I personally feel that the hole in the side does not justify the loss of the wood for aesthetic purposes.
The tonal change is probably negligable.
For me it is purely visual.
I have owned 4 Taylors in the past 2 years - 510CE, 512, 814CE, 312CE. They were all left-handed. I liked the 512 the most. It did not have hole. Maybe just a coincedence.
I also understand where people who like the look of the control panel feel. Like the cutaway it says "I need this option and I know how to use it."
I believe that eventually the control panel will become so small that it will be a flat thin stick-on that the user can remove and replace as needed.
I presently use a belt clip volume control on my Martin OM-21. It works fine enough. I don't change settings enough to justify the hole.
|