Cutaway Dreadnought | 2024
This custom guitar was commissioned several years ago by a musician in southern Germany. The dreadnought form is my own interpretation of the classic form, rounded more at both the upper and lower bouts for aesthetic reasons and given a slightly tighter waist. The real challenge was to find a solution for the cutaway that was aesthetically acceptable. Not beautiful, but just acceptable. While my preference is still for non-cutaway guitar shapes, I think this take on the Venetian cutaway works quite well, forming a pleasing point and echoing other curves in the guitar’s shape. The simple, straight bridge was an homage to early 20th century forms.
* This guitar was commissioned before I had learned enough about the environmental and moral harms of tropical woods such as these, even when they are imported with all the appropriate paperwork. I wouldn’t build with these wood ever again and I hope others will stop as well.