Santa Cruz OM

FEATURES : 1994 Santa Cruz Om Model : body style , bracing , neck = simply the best OM

SOUND : fantastic in every register : bass ( strong ) , medium ( complex ) , trebles ( modern : fast & fats ). very special guitar for fingerstyle but good for flatpicking too. Ferrari is the best car , Ducati the best motorbike , Spaghetti the best food ... but Santa Cruz Om std is the best guitar in the OM style. I think Martin OM have very good mid-range , Collings have very good foundamentals always in evidence ... but the Santa Cruz is everything you need in modern OM Style. I've tasted a very goog Dana Bourgeois OM : very good Om too but too expensive. AMPLIFICATION : M1 + Ibeam - these are my personal opinions , of course.

ACTION : butter with 012 strings

RELIABILITY : she's a guitar .. sorry ... a lady , not a car ! it doesn't matter hes reliability or durability . Don't be a fool : Love her OR Love him/it if she's a man . My Om is a man. He got the Voice , a very strng voice. He's romantic hero . His name is GARIBALDI.

SUPPORT : second hand / very good forum in Santa Cruz Guitar Forum

OVERALL RATING : the sound is the most important feature in guitars , like tomatoes in spaghetti or in pizza - (www).arturofiestacirco.it

Feature : see Web Santa Cruz - long scale / indian rosewood / averything fantastic : 10

best sound i've ever heard . i own a 00028 ec martin ( ..fantastic value ) . as the martin is fantastic for my folksingers colours the santa cruz is the top for fingerstyle acoustic instrumental - gigs. simply the best guitar i've ever heard and played. i've tried Martin OM35 ( ..because of my 00028 ) but it's really another kind of guitar : 10

action is very subjective : mine was ok

very well built

very very bad support. they never answer to your mail. perhaps in Santa Cruz people only think about building guitars . best guitars but worse support

I own a beautiful 00028EC ( martin ) . it's difficult to compare the two guitars because of the short and long scale. i thing are very different . Santa Cruz it's an Om thats mean powerfull , defined , high volume very similar to D-model but without bass booming. i think Santa Cruz make excellent guitars. Martin OM28V , Collings OM2H and Santa Cruz OMstandard are fantastic guitars. 00028EC the best for a song writer the SCGT the berst for a Songwriter/Guitarplayer ( fingerstyle oriented ).i never have played the OM Pre war but i think that bracing it's quite different and so the sound. OM standar it's a good guitar for flat picking too but she's a Queen if you dont' use the pick with her. I think so . Try it ;-)

Paid $2200 to a guy who was getting cleaned out in a divorce and needed the money. No, I couldn't believe it either; I'd have paid much more, but it was all he was asking. Spruce top, Brazilian rosewood body, ebony fingerboard with SCGC inlaid on the otherwise blank neck- just the way I like it. No cutaway, no unnecessary options.

I play mostly fingerstyle, but this guitar does everything. Dynamically explosive for Hedges-wanna-be slapping, strummed in a band- no problem.
Perfectly balanced sound. Absolutely perfect.

Perfect fit and finish. I would show it to guitar techs and they would marvell at the workmanship. I can't say enough, there was no room for improvement.

This guitar held up well, but I will admit that I treated it as it deserved. I played out with it and it never let me down. No buzzes, rattles, or anything.

I loaned this to a friend who would through the humidifier in the case while playing. One day he put the guitar on the humidifier and closed the case- CRACK. I tearfully sent it to the Santa Cruz service center and honestly told them it was my fault, but I wanted it fixed by them. They fixed it as good as new for no charge. Show me any other company who would do that. I called several times and spoke to Richard Hoover, and every time he was patient and helpful. Fantastic.

