Santa Cruz D

all you need baby. custom made in santa cruz, california by the infamous santa cruz guitar company. came with built in pickup.

most killing dreadnought acoustic i ever owned. full, rich, enchanting, molesting sound. you feel it through your whole body. i've recorded with it in the studio as well as "live dat demos" and it comes through like the fu*king heavyweight champion that it is. page meets satan.

the action was perfect even for a used guitar. a few dingers here and there but that's why they call it used. insane finish man. amazing piece.

have not had it long enough to know.

i have not had to deal with the company but i understand that they are super swift in their response.

i've been playing guitar for about 18 years. i have gone through all the acoustics you can imagine. (ovation, gibson, martin, guild, ibanez) i do believe that martin is the only way to go when you have the cash to spend but. . . santa cruz is absolute magic. for the price, probably the best sounding, looking, feeling, acoustic around. i highly recommend the d model for you.

my SCGC was made in 1982, one of their earliest efforts (their 93rd D model), same woods tuning heads and finish as the current models, but I believe it is 100% handmade.
I still use the original case, which is a heavy hardshell.
not too many features, but a very elegant guitar.

lots of volume, perfectly balanced, great harmonics....this guitar has awesome tone. I mostly use it for strumming, as the action is too high for much else, but more on that later.
anyways, great great sounding guitar

this guitar was a wedding present to my mom in 82. It was not played too much and it still even had the original strings on it when I started playing it 17 years later. Over that time, the strings had apparently started to pull up the bridge and the neck a bit, which resulted in a super high action. I took it into one guitar shop and learned that he didn't have the proper tools to adjust the truss bar. I don't know about that, so I then took it in to the authorized local SCGC dealer and he lowered the action a bit, via the neck truss bar, and told me that the bracing inside still looked good for being one of their first guitars.

You can play this guitar really hard, and it will not only sound great, but it will hold its tune. The finish is scratched in some places, especially around the inside of the pickgaurd, but other than that the finish has lasted superbly, especially on the back/sides.
This guitar has lasted 20 years and still looks good for many more.

I haven't yet dealt with them but I think the bracing is under lifetime warranty so I believe that I might in the future.

I learned to play on this guitar and a cheap electric. I have played only one guitar of comparable value, a larivee worth only 2/3rd's as much, and I have to say I greatly prefer this guitar, old though it may be. If it ever got stolen or lost I would cry, and then buy a new one. Only thing is I wish they put 2 strap buttons on it instead of just the one.

This is the update post I promised from my original 7/17/2001 post.

I have not had a problem since the repair.

I play the guitar hard, Hammer ons, pull offs, slap harmonics, percusive slaps, strumming, fingerpicking.....

I have not had any more contact with this group so I'll pass on this rating.

When I compare the guitar to an equivalent Martin (D-28)it holds its own quite nicely.

I bought this guitar in 2001 and I think it is a 2000 model. It had been in the shop for more than a year. Rosewood and Sitka dreadnought made in Santa Cruz, California. The top has beautiful medullary lines and the back and sides are typical Indian Rosewood, nice but nothing special. The neck is very straight & dnese mahogany. The headstock has a nice rosewood veneer and a large abalone SCGC logo. The ebony fingerboard has extremely small abalone dots. I think this guitar would look better with no inlay at all on the fingerboard. The bridge is ebony and the nut and saddle are bone. The finish is perfect nitrocellulose lacquer. The tuners are Schaller. The neck is mid-size C profile. One thing that this guitar is missing, as with every high quality guitar except Taylor, is a neck button for the strap. Why put on an end pin button w/o a neck button. Nobody, these days laces a strap to the headstock! The case is a really tight fit, really heavy, hardshell with black tolex cover. The case is so heavy it must be at least 5 ply. The headstock, neck and body have ivoroid binding. The body purfling and rosette are B/W/B/W/B. Overall, this guitar has few features. It is a gorgeous example of what a slightly upgraded D-28 should be. Elegant simpliciy.

