Guitar Body Styles

rcsnydley
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:23 pm

There are several guitar body style (mini-jumbo, grand auditorium, folk, etc.) also things like acoustic/electric and cutaway/non cutaway.

Which style do you have and why? Do you prefer straight acoustic or acoustic/electric? Is the cutaway important to you or not?

I have a mini-jumbo for the added dynamics and volume. It is an acoustic/electric so I don't have to worry about micing it when I play out or record. I also got it with a cutaway so if I ever learn how to play leads I have access to the upper register.

Ric


Chasplaya
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:39 pm

Hi Ric, My 12 is a dreadnought, two 6's are dreadnought no cutaway and my main guitar is a dreadnought with a cutaway. The Cutaway and the 12 are acoustic electric. The cutaway is my main guitar due to its greated versatility with playing up the neck. I like the idea of acoustic electric as again it adds versatility, for playing at home or jamming with friends. having said that my prefered guitar for Blues and say Neil Young stuff is my Alhambra 6 dreadnought, its aged more and the tone is so warm and has good range. I've often considered gettng it professionally rigged for electric but a bit unsure case I ruin it.


Lavallee
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:52 pm

I only have one accoustic, a Yamaha APX900 acoustic electric with a cutaway. It has a smaller body which, because my 6 pack has turn into a keg, allow me to be closer to the string.I also do mainly finger picking.

I was in this store last week where I tried all kinds of high end ($3-4000) Martin, Taylor, Fender, Gibson, etc.. (I was there for 2 hours in this room alone (playing alone by myself like George Thorogough would say)with all those guitars available. When they all have new strings the sound is just so great. However the various body size was really a confirmation that for me the small body is the way to go. Of course the sound power is not there but I have a good pickup if I need to use an amplifier.


Marc


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Music Junkie
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 6:01 pm

I have an auditorium size acoustic with no cut-out. I also have a half size without a cut-out that I take on hiking trips. I have been looking into something with a cut-out for getting those leads as well. I have noticed though that almost every cut-out style is Acoustic/Electric. I don't really have a need for the electronics. Not that it matters too much I guess, but don't really want to pay for them if I am not going to use them.....


wrench
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 6:12 pm

If I had a choice, I'm with you on the mini jumbo.

For reasons I'll explain in a moment, I have been looking at this in depth over the last few weeks, and I can summarize my observations like this:

* Big body, big sound
* Little body, little sound
* Dreadnaught body, bass dominant
* Jumbo, Folk, Orchestra, etc., flatter response across the frequency spectrum
* Electric can compensate some for mediocre acoustic performance
* Better sounding / higher quality guitars have longer scale lengths

The last point is why I mentioned choice earlier. I have difficulty spanning the four lowest frets, and I wanted to try some guitars with shorter scales. Yamaha makes a few, but not on their better guitars. Seagulls have short scales, but the necks are also wider, negating the ability to span further. Seagull has a narrower neck on their entry level Entourage series, but they are, well, entry level. The necks played OK, but the guitars were otherwise unimpressive compared to their other models. While looking at these guitars though, I was able to compare the dreadnaught and the mini jumbo of the same series side by side, and Ric, I commend your choice of mini jumbo.

I like to play acoustic electric occasionally just to hear some variety in sound. Listening to some acoustic electrics, I found surprising similarity in sound from a surprisingly wide price range of guitars. I was shocked to hear pretty good sound from a $200 Yamaha FX335 plugged in. It sounded like a shipping crate unplugged, though. Right now, when I feel like going electric, I use a cheap condenser mic, and it does a pretty decent job plugged into my acoustic amp. The effects in the amp provide the variety I look for. I only do this occasionally though. Most of the time, I'm chasing clean notes and faster chord changes more than sound effects.

I never thought much about the cutaway, other than wondering about the effect on higher notes. Aesthetically, I prefer non-cutaway. I'll re-visit the cutaway if I ever learn to play up to the fourteenth fret.

The bottom line is I'm playing a dread, but I'm looking for a mini jumbo with electric and a short scale.

wrench


goldleaf
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 6:19 pm

I was looking at Martins awhile back and I wanted to get an acoustic w/single cutaway and I found out that all Martins with cutaways have electronics. Michael Kelley guitars I believe has some very nice acoustics w/o electronics and the price is pretty reasonable. Gary


Guitarmom
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 6:46 pm

With the exception of my 12 string guitars, I am partial to OM / 000 / orchestra sized guitar bodies. I have played all on stage and off and have found the response, sustain, tonality, and the accuracy of the sound is the same. The volume is obviously louder from the Dreadnaught style, but for the type of music I play, and for backing up my vocals, I feel I get a far better warmth and emotion from a smaller body. All of my smaller guitars have LR Baggs iMix pickups, and for amplification I use an AER compact 60 amp.

Rev Kate


haoli25
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:21 pm

I hate to put you on the spot Rev. Kate, (hint, hint) but I
wish you would post a video of one of your performances.


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Music Junkie
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:33 pm

goldleaf wrote:
I was looking at Martins awhile back and I wanted to get an acoustic w/single cutaway and I found out that all Martins with cutaways have electronics. Michael Kelley guitars I believe has some very nice acoustics w/o electronics and the price is pretty reasonable. Gary
Yeah, the martins seem to all have electronics when there is a cut-away. I am sure you could special order something though. My martin is great! I have an all mahogany body 000-15. Perfect size for me to use at home to do what I want to do. The local store actually had an all mahogany with a cut-away and electronics the other day when I was there for about $599 used. It was actually in a lefty too (that never happens for me). I thought really hard about getting it, but I figured it would cause a divorce....

I am not familiar with the Michael Kelly line, I will have to look into them. Thanks for the heads up.

:lol:


AcousticAl
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Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:51 pm

I hear you MJ!

I'm thinking of upgrading my Yamaha f310 acoustic beginner guitar to something better.
Question is- how do I sneak it in the house and pretend I haven't blown the bank??

I saw a Fender CD220SCE (acoustic/electric) in a music store yesterday. It looks NICE- but I didn't get a chance to play it.

Anyone have any experience with one?

Al


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