When Michael Hedges died and went to heaven, Saint Peter met him at the Pearly Gates and handed him a Santa Cruz OM.
Some instruments are what I call doodlers, you pick them up and just can't put them down. This speaks volumes about an instrument. This Santa Cruz was the mother of all doodlers. Simply the finest guitar I have ever played in my 48 years. Absolutely without peer in this life. Richard Hoover is a genius, and every one of his instruments should be treated as a gift.

Built in 1999.
Mahogany neck
14 Fret to body
Solid Sitka Spruce soundboard
Herringbone Rosette
Tortoise pickguard
Multiple wood purfling (very narrow strips, could be: maple, ebony, maple, ebony, maple, ebony, ivroid) But looks great.
Solid Rosewood back and sides(both bound again m,e,m,i)
Zig-zag back stripe
Ebony bridge, bridgepins, fretboard & headstock overlay
Bound fretboard

Great sound. Well balanced and lushy tone. Quite powerful for an OM size guitar.

Action is great. But there is 2 crack-like checks behind the bridge.

I had a chance talked to Richard Hoover. He is very kind.

It is a very nice-souding guitar. I do not have any problem with the guitar itself.

But the problem is that I bought this as a new instrument two months ago for $3,600 from Steve Spellman of Guitar Shop of Washington DC. I checked Santa Cruz company to check the manufacturing date. It had a crack-like checks behind the bridge. The price is above the MSRP.
Spellman responded that those crack-like stuffs are no problem at all and that it is usual that a guitar stays in the shop for years before it is sold. It seems that the bridge was moved for repair or something. He sold it with the receipt that says "it may not be returned". He doesn't put the price tag on the instrument and calls the price as he wishes if the customer likes it.

Highly recommended(only if purchased from a right deal for a right price)

Finished October 1991, Santa Cruz, Ca. Good ol' U.S.A.
(Great town too)
Mahogany neck
14 Fret to body
Solid Sitka Spruce soundboard
Herringbone Rosette
Tortoise pickguard
Multiple wood purfling (very narrow strips, could be: maple, ebony, maple, ebony, maple, ebony, ivroid) But looks great.
Solid Rosewood back and sides(both bound again m,e,m,i)
Zig-zag back stripe
Ebony bridge, bridgepins, fretboard & headstock overlay
Bound fretboard
No dots on fretboard, only SCGC inlay at 12th fret
Nitrocellulose lacquer finish
Sold acoustic, however I installed a L.R.Baggs active I-beam for gigging.

Wow!
I play both fingerstyle and rhythm. Accepts both wonderfully. Clear, bright & even; all the way up the neck. I am continuously amazed at how it projects, especially with the lighter fingerpicking. Great sustain. Anybody can strum a guitar loud, but this guitar just seems to cut through everything else, no matter how you play it, pick it, strum it. Around the informal campfires it keeps up with the rookie over-strummed dreadnought owners. Also, on occasion I hang out with some serious bluegrass pickers and it has impressed a number of aggressive flat pickers. One of which was a Santa Cruz owner the next time I crossed his path. From the first time I picked it up....well, my first word stands. Wow!

For me and how I play, the guitar has never needed any adjustments. I would say the action is a little lower than others, which suits me fine. Others who have played it say it plays like an electric, but it takes a good strumming without any problems. The finish is starting to check on the box a bit, but that's what comes with age on a nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Kind of like my perminent laugh lines now. We are both starting to show our age a bit and that's fine. The back has an interesting grain for rosewood, not your common dark/light streak, but again I like the uniqueness of it.

I play out at least once a week and it is my primary guitar. I have gigged both with and without a back-up, but have never had to play anything but the Cruz at a gig. After playing this one for so long, it would almost be a shame to have to resort to my back-up unless I could upgrade it to another Cruz or maybe a Lowden or Collings. As far as the finish goes, to me: the older it gets the better it looks. The checking in the finish is something that comes with age. Newer guitars with gloss finishes will NEVER look like that, and that is one thing that appeals to me. She takes her bumps and dings well and as mentioned before, has even bounced back after being flat picked with some pretty aggressive hands. I have to agree with another reviewer 100% (Mat, 08/09/2004) if your really worried how it look on the outside and not how it sounds from the inside, you'll never take it out of the case, no matter who makes the guitar.

