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I'm curious what people's thoughts are on cutaway guitars.
Does the cutaway significantly affect the sound and feel of the guitar? is the change in internal air volume compensated with a deeper or wider body? does the change in air volume in the upper bout really matter if all else is the same? is the only significant difference between two otherwise identical guitars (one cutaway, the other traditional) in easier access to higher frets?
There are no definitive answer for your question. Jose Tanaka and Jason McGuire both use a cutaway and their guitars sound terrific. But, their guitars are also made by very good luthiers. I haven't seen any good cutaway on the low end. Most people will agree that you lose a bit of volume but you get more room to wiggle around in the upper register. You win some, you lose some.
Cutaway guitars sound less punchy to me, and I am almost positive they take away from the sound a little bit. I don't think cutaways are necessary when playing flamenco, the highest I have ever gone is to the 14th fret while playing, and that is really easy to do even without a cutaway
The cutaways I've heard that were made by Glenn Canin for Jason McGuire break the the stereotype of what a cutaway is perceived to be. I think if you heard these guitars in a blind test you would not be able to distinguish them from regular full body guitars.
There is a reason to be able to play way up the neck in flamenco, if you accompany and set your falsetas in the upper registers you may want a cutaway if you have to play solea with a cejilla on the 5th to 7th fret.
I'm a big fan of having a cutaway on my steel string guitars. There is really not much if any effect on the sound. Of course, it's easier to reach the higher frets, but it's NOT the same as just playing on the neck. It's still not easy or natural to play those higher frets.
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