Shop Santa Cruz Acoustic Guitars

At Eddie’s Guitars, we know how meaningful the right instrument can be. We’re musicians too, and we’re here to help you find a guitar that inspires your playing. With years of experience and deep product knowledge, we’re ready to guide you to the Santa Cruz acoustic guitar that fits your sound, style, and story.

About Santa Cruz Guitar Company

Website: https://santacruzguitar.com/

Luthier Richard Hoover created a juggernaut when he founded his company in 1976 in Santa Cruz, California. The Santa Cruz Guitar Company (SCGC) has built a reputation for handcrafting world-class acoustic guitars. Each instrument is built with attention to detail, responsibly sourcing tonewoods that prioritize tone, balance, and longevity. The company is known for its small-batch, guitar maker-driven approach, producing instruments that are as consistent as they are unique.

Professional guitarists and discerning collectors alike enjoy this brand, and it’s easy to see why. With a focus on sustainability, playability, and sonic excellence, these guitars are as beautiful to look at as they are fun to play.

Best Santa Cruz Models

• Santa Cruz D/PW (Dreadnought Pre-War): A powerhouse model with vintage-inspired tone and big, warm projection. It’s perfect for flatpicking and strumming.
• Santa Cruz OM: The versatile Orchestra Model suits fingerstyle players and singer-songwriters who want balance and clarity across all strings.
• Santa Cruz OM Custom: A custom version of the classic OM model, the OM Custom offers a rich, balanced tone with a focus on clarity and responsiveness. The versatility of this model makes it suitable for a wide range of play styles, from intricate fingerpicking to rhythmic strumming.
• Santa Cruz OM Grand: The OM Grand is a larger-bodied take on the traditional OM. It offers increased volume and bass response while retaining the clarity and balance prized in fingerstyle and light strumming.
• Santa Cruz 00: Smaller-bodied and extremely comfortable, this model delivers a focused, articulate tone ideal for blues, folk, and light picking styles.
• Santa Cruz H13: The H13 is a unique hybrid with deep bass response and sweet highs. It is designed for both stage performance and recording versatility.
• Santa Cruz Tony Rice: Built in collaboration with bluegrass legend Tony Rice, this dreadnought offers incredible power and tonal depth for advanced pickers.
• Santa Cruz Brad Paisley (B/PW): this Signature Model is a powerful, vintage-inspired dreadnought designed in collaboration with Brad Paisley. It offers exceptional responsiveness and a dry, woody tone. Its properties make it suited for both flatpicking and dynamic stage performance.
• Santa Cruz H: The Santa Cruz H is a versatile, hybrid-style guitar that combines the best aspects of both dreadnought and OM designs. The model delivers a well-rounded tone with strong bass and articulate highs. It’s ideal for players who seek a powerful, dynamic sound for both strumming and fingerstyle.

• Santa Cruz OOO Custom: The OOO Custom features a smaller, comfortable body with a focus on tonal depth and warmth, making it perfect for fingerstyle players. Its unique, custom specifications allow for a personalized touch in both aesthetics and sound, providing a refined, nuanced playing experience.
• Santa Cruz Firefly: This petite model is built for intimacy and articulation, delivering remarkable tone and projection for its small size. It’s ideal for light touch players and couch sessions.

Choosing the Right Santa Cruz Instrument

Budget

Santa Cruz guitars are premium instruments, often priced between $5,000 and $15,000, depending on specs and customization. These guitars are investments in craftsmanship and tone, and they hold their value well and often become heirloom-quality pieces.

Sound

Musicians know these instruments for their clarity, balance, and warmth. Whether you prefer a crisp high end for fingerstyle or a resonant low end for rhythm, there’s a model designed with that in mind. Each handcrafted guitar is engineered to bring out the best sound from the player.

Tonewood

Tonewoods play a huge role in the voice of a Santa Cruz guitar. Popular spruce tops include Sitka spruce for brightness, German spruce for balance, Italian spruce for resonance, and Adirondack spruce for powerful dynamics, and moon spruce for complexity and smoothness. Sinker redwood is also a beloved top tonewood for its warmth, richness, and strength, while western red cedar offers rich tones and dynamic responsiveness.

Old growth mahogany, cocobolo, Brazilian rosewood, Indian rosewood, and Koa are often used for the back and sides, each bringing their own sonic character. Mahogany, for instance, is warm and woody. Cocobolo is glassy and bright. Rosewood is deep and rich. Koa adds both brightness and beauty.

Bridge Types

While the bridge type can influence tone subtly, it’s often chosen to complement the overall design of the instrument. Most Santa Cruz acoustics come with a traditional belly-style bridge, which helps with sustain and string balance. Some models offer a pyramid bridge or vintage-style options that slightly alter the guitar’s tonal focus and visual aesthetic.

Colors

Santa Cruz guitars are usually finished in natural, sunburst, or custom stains that showcase the beauty of the wood. These finishes are thinly applied to preserve the instrument’s resonance. While not flashy, the color choices are elegant and timeless, allowing the quality of the materials to shine.

Genre and Style Compatibility

From bluegrass to folk to jazz, Santa Cruz guitars serve a wide range of genres. The OM and 00 models are great for nuanced playing, for example. Meanwhile the D/PW and Tony Rice models handle more aggressive picking and rhythm work. If you play multiple styles, look for a model with tonal balance and dynamic range.

Neck Profile

Neck shapes on Santa Cruz guitars are designed for comfort and precision. Most models feature a soft-V or modified C shape that suits both small and large hands. These necks are often slightly fuller than modern factory builds, offering a solid, responsive feel that enhances control and reduces fatigue.

Amps and Pedals

Santa Cruz guitars are primarily built for acoustic performance. Many, however, can be outfitted with high-quality pickup systems upon request. These include options like the LR Baggs Anthem or K&K Pure Mini. If you plan to use your guitar on stage, adding a pickup can give you flexibility while preserving the guitar’s natural tone when amplified.

Frets and Fingerboards

Most Santa Cruz models use ebony fingerboards for smooth playability and durability. Frets are polished and precisely set for low action and clean intonation. Depending on your playing style, you can request different fret wire sizes or custom inlay work.

Find Your Perfect Santa Cruz Instrument at Eddie’s Guitars

Santa Cruz guitars are more than instruments. They are a reflection of your musical identity. At Eddie’s Guitars, we carry a wide selection of Santa Cruz models and can help you find your perfect fit.

Whether you’re exploring your first handcrafted acoustic or upgrading to a lifelong companion, our team is here to help. We’ll guide you through the details and specs to match you with an instrument that fits your playing style, budget, and artistic goals. Let us help you discover the Santa Cruz acoustic guitar that truly resonates with you.