|
|
Summertime Santa Cruz!
Greetings friends and fellow guitar players! We hope you're enjoying a wonderful start to your summer. We're going to let Eric Skye and his trio kick off this newsletter with their fantastic rendition of Summertime by Gershwin...
|
|
|
Tour the Shop
Many of you have made the trip out to Santa Cruz to ride the Giant Dipper, swim with the otters... and tour our guitar shop! For those of you who haven't been able to visit yet, we're bringing the tour to you. Thanks to the generosity and hard work of the good folks at The Guitar Note, we now offer a Virtual SCGC Tour, with seven videos of Richard giving a detailed tour through every department of the shop. Visit Santa Cruz Guitar Company from the comfort of your own home, minus the otters, of course. All seven videos and some great photos of the shop can be viewed here on our website, or by clicking the image of Richard above. For those who are planning a trip to Santa Cruz, we still offer weekly tour times, now on Thursdays at 2:30pm and Fridays at 10am. Please call or email in advance to reserve your spot.
Workshop at Artisan
Richard is heading to Nashville in July for some BBQ and NAMM... and to pay a visit to our friends at Artisan Guitars! On Saturday, July 13th, Richard will be conducting a workshops as part of Artisan's 'Meet the Builders' series. Richard will demonstrate bracing techniques and proprietary design elements that distinguish each Santa Cruz guitar, while discussing everything from internet myth busting, acoustic science and engineering, and tone woods. It's always an entertaining event when Richard has the stage, and if you've ever thought of designing your own custom Santa Cruz, Artisan is taking reservations for one-on-one appointments with Richard that evening for guitar consultation. The event takes place from 3-5pm on Saturday, July 13th, and space is limited, so contact Artisan Guitars asap to reserve your spot. Many thanks to Bill, Ellie and their wonderful staff for putting this together!
|
|
OM Grand: 'Think hi-def TV in a beautiful, handmade cabinet...'
We couldn't be happier with the response we've been getting to our newest model, the OM Grand. Debuted at the NAMM show, this lusher, louder sister to our ever popular OM Model was inspired by our good friend and dealer Harry Tuft of the Denver Folklore Center, who asked SCGC to build a special guitar to commemorate the DFC's 50th anniversary. Harry wanted a custom OM guitar with a larger body size for an increase in power in a body shape reminiscent of C.F. Martin’s historic 0000. In preparing the templates for this new body size, Richard saw this enhanced OM as a fine addition to the stellar line-up of SCGC standard models, and the concept of the OM Grand was born.
We've only been making them since January, and the 50th one just went into production. A perfect canvas for customization, many variations on the model are now being ordered, with different tone woods, Adirondack bracing, unique bindings, etc. Guitar Player Magazine has a review of the guitar in their latest issue, stating 'The string-to-string definition and separation—even on busy Travis-picking passages—is truly remarkable. It accomplishes all this while still retaining a seasoned, old-world warmth. Think hi-def TV in a beautiful, handmade cabinet.' Acoustic Guitar Magazine also did a wonderful print and video review of the guitar, asking guitarists, 'Do you want the balance and comfortable body size of an OM, the thunderous bass and volume of a dread, or the rich modern sound of a jumbo? The OM Grand strikes a great balance with elements of all three, and for those who want an OM that is louder and deeper, while still retaining the characteristic OM, look, feel, and sound, it is well worth checking out.' The OM Grand models are out there, but they don't seem to be hanging around stores for too long. Check out our dealer inventory page to see who may have one near you, or feel free to contact Carolyn or Lizabeth at the shop. Click on the video below to watch Teja Gerken's video review from Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
 |
|
|
Customization
We have been building more custom guitars than ever this past year, thanks to the adventurous spirit of our customers and dealers. Custom options price lists are available at your local dealer, or by contacting us directly. We take great pride in designing a guitar specifically for someone's playing style and aesthetic taste... it helps make every Santa Cruz guitar unique to its owner. Checking out our Just Shipped page is a great way to get ideas for customization, and your local dealer would welcome designing a guitar with you.
|
|
|
Thank you Jeff!
We wanted to take a moment to thank Jeff Molde, long time dealer and current owner of The Podium. This landmark store in Minneapolis has been around since 1959, specializing in selling only American made acoustic instruments. We thank Jeff for his support and friendship, and look forward to the next chapter in the Podium's history with Jim and his staff. As of July 1st, The Podium will change locations to 4151 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis, under the new direction of our friend Jim at The Guitar Rodeo.
|
|
SCGC Dry Goods
Our new, organic cotton tee shirts made in the USA (California, to be exact) by the good folks at Farm Fresh Clothing have been selling like hot cakes since Christmas. You won't find a more comfortable tee! Available in two colors, pine and gunpowder, it features a hand drawn image of our script logo. It even comes in women's sizes! Stop by our accessories page to check these out, as well as other apparel, new window stickers (featured on Richard's Chevy Apache below), Don Edwards posters and more...
 |
|
SCGC Artist Spotlight: Juanes & Jason Wyatt
We're always grateful to the artists who help spread the word of Santa Cruz by taking their SCGC guitars on tour. Two new artists have been making big waves with our guitars, and we are proud to introduce you to them.
Juanes is slowly taking over the world. The Colombian born singer/guitarist has sold over 15 million records worldwide, and won over 20 Grammy Awards. Lizabeth and Carolyn had the pleasure of meeting Juanes at the 2012 SXSW Music Festival, where they introduced him to Santa Cruz Guitar Company, which resulted in his purchase of a custom Orchestra Model. Since then, Juanes has toured the world with his guitar, and is not at all bashful about his affection for it. He is currently touring to support his Unplugged Album, and his SCGC OM is taking center stage. He also performed with it at the 2013 Grammy Awards, where he took home Best Latin Pop Album. We will have more on Juanes in the coming months!
Jason Wyatt has been super busy in Nashville. When not on tour as lead vocalist for The Lost Trailers, promoting their top 40 hits, Jason invests significant time developing new, up-and-coming country artists, mentoring them from his experienced successes, helping them find their feet in the bustling Nashville music scene. When asked about his Santa Cruz, Jason said “I typically play acoustic guitar on the road and in the studio. Because I travel a lot, I wanted something that was smaller but could deliver the big sound I need to accomplish both tasks brilliantly. My Santa Cruz OM Cutaway has proved to be my workhorse. Both on the road and in the studio, it just out-performs everything else. I frequently have sound engineers asking me how I get such a large sound out of such a small body. I respond with two words: Santa Cruz.” We're excited to see what the future hold for Jason, and will have more on him the coming months as well.
Thank you Bob
And finally, it is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our long time friend and collaborator, Bob Brozman. As we ponder this incomprehensible loss of one of our family, we struggle for words. We will be sharing stories of Bob and my shared journeys along with our tribute to his inestimable influence on Santa Cruz Guitar Company when time allows. Now is the time for quiet contemplation and appreciation for how much Bob packed into the stream of life and how much of that we were blessed to have flow through our own. Vaya con Dios, Compadre. – Richard
That’s all for now...
We plan to have these newsletter out more regularly, to keep you posted on everything happening in our small shop in Santa Cruz. And of course our door is always open if you are in town and want to take a tour of the shop. Simply give us a call or email beforehand to secure your spot on a Thursday or Friday tour.
As always, thank you for your continued support and well wishes, and have a wonderful 4th of July!
- The 17 of us at The Santa Cruz Guitar Company
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
