Santa Cruz Baritone D Model - Dark Forest Ancient Cypress & Macassar Ebony

Few builders in modern acoustic history command the reverence of Richard Hoover. For more than fifty years, the founder of Santa Cruz Guitar Company has pursued a singular ideal: extracting the maximum musical potential from extraordinary wood through obsessive craftsmanship, voicing, and structural refinement. Hoover’s long standing fascination with ancient, storied tonewoods finds its ultimate expression in this breathtaking Santa Cruz Baritone D Model, built from materials that read more like archaeology than luthiery.

At the heart of this instrument is a Dark Forest Ancient Cypress top that has been carbon dated at over 3,758 years old. Salvaged from long buried forests and preserved by nature itself, this cypress offers a stiffness to weight ratio that rivals the finest old growth spruce while delivering a hauntingly complex, woody voice with massive headroom and shimmering overtones. Paired with Macassar ebony back and sides, the tonal result is thunderous yet articulate, with piano like lows, sculpted mids, and a crystalline high end that rings endlessly. Sitka spruce braces, scalloped and tapered in Santa Cruz’s signature parabolic style, allow the top to breathe freely, giving this baritone scale instrument an effortless response despite its cavernous depth and authority.

Visually, the guitar is nothing short of regal. Koa body, fingerboard, and headstock bindings frame the ancient top with warm contrast, echoed by a koa rosette, backstrip, heel cap, and tail wedge. Black maple black top purfling adds a refined graphic edge, while the high gloss nitrocellulose lacquer on the body and headstock lets every grain line glow. The Honduran mahogany neck wears a satin matte nitro finish for a fast, organic feel in the hand, flowing into a slotted headstock capped with ebony veneer and adorned with the luminous MOP SCGC inlay. Long Pattern Diamonds and Squares fingerboard inlays complete the classic Santa Cruz aesthetic with understated elegance.

Built for serious players, this Baritone D features a round neck profile, a commanding 27 inch scale length, and a wide 1 7/8 inch nut with 2 5/16 inch bridge spacing that invite both intricate fingerstyle work and powerful flatpicking. Ebony fingerboard and bridge, ebony pins with mother of pearl dots, and gold Waverly tuning machines ensure flawless stability and premium feel. It ships strung with Santa Cruz Guitar Company Baritone Parabolic Low Tension strings, perfectly matched to the instrument’s long scale and immense dynamic range.

Remarkably light at just 4 pounds 12 ounces, this guitar resonates in the hands before a single note is struck and comes protected in a top tier Ameritage hard shell case.

This is not simply a baritone guitar. It is a statement piece from a master builder at the height of his powers, forged from wood that predates recorded history and voiced with half a century of accumulated wisdom. For the collector, the tone connoisseur, or the player seeking something truly transcendent, this Santa Cruz Baritone D stands among the rarest and most compelling modern acoustics ever created.

Other specifications include:

• Dark Forest Ancient Cypress Top
• Macassar Ebony Back & Sides
• Sitka Spruce Braces - Scalloped & Tapered
• Koa Body, Fingerboard & Headstock Bindings
• Koa Rosette & Backstrip
• Koa Heel Cap & Tail Wedge
• Black/Maple/Black Top Purfling
• Honduran Mahogany Neck
• Ebony Fingerboard & Bridge
• Ebony Headstock Veneer
• Long Patter Diamonds & Squares Fingerboard Inlay
• MOP SCGC Headstock Inlay
• High Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer Body & Headstock Finish
• Matte Nitrocellulose Lacquer Neck Finish
• Slotted Headstock
• Round Neck Profile
• Gold Waverly Tuning Machines
• Ebony Pins with MOP Dots
• Santa Cruz Guitar Company Baritone Parabolic Low Tension Strings
• 27" Scale Length
• 1 7/8" Nut Width
• 2 5/16" Bridge Spacing
• Ameritage Hard Shell Case
• 4 lb 12 oz
• #8064

For more information about the Santa Cruz Baritone Professional D Model, please contact us.

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