a cutaway ,does effect the sound?

[john south5yahhogr]

hi michael and guys?i have a new question-a cutaway ,does effect the sound of a guitar(especialy a dobro style) or maybe the volume of the sound of it? thanks!

[Deleted]

A cutaway will affect the sound to some degree, as it reduces the internal volume of the guitar and the area of the resonating top. This last point is of less concern with a resonator guitar, as the the vibration of the top of the guitar isn't as significant a contribution to the sound as on a conventional flattop or archtop guitar. The reduction of the internal volume will probably affect some of the bass and midrange overtones, but the only way to make a really accurate comparison would be to compare two guitars that are absolutely identical, one with a cutaway and one without. Typically, it's not a fair real-world comparison, because there will be a host of other factors between two different guitars. If you are thinking about models such as the National Radiotone Bendaway or the Reso Rocket, you'd have to compare them to the nearest thing, which would probably be an Estralita or...I don't know what in the case of the Reso Rocket. Having said that, the Bendaway has different shaped soundholes to the Estralita, the Reso rocket has lattice soundholes not f-holes, so already thats another variation to complicate matters. Typically with a regular guitar, I think players who were going for all-out volume would want a big bodied non-cutaway (one of the reasons Martin's dreadnaught got so copied), but with a reso, it's not so clear cut. I'm speaking theoretically here, as I've only played a Bendaway, and didn't have another National to compare it with at the time - anyone want to chip in with some real-world playing observations? Just a thought, have you listened to National's CD which gives sample tracks of all their guitars? It's the nearest thing you can do to get some idea of the different sounds produced by these guitars without actually being in a showroom and testing every single model they make.

[john south5yahhogr]

thanks chickenbone , interesting about the cd ,too!