If you want to submit a technical question, you can email your question to scgc@santacruzguitar.com.
Pick-Up Systems
Q: What pick-up systems do you recommend?
A: There are several great pick-ups available which we recommend. Highlander, Headway, Baggs, Fishman, Schertler and B-Band are the most common pick-ups we recommend. For more information feel free to contact us. Different systems have different advantages depending on your needs.
Q: I have some variation in response when I plug my guitar in. Any ideas?
A: The piezo elements in your pick-up respond to the same downward string pressure that makes your guitar perform acoustically. In the acoustic mode string energy puts the saddle, bridge and top in motion pumping air that we perceive as sound. To amplify the guitar piezo elements are placed between the bottom of the saddle and the bridge. These rely on a positive contact or pressure to transfer the strings signal electronically to the speaker in your amplifier. For equal amplitude you need equal contact with each piezo element. If the bottom of the saddle or bridge slot are not completely flat, they will create unequal contact with the piezo elements. An additional concern is the uniform density of the saddle material: bone can be porous, creating various density within the same piece. All of these can affect the volume of each string. In your case the high e is too hot and can be tempered by placing a very thin shim of resilient material beneath the saddle directly under the e string. Buy one of those nice cigars in an aluminum tube, give the cigar away, but save the wonderful cedar wrapper in the tube to use for shim material for this and other cool tricks I'll discuss in the future.
» Read our article on pick-ups.
Neck Design
Q: What effect will neck design (mass) and fret size have on the sound of the guitar?
A: We all love the feel of a well proportioned neck. It enhances the playability and enjoyment of our guitars. The mass of the neck will indeed affect the tone of your instrument. Whether this is a positive or negative influence depends on your taste in tone. When I design a guitar for Jazz applications I want a precise tone with excellent projection to showcase the players single note leads or rapid chord comping. One of the factors to facilitate this is to increase neck mass. This can be done with the use of a heavier tuning machine in a larger headstock or with a denser neck wood. The effect is to prevent vibrations from chimneying up the neck and dissipating. The results are more efficient transfer of string energy to air movement through the sound hole, thus increasing projection. In the case of a guitar designed to have vintage appeal or a roundness, warmth, and openness of tone we benefit from a lighter weight headstock and machine. In this instrument the vibrations transferred to the neck enhance the qualities of this style of guitar by making it more forgiving and less precise. One caveat, guitars with mechanically fastened necks instead of the traditional dovetail joint won't benefit as much from this nuance. By considering these factors you should be able to get both the tone and the right neck in the same guitar. Technically jumbo frets would add mass to the neck and affect the sound as mentioned above. Realistically this would be a small contribution to the equation. More important would be the fret height. The higher the fret, the steeper the angle when depressed, creating more downward pressure and positive contact of string to fret, resulting in clearer tone and increased amplitude.
Q: What is a dart? Does it affect the sound and/or playability of the guitar?
A: The term dart refers to the carved volute at the transition from the barrel to the headstock of the instrument on certain models of guitars. It was originally integral to the glue joint of the headstock to the neck, but now with one piece necks it is simply a design element. Generally it doesn't affect the tone or playability except in serving as a thumb stop. It may strengthen the transition area somewhat, but broken off headstocks are uncommon on SCGC guitars of all kinds as a result of the fact that the truss rod does not extend through that weaker transitional area.
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Neck Adjustment
Q: How do I access the truss rod? How do I adjust the neck?
A: Please refer to the exhaustive section of the care and feeding page dealing with these issues.
Q: My truss rod doesn't seem to adjust the neck at the point it meets the body. It's not a Santa Cruz but it does have an adjustable rod. Is it defective?
A: The limitations in your truss rod don't have anything to do with your choice of brand or neck wood. The range of adjustment of any guitar neck is defined by the area that can be bent. The barrel of the neck (1st to 12th fret) is close to the same thickness along its length allowing it to bend uniformly. Above