Am I the minority these days????? Cutaway vs. Non Cutaway

I have always preferred the non cutaway on my acoustics.
It seems more and more companies have made the cutaway the standard now for the acoustics and even more so on the Acoustic/electric.
Just interested where you guys and gals are at on the subject.

I'm not sure I'd call it a standard. Taylor likely has a lot to do with it because their guitars are insanely popular due in no small part to marketing and artist use. My Taylor doesn't have one, though.


Also, here's the back to passify people ready to give me grief for owning a Taylor. Also, I don't care if you don't like my Taylor.



Wait... what were we talking about? Oh yeah - cutaways. From a looks standpoint I'm not a fan.

Hey, I'm good with non-cutaway. I don't play way up there often, but I can reach the high "A" for a lead lick on my non-cutaway if I need to. Actually, I don't play much above the high "E" even on my electric.

Sweet. That ain't no entry-level Taylor!

dreadnut said:

Sweet. That ain't no entry-level Taylor!

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it was cheaper than the high end models but certainly more than the lower end stuff. It’s a DN-K and it’s my Wayne’s World guitar because it was under glass and I had to ask for them to take it out. I had been searching because I had played an 812 that was just magic and when I went back to buy it it was gone. I searched for months in about a 75 mile radius and found this one in PA. After playing all the Taylors on the wall including a couple of 9xx models, None of them sang to me, but this one hit me like a ton of bricks. It has no electronics, either.

Also most of the ones I see for sale have three piece backs. Mine seems to be a rarity.

Didn't buy the J-185 for the cutaway. Bought for the tone and playability. The cutaway is pretty much a useless feature being the body is as thick as it is.
The D-25M is the first acoustic I ever owned. The lack of cutaway doesn't bother me either.

Th

What model is that GAD? So nice to find a gem like this one!

What year is your D25 Velvet? Looks like my '76 but different tuners.

My five acoustics are non cutaways but must admit every once in a while a burst cutaway "yanks" hard at me.

dreadnut said:

What year is your D25 Velvet? Looks like my '76 but different tuners.

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Mine is 1979 Gave it an overhaul when Covid started. Put on Grover milk bottles. Guitar has been through a tough life. But still booms like a cannon.

Trying to get back on track here, not that I'm not super happy to see Gary's Taylor because I am and I love my Taylor as well. But now that we've fallen on "What year is your D25?" I've got to get us back on track. I love a good cutaway!! I do. And I love that asymmetrical look they give a guitar but I'll also be honest and say what a fuss I can be about a cutaway!! A cutaway has to be done right and look good. Taylor does beautiful cutaways. Guild has done some great cutaways and some not so great. And I pretty much hate all cutaways on dreads. They just look so awkward and wrong!! That square dread shape doesn't lend itself to a cutaway in my mind. As far as playing is concerned which is supposedly why they were created, for access, for all my love of a good cutaway, I only have one out of five guitars. I'd take a cutaway on either my Taylor or my Breedlove but when I purchased them it wasn't an option without going into huge expense. Lately, I started working on Joni Mitchell's "Taming The Tiger" which takes you on the regular to the 14th fret and 12th fret. I'm playing it on my Washburn which is my only cutaway and it's easy as can be, so it must work. I can get to 12 fairly okay without a cutaway because that's fairly common for me. Here's the Washburn which I think is a beautiful guitar with a very nice cutaway. And an oval soundhole which I love as well!!


As far as preference of style, I prefer a Venetian cutaway to the sharp Florentine cutaway, but the Florentines can be nice.

So my summary is "Yes, I love a good cutaway, but I'm a fuss and I'd rather have no cutaway than a bad one." I judge them mostly on a case by case basis.

Cutaway on an acoustic guitar is forbidden in my house.

I've owned a few, still do but I've passed on a ton of dred and jumbo cutaways.

No issue on smaller gits...not that I take advantage of the higher frets

Cutaway, schmutaway...

I have had both, but I love the reach on my '11 NH F-30RCE. The guitar is all around great, the cutaway is a nice bonus.

Hey, there it is in my avatar!

walrus

I am about to enter the world of acoustic cutaway guitars.
I have a guitar in the shop to have the neck angle corrected.
It is a custom build by a local builder/friend.

I have never cared for the looks of a cutaway but I got this guitar for a great deal and decided to give it a try.
If it doesn't grow on me, I will be able to sell it for a lot more than I paid for it.

I don't like cutaways because I'm not good enough to play up there.

I dig the cutaway. It's a little more rock-and-roll looking than a non-cutaway. I don't plan on using those upper frets, but to me it looks cool

dreadnut said:

What model is that GAD? So nice to find a gem like this one!

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Taylor DN-K.