Santa Cruz Tony Rice Model D

I've got an 1988 cruz tony rice non brazilian model. This seems to have been a great year for this particuliar axe. The more its played, the better it gets. The only modifications are as follows... New waverly tuners, minor adjustmets to the action along with shaving the neck... oh yeah, and some new frets.

The best way to describe this instrument is " TONE ". It's perfect for both rythem and leads, mics beautifully. It's a very expressive instrument and you can pull just about any sound you want out of it. I've played lots of guitars, new, vintage, etc.. but this seems to have the right stuff.

It took some time to find the correct set up, but I've not touched it since. I can't recall any flaws worth nothing other than a few minor scratches and dings, typical for a second hand guitar. One thing worth noting, the top is rock solid. It hasn't moved a bit in the past 7 years. The finish is adorned with a few pick rakes, minor checking, purely cosmetic.... besides, it adds character. This guitar might be the oldest looking cruz yet.

This guitar has proven itself very reliable over the years. Its only down fall was the original tuners, they didn't last.

not sure about the customer support, never had a reason to call them.

Overall, its an awesome guitar.

I'm reviewing my 2003 Santa Cruz Tony Rice Model. This guitar is a standard D configuration with spruce top and Indian rosewood sides and back. It has a typical high gloss finish with Waverly tuners and the Santa Cruz logo at the 12th fret.

This is definitely a loud guitar but quite boomy. It does not articulate well in the lower registers and loses punch in the higher registers.

There is some fairly shabby glueing on this guitar (brand new not repairs, more about repairs later) along the neck binding, and around the bridge.

This guitar took a minor spill (fell over on its side and sustained a 2 inch crack on the top. That's right, it fell on its side on a carpeted floor and the top split. It was repaired (see next category) but has continued to split and now extends to the bottom of the guitar and now has a paralell split running from the bridge to the bottom of the guitar.

I sent the guitar back to Santa Cruz for the original crack. It took 10 weeks for them to smear some super glue on the top and send it back to me. Shipped both ways at my cost, and $200 for the repair. OK, I knocked it over that one is my fault. Since then it has been kept in my humidified, guitar room with several other high end guitars, mandolins, and fiddles, and has continued to split. I contacted (e-mail) Richard Hoover, founder and owner of Santa Cruz, and he said he would get back to me.....4 weeks ago.

I'm 50 years old and have been playing for 40 years. When I first purchased the guitar a luthier friend of mine looked inside with his mirror and said "well, I guess they know what they're doing". He didn't want to shoot me down, but later confided he thought the top was too thin. I also have a Martin D-18V, a Bougeois Vintage D, a Larrivee D-50, a couple of old (1920's) Roth fiddles, and Weber A and F style mandolins. All of these instruments have managed to live in my enviroment without cracking. Although the Cruz is a good sounding instrument I feel it is structurally unsound and will probably not be around for my kids to play. Who knows, maybe Santa Cruz will come through with a new guitar or a new top (on this one) and I'll be writing a big retraction. Or maybe I'll send it out there and they'll smear superglue all over it again (not). I would NEVER make this purchase again. I have basically flushed $3000 down the drain on a guitar that is incapable of living in the real world and is worthless for sale or trade. I thought about offering it to Mr. Hoover to hang on the wall in his shop as an example of what NOT to do.

1988 Santa Cruz Tony Rice Model-D
Solid very select Spruce Top
Large Sound Hole
East Indian Rosewood Sides and Back
Clear Laquer Finish
Herringbone Rosette and Top Trim
Ebony fretboard and Bridge
Kluson tuners
bone Nut and saddle
Countersunk Ebony bridgepins

It is very loud and even.The action is fairly low and no matter how hard I play it there is no buzzing. It has enormous power and depth.After buying it I sold my Martin hd-28v and my d-18v. I flatpick and play bluegrass and it is all I will ever need. I even sold my 1951 d-18. This guitar is all that I have ever searched for in a dreadnought.

The action is perfect and the workmanship is flawless. I thought that small luthier shops were overrated until i got my hands on this guitar. Richard Hoover is really doing something special in his shop.

This guitar is already 14 years old and still plays and looks like a new one. It is very lightweight but if it has lasted this long it should last me the rest of my life.

This guitar was sent back to santa Cruz for a neck reset and a new bone saddle. They didn't charge a dime for what I consider routine maitenance on a 12 year old acoustic. They gladly answer any of your questions on their tech line.They definately stand behind their work.

