Quote:
Originally Posted by neon_black88
Would you guys go for a cutaway and pickup or is that not tr00 to the classical world  |
If your intension is to play authentic finger-style classical guitar pieces, then no, I absolutely wouldn't consider a pickup & cutaway design unless it was a handmade high-end one that somehow managed to sound decent despite the cutaway & pickup. I couldn't care less about following the 'tradition' of classical guitar, but I do absolutely love the very deep & bass-heavy tone of a traditional high quality classical guitar. I've been playing classical guitar for > 20 years and when I was starting out I really wanted the flexibility of the cutaway/pickup design. So I bought a very inexpensive one, and as my experience grew I realized how poor it sounded and upgraded to a mid-range model (same features). But after trying some higher-end models and realizing what a beautiful tone I could get with them I finally traded up for a decent non-cutaway non-pickup model, and I'll never go back. Even for recording or live performance, I'd way rather play into a mic that use a pickup, although a combination of the two might work.
However, if your not super serious about classical guitar music & tone, and especially if you're playing with a pick, then by all means go for it. I'd expect such a guitar to have quite a thin & quiet tone, and a lot of 'piezo quack' when amplified. Personally I can't freakin stand that type of tone, but as I say I'm fixated on the heavy-bass traditional tone.
btw I play a mid-range ($1500cdn list) Raimundo as my main classical.