Cutaway small body guitars

[johnr]

It seems like Larrivee [and most guitar makers] don't produce a small body cutaway. I guess there isn't a market for them. I am having one made thru Larrivee. A OO model. Doesn't seem like anybody makes something like this,anybody know why?

[B0WIE]

My guess would be, on 00s, people often play blues, traditional folk, and things that don't need high fret access. I do see them. But, it's not as common as with mid sized guitars. The "mini" guitars often have them and that makes sense as those are couch/travel guitars. They are not used for specific styles as much as 00s.

[Silence Dogood]

I love acoustics with cutaways, but it seems like those guitars get pigeonholed.  For example, why is it so hard to find a cutaway guitar without a PUP installed?  It's as if "cutaway" = "stage-ready" or something like that.  This has never made sense to me since most of the acoustics with PUPs are being used by singers or someone out front playing rhythm in a live setting.  Lead work and "playing up the neck" is mostly done on electric guitars in such settings.  Very odd!   Having said that, I love cutaway guitar WITHOUT all the gadgetry and electronic junk mucking it all up.  But they are very hard to find. 

[Queequeg]

I sometimes think of my guitars as falling into two categories.

There are those guitars which I prize for their aesthetic beauty, both visual and aural.
These instruments tend to have neither cuts nor p/u's installed.

And my other guitars which I consider more as tools of the trade.

These have cutaway bodies and electronics for performance purposes.

And I do often play these at home (unplugged)for the ease of access to the higher frets.

[johnr]

I love the cutaways , it's not always necessary . I play out a lot and I will install a K&K MINI in it. No gadgets on it.

[StringPicker6]

I love a Larrivee L with a cutaway.  something about the look of that LV is gorgeous

[jrdavies]

Recording King has made a couple of OO sized cutaways, the RP2-626C and the RP2-729C.  Breedlove makes a cutaway version of their Concertina body size, which is OOish.  Bourgeois makes a guitar they call the Coupe that has a cutaway and is a OO.

I've seen pictures of a Larrivee OOv.  There was a Larrivee OM 12fret cutaway for sale last year on CL.  Not an OO but tempting.  I've never seen a OOOv from Larrivee though.

[B0WIE]

For example, why is it so hard to find a cutaway guitar without a PUP installed?  It's as if "cutaway" = "stage-ready" or something like that.

I think this goes back to what I said about guitars that can "do it all". Marketing-wise, if a player needs a cut-away, they may also want a pickup and want to feel that their guitar is ready for any task. Queequeg's post describes these utility guitars well. People who want a utility guitar are also probably not going for a slotted headstock or 12 fret body joint. I think that's why you see traditional 00s and then you see many mini/parlour guitars that give you 14 frets, cutaways, a pickup, etc. So, you're correct about them being pigeonholed, but from a marketing perspective I totally get it. Most buyers look at features as "extras". I was recently in a chain music store for the first time in a while and was blown away at how 80% of the acoustics were these fully loaded utility guitars.

 But, I'm also a person who finds cutaways unnecessary and refer to classical players who play all over the flat-radiused, 2" wide neck with 12 fret access. There's people like me who want the 00 with 12 frets, slotted headstock, no strap pin, no pick guard if possible, etc. Why? Vibes I guess. It's like driving an old muscle car, or riding a horse. There's something really satisfying about that for me. Raw, basic, beautiful. But, not practical for most.

[Strings4Him]

I love my Larrivee PV-03R 

[William2]

But, I'm also a person who finds cutaways unnecessary and refer to classical players who play all over the flat-radiused, 2" wide neck with 12 fret access. There's people like me who want the 00 with 12 frets, slotted headstock, no strap pin, no pick guard if possible, etc. Why? Vibes I guess. It's like driving an old muscle car, or riding a horse. There's something really satisfying about that for me. Raw, basic, beautiful. But, not practical for most.