I play rags, blues, light jazz, Fahey/Kottke, western swing and a little bluegrass. I mostly fingerpick, with and without picks, but sometimes I use a heavy flatpick or a jazz felt pick. I have been looking for a new guitar for several years that would be loud enough to be heard in an accoustic band, but also balanced enough for sweet melodic fingerstyle solo instrumentals. This guitar is amazing. There are no dead spots anywhere on the neck. Each note is full and resonant, from the first fret 6th string to the 17th fret on the 1st string. This guitar has more volume than almost any accoustic I remember playing in my 47 year musical career. I played Collings, Santa Cruz, Goodall, Bourgeois, Taylor, Martin, Lowden among others in my search. I thought I was going to have to save up $4 or $5 Grand for a top of the line instrument until I found this guitar. I played several other Santa Cruz D's during my search and all were excellent, but did not match this guitar. This guitar is a 12!

This guitar had been in the shop for over a year and the strings had been changed several times. It had D'Addario lights on it when I bought it and the shop owner put a new set of the same on it. The action is medium/low and it could be easily lowered. However, these days I am playing hard and I will probably keep the action as is. According to the Santa Cruz website, this guitar is meant for medium strings. I may try a D'Addario Bluegrass set, but I don't think I will go up to mediums. The volume is extremely loud with the current light gauge set. The work on this guitar is flawless. I have seen some Santa Cruz guitars with quality control problems, but this one was perfect.

I have gigged with this guitar and the reaction of the audiences, most of whom have seen me before, has been fantastic. This is a solid, well made instrument. I have had, and I expect, no problems from this instrument. I gig without a back up regularly because I can't afford a backup, however, I don't recommend this practice to others. The experience of people I know with Santa Cruz has been that if there are quality control problems, they will show up in the store or soon after purcharse. Otherwise these guitars seem extremely durable. I have had no problems with mine.

I have exchanged emails with the company in the past and they have been prompt and helpful. I have no experience with any problems. The warranty is a limited life time to the original retail purchaser.

I have been playing for 47 years. I have owned many guitars from a 1905 0-28 to a Chinese knockoff Tele. I currently also have a Fender resonator set up for lap style and a Tele. This guitar is everything I could ask for in an accoustic instrument. I prefer the feel of a small jumbo shape, but when confronted with the sound quality, elegance and price of this instrument, I knew I had buy it. If this guitar were lost or stolen, I would hope my homeowners insurance was paid up. I would have to start my search over again, but I do know where there is an excellent Goodall Koa CJ for only $4 Grand. I mentioned many other guitar brands I have looked at in the Sound section. I don't think you could go wrong with most of them. When looking for a superb quality lifetime investment, it pays to shop till you drop. There are lots of good quality expensive instruments out there. But there are only a few superb ones. This is probably the last accoustic guitar I will buy in my remaining lifetime.

Built in 2000. No electronics. Standard SCGC D model...Rosewood back and side, spruce top, ebony bridge.

I own about 25 guitars ranging from Martin, Larrrivee and Taylor to the more one-off custom guitars from McCollum and Breedlove. I have been eyeing a Santa Cruz D model for a few years now and finally purchased one in 12/00.

Can't really give it a 10 on features (and I expect SCGC wouldn't expect a 10 since it is a clean standard no frills Dreadnought)

Great Sound. The voicing does allow for a large range. I play in a number of alternate tunings (DADGAD, DADGAC, DADGAC#, CGDGBC, CFDDAE, etc) The guitar voiced wonderfully especially the low end which can get lost in the high string sonority. Slap harmonics are clean and bright. Action was set nicely. Strong sustain. Well balanced sound.

Action was great. Every thing was nicely finished and aligned.

Here's where it gets interesting. When I took the guitar home I replaced the light gauge strings with medium gauge. I called SCGC to confirm that the guitar was braced properly for the additional tension. SCGC stated that medium gauge strings tuned no higher than to standerd pitch would be fine. Since 95% of the tunings I play in are downward tunings and I was not going to use this guitar for any higher tunings (EAEGBC) I changed strings. A few days later I noticed a small crack developing in the lower back next to the binding on the bottom running parallel to the inlay. This seemed strange since this is on top of the end block. I assumed it must be a varnish/lacquer crack. Each day it became worse. When it reached about 1 1/4 inches (two weeks). I took it back to the guitar shop I purchased it from and SCGC instructed them to return it to the factory for repairs. It took 6 months to get the guitar back!!! SCGC sends the guitar from California to Montana where the repair facility is located. It must be a one man operation or they have a lot of repair work on their guitars.

