NGD: Santa Cruz D/PW Brazilian

[Boozehound]

I decided to separate this from my 'incoming' post from a few days ago. My Brazilian D/PW arrived today.

Packaging: Guitar Center is lucky the guitar arrived unbroken. It was poorly packaged in the box and there was no packaging around the guitar itself in the case to protect it.

Condition: I would call the condition 'player grade' but well cared for. Guitar Center called it 'great'. I wouldn't call it 'great'. It's about what I expected though. The top is pretty clean except for a ding on the lower bout and an impression/scratch in the clear coat about 2" long near the bridge. Minor finish crazing similar to what I would expect on an older SCGC or similar guitar with a thin Nitro finish. Some minor dings on the back and sides, but overall the back is in great shape. Top 3 frets show moderate wear as well as the 12th-14th frets on the treble side.

Setup: Neck may have been reset at some point, but seems to have been done well if so. Action is quite low (4/32 and 1.5/32) but there is very little buzzing unless you really laid into it. Lots of saddle. The neck is maybe borderline overset if anything. Definitely won't need a neck reset. I get the impression this was somebody's gigging guitar.

Overall Impression: This was somebody's gigging guitar most likely. Low action, pickup, strap button, a few dings. It checks all the boxes. The Brazilian B/S are pretty straight grained and in great condition with no cracks or major dings. Shimmery trebles with piano-like bass. Tonally it sounds great. Very loud with the 'reverby' quality that only Brazilian seems to bring to the table. Initially I was a bit put off by the condition and was planning to return, however as the new strings settle in and I play it a bit I'm leaning toward keeping it. It really does sound nice, and the playability is superb.


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Problem / Question: The fret board seems to 'fall toward' the sound hole starting at about the 14th fret (below).

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I know that normally this can be bad news, so I took a closer look. The neck block looks good and straight with no gaps or anything and I don't see or feel any loose braces. Some excess glue where the neck block is affixed to the top which, combined with the low action / high saddle on an older guitar, makes the think it may have had a neck reset.

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The top appears appropriately flat with no deflection around the sound hole. There is no significantly belly behind the bridge and no sunken spot in front of the bridge.

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Is this just a case of someone performing a neck reset and not shimming the top of the fret board enough creating a slope where the end of the fret board is glued to the top, or is there something more here I should be worried about?

Full Imgur Link: https://imgur.com/a/H8CnOzt

[brencat]

Congrats on a great guitar! Looks wonderful. I've owned a 2012 D/PW in Sitka/EIR with the Adi bracing/hide glue package for years and it's still one of the very best instruments I've ever owned.

A suggestion... run Light strings. These are so lightly built that Mediums choke them, IMO. DR Sunbeam 12 - 54s are my favs, but D'Addario EJ-16s are also awesome.

Playability is effortless as you're discovering. That is no accident, and is a hallmark of the Santa Cruz brand in general.

Play her in good health!

[Boozehound]

Originally Posted by brencat

Congrats on a great guitar! Looks wonderful. I've owned a 2012 D/PW in Sitka/EIR with the Adi bracing/hide glue package for years and it's still one of the very best instruments I've ever owned.

A suggestion... run Light strings. These are so lightly built that Mediums choke them, IMO. DR Sunbeam 12 - 54s are my favs, but D'Addario EJ-16s are also awesome.

Playability is effortless as you're discovering. That is no accident, and is a hallmark of the Santa Cruz brand in general.

Play her in good health!

Thanks. I definitely am going to run lights. It's one of the things I love about SC dreads - they sound loud and proud with lights and play like butter. My Martins seems to need mediums, but my SC's and Froggy like lights.

[HFox]

If you really love the voice and think you may have found a keeper why not send the pics you have posted to Carolyn @ SCGC and have them advise you.
For the price that you paid for it you might find it worth investing in sending it to the shop and have them do a neck reset and Pleck.
That's what I did with the Da-1 ..... worth the $ if you love the sound and intend to keep it.
Great looking guitar by the way.......Classic !!

[Martz911]

Gorgeous woods! You've done your homework and taken great pictures. I second the notion to send them to SCGC and price out a "refresh". Very tough to find Brazilian like that now.

[Boozehound]

Originally Posted by Martz911

Gorgeous woods! You've done your homework and taken great pictures. I second the notion to send them to SCGC and price out a "refresh". Very tough to find Brazilian like that now.

Thanks. I sent the pic and an email in to Santa Cruz repair to see what they say.

As long as it's not a violation of forum rules (if so, I'll delete) the guitar cost me $4500 and I got 8% back in Musician's Friend points, so really like $4200, so I could afford to put a bit into it and still not be upside down.

[catndahats]

congrats!
Love it when a story has a happy ending.

[tadol]

It looks very much like it had a reset without shim, which isn’t really a problem at all. You can email the serial no. to the office, and they can give you any details they have on the build. Personally, I’d just play the heck out of it, and once you wear those frets out and add a few more dings and scrapes of your own, then consider options for repair/reset/refret/refinish etc., and whether its worth sending it back to SCGC, or using a local tech, possibly even a referral the shop might have. I have a couple older SCGCs, which show some real road-warrior scars, but that doesn’t keep them from playing and sounding great, and makes me far less concerned about taking them out to play, or even lend them to (very close!) friends -

[Andrew P.]

