Cutaway
on your acoustic or no cutaway? Here’s the skinny to help you make that decision.
Over the centuries, the guitar was ‘optimized’ to the shape that we now know as
the double O shape. In the early 20th century, the guitar was redesigned to the
Dreadnought shape. In the latter half of the 20th century, the cutaway appeared
on the dreadnought, allowing greater access to the frets above the twelfth. Is
there loss of tonal response with a cutaway? A little – but the frequencies that
are attenuated are all in the bass sector. As the bass has always been a problem
area when mic-ing or recording the acoustic guitar, many artists now use their
acoustic cutaway for all recording dates and live performances. |
