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I’m very interested in the F-model series offered by Santa Cruz. I am a viola player first, so the arched back on the FTC (?) is interesting to me as are the F models in general. Commissioning an instrument is a big task and I would like to better understand the F models prior to wasting the team’s time. Are there some clear differences between the models?
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Paulrich,
I’ll wait until Tadol comments as he is “THE F GURU”, But I have an FTC and an F. Both Cutaways and both wonderful instruments. Both are very “Volumetric” .Strong , clear and excellent note seperation.
My F is over 20 years old and has a strong Bass (think Martin) and bright trebles….. I string it with Elixer Custom Lites and it has a Jazzy voice.
The FTC is a very different instrument…..I’ve had it for awhile now and I’m still learning to make it sing…..but it is “Full Voiced” because of the carved back.
Let’s wait to hear from Tadol……
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Wow – there aren’t a lot of differences between the F and FTC, other than the carved back on the FTC, as far as I know. It would be an interesting question to pose to Richard if there were any specific bracing differences. But visually, I don’t see anything. So the carved back is really the big deal – it is stiffer (I think) than a braced flat back, and it seems to offer more focused projection of the sound towards the front. That all sounds good, but it really changes the voice of the instrument. If you can compare an archtop guitar to a flat top, the FTC picks up some of those characteristics. But its not entirely either. And personally, I love the FTCs “bark”, but it would never be “the one” for me – thank goodness I don’t have to choose just one!
The F is a really nice body size/shape – very versatile, and it feels good in your hands. Its a really good alternate to an OM – if you want a cutaway, an F is a great choice – no cutaway, I’d probably go OM. But if its a question of commissioning a guitar, I’d start by doing your best to try one out just to see how it feels, then I’d talk to Richard about what you are looking for soundwise. I think there’s a good reason the F body is used for the FS model, which is a very responsive fingerstyle instrument. I think it may offer, with the choice of woods, the most open palette to create an instrument as specific tonally and responsively as SC possibly can. But that is purely speculative –
I don’t see many Fs around – not sure what to think of that, but it may be a model designation that isn’t in every builders catalog, while the OM is – but a maple F is my regular play-out guitar, and one of my favorites.
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