What is a cutaway guitar? It is an acoustic guitar with a cut out in the lower section to allow the players to reach the higher frets. This design is the big advantage it has over the non-cutaways or what we call as the standard acoustic guitars.
Does it have a disadvantage? Acoustic guitars rely in part on its interior body characteristics to deliver sound.
That is the reason why dreadnought guitars have that full and louder volume because it is the biggest acoustic guitars available.
Changing either the size or the shape of the body alters the sound. Either the timbre or the volume of the acoustic guitar will be different.
Cutaway guitars will have slightly less bass response. A lot of guitarists will see that as a more balanced sound. Other guitar players find the tone as too bright meaning too much treble.
Personally, I prefer the cutaways than the non-cutaways. Why? Because I always like the idea to reach the higher frets when playing. The second reason is when amplified, the brighter tone of the cutaways will always cut through the mix when playing with a lot of instruments.
You cannot replace the sound of the Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar playing the rhythm part, but the cutaways tone is really suitable for the lead part.
Among the most popular cutaways is the Taylor 914ce Grand Auditorium. The guitar back and sides are made from Solid Indian Rosewood. Wow!
This tonewood is coveted by guitar players and guitar builders alike for its amazingly dark, luxurious shades that range from brown to purple to rose to black, and for its tonal characteristics that include a stronger bass response and longer sustain.
It is still the most popular tonewood in use. The Sitka Spruce Top being used on this guitar produces a slightly treble tone than the Engelman Spruce. The guitar bridge, the fretboard and the headstock overlay is made out of Ebony.
The nut and saddles are made from bone. Inlays on the fretboard and soundhole rosette are made of Abalone and Mother of Pearl. This guitar is a work of art by itself.
A patented innovation on this guitar is neck angle adjustment. There is no other acoustic guitar which has this feature. It just requires some spacers as it is not glued in place. Very cool feature for a guitar technician like me.
If you are a guitar collector, this is one guitar you should add to your collection as guitars in the future cannot be made like this anymore, considering the dwindling stock of prized tonewoods.
There is even a version of this guitar made from Brazillian Rosewood which is even rarer. It is very hard to find guitars with Brazillian Rosewood these days. If you can find that, that is more than a gem.
Cheers,
Den
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Den, I can not thank you enough for posting this beautiful piece.
I now understand why so many professional musicians are playing cutaways. My Cousin plays on-stage a lot (mostly lead guitar stuff on acoustic) so he pretty much relies on the accessibility of the higher frets badly.
He is using a Cutaway Guitar as it would be an awesome choice for him in this case as it will help him reach the higher frets with ease plus the subtle treble sound that really cut into the mix. I have a question for you though. Would you recommend cutaway guitars if he primarily plays 10th fret or below?
Hi,
Cutaway Guitars are very good for lead stuff because of the accessibility to the higher frets and the tone that cuts into the mix. If you just play rhythm guitar and up to the 10th fret, I would recommend the dreadnought. Nothing beats the sound of a dreadnought on rhythm guitars.
Thanks for the comments,
Den
Hi, I am looking to buy my first guitar ever.
Reading your review did give me some insights to help me making decision.
May I ask, for this kind of guitar, is it hard to tune it?
As I am a complete beginner, I am still struggling with the tuning process. Do you have any tips?
Thank You
Hi,
This model guitar is the best in the market. The tuning machines installed on this guitar is topnotch. Once tuned it will stay tuned. To tune acoustics I recommend you use a clip on tuner. Check my article on this website. https://guitarfretbuzz.com/snark-clip-tuner-review
Thanks for the comments,
Den
Hi Den,
Great article as a guitarist myself I enjoyed reading it.
I first learned to play guitar as a teenager, mainly electric guitar playing hard rock and heavy metal. I drifted away from it for many years until recently my girlfriend bought me a little electric guitar and amp starter kit.
Rather than the heavy metal I played as a teenager tho I tend to strum simple 3 chord songs which my girlfriend sings along with these days.
I may be be looking at an acoustic guitar soon but the thing holding me back is the thickness of the neck and the higher string action on acoustics, is it possible to find acoustic guitars with narrower necks and adjustable action ? Cheers
Paul
Hi Paul,
It is great to hear a metal head shifting to acoustic guitars.Taylor Guitars have slim necks but not as slim as electric guitars though. The neck is a bolt on construction so you can actually adjust the action thru that by adding shims. It is the only acoustic guitar with a neck constructed this way. I love Taylor Guitars.
Thanks for the comments,
Den
Den, thanks for this. I don’t own a cutaway, but how do they stack up versus 12 and 14 fret versions of full body guitars – in terms of fullness of sound? My old beat-up 12 fret Yamaha guitar somehow has a much fuller, deeper sound than my 14 fret Seagull. Do the number of frets affect the sound of cutaways too? And would you recommend a cutaway if you’re not up in those higher frets that much? Your Taylor sounds like a work of art!
Hi Larry,
The fret numbers of the acoustic guitar does not contribute to the sound. Only the size and the shape of the body and the tonewoods being used. The wood used on the neck and fretboard will also contribute to the tone of the acoustic guitar. Taylor makes excellent cutaway guitars. They are full size dreadnoughts but with a cutaway.You just have to pick your model depending on your budget.
Thanks for the comments,
Den
How’s it going Den,
I was happy to run across your site as I’ve been playing guitar for over half my life. I haven’t played acoustic in quite some time but have had plenty of experience in the past. You’re right, there is definitely a sound difference between the cutaways and non, and again I’d much rather play on the cutaway for the very reasons you mentioned. If the Takamine I used to own was a cutaway I’d still have it today, I loved that guitar.
I really enjoyed reading your post!
Thanks
Jon
Hi Jon,
I am glad you appreciate my article. A cutaway guitar is really my guitar of choice for the obvious reason that you can reach the higher frets and its balanced treble sound suitable for playing lead. Taylor guitars are the most popular cutaway guitars. They have a lot of models ranging from budget level to the high end models like the one I featured on this article the, 914ce.
Thanks for the comments,
Den