Cutaway or not?

[EASDave]

Since I have a friend interested in my current acoustic ( Crafter Lite), I am contemplating a replacement/upgrade.

I was considering a cutaway but got the impression from some that they detract from the sound quality.

Any opinions, please?

Dave.

[JeffS65]

Since I have a friend interested in my current acoustic ( Crafter Lite), I am contemplating a replacement/upgrade.

I was considering a cutaway but got the impression from some that they detract from the sound quality.

Any opinions, please?

Dave.

The answer, it has always seemed to me, is a matter of whether or not you plan on spending time up in those frets. If you are going to more be a chord strummer, may not be a big deal. If you are going to be voicing some chords up there or more so, doing acoustic lead stuff, as a practical matter, a cutaway may need to be your weapon irrespective of the tonal loss (which I don't think will be terribly huge).