I totally agree with this statement. I can even tolerate a 14-fret non-cutaway aesthetically but not a cutaway. I wonder if there is another instrument besides guitar where the players complain about neck thickness, string spacing. or cutting the instrument up for access LOL. I love my 12-fret SD-40RW. Perhaps my only quibble with it is why only 18 frets? There is room for the high B on mine. I think it might be the only reason I play the 14-fret Larrivee. A lot of guitar repertoire uses that high B.

[guitarman001]

Used to think I'd always want a cutaway but whenever hand tried one, preferred the full bodied guitar. Personal preference and it's good we've got options:)

[jpmist]

It seems like Larrivee [and most guitar makers] don't produce a small body cutaway. I guess there isn't a market for them. I am having one made thru Larrivee. A OO model. Doesn't seem like anybody makes something like this,anybody know why?

I recall reading that the Larrivee folks found the OO cutaway too tight to produce perfectly 100% of the time so perhaps too many bodies were tossed out during manufacture or there were too many warranty claims. At the time I read that, every P sized body I saw online had a cutaway so that confused me.

Pono has/had an OO cutaway on offer, but I can't recommend it. Never resold a guitar faster in my life as it seemed it's syrup thick finish muted it quite a bit. Another option is the Taylor X12 Concert series which is very close to Larrivee's OOV size. But I can't recommend those either as the ones I've owned all had Taylor's typical over-brightness in spite of being a 12 fret.

For me that OOV shape is simply more interesting than the symmetrical non-cutaway which of course is just a matter of preference. I've read several times the missing upper bout subtracts nothing from the tone of the guitar compared to a non-cutaway version.

I once went thru an active multiyear search for any Larrivee OOV scanning Reverb and eBay and they're extremely rare. The ones out in the wild came mostly from LA Guitars over a decade ago where the owner had Larrivee produce about 3 special orders of OOV's to sell on his site. The one I have is a favorite, so "from my cold dead fingers" when it's going back in the market.   

[teh]

I will be anxious to see a 00V guitar and hear a report about how it sounds and plays. JP's "from my cold dead fingers" comment says it all. Two of my three Larrivees were ordered with Venetian cutaways and paid for sight unseen and both have exceeded my expectations. When I want to play above the 7th fret, my 12 string (LV03) and my 6 string (LSV03) provide easy access to the upper reaches of the fretboard while my other guitars are all non-cutaway.

Visually and aesthetically, I think the Larrivee L body with a Venetian cutaway looks, feels and plays the best. I had an IBeam pickup installed in the 12 string and an Anthem Dual Source that was installed at the factory on the 6 string. I use a Fishman Humbucking soundhole pickup in two dreads, an OM and a 000 12 fret.

[eded]

I have a PV-03 and at one point I had a OOV-03.  They have made them.  Cutaway is on the custom order list.

Ed

[Silence Dogood]

While I like the look of a cutaway guitar, when I pick one up it's often awkward and I find little need for it.  I've played a standard dread for so long that I'm used to reaching over the edge of the guitar to grab the higher notes on the board.  It's actually part of my technique at this point as well.  A cutaway is almost TOO easy now.
 

[William2]

While I like the look of a cutaway guitar, when I pick one up it's often awkward and I find little need for it.  I've played a standard dread for so long that I'm used to reaching over the edge of the guitar to grab the higher notes on the board.  It's actually part of my technique at this point as well.  A cutaway is almost TOO easy now.
 

Well, if you can play it on a dreadnought, you can play it on anything LOL. If you were really doing a lot of playing up there, I'd want 19 or 20 frets on my instrument in addition to a cutaway. Larrivee only has 18 frets on their small, bodied instruments. I thought I'd check out the Tommy Emmanuel model to see how many frets that instrument has. I couldn't find it on the Larrivee site. Was it discontinued? I did see it at Sweetwater, and it only has 18 frets like other Larrivee 12 fret instruments. While I like my SD-40RW, my main guns are becoming my D-40RW and D-40 as I need that 19th fret for several pieces I'm working on. And you are correct, the cutaway isn't really needed.