Florentine Cutaway..yay or nay?

[LikeASir_]

Florentine Cutaways usually don't look very good. There was one of a Froggy I saw in classifieds a while back that was gorgeous though. Much prefer rounded edges or no cutaway at all.

[Rudy4]

Totally personal preference. I happen to not like them.

Since I do build instruments (including the occasional guitar) it looks to me like a short-cut, like the builder cut out the upper bout and inverted it. A well designed bent cutaway is much easier for me to tolerate, but I wouldn't have one as long as I had a choice.

[The Growler]

I think it depends on the guitar. Sometimes, like on my ES-175, it looks perfect. Other times, not so much. Like a sunburst, it depends on how it's done.

[SprintBob]

I like Florence more than Venice when it comes to cutaways.

[donlyn]

Cutaways are not a feature I value, but if it's a feature of a guitar I want and I have a choice, then make mine a florentine.

Just as long as it's not a Brunelleschi design.

Don
.

[jrb715]

Did the guitar sound great? Then the cutaway was likely part of the reason. I'd get it.

[Silurian]

It's not for me. Pointy bits belong on metal guitars.

[byudzai]

Once I got used to this, the dull blunt lines of a Venetian looked lame to me. All in perspective.

[KarenB]

I'm personally a "nayer" on florentine cutaways. I think the rounded ones can be beautiful. To each their own.

[Wade Hampton]

The Growler stated my own feelings on the matter perfectly:

Originally Posted by The Growler

I think it depends on the guitar. Sometimes, like on my ES-175, it looks perfect. Other times, not so much. Like a sunburst, it depends on how it's done.

I don't automatically like the visual impact of all cutaways on all guitars, just as I think some sunbursts look very cool while I find others distracting, sometimes even borderline hideous.

But that's the advantage of having a free market system: we have so many choices.

My own favorite style of cutaway is neither Florentine or Venetian, but is the cutaway designed for the Selmer Maccaferri gypsy jazz guitars:

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It seems clear to me that Eric Schoenberg drew fairly heavily from the Selmer Maccaferri design when he came out with a cutaway on his Schoenberg Soloist guitars:

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whm

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by jkilgour2000

Played a Taylor 614ce V-braced guitar the other day. It sounded sweet - but it had the Florentine cutaway. I just can’t get excited about it. Thoughts?

HI jkilgour-etc

There is a reason companies offer options. Different customers like VERY different things.

There was a time people here were upset when companies did not offer Florentine cutaways and instead offered Venetian.

For me, if I were looking for a guitar, played a ton of guitars, and the best sounding one I could find had a Florentine cutaway (or no cutaway), it would still go home with me. My experience is after six months, I'm more enamored with the playability, responsiveness, projection, tone, balance, etc than what it looks like.

I own a really beautiful guitar which looks amazing and sounds better. The luthier had the forms for Florentine cutaways, and I play UP THERE a bunch, so I opted for it. I must say it's more beautiful in person than in pictures.

[61cygni]

I like the look of Florentine a lot more... Venetians look like someone left it in the sun and it melted a bit.

[RoseAdi]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

HI jkilgour-etc

There is a reason companies offer options. Different customers like VERY different things.

There was a time people here were upset when companies did not offer Florentine cutaways and instead offered Venetian.

For me, if I were looking for a guitar, played a ton of guitars, and the best sounding one I could find had a Florentine cutaway (or no cutaway), it would still go home with me. My experience is after six months, I'm more enamored with the playability, responsiveness, projection, tone, balance, etc than what it looks like.

I own a really beautiful guitar which looks amazing and sounds better. The luthier had the forms for Florentine cutaways, and I play UP THERE a bunch, so I opted for it. I must say it's more beautiful in person than in pictures.

All of that is fine and good Larry, but can you show us a picture of the back of that guitar?

[islandguitar]

Generally, "no" to Florence!
However, there are differences which catch my eye. Tom Doerr's design brings in a bit more easiness to my eye with his Florentine, kind of brings "that pointy edge" into the guitar to a more coordinated design.
I have one guitar with the Venetian cutaway (Vines Artisan)........I like it a lot, but my preference always seems to go to standard body no cutaway.
I recall that I found the Vines guitar was pleasant and acceptable because of the way the cutaway blended with the overall guitar and especially the lower bout. I feel like my '"eye" is quite sensitive to this when I'm truly looking at guitars in general and the Artisan in particular.

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by jkilgour2000

Played a Taylor 614ce V-braced guitar the other day. It sounded sweet - but it had the Florentine cutaway. I just can’t get excited about it. Thoughts?

I own both and I perform and record with both. In practice it makes no difference to me.

Aesthetically, I like Florentine more since that was the dominant style in the late Seventies when I first began the search for mine (1978 Larrivee). In fact, I never saw a Venetian cutaway in the wild until Larrivee switched to them in the early/mid 90s.

If the visual aspect is keeping you from bonding with the guitar, then accept it and move on. Some of us will think you're nuts, and some will understand. We all have different balances of things we want to hear/feel/see in an instrument. I don't see how hearing opinions is going to change your mind.