ooo or oo suggestions
 

Hi all,

New to the forum, very cool.

Well, I am in the market for a new guitar ideally 000 or 00 and 12 frets to the body. Suggestions? $3000 is the neighborhood. Considering H&D Santa Cruz Collings etc. Looking to get rid of my Goodall GC to finance the new one. Any input would be appreciated.

All the best.

John

santa cruz has two 00's i really like - the all mahogany 1929 version and the standard version. oddly, the mahogany version seems warmer to my ears, where their regular 00 seems more balanced. they're both very nice.

Welcom to the AGF

I prefer Santa Cruz 000's or 00's over Collings personally. I like the lighter build with the livelier response they have.

+1 to that. :up:

Hi John,

Welcome to the forum!

Here are some links to some guitars that are close to your needs from the AGF Classifieds:

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=193123

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=195514

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=195212

Regards, Glenn

Lots of choices out there in your price range. SC or comparable can't be beat for the money.

This is a 00 sized guitar. Build thread. The guitar from that thread isn't available, but I could build you one with whatever woods, neck width, scale length ect that you want.

Dana's building a wonderful 00 now. <www.pantheonguitars.com>

Very timely. I just got a santa Cruz 000 12-fret today, in trade for a mandolin. It's a very nice guitar. The workmanship is immaculate, it's light as a feather, and the 12-fret neck gives it a surprisingly strong bass for a small guitar. I've only had it for a few hours of course, so judgments may be preamature, but I don't think I'd rank the Santa Cruz above my Goodall grand concert. They're very different but if I could only keep one of the two, I think it would be the Goodall. Don't get me wrong, the Santa Cruz is a wonderful guitar that I'm very pleased to have but the Goodall is also outstanding. Maybe I'm just more bonded with the Goodall, which was my first guitar of that caliber.

I also understand the desire to try new things. I've let some truly outstanding mandolins go to get a couple of equally impressive guitars (including the Santa Cruz) over the past year.

Something I've noticed about the Santa Cruz that I've also read many times is that it's very easy to inadvertently push the high E string right off the side of the fingerboard when you fret it. It is positioned close to the edge and the light gauge strings offer less resistance than I'm used to. I've already adapted to it but it's something to be aware of. But the voice is heavenly and it's a beautifully built guitar.

Wow, quick responses, thank you all so much!

I have to say it was the SC 000 and 00 that got me interested in a new guitar in the first place. I am yet to see one but have plans to play a few this weekend. (Dad's big day away:-) I have played a few Huss and Daltons and have been impressed though I found the neck to be a bit wide on the few I tried.
Would love a Froggy Bottom and have played a few but too much $$$$ for me.

devellis,

Congrats on your new acquisition, we have much in common. My first real acoustic was the Goodall GC I am thinking of parting with. It is a rosewood and spruce model going on 10 years now. I have always had a love-hate relationship with it. The harmonics and overtones are scary good and I like the feel of the satin neck and it plays great. However, I have always found the low end very much lacking and there is just something strange about the midrange I cannot put my finger on. Sometimes I like it other times not. It is beautifully made but I am yearning for a bit of a change. Hopefully I will not regret it.

Thank again,

John

I really like this post. You post asking suggestions for a guitar, and get an offer for a custom build. Wow.

Woody- I went through that entire thread, including watching the voicing video. That is a spectacular instrument. Good job on the reply to this post, and on that OO-D Koa!

I make this same suggestion everytime someone asks about a 00. My strong recommendation is that if you are serious about looking for a 00 you have to include H&D in your quest.

No one knows more about 00's, and maybe 000's than Tarpman, owner of LA Guitar Sales. His personal 00 collection is impressive to say the least,and he has put together some fantastic custom 00's made for his shop like this 00-09 Koa, and, if you can stretch your budget just a bit (ask for AGF discount) I would look at this SCGC 00 very closely.

Something to keep an eye out for, Bob, is the notorious "Santa Cruz dimple." Because the SCGC guitars are so lightly built, sometimes the tops will shrink a little bit around the tailblock, which then becomes noticeable as a rectangular dimple in the top.

With proper humidification it shouldn't be a problem, but it's characteristic to Santa Cruz's and something to be aware of.


whm

Wade, thanks for the heads-up. No dimple yet but I'll continue to watch that area. I generally keep 'em at a pretty happy humidity.

After spending a bit more time with the Santa Cruz, I'd say that it's bassier than my Goodall (which has a European spruce top and rosewood back) and has longer sustain than the Goodall. The Goodall has lots of overtones but the tone is more balanced than the Santa Cruz and the notes don't linger quite as long. Either works very well for fingerpicking. The Goodall flatpicks better -- quite well, in fact. With the Santa Cruz, trying to flatpick a reel, the lingering notes get in the way of the new ones. Both guitars strum beautifully, as long as you're not doing Pete Townsend windmills.

So, if you want the Santa Cruz primarily for fingerpicking and you want more bass than you're getting from your Goodall, the SC 000 would seem like an excellent choice. If you occasionally flatpick stuff with a lot of notes, maybe not so much. Stated somewhat differently, my Goodall does just about everything quite well. My Santa Cruz is more of a dedicated fingerpicking guitar and it does that very well. The bass is pretty surprising and the tone is sweet and complex. For someone who doesn't flatpick melodies, its limitations are not likely to be much of an issue. So, although it wouldn't be ideal as my only guitar because of what I like to play, it may well work wonderfully for someone else -- and it's a wonderful guitar. From what I've read, the Santa Cruz guitars are quite consistent and the verbal descriptions I've read of the 000 match my experience. However, I don't have a large enough sample to know whether mine is especially representative. Hope this background helps you make a decision.