Cutaway ?

[David L]

I know very little about guitars and even less about building them, however I'm trying to learn. While at the music store yesterday for my daughters' guitar lesson, I was studying the guitars they have in stock and I made an observation: All cutaways are acoustic/electric and all non-cutaways are not. I'm puzzled as to why this is. Why not a non-electric cutaway and vise-versa? Now, I realize that there may be examples of these out there and I just haven't seen them due to my limited sampling for this observation. There is probably an obvious, logical and perhaps even simplistic reason for this, but the best that I can come up with is helifino.

David L

[Tony_in_NYC]

That's right. Helifino Music in Hell MI he's non electric cut away acoustics.

[Woody OKeefe]

Hi David.
It is purely choice. Some guitar makers like Taylor seem to make all their acoustic electrics with a cutaway. A cutaway makes it easier to play up the neck say above the 10th fret. Other than that it is just for looks. All my guitars have a pickup installed but no cutaway.

[Ken Hundley]

My guess is that somewhere, someone along the way decided that performers are more likely to use the frets past the neck joint than non-performers, and would also require electronics, and decided to standardize that way. Purely a guess on my part, though. My cutaways do not have electronics in them. I can't afford it, and don't perform. I will put them in if someone wants them, but it hasn't happened yet.

[David L]

Thanks Ken and Woody also, that's kinda where I was going with all this, although I have yet to complete my first guitar, I can't help but to daydream about #2,#3,#4, etc... (I'm quite sure I don't hold the patent on that), and somewhere along the way I would like to do a cutaway, Why? cause they look really COOL! I'm just not crazy about that unsightly (my opinion of course) electronics package. So I was just wondering why one couldn't or wouldn't build a non-electric cutaway.

David L

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I've built two standard dreds and put electronics in them. I can't see as that it matters one iotta whether the
guitar has a cutaway or not. I'm almost finished with a cutaway dred (just waiting to put the finish on it), and it will also have electronics in it.
Personally, I prefer the looks of a good old fashion standard shape guitar, minus the cutatway, but if you are going to play
the frets over the body, it sure makes it easy when the cutaway is there.

Kevin