Santa Cruz OM/PW

This Santa Cruz OM/PW was made in 2001. It has a Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood sides and back. All solid wood construction... no laminates here. The neck is mahogany with 20 frets, 14 to the body. The body is finished in a mirror perfect high gloss lacquer and the neck in a satin lacquer.

The body style is "orchestra" or 000. The orchestra designation indicates 14 frets to the body and a scale length of 25.375" as opposed to the shorter scaled Martin 000 standard(24.9). The guitar has Grover "vintage style" open geared tuners, a lovely wood herringbone rossette, the way cool Santa Cruz logo set in abalone in the headstock, 2mm pearl dot position markers and came with a top of the line TDK hardshell case.

It's not a "flashy" guitar, but it is (in an understated way) very elegant.

The guitar more or less perfectly suits the styles of music I play... old time country/string band music with side trips into bluegrass and jug band music. I am primarily a flatpicker as you might have guessed.

The tonality of this instrument is nothing short of astounding. The "PW" in the name stands for Pre-War and indicates a forward shifted bracing pattern that enables the guitar to deliver an exceptional amount of bass/lower mid-range for a body of this size (15.2" lower bout). It does this without sacrificing a bright open treble end. And then there's the volume... man, does this thing pump out sound. When you listen you get the feeling you're playing a small drednaught rather than a smaller bodied instrument.

The guitar is remarkably responsive and can whisper or growl based on the player's atack with the pick. I have a Gibson J-45 which also exhibits this quality. I have yet to push this instrument beyond the limits of its headroom. With fairly aggressive picking the sound holds together and remains crystal clear and at times almost exhibits a reberverative quality.

Do I like this guitar? No, I love this guitar. I have had a number of acoustics over the years, many of which left my possesssion without a tear shed. From the moment I picked this guitar up and played that first run I knew that, like my J-45, this guitar would be with me for life.

I'm a bit on the obsessive side and have never had an instrument come from the factory set up to my satisfaction, that is until this Santa Cruz came along. It has a bone nut and saddle and the set up was flawless. I'll give it a few months to settle in and then perhaps take it to my local luthier for adjustment, but "out of the box" the OM/PW was set up perfectly, to my mind, a testement to Santa Cruz's attention to detail.

All woods are perfectly bookmatched and flawlessly finished. Again, I'd say this is a testement to Santa Cruz's attention to detail. The bone nut and saddle wer carved to a delightful level of perfection. Sorry if I sound overly enthusiastic, but this guitar really merits superlatives.

The instruments appears and feels rock solid so I'd have to say it could withstand the rigors of gigging. Re: the hardware... guess I would have preferred Waverly tuners so we'll have to see how these vintage Grovers hold up. For the moment, the're smooth and accurate.

The finish is perfectly applied and I'm sure quite durable. Even though this is Santa Cruz's least expensive guitar the didn't seem to skimp on any assembly related features/quality. Lacquers can be subject to checking if exposed to temperature extremes and are also somewhat more sensitive to sweat, oils, etc. than a polymer finish. I sure with appropriate care this finish will be as handsome 20 years down the road as it is today.

I have an unquestionable feeling of quality as regards all aspects of this guitar so I guess I'd have to say yes to the dependibility question and yes, I would gig with it sans a backup instrument.

I've only contacted Santa Cruz once via e-mail prior to buying the guitar as I was curious as to which Santa Cruz they felt migh be my best choice for the style of music I play. Their response was prompt and thoughtful.

The guitar is warranteed for life to the original owner and I have little doubt that Santa Cruz would honor this warrantee at any point down the road. The comapny as a whole seems to reflect a high degree of pride in their instruments.

I've been playing (dare I say it) for 35 years. As mentioned, I own a Gibson J-45 (which I also love). Over the years I've owned Matins, Larrivees and Taylors. Many of these guitars, while good instruments, left my hands willingly as I traded one for another. My J-45 and now this OM/PW will be with me until I get planted!

I have an SWR California Blond acoustic amp, Alesis NanoVerb effects unit, Boss AD-5 acoustic instrument processor, Boss TU-12H tuner, some good microphones and other odds and ends. I'm not really much of a gear head. I like to keep it simple.

As you might have guessed, I'm utterly satisfied with this guitar so I don't feel as if any questions weent unanswered prior to purchase. If it were lost or stolen first I'd cry, then I'd call the insurance company and then order another one to be shipped overnight!

What do I love about the instrument? The sound man, the sound. It is beautifully musical. I love the size. I'm not a big guy and I can really wrap myself around this little sweetheart. It's beautiful to look at (simple, understated, flawlessly constructed) and even more of a joy to play. This guitar makes me a better player. Not to beat a dead horse, but the only other guitar I've owned that has given me this feeling is my J-45. For me it's a "lifetime" instrument.

I do wish it had the higher end Waverley tuners, but these Grovers seem pretty solid. I can't imagine Santa Cruz would put junk on any of their instruments. Time will tell how well the Grovers hold up, continuing with their present smooth/tigh response.

By now you've no doubt gathered that I love this guitar. Playing it is an absolute unbridled pleasure. At around $2,000 I'd have to say a guitar of this quality is a bargain. The appointments are simple... no flashy inlays... but still beautifully elegant.

If your considering a Taylor or Martin in this price range you owe it to yourself to give one of these a try. You will not be disappointed.