To cut or not to cutaway?

Tannin

In another thread, the topic of acoustic cutaways came up. Rather than derail that thread with a side-issue, I've quoted the relevant parts below and added my little rant.

Haych said:

Cutaway or non-cutaway, is there that much difference in tone/volume if the guitar has a cutaway?

ToneControl said:

Not in a well-made one. Might also be fine for cheaper ones, I don't know. Cutaways cost extra to make though, so it will make a difference to what you get for the cash, especially if buying new

stickyfiddle said:

Cutaway acoustics are for rock bands who still try and do the twiddly bits when they play songs acoustically. I’ve had 1 cutaway followed by 3 non-catuways. I don’t miss it at all.

Haych said:

Like I say, I doubt I'd ever need one. That said, some manufacturers don't seem to give you much of a choice. Many Taylors, for instance, seem to come with them whether you like them or not, or at least the cutaway flavour is offered as standard with a non cutaway version offered on an extended lead time.

ToneControl said:

I don't need them normally, but helpful on a 12-fret guitar when using DADGAD.

A cutaway changes the sound. This is a fact. Not opinion, 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. The first three below use Maton guitars, the next one Martins, but there are plenty with other makes too if you feel like searching for them. 

Bottom line: if you play two otherwise identical guitars, one with cutaway, one without, the non-cutaway one will normally be a little louder and have a noticeably better tone.  

The cutaway costs some extra money and lets you play some high notes with bad tone. (If you want to play stuff on the dusty end, buy an electric. Electrics sound good on the high frets.) On the downside, it robs the guitar top of surface area and that impacts both tone and volume. Some people remind us that the upper bout is less important than the lower bout (which does indeed do the heavy lifting) and they are right, but if upper bouts didn't do anything at all for sound, guitars would be shaped like banjos, and they are not. Upper bouts are there fore a reason.

Beware: in some circles it is fashionable to deny all this. I don't know why, but you will meet 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 blindfold, or between Tusq and bone bridge pins, or between paddle and slotted headstocks - but ask these same people about a cutaway and they will turn around and say "Oh, no, we can't tell the difference". (See here: )

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.  

I used to like cutaways. I'm not sure why, mostly I think it was because they look nice, and maybe a little bit of "Well, I haven't wanted any of those dusty-end notes in the last 50 years of playing, but perhaps I better have it just in case." It wasn't until 2019 when I was shopping for a second acoustic, playing everything in town, that I started to twig. I kept playing different guitars and when there were two of the same model, noticing that I liked playing the good-looking cutaway version less than the non-so-sexy non-cutaway one. It is a consistent pattern. Now that I've learned about it, I would always prefer to have the extra surface area of a non-cutaway and the better tone that brings, but I don't let that stop me from buying a guitar I'm otherwise happy with. Of my 5 current guitars, 3 have cutaways. The only one I regret a bit 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. 

TrevinDevon

Tannin said:

I used to like cutaways. I'm not sure why, mostly I think it was because they look nice, and maybe a little bit of "Well, I haven't wanted any of those dusty-end notes in the last 50 years of playing, but perhaps I better have it just in case." 

So true! Had to be a 14-fret cutaway - so how am I happiest now playing my 12-fret full bodies?