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I ran across this photo today and it made me ask, why? The cutaway itself is kind of cool in that it cuts further into the top than into the back with the side making a twist as it approaches the side of the neck. But the purpose of the little scoop on the edge of the cutaway escapes me. It looks like it's well executed, but it seems like a lot of added work, for what?

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

My guess is the builder tried playing on a non-cutaway and studying exactly where his hand made contact with the shoulder of the guitar, and that's the place. I just checked and it looks about right for me too. So that little scoop gives the most added reach for least internal volume lost.

That might explain it. The Venetian cutaway I use on some of my guitars gives direct access to up through the 17th fret. When I finger the 17th fret with my little finger, the edge of my hand comes no where near contacting the edge of the upper bout where that mini-scoop is located. The edge of my hand is right up against the side of the neck. However, fingering the 17th fret with my little finger on a 14 fret non-cutaway body requires reaching over the top of the upper bout and the edge of my hand does contact that part of the edge of the upper bout. It seems like a somewhat complicated solution for upper fret access.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

His builds were probably getting done too quickly and he needed a solution!

Pat

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Pat

Why not ask Isaac Jang himself? He's a super nice guy and would probably answer your question.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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Ok, I thought that the basic design of the cutaway with the twisted side seemed familiar. It was borrowed from Mitsuhiro Uchida. After a bit of looking, I found that Uchida has also incorporated a small scoop on some of his guitars that have a twisted cutaway. Like this one:

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Uchida's twisted cutaway combined with a 14 fret neck looks like a simple way to gain access to the upper frets. But then he adds the mini-scoop and complicates it again!

Issac’s a helluva a nice guy. He and Leo Buendia stopped by my shop a few weeks ago for a visit. They’re both making some of the finest guitars on the planet.


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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

I would think the deepest part of the scoop should be closer to the fretboard
for easier more comfy access.
This does look cool, and probably feels better than a nasty square edge
digging in the side of the wrist.