Pre-War Power and Clarity Inspired by Tony Rice’s Legendary Tone.
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The Santa Cruz D Tony Rice Signature model is a masterfully voiced dreadnought that delivers bold, articulate tone with remarkable depth and clarity. Its Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides create a powerful, balanced sound with strong low-end presence and shimmering highs, perfect for dynamic flatpicking or expressive fingerstyle. The scalloped bracing enhances responsiveness, giving each note a lively, immediate feel. A mahogany neck with a comfortable V profile offers a confident, familiar grip, while classic herringbone and ivoroid details add timeless elegance. Built with precision and purpose, this Tony Rice Signature is an inspiring performer and a smart long-term investment!
The Tony Rice Signature Model represents over 30 years of collaboration between the world's foremost flatpicking icon and SCGC's founding luthier, Richard Hoover. Today's model incorporates decades of refinement in response to players' demands and the sophisticated evolution of the master's technique.
Never intended to be a copy of Mr. Rice's iconic 1935 Martin D-28, the TR Model is voiced to showcase his stellar lead work with influences from Clarence White to John Coltrane. This guitar delivers exactly what the contemporary flatpicking artist needs: substantial treble and midrange for rapid single-line lead, clean note separation for definition and the traditional bass boom without the woofy bottom end of some of the venerable Pre-war dreadnoughts.
Interested in building your custom Santa Cruz with us? Email us at acoustics@soundpure.com, or call us at (919) 682-5552! Richard Hoover began building guitars and carved-top mandolins in 1972. By 1976 his focus was on the modern steel string guitar. The task of becoming a master at all aspects of guitar making is a lifelong pursuit, and Richard has patiently refined his craftsmanship and knowledge as his company has grown. It was and is Richard's intent to translate his skills and sensitivities as an individual builder to an exceptional team of craftspeople, each of whom could become an expert in their specialty. Richard's style of allowing his craftspeople to interpret his vision has propelled Santa Cruz Guitar Company to the forefront of modern guitar making. Each Santa Cruz guitar receives an extraordinary amount of individual attention due to our "bench style" of building, which necessitates that each worker not only perform his own specialty, but also review the work of those who have completed stages before him. Over half of all the instruments that we build are custom orders, reflecting to a high degree the personality and unique playing needs of the buyer. Every guitar top is graduated and tuned by hand to attain maximum resonance and sustain, ensuring a high level of consistency of sound within each standard model line as well as the ability for custom voicing. The balance, tone, volume, and response of a Santa Cruz guitar are established before the guitar is strung. By limiting the number of instruments built, we can practice a style of lutherie born from a genuine love of the guitar, as opposed to a production line approach that might favor greater numbers at the expense of our attention to detail. We believe that our approach ensures that every Santa Cruz guitar is exceptional. Our intent is to create a uniquely sophisticated instrument that will inspire and challenge its owner throughout a lifetime.
Body Style: Dreadnought
Top Wood: Sitka Spruce
Back & Sides: Indian Rosewood
Bracing: Sitka Spruce, Scalloped
Adhesive: Titebond
Soundhole Diameter: 4 1/4"
Rosette: Herringbone
Top Border: Herringbone
Backstrip: Zipper
Tail Strip: Matching Backstrip
Body Binding: Ivoroid
Neck
Neck Wood: Mahogany
Neck Profile: V with Volute
Nut Width: 1-11/16"
Scale Length: 25.375"
Fingerboard Material: Ebony
Fingerboard Inlay: SCGC Logo, Mother of Pearl
Fingerboard Binding: Ivoroid
Headstock: Solid Square
Headplate Material: Ebony
Headstock Binding: None
Hardware
Bridge Material: Ebony
Bridge Style: Regular
String Spacing: 2-3/16"
Bridge Pins: Ebony with Mother of Pearl Dots
End Pin: Ebony with Mother of Pearl Dot
Tuners: Waverly Nickel with Nickel Oval Knobs
Appointments
Pickguard Shape: TR/D12
Pickguard Material: Tortoise
Finish
Body Finish: Buffed Gloss (Clear)
Neck Finish: Matte (Clear)
Setup
Action: 3/2
Fret Wire: Standard
Strings
Factory Strings: SCGC Mid-Tension
Case
Case: SCG-DRD3P
Weight: 4lbs 1oz
LR Baggs Presents Santa Cruz Guitar Company. This short film narrated by Richard Hoover, founder of Santa Cruz Guitar Company, documents the culture of their boutique lutherie and a mission to provide exceptional instruments for musicians that truly change the world.
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