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This made me remember the first guitar I bought, as its also maybe the only picture I have from high school –
I think you need to definitely ask Richard – BUT – there is a strong possibility the bridge plate would need to be slightly larger, which would mean pulling and replacing that, which is a truly undesirable job, the bridge itself would probably have to be replaced with a larger one, less of a problem, but still a pain to do really cleanly, and the bracing and top would probably be OK, although they may prefer to have those slightly heavier as well, if they know it’s for a 12 string – But the biggest problem may be the headstock and neck width – you might be able to fit 12 strings in a 1-¾” nut space, 1-13/16 would be better, but I think mine are 1-7/8”, but I really doubt you could physically get 6 more tuners onto the existing headstock, so that would almost require a new neck – maybe they could scarf a new plate on, but I kinda doubt they’d want to handle it that way. All that adds up to a pretty difficult, costly, and time consuming project in my book.
I would say it’s worth keeping your eyes open for an in-stock guitar, or better, a used one – it seems that people buy 12 strings, after a while decide they don’t play them enough to warrant keeping them, so sell them at pretty reasonable prices – I mean, they are SCGC instruments, so you’re not likely to find them at a fire sale price, but when I’ve seen them, the prices seem far more reasonable than an equivalent 6 string guitar –
And selling any higher end guitar these days is a pain – you read the regular forums, and most of the players can’t hear a difference between a $600 Guitar Center special and a $15,000 hand made instrument, and many that can will question the worth of the difference. A beautiful guitar, like a Santa Cruz, and especially a lesser known model like the OM Grand, is gonna take a little longer, and require a bit more promotion to sell. I’m hoping that after Xmas, the market might warm a bit. But I have zero insight into selling – I just like buying – ?
I have to agree entirely with Teja – SC should build more 12 strings! I was extremely luck to find a used one a while back, and with the wife asking, “Why don’t you have a 12 string?”, it seemed like fate meant me to have it. I would agree that the OM grand body is one I’d really love to play more of, and I can only imagine that a 12 with that body has to be amazing – but, I’m pretty darn happy with what I have!
We had a very good time – It was good seeing you, MH, and sorry not to see you, MS – we should try for a forum get together –
I made an attempt at collecting audio from all over the shop, hoping that Mr Newman could cut and tape it together into something semi-enjoyable for others, and help give a sense of flavor of what the Xmas party is like. He’s got a very daunting project ahead of him, based on the extremely random stuff I listened to afterward. We’ll see what he can make of it – this podcasting/interview stuff is still too darn new for me, and as with so much of my life, the learning curve is proving to be long, and steep – but so far, he has the patience to try and deal with it. ?
The problem with these perceptions is we have to make sure we are all talking the same language – does “cannon” just mean “loud”? Or does it mean less bass? Or maybe, something else? The eq curve on different guitars can affect what we perceive as volume, and that curve is most easily affected (and changed) by the strings. So first, I’d say that a Santa Cruz guitar isn’t gonna ever sound the same as a Collings or a Martin, but hopefully, you chose it because you thought it sounded and felt better. Second, to get a better apples-to-apples comparison, put the same strings on both guitars – either SCGC strings, or maybe even sets of something completely different. Then, you’ll have to play them to break the strings in, and then you’ll need someone else to play them so you can get a better sense of how they sound from out in front. That will really give you a better sense of what the balance, and volume, of each guitar is. It could very well be that its the SCGC strings, but you might find something else.
I’ve always been intrigued with how guitars can sound, or be perceived, so differently by the player, the audience, and the microphone – is it in the build, or the materials, or the builder? But that may be the essence of another podcast –
We had a very nice Thanksgiving in Berkeley, with a number of family with us, unfortunately a few had colds that they didn’t want to spread to the grandparents, so with fewer than anticipated, we’re going to be in leftovers for a lot longer than one would hope –
It is unfortunate that mahog/spruce models are not easy to find – its a wonderful combination. Anytime I see a SC in that combo I’m interested in trying it. But, they have done a fair number of koa/spruce guitars, and those can be incredible. I have an OM from about 91 and an H from about 94 that are both outstanding. Keep an eye out for koa –
What we’re hoping is to get some nice licks to use for the podcast – It doesn’t need to be a full song, and you don’t need words, but if you can get a decent recording of yourself on your SC guitar playing something you can stretch out to 30 seconds, thats really all we need.
Now, if you happen to have a song with some nice guitar already posted on YT, Soundcloud, or a CD you’ve put out there, we can give you a plug at the same time. But some sweet licks recorded on your phone can work just as well –
C’mon – lets hear what ya got!
I’ve tried to record myself, bought a bunch of toys to see what I could do, but its never been something I could handle. Someday, it would be fun to try getting into a studio and letting someone who knows what they’re doing run the show and get a better sense of how I sound –
What has kinda worked for me is a simple usb mic ( an Apogee MiC) plugged into my iphone, then use music memos to record my guitar and voice all in one. Music memos can add drums and bass at the push of a button. Sounds OK – and the files can be put in Garage Band if I want to play with it more. But I don’t –
With many guitar brands, you kinda know what you will hear or feel before you pick the instrument up. I see a Collings, I usually expect to hear an edgier/chimier tone, a Goodall I think more lush and overtone. But there isn’t a big range between their offerings – and the general market likes items that they can classify by part number and easily categorize, and fall easily into expectations.
Santa Cruz, unfortunately, doesn’t fit that mold as easily – they are known for their excellent build quality, while still being largely hand-made, and they are also known for their general balance, which is not EQ. But every model of Santa Cruz guitar you play has a tone and eq that is idealized in that model. Add to that the fact that so many SC guitars are custom in some way, and you get even further from a standardized model no/classification system – you get unique instruments that kinda require you to partner with them as you play. Not every SC is right for every player, but SC can build the right guitar for any serious player, and their standard models are excellent choices for anyone not entirely sure or ready to customize their choice –
Most small builders / solo luthiers work really hard to achieve consistency, so their name and models and product has that same appeal that the large factory shops have, with the main goal being to meet a consumer price point. Sure, the chocolate and the strawberry taste different, but you know it all came from McDonalds. The next step up, the one that is almost impossible to achieve without a great deal of continual evaluation, is to keep everything that is necessary to the essence of the thing, but to maximize the potential of the process and materials. Richard has brought Santa Cruz as close to that as you can achieve – a solo builder can only make so many instruments one at a time, and a production shop generally gets its advantage from building more generically in quantity. Richard has melded the unique combination of the solo builder along with the cost savings and precision production capabilities of a small factory. Its an unusual business model, too hard for many to understand, and it exists solely due to Richards drive and vision – and unfortunately, what people don’t easily understand, they don’t usually value (or are willing to pay for ) –
I tend to think of it as a choice – you can just go buy a guitar made by some other shop, but with Santa Cruz and Richard, they build YOU a guitar. A limited number of people will truly appreciate it – but luckily, he only needs a limited number of us. We just need to help spread the word to others who can appreciate what SC does –
PS – I don’t complain that Santa Cruz generally don’t demand high used prices – its helped me get some incredible guitars I probably couldn’t have afforded otherwise – ?
We rely more and more heavily on an infrastructure that no one is willing to pay to maintain or improve, while also building our future upon it. The cracks grow ever wider while everyone just points fingers –
Ok -we’ll try it with Youtube – part 2 –