See my previous comments. I am skeptical of the durability in light of the stress cracking problem. I will re-visit and update this review in a few months.

Good luck getting a straight answer. I was told on two separate occasions that the guitar would be finished in about two weeks. Once in April and once in May. The guitar shop was told the same thing in the beginning of June. The guitar arrived back at the shop on July 14. Zip follow up from SCGC as to the progress of the repair work. They never originated a call to me or the shop I purchased it from.

I have been playing for 34 years. I don't believe I will buy another SCGC guitar. I'm sure it's a great guitar. But I am concerned about the durability, workmanship and customer support.

(first: sorry for my poor english...) 1999 made, dreadnought style, 14/20 frets, 25,375" scale, 1 11/16" wide (I think), no pickups.
Woods and construction: all solid and high level woods: sitka spruce on top, rosewood back and sides, one-piece mahogany neck with comfortable "C" section, all-black ebony for fingerboard and bridge. Set-in dovetail neck (no bolt as Taylor...), chrome mini-schaller, bone nut and saddle, ebony pins, tortoise pickguard, tapered bracing.
Finish: exceptional, light gloss on the body: beatiful varnish that permit the wood to vibrate. Satin neck.
High level TKL case (as Geib style) with key. All is at a very high level

The sound... oh, THE SOUND!... Full, clear, balanced, rich, great harmonics... More balanced than Martins D. The guitar comes with medium strings but I prefere .012 Martin SP Ph.Bronze. With medium pick you have a delicious sound with a sort of "chorus", strumming with an hard pick you can obtain the best for a dreadnought. It's a very light guitar and it's made with "stress-free" woods and bracing, so it's glued without tension, to recreate the situation that now have vintage guitars.

Action: medium-high from Santa Cruz, but it's normal for these guitars. It's easy lower the saddle. I like the comfortable medium-thin "C" section of the neck.
Finish: all finishes are sweet, without oxtentations or excess. The top is perfectly quartersawn and bookmatched and it have a beautiful light vintage gold tone, the back is perfect too (very nice the back strip). The fingerboard have very small pearl dots, black dots on the side.
Binding: beautiful grained ivoiroid on top/back/neck/headstock (much better than the white plastic on standard Martins...). On back and sides there is a w/b/w too and on top you can see a beautiful w/b/w/b/w/b/w too! (w is clear wood, b is black fiber). Exceptional work. on the headstock there is the pearl scgc logo perfectly inserted (not as the poor work on many Gibson...) in an ebony ply.
Last but no least, the internal is perfect as the external, without the minimum flaw.
In other words, if you compare the SCGC D with the Martin D28 or D35, for the precision and the beauty of the finish, the Santa Cruz win without problems. Only one problem: the first day bridge was partially unglued after a rapid change of temperature and humidity, so I don't know if the problem was precedent but I don't think (I think I'm stupid for my bad care of this beauty).

No live experience with this guitar. It's light but vith a great construction. End pin is well shaped and very solid. The only caution is to regard temperature and humidity and avoid rapid changes. See the site of Santa Cruz for more informations.

I have wrote to Santa Cruz and Mr. Hoover, founder of the company, was very kind and helpful and he wrote to me answering to my question quickly. It's great speak between 10.000 miles...
Tomassone, the shop, is one of the greatest in Italy. Mr. Tomassone is a first-class liuther and he re-glued free the bridge partially unglued. One year full warranty from Tomassone.

I think it's a grat looking and great sounding guitar with a right price. The price reflects the quality of this beauty.
I have a Martin 00028-EC too that is complementary with the SCGC D for the sound and the playability (the shorter and wider neck of the Martin is ideal for fingerstyle).

This is a 2000 model D. It has rosewood back and sides and sitka spruce top. It has been sprayed with a golden aging toner that makes it look like no other guitar. It is a very modest looking guitar with ordinary features like ivoroid binding and wooden inlays for the rosette and back stripe. All solid wood construction. Look up the rest on the Santa Cruz website.

This guitar has a medium sound to me. It is not too loud or boomy. Not particularly bassy or bright but well balanced for recording. It is not a banjo killer like the Tony Rice model.