Originally Posted by HFox

If you really love the voice and think you may have found a keeper why not send the pics you have posted to Carolyn @ SCGC and have them advise you.
For the price that you paid for it you might find it worth investing in sending it to the shop and have them do a neck reset and Pleck.
That's what I did with the Da-1 ..... worth the $ if you love the sound and intend to keep it!

This is good to know. How long of a turnaround time was it? Did you send it to them and wait for them to get to it or was it more like a reservation or appointment, where they told you they were ready for it and you sent it then? I’d love to do something like this, but I don’t want to give up my guitar for months while it sits at scgc waiting for them to get to it.

[Boozehound]

Originally Posted by tadol

It looks very much like it had a reset without shim, which isn’t really a problem at all. You can email the serial no. to the office, and they can give you any details they have on the build. Personally, I’d just play the heck out of it, and once you wear those frets out and add a few more dings and scrapes of your own, then consider options for repair/reset/refret/refinish etc., and whether its worth sending it back to SCGC, or using a local tech, possibly even a referral the shop might have. I have a couple older SCGCs, which show some real road-warrior scars, but that doesn’t keep them from playing and sounding great, and makes me far less concerned about taking them out to play, or even lend them to (very close!) friends -

Sage advice. That's the way I'm leaning. I have an email with a few pics in to the office, and will see what the say. Right now the guitar plays well and sounds amazing. It's one of those guitars that you can strum, walk away and make a sandwich, and then come back to find it still ringing. I'm going to try to post a video or sound clip later today or this weekend for those who may be interested in hearing it.

Santa Cruz really is a delight to deal with. They are responsive, informative, and very polite. My overall affinity for them as a brand / manufacturer continues to grow. Great company.

[HFox]

Originally Posted by Andrew P.

This is good to know. How long of a turnaround time was it? Did you send it to them and wait for them to get to it or was it more like a reservation or appointment, where they told you they were ready for it and you sent it then? IÂ’d love to do something like this, but I donÂ’t want to give up my guitar for months while it sits at scgc waiting for them to get to it.

I did this about 6 years ago.
I called Carolyn and she suggested that I make a reservation and then I sent it 2 day air to Santa Cruz just a few days before the date scheduled.
They inspected it , told me what they suggested be done ( I chose a neck reset , Pleck and minor cosmetic polishing ) gave me the cost and I said yes.
They had the guitar about 3 weeks and Carolyn kept me informed as to progress about twice a week.
I Paid $ 4k for the guitar and had about a grand in it after shipping and refit. I sold the guitar for $9,000 thru a SCGC dealer with a negotiated 10% commission as I was ordering/purchasing the SC 1934 Braz/ Adi from them.
I used the proceed to help pay for the 1934 Zorro.
I felt very good about the whole deal.
I would think that with the Covid situation YMMV. But check with the "Mothership" they are GREAT folks to deal with.

[Bridgepin]

Congrats on a beautiful guitar, I'm sure that is one good sound box.

Really not enough information to give you a more definitive answer with out seeing more pictures.

My first thought is I would make sure the guitar is properly humidified 40 to 50% R/H this the range I keep my instruments. I feel my guitars sound there best between 40 and 45%.

Bob Taylor has a great video out as to how to read your guitar relating to R/H

https://www.taylorguitars.com/videos...5603-85342632/

[Andrew P.]

HFox - that is great info. SCGC is awesome and I love they do it on an appointment basis. Thanks.

[LakewoodM32Fan]

Congrats! And even though it's not in "great" condition, I'm glad that it seems to be in pretty good condition, and looks like you scored a really good deal.

The only pause I have, which can be easily addressed, is you mention the action (4/32 and 1.5/32). That's a pretty big slope from the low to high E. I have most of my guitars set up at 3/32 and 2/32, which results in no buzzing and low enough action to be easily playable, but not too low in that it robs the guitar of its tone or power. This is pretty consistent from my OMs up to my Dreadnoughts. The dreads may be slightly higher (like 3.5/32 and 2.25/32).

Having the pretty large disparity in action height between your low and high E strings...is the saddle like pretty tall on the low E side and really low on the high E side?

I mean if you like the tone and playability, there may be nothing to be concerned about.

[Boozehound]

Originally Posted by LakewoodM32Fan

Congrats! And even though it's not in "great" condition, I'm glad that it seems to be in pretty good condition, and looks like you scored a really good deal.

The only pause I have, which can be easily addressed, is you mention the action (4/32 and 1.5/32). That's a pretty big slope from the low to high E. I have most of my guitars set up at 3/32 and 2/32, which results in no buzzing and low enough action to be easily playable, but not too low in that it robs the guitar of its tone or power. This is pretty consistent from my OMs up to my Dreadnoughts. The dreads may be slightly higher (like 3.5/32 and 2.25/32).

Having the pretty large disparity in action height between your low and high E strings...is the saddle like pretty tall on the low E side and really low on the high E side?

I mean if you like the tone and playability, there may be nothing to be concerned about.

Thanks. I wrote the action wrong. It's quite low overall and pretty even. It's actually 2/32 (not 4/32) at the low E and about 1.5 at the high e. I would think it would buzz like crazy at that action, but it actually doesn't unless you lay into it. I'm going to give it about 2 weeks to stabilize at 50% RH in my guitar room and then adjust the action up a bit.

I've definitely come around from my initial reaction of "This is probably going back" to "This guitar sounds amazing and I should keep it", LOL.