Single cutaways produced today are often based on the Dreadnaught body style. A glance at the photo of the model below shows the flat shoulders and non-tapered waist of the traditional Dreadnaught body shape. Several important differences exist however. The body is cut-away where the neck joins the body for easier access to the upper frets. This is similar to the jazz guitars made in the 40's which facilitated easer reach to the upper neck. The neck is typically slightly different as well. While the neck width is similar for both models,  our Single Cutaway is slightly thinner than the Dreadnaught, about 1/8" at the fifth fret. This produces a slightly flatter thinner neck.

 The Single Cutaway is similar in construction to the Dreadnaught, this model has Basswood sides and back with a glossy Urethane finish for durability. The neck is Nato and fingerboard is hardwood such as Maple, dyed black. The hardwood fingerboard gives the guitar a brighter sound when compared with Rosewood fingerboards which are commonly used. Fender Guitars traditionally used Maple in many of their guitars to achieve their bright acoustic texture. The soundboard is Spruce, one of the strongest and lightest woods used in acoustic guitars. Our soundboards are finished in water based dyes for the distressed finished followed by several thin coats of Nitrocellulose lacquer. Our non distressed finishes are coated with stained Nitrocellulose lacquer followed by several coats of clear. We find that heavy finishes such as oil based stains or Urethane clear coats can suppress  sound and makes the instrument seem slightly dampened acoustically (although the effect is typically overstated it is a minor effect only). We use Nitrocellulose for its timeless beauty and its ability to age beautifully. As the instrument gets older it will develop the characteristics of antique furniture.

The single cutaway from Indian River Guitars has unlimited sonic possibilities with two complete and separate acoustic pickup systems. An under saddle Piezo with 3 band equalizer has an output as well as a conventional magnetic pickup with treble bleed tone and volume control. The two outputs can be combined in a preamp or sent along different paths as needed. The magnetic pickup can be routed to a guitar amplifier while the Piezo to a PA system, or, each can be input with different effects. One channel can be delayed, or panned differently than the other, or cut in and out for acoustic emphasis during solos. The effects are truly endless. The two outputs can be combined into one stereo cable for running over longer distance as needed.

    A glance at the some soundhole reveals a cylinder which extends into the guitar body. This is proprietary to Indian River Guitars and more on this innovation can be seen within the Technological Innovation section. Suffice to say, it gives the guitar that 50 year old deep tone that mellows out the sound and prevents feedback. It also prevents most dead frets and wolf tones common to many instruments.

    All our Single Cutaways are hand setup and inspected to achieve easy playability, keeping the responsiveness of a guitar like an instrument that costs considerably more than ours. Available in a variety of finishes comes with gig bag or hardshell case.

The guitar above is:

• Red-Mahogany sunburst : gloss finish

We can do a distressed-antique finish in Indigo (blue-see dreadnaught), Oak (medium brown), Crimson (red-brown-see dreadnaught), Emerald (deep green), and Walnut (darker brown). These finishes are great if you don't want to worry about scratches on the finish, it looks like it's been around for decades and you won't fret if it takes another direct shot from your 3 year old and an over enthusiastic bar patron.

Out lacquer can be done in Vintage Amber, Tobacco Brown, Red Mahogany, and Cherry Red, plus any combination or design you want. Keep in mind that all instruments are sealed with several coats of  Nitrocellulose lacquer in either satin or gloss. Our soundboards are hand painted which means you will see differences from guitar to guitar, you may also see some flaws since we are not perfect, but it all gives your instrument character.