Santa Cruz Fingerstyle Short Scale Custom - Moon Spruce & Cocobolo

This Santa Cruz Fingerstyle Short Scale Custom is a quiet celebration of craft, patience, and musical intention. Built around a Moon Spruce top and Cocobolo back and sides, it speaks with an effortless clarity that rewards a light touch and invites long, unhurried playing sessions. The short scale and fingerstyle geometry make it immediately welcoming, yet the voice is deep, complex, and remarkably articulate.

At the heart of this guitar is the legacy of Richard Hoover, founder of Santa Cruz Guitar Company and one of the most influential figures in modern acoustic guitar making. With over 50 years in the guitar business, Richard has spent a lifetime studying how great vintage instruments were built and, more importantly, why they sound the way they do. His approach blends old world techniques with relentless listening, refinement, and respect for tone. Every Santa Cruz guitar reflects that philosophy, and this custom build is a particularly elegant expression of it.

The Moon Spruce top is paired with Adirondack spruce braces that are carefully tapered and joined with hot hide glue, enhancing responsiveness, projection, and harmonic richness. Cocobolo back and sides add depth and shimmer, while an extensive suite of Brazilian rosewood appointments elevates both tone and aesthetics. Brazilian rosewood bindings, headstock overlay, heelcap, tail strip, backstrip, fingerboard, and pyramid bridge create a unified visual language and contribute to the guitar’s warm, authoritative low end and refined overtones.

Fingerstyle Blue purfling details frame the top, rosette, fingerboard, and headstock with subtle color and artistry, complementing the natural beauty of the woods. A slotted headstock, SCGC 12th fret inlay, snowflake inlay at the 5th fret, and white side dots add classic Santa Cruz elegance without excess. Gold Waverly tuning machines with snakewood buttons provide smooth, precise tuning and a final touch of understated luxury.

With a 24.75 inch short scale, 1 3/4 inch nut width, and 2 1/4 inch bridge spacing, this guitar is perfectly voiced and shaped for fingerstyle players who value comfort, nuance, and dynamic control. Fully buffed top, back, sides, and neck finishes allow the instrument to resonate freely while showcasing the extraordinary materials.

Weighing just 4 lb 5 oz, this is a remarkably light and responsive instrument, delivered with an unattached pickguard in the case and a hard case for protection. It is not simply a custom guitar, but a reflection of Richard Hoover’s lifelong devotion to tone and the belief that the finest instruments are built to serve the music above all else.

Other specifications of the Fingerstyle Short Scale Custom include:

• Moon Spruce Top
• Cocobolo Back & Sides
• Adirondack Spruce Braces w/Hot Hide Glue - Tapered
• Brazilian Rosewood Body, Fingerboard & Headstock Bindings
• Brazilian Rosewood Headstock Overlay
• Brazilian Rosewood Heelcap
• Brazilian Rosewood Tail Strip
• Brazilian Rosewood Backstrip
• Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard & Pyramid Bridge
• FS Blue Purfle Combo Top Border
• FS Blue Rosette
• FS Blue Fingerboard & Headstock Purflings
• Slotted Headstock
• SCGC 12th Fret Inlay
• Snowflake Inlay at 5th Fret
• White Fingerboard Side Dots
• Fully Buffed Top, Back, Side & Neck Finish
• Gold Waverly Tuning Machines with Snakewood Buttons
• Ebony with MOP Dots Pins
• 24.75" Short Scale Length
• 1 3/4" Nut width
• 2 1/4" Bridge Spacing
• Pickguard Unattached, In Case
• Hard Case
• 4 lb 5 oz
• #1434

For more information about the Santa Cruz Fingerstyle Short Scale Custom, please contact us.

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