If I was to have a custom instrument made for me it would be exactly like this guitar. I have been playing 15 years and have owned numerous vintage martins and a few Bourgeois guitars. This Santa Cruz definately stands above them all. If it were stolen I would start saving to buy another. Don't worry about people saying you are copying Tony Rice just because you own a guitar that he endorses. When you play one you'll see why he doesn't play his old Martin much anymore. But since a new one will run you about $3000 i'll give this a 9 rating. The only negative thing about the guitar is the price but it is worth it if you can splurge!

1994 Standard Model Sitka Spruce/Indian Rosewood Dreadnaught. Tony's signature on the label. I owned this guitar for several years, and although I first liked the looks of it, the lizard-like SCGC logo in the fretboard at the 12th fret began to annoy me to distraction. Purely personal aesthetics though and why I rate it a mere 7. The fretboard on these are bound with ivoroid. The plain unadorned headstock is unbound. Top is bound in herringbone.

I'm a bluegrass rhythm and flatpicker.

The sound is very warm and open. While the scalloped braces give it that sort of boomy reverb quality, it also has a sweet, but not penetrating, high end. I always thought this guitar sounded kind of like Tony's old D-28, but without that brazillian ring that seems to elude Indian rosewood.

The only thing I objected to is that I didn't feel this was a particularly loud guitar. I'm just being objective. I have no pride or stake in this guitar as I've traded my T. Rice in long ago to begin a succession of owning other high end models such as Collings D-1, Bourgeois Country Boy, and 75 Martin D-28 and 60 D-18, all of which I will eventually review at Harmony Central. I've been playing guitar for 25 years, and about 5 years ago at age 35 I started buying, analyzing, selling, and playing high-end dreadnaughts. It's a sick hobby that I'm trying to shake. I'm a bluegrass flatpicker, and true to the profile, I'm very interested in loud, articulate, projecting bluegrass tone and am a bit obsessed with dreadnaught guitars.

That said, the Tony Rice I owned did not cut through the mix as well as some other guitars I've owned. For instance, the sound of a stand-up bass being played next to my Tony Rice kind of swallows up (or perhaps blends) with some of its nice warm sound. It seems if you really want a loud cutting guitar such as a mahogany guitar or a Collings . . . you sacrifice some warmth to get that harsh edge needed to cut through the mix. So . . . it's a bit of a trade off in my opinion and a question of what you really want and need.

The guitar started out fine, impeccable quality as it should be, but over time the strings started lifting off the fingerboard, and an alarming hump developed just below the bridge. This hump is common on old guitars, but not so typical on one just a few years old. I used medium strings . . . so it should have held up. I think Santa Cruz was going through a "build it as light as a feather" phase when this guitar was built in 1994, and this may have contributed to the hump. . . simply not enough wood in the braces or top or whatever to keep things from moving under string pressure. I think I read somewhere that they don't build them quite this light anymore after reaching the outer limits of what was possible.

The neck needed a simple minor truss-rod adjustment to bring the action down playable again. This T. Rice has an extrememly low-profile thin neck that may have contributed to the action problem . . . but the fantastic double-action truss rods found only in Cruz necks really work great when an adjustment is needed.

By the way . . . if you don't like skinny necks, you might not like some of the standard Santa Cruz models. If you do like skinny necks, you'll be very pleased. Think Martin 16 series.

The top turned to a very nice warm glowing color. I really liked that.

Due to its light build and the very small amount of wood used to carve the neck, I would say this guitar, over time, may develop some problems. It did when I owned it, and I can only imagine what it's like today. I can only hope it has stabilized. I think newer models are different though . . . and not as lightly built.

I called Santa Cruz a couple of times to get some information on the year it was built and making modifications (which I did not do)and they were very knowledgeable and helpful... These have a lifetime warranty.

Overall the T. Rice is a wonderfully toneful guitar. It's more similar to a Martin in tone than to a Bourgeois or a Collings . . . but a bit more articulate than most Martins, and more lively sounding. My T. Rice was not overly loud . . . however, a new-agey spaced-out fingerstyle player once played it and said it was too boomy for him and his Michael Hedges yearnings. I took this as a wonderful compliment.

I wouldn't buy one again because I'm not rich and I've discovered that my big hands don't like skinny necks, plus I don't like the funny looking creature-like logo at the 12th fret(but you might love the little guy). I only decided to trade it off when I discovered it didn't cut through sound-wise in a jam situation. I have a 75 d-28 and a 60 D-18 that both are louder and more clear than the Rice . . . though not as lively and boomy as the Rice. The Rice might sound better to some ears just sitting on the couch playing . . . but I've found either jamming, or performing in front of a mic . . . my old standard-braced Martins really pop with a well-focused tone when you dig in with the pick. I also had a Collings D-1 (mahogany) that was louder than a Rice . . . but it also had a brighter edgier tone to it. If a Tony Rice is warm, than a Collings (either rosewood or mahogany) is cold.