Awesome. Every time I have had a question, whether on this guitar, prior to buying it, or on other guitars I was looking at the time or since then, a REAL PERSON answered the phone and was COURTEOUS. And in this day and age that is something to brag about. If an answer was not at hand I was given a call back that same day. The fact that I'm on the East coast and they're on the West coast helps out a bit on that matter, but regardless, they know their stuff and are very pleasant to work with. Prior to purchasing this guitar I wanted verification of what the salesperson was saying was true (I have a hard time trusting people in "sales") and without even requesting it I got to talk to Richard Hoover himself. I have a hard time believing that would happen at many other manufacturers.

Have you ever had that dream where you walk into a room, any room, a bar, a friends house for a party, what ever, and seen the most beautiful set of twins and they are both teasing the hell out of you all night. The only difference between the two being one has blue eyes and one has green? or something really slight like that? When I was looking for a new guitar and found this one, it was one of only two Santa Cruz's left in a local folk music shop that was going out of business. I had the hardest time deciding between the two, but knew full and well I couldn't come home with both, not without a divorce lawyer anyway (I'm talking about the guitars, the girls were in the dream). Their differences were very slight. The other had micro dots on the fretboard; the SCGC logo on the rosewood overlayed headstock and the herringbone purfling matched that of the rosette. The sound from both was incredible and they both played great. On my fourth visit back I'm sure the owner thought I was going to walk out again without a case in my hand, for between my last visit and now, somebody came in and bought the "other one". Thank-you whoever you were. You made up my mind for me and immediately laid down the cash and surprised the hell out of that old man.

I've been playing acoustic music nearly all my life, starting by being brainwashed in the bluegrass circuit at an early age. I've gigged periodically since the early eighties; more so now than before, starting in bluegrass, then moving to acoustic rock in college to I guess what you'd call a folkie now. I have aquired a great deal of equipment over the years for sound reinforcement and gone through a number of instruments, keeping the ones that feel good to me. Some of them are not big names but none the less, we work well with each other: and Espanola mandolin, a 1976 Gibson RB-250 banjo (my first instrument over $1000 adn main instrument for about fifteen years) and a couple dreadnoughts; a Lotus and a Taylor. If the Santa Cruz were stolen or lost in, say, an automobile accident or something, that would be real sad. Whether I'd replace it with the same or not is a difficult decision. There are a number of great manufacturers out there when you get into this high end of an instrument. Lowden, Collings and even some smaller manufacturers like Lakewood, Froggy Bottom and Huss & Dalton, all of which I have a chance to play on a regular basis, are very fine and solid instruments. When you get to a higher end, hand made instrument I don't think the name necessarily matters. It's how it feels to YOU. That being said, this is one killer guitar and I don't think I would be able to go back to a mass production guitar again. One other note, as mentioned before, I installed a L.R.Baggs active I-Beam pick up for gigging, which absolutely mimics the acoustics when plugged. I have yet to play out and not have at least one person comment on how acoustic the sound was. The combination of the guitar and that pick-up is unsurpassed. Plus, installation is much less invasive to your guitar with only having to widen out the hole for the end pin jack.

1999 OM made in Santa Cruz, CA. Solid sitka spruce top with indian rosewood back and sides. High gloss finish on body, satin finish on mahogany neck. Ebony bridge, fretboard, bridgepins, and headstock overlay. Came with "butter bean" style Waverly tuners. Also came in a very nice hardcase with little hooks to attach a shoulder strap. :)

I play a degree of styles from light finger picking to super aggressive strumming and the OM takes both with relish. IT does tend to bottom out a bit when I really dig in but I personally like that and think that it's just part of guitar playing. I also installed a Schertler Bluestick, which is an undersaddle condensor microphone which I then run through a Schertler pre-amp. Loud or soft, the Schertler acurately projests the sound of my guitar which is absolutely amazing. This is the best sounding guitar that I own and that I have ever played.

