SCGC 000 Soundhole Location

[eucatastrophe]

Hello from Maine SCGC family!
I just purchased my first Santa Cruz guitar, a 2011 000 Custom Sitka/Mahogany with Sunburst. In my search I had always thought there was something aesthetically more pleasing about the SC 000 than the traditional Martin.

As I was admiring my 000 I realized the soundhole is moved up higher into the upper bout! It is not centered on the waist. And there are only 18 frets instead of 20.

Can someone share the story and thought process of this departure from the famous Martin design?

Was it aesthetic or tonal? Both?

I’d love to hear!!

Thank you!!

[wbb90TR]

Sounds like you scored a OOO  12 fret. Joined at the body at the 12th fret. Enjoy!

[indexless]

Love to see a picture and the serial number, that would help

[eucatastrophe]

I’ll post pictures later but the serial is 4274.

[eucatastrophe]

I’ll try to upload pictures soon and maybe do a NGD post too 🙂

It’s serial 4274.

Here’s a link of pictures two previous owners ago 🙂

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ncbluesman/albums/72157683778912503/with/35877862161

[wbb90TR]

Beautiful, definitely a OOO-12 fret. 18 total frets are proper for this model. Slotted headstock as well.!  Traditional OOO-12 design by any maker. Early Martins especially. That SCGC OOO will have a sweet balanced tone!

Walter

[indexless]

Congrats on that fine piece, each one a masterpiece.

[eucatastrophe]

Thanks for the compliments but the primary question of my post is—why did SCGC change the soundhole location on their version of the 12 fret 000?

Tone?

Aesthetics?

Would love to hear any background on this. Thanks!

[indexless]

Well, I posed your question to the shop, and I’ll speak with Richard about this.

[eucatastrophe]

Fantastic! Thank you so much for the help and I can’t wait to hear more about it. I cannot tell you how impressed I am by this guitar.   it has all of the immediacy and volume and responsiveness that I would expect out of a great 12 fret 000. But I was not expecting such a sublime combination of warmth clarity and overtones.

I wonder what role the SC location of the soundhole contributes to this vs the Martin location for 000 12 fret?

[Mr Ridesglide]

That’s one beautiful guitar! And only a few serial numbers later than my 000. Awesome.

[eucatastrophe]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>How wonderful, Mr Ridesglide! What wood combo is yours? How long have you had it?</p>

[Mr Ridesglide]

I’ve only had it since May – it’s Adirondack Spruce and Mahogany and is also 12 frets!  I don’t have a slotted headstock, but it’s very pretty and I had Darren make me a pick guard recently (mine was made with one, but wasn’t on the guitar when I got it).

I’m loving it – my son even more so!

Did you take a photo of the inside behind the sound hole to see who tuned your guitar? It’s pretty fun to know I think.

[eucatastrophe]

Mine is a Sitka top with mahogany. I bet you’re Adirondack and mahogany sound absolutely wonderful too.

I will try to figure out how to post my own pictures and maybe some videos soon a proper NGD Post.

no I haven’t gotten a good picture of the signed top yet on the inside. I have heard about this and I think it’s a great thing that Santa Cruz does. I’m getting a new saddle any day now and when I install that and change the strings I’ll take some pictures.

out of curiosity did you know before buying it that Santa Cruz has a different design than the Martin 00012 Fret? That the sound hole is slightly shifted upwards. It makes it look almost like a typical OM since there is less wood between the 12th frat joint and the top of the sound hole then on a similar Martin. I really like it. I hope the folks at Santa Cruz can chime in here and tell us more about this.

[Mr Ridesglide]

No, I didn’t know it was different, but I think I didn’t care really either as I, well got this as a gift, and was just delighted to see the guitar and subsequently hear it!  I really love that yours is a slotted headstock.

[indexless]

I was at the shop yesterday, I want to talk with Richard about it, I hope to this week, but it’s crazy busy with the 50th next Saturday. Thanks for your patience, stay tuned

[eucatastrophe]

Thanks! No worries at all. What an exciting time for Richard and SCGC, 50 years is an amazing achievement.

another thing to note: it’s only the SC 000 that veers from the traditional 20 fret with the 18 and shifted soundhole design. The 00 and H 12 frets have the lower soundhole and 20 frets. Once you see it the SC 000 design really stands out. With the soundhole placement and the SC bridge (as opposed to the typical pyramid) it has a beautiful elegance that blends modern and traditional.

[indexless]

you are not forgotten, just lots going on and Richard is very thoughtful on his answers, so give him some time to injest this question

Thanks!

[eucatastrophe]

Thanks for the update! I’m looking forward to hearing more soon.

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