Santa Cruz F Luthier Model

This guitar was made in January of 2005. It is the F Luthier Model from the Winter NAMM show. It is one of a kind, as Richard Hoover allows his luthiers to get together once a year and make what they consider a "dream" guitar. It was made in Santa Cruz, CA. It has a solid German Spruce top, and solid Mahogany back and sides that have a tabacco finish. The top purfling and trimming, including back stripe and headstock of Brazilian Rosewood. It has the LR Baggs Imix system installed. The body style is their F Model, which is often presented as a mini jumbo, but it is really not a jumbo. It is very comfortable to hold and play. The tuners are Gotoh 510 series. It came with a deluxe TKL hardshell case.

The sound is rich and full, and has a great bass response. The projection of this instrument is awesome. You can strum hard and it does not buzz. It is probably not a great guitar for fingerstyle, but it is awesome for ryhthm guitar.

The action is medium low, which is appropriate for strumming light, moderate, or heavy. The finish on the guitar is impeccable.

This appears to be a guitar that will have great durability, though you would certainly want to be careful not to bump it into anything, because it would probably nick the finish, which is lusturous. It can certainly be depended upon, and used without a backup. There is no strap button, but one could be installed.

I talked with Richard Hoover before purchasing this guitar, to find out a little more about it. He was quite congenial and very helpful, easy to talk to, and receptive. It has a lifetime warranty.

I've been playing a long time, but not consistently. If it were lost or stolen, I would want to replace it, but because it is a Luthier model, it would most likely not be able to be replaced. I've played Taylors, and have grown a bit tired of their sound. This guitar is refreshing in its depth and fullness.