Product: Santa Cruz FE 663
Price Paid: US $3200
Submitted
03/02/2001
at
12:00am
by
Anonymous
Features
:
8
It was made in Mar/Apr 1999 in USA. Indian rosewood back and sides with Sitka spruce top. A cutaway model. Model is 1 11/16" width at the nut, 2 3/16" at the 14th fret (thick ness of the neck)
It comes with Light gauge strings (.012 through .053)
Head bears the SCGC abalone inlay with Grover tuners. It has an internal L.R. Baggs Ribbon Transducer (pick-up system).
Its clean and simple body suit me. This is a F model. The E, as I found out, stand for "export".
Sound
:
10
The sound is one of the best I have heard. Very balance throughout.
Presence of lows and highs. Playing America's Sandman "a minor" certainly shows the good sound.
With such lovely sound, I am playing it almost daily. Sound great with both plucking or strumming. I have yet to pluck it with an
acoustic amp (will be buying one soon) but I believed the sound will
live up to it.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
String action is acceptable. I have small hand and due to that, I do encounter some problem with difficult chords (but this is more of my skill rather than the guitar).
I used to own a Ovation Custom Elite which I have already sold away. Comparing the action, the Santa is definitely more enjoyable to play.
I couldn't play long with the Ovation. Even my friend who was "freting" with the Ovation suffered finger pain!
Guitar contruction is one of the best I have seen. Clean right to the inside.
Reliability/Durability
:
No Opinion
As this guitar is only with me for less than 3 mths, I cannot say much here. But, like most high-end guitars, keeping the right temperature/humidity is very owners' duty to prolong the life of the guitar.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Well, I have e-mailed them for the specifications and did replied after a reminder. Not a big issue as they have indicated that they are
very busy. That is a good sign!
Overall Rating
:
9
Overall, I never regret buying this guitar as it is truly a great
experience to play such a beautiful guitar. Prior to buying this guitar, I have only heard about the Taylors, the Martins, Takamines
and Ovations. It is through playing it at the shop when I was looking for a guitar that I discovered it! As Singapore is a small market, the
Takas, Martins that I tried was no match for the Santa. I believed this is because the music shops here carry only the mid/low ends of the former. So please do not take mu comment too seriously.