This guitar was perfect from the moment that I picked it up. The acton was amazing, the fit was was perfect and the finish was flawless. It is honestly one of the most beautifully made guitars that I have ever seen. The wood was bookmatched perfectly.

I play out at least four times a week and this is my primary guitar. I never gig without a second guitar, but if I had to this would be the one that I take. I'm not afraid of getting this thing dinged, scratched, or taking roadwear. Guitars are tools for musicians. A carpenter doesn't worry about his hammer getting scratched...he knows it comes with the jobs. If you want to own museum quality guitars without a scratch on them...go buy a museum and quit calling yourself a musician.

Everyone that I have talked to there was awesome. They either helped me right there on the phone or called back within the hour.

I've been playing for a paltry eight years now and have managed to attain quite a few guitars. Along with the OM, I also have a Martin JM, an OM-35, an Alvarez(crap), a Limited Editon Epiphone SQ-180, and a 1963 Ephiphone Double Cutaway Casino. If this guitar (the OM) got lost or stolen I'd be inconsolable for years and I would hurry fast to try and replace it. Before I bought this guitar I bought the OM-35 and wish that I had played the Santa Cruz first. The 35 is a beautifel guitar with it's 3 piece back and all...but it's no OM.

The only custom-built guitar that I ever ordered was a Santa Cruz OM. I requested black lacquer finish over spruce top and rosewood back and side. Also, herringbone perfling, bone nut and saddle, rosewood bridge and ebony pins. Grover tuners. It took about 6 months for the guitar to arrive and when I opened the case it took my breath away it was so beautiful. However, when I picked it up and strummed it the guitar lacked sustain, the bass was "dead" and I was disappointed by the sound. I waited for almost two years for the guitar to "open up". During this time I had to send it to a luthier in Idaho (Santa Cruz doesn't do their own customer service) to have the neck reset as the neck wasn't properly installed originally. After this was done I again played the guitar hoping that the sound would come around. It didn't and I finally traded the instrument in for something else. I will never buy another custom guitar. There may be many nice Santa Cruz guitars out there but my disappointment in this instrument does not make me want to consider Santa Cruz for future instruments.

1991 Om Rosewood with wide grian spruce. Herringbone rosette and Maple and Ebony purfling. 12th fret inlay of SCGC on Ebony fretboard. Kluson style tuners and mahogony neck.

I cannot believe the sound. Everyday I pick it up is does something else I find amazing. It has a lush rythmn sound similar to the best taylor. For fingerpicking it is Loud and the notes just snap out of it.

The set up is tight and the action is unusual. With light (12-53 elixars) strings it is stiff and articulate while the action is really feather width it doesn't bottom out. It is a real piece of art the way it is constructed and the flawless detail inside and out. Scalped braces and side support. Exelent in every detail. The nut is polished bone that is unbelieveable in the way it contures to the neck. The tuners are a kluson style that I will change to Waverly's pretty soon.

I don't really play out but if I do I would not think of subjecting this guitar to the dings that come with guitar stands and distractions of the stage.

I e-mailed a couple questions to the company and they called me to talk about them SAME DAY! I cannot think of another company that would come close. Lifetime warranty.

After over thiry years I have tried every guitar I have ever seen and I have not seen or played a Santa Cruz I wouldn't love to take home.I have an old Gibson j-200 and used a late sixtys Hummingbird for twenty years. I would replace it as soon as possible if something happend to it. I can only think of Collings as a guitar company that offers a close competition to Santa Cruz. I really love the OM and would suggest that for the dollar this guitar is a bargain!