The action is set for heavy blue grass strumming, so it is a little higher than what I like for an all around guitar. But I bought it for strumming and it is the best one I have played for that purpose. The top was well chosen. Perfect grain. I was told that it was englemann spruce by the shop owner (he custom orders them) but the website said sitka is standard looks like englemann to me though. The toner makes it glow, I dont see this tone often at all it is one of a kind. It is perfectly bound.And the purfling is near perfect. (I am very critical on craftsmanship that is why I dont own a gibson)The nitrocellulose finish is done well too.

This is a solid guitar for sure. The finish is the right thickness and will last a lifetime. (My Larrivee has a thin coat that has me concerned)

Lifetime warranty baby. Havent dealt with them though.

I own a Taylor, Larrivee, Takamine, Yairi, Santa Cruz in the acoustic line up. My larrivee has a better all around sound for multi purpose playing. The Tony Rice Santa Cruz is the best guitar I have heard yet. Better than all the has beens like Gibson and Martin and many of the smaller companies. I have been playing ten years and have a home recording studio.You pay about the same as you would for a Larrivee d 10 but dont get the beautiful appointments. But I wanted a santa cruz so I am not disappointed.

This is a 1999 D, stock with rosewood body, sitka spruce top. There is a modest inlay around the soundhole, small dot fret markers and an intricate inlay down the center of the back. Satin finish neck, and excellent tuners?Schaller, I believe.

What this guitar lacks in ornamentation is more than balanced by the quality. Obviously, Santa Cruz knows that their time, and your money, are better spent on a phenomenal guitar that will outperform many "prettier" guitars. I find its simplicity to possess a great beauty the more I play it.

The real feature here is the quality of construction and the intelligent bracing, which creates the most beautifully balanced sound I have heard from any acoustic, period. Bass, mid-range and treble all perform in exquisite balance.

Continuing on from features, the sound is simply phenomenal. After a year, this guitar has come into a voice that has me constantly shaking my head. The depth, clarity and sustain on this guitar is, well, there are NO dead frets!! I play almost every fret, asking perfection, and I am getting it.

Perfect. Period. Some buzz when I play real hard. Duh.

Very light, and just as solidly built.

These guys are a real class act. Very respectful and helpful, they make the best and they know it.

Been playing 30 years, and I've tried everything except Larivee. As far as I am concerned, Santa Cruz has reinvented the standard of what a professional dreadnought ought to be. The balance of this guitar is worthy of the finest player. I simply cannot say enough good things about this guitar.

Taylor braces their guitars for "quick sell" sound. Martin makes you work real hard for balanced tone. Santa Cruz hands it to you and says, "Here. This is the best we can do. If you're a player and your ears have been searching for this this sound, you'll know this is IT."

USA hand made in 1999 (I think) standard model D (dreadnought) except it has Mahogany sides and back instead of the standard rosewood. It has a Sitka spruce top, ebony fretboard and headstock face (with a really nice SCGC inlay.) The fretboard and body have ivoroid bindings. The tuners are Schaller mini's. The neck has a smooth satin finish. The big Gibson-like hardshell case fits like a glove.

This guitar set-up is perfect for my ears. The big dreadnaught size coupled with the punchiness of the mahogany body makes this guitar sound great. The tone is ideal for lead and the low end is great for rhythm too.

This guitar was set-up from the factory flawlessly. The neck needed slight adjustment when I changed the strings, but that's it.
The fit and finish is wonderful. Even the inside of this guitar looks perfect. I could not be more pleased.

This guitar is very well made, so I can't imagine having reliability problems. It is feather light, but very sturdy feeling.

I had a question about the neck/truss rod adjustment and called Santa Cruz for help. A factory rep (production manager, I think) called me back in minutes and solved my problem. He was extremely helpful and friendly and even gave me his e-mail address if I had any further questions. It's great to deal with a company that is customer driven.
Also, the warranty is lifetime.

I have been playing for 5 years. This is my first acoustic guitar. I am transitioning from rock/metal to more of a bluegrass type of music. My other guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Classic, which is also very pleasing to play.
I compared this guitar to Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Tacoma, Ovation, Alvarez and Larrivee. I would have bought a Taylor (or maybe a Larrivee) if not for Santa Cruz. In guitars, as well as everything else in the world, you get what you pay for.