look right. The cutaway never appealed to me is all.
Now all of my electrics have double cutaways, they look great to me and I'm always above the 10th-12th frets. Go figure.....

[rllink]

I can and do live without one. That was the question, right? As far as the poll itself, " I couldn't care less" is the closest answer, although I guess that I do care, I'm reading this thread. Mine does not have one and I do not intend to buy another guitar right now so that I can have one that does.

[islandguitar]

I find that in addition to tone and general appearance of a guitar, my eye is quite sensitive to the various examples of a cutaway. I generally do not prefer one, but I do have one guitar that has a Venetian cutaway that worked for me. I'm not usually above the 7th fret, even with a lot of capo work, so it's not a functional issue for me....much more preference than anything else.

[jklotz]

I'm a fingerstyle player. Most of my guitars do not have a cutaway, and I'm up past the 14th fret regularly. I sometimes use the neck heel against my palm as a reference point.

The only place where I feel they are necessary, for me anyway, is on a 12 feet guitar.