Built: Sept. 1988, Santa Cruz, CA
14 frets to the body.
Solid top.
Mahogany neck, Spruce top with an obscene amount of silk (cross grain), Brazilian Rosewood back and sides with purple, black and green colors.
Gloss finish on body, satin finish on neck.
OM size body.
Grover open back tuners.
V-shaped neck with a 25.375" scale.
Plywood case.

I finger pick and flat pick. This is a very good size guitar for this style due to the fact that notes won't ring as long as a "D" size guitar.

It has a good strong bass, but not as boomy as a "D" size guitar. It has a good mid range, not muddy. The treble is clean but not sparkly or ringy.

Volume is great due to its light bracing; it responds very well to even the lightest picking. It doesn't do well for hard picking or hard strumming. (wrong body size)

The action was great right out of the box. I did change from medium gauge strings to medium light gauge.

The back did and still does have finish cracks. (These are cracks in the lacquer, not the wood.) Richard Hoover suspected that this piece of wood would expand and contract causing finish cracks. I spoke to him prior to purchasing the guitar and was fully aware of the finish cracks when I bought it. Blame mother nature for this, not Santa Cruz.

Other than the cracks, the fit and finish is flawless!

I spoke with Richard Hoover of Santa Cruz Guitar prior to purchasing the OM. He informed me of the finish cracks on the back.

Other than the cracks, the guitar has the full warranty. Richard even wrote it on the receipt. Richard said over the phone, "This is our first "second" guitar."

Over the years I've called them about having the back refinished and about adjusting the neck. They gave me the name and number of a repairman they prefer for refinishing in my area and information on how to tweek the adjusting rod in the neck.

I've been playing off and on for 30 years.
I also own a Martin HD-28 2R and a Valley Arts Dreadnaught.
If it were lost or stolen I'd definately get another Santa Cruz OM.
I love the sound, the size and the wood.
At the time this one was made Santa Cruz was inlaying their logo at the 12th fret with nothing on the headstock. I prefer the newer style with the logo on the headstock.
Back in '88 I test drove a Martin OM-28 next to an Indian Rosewood Santa Cruz OM. I found the Martin to weigh more and to be less responsive, (braced more heavily,) than the Santa Cruz.
I bought my OM sight unseen and consider it to be one of the best deals of my life. I'm not a fan of mahogany dreadnaughts but I'd like to get a Santa Cruz Vintage D.

- Made in 1991, in Santa Cruz, CA
- 19 or 20 frets -- don't really know
- Solid sitka spruce top,
- Cutaway
- no electronics
- solid indian rosewood sides & back
- nitrocellulose lacquer finish
- OM size (martin 000 with 25.4" scale and 1-3/4" neck)
- Nickel Waverly tuners
- soft-v neck

The instrument has a very clear and warm tone with a great many overtones. I generally use it for recording and tend to use various condensers ranging from AKGs for stage use to Neumanns for studio use. The guitar is very balanced and even in volume from string to string, and a wide variety of tonal variability is available by changing playing position, attack, et cetera.

The set-up was extraordinary. Using a 12-54 set, it is almost as easy to play as an electric. The wood is all top-notch. Didn't have any obvious flaws.

It'll take live playing, but like any other fine instrument, it requires some care and feeding. The Waverly tuners really stay in tune during performance. The finish is quite good and very protective, although, due to the nitro finish, it's advisable for some players to wear long sleeves when playing, as their body chemistry may cause finish degradation. The strap button in the heel is quite solid and the endpin is likewise well anchored. It has been a very dependable and solid instrument and there have been many nights when it's been the only instrument I've carried.

Santa Cruz stands by their instruments, whether or not it is in "first-owner warranty." Richard Hoover and his staff deals very well and honestly with his clients in all phases of the instrument's lifespan -- before the sale, during construction, and after the sale.

Played for 30 years
Own other acoustics, strats, and various amps.
If it were stolen, I'd try to replace it with as close to an exact replica as possible. It's got great tone and power, and it's beautiful -- herringbone rosette and 7-ply purfling, ivoroid bound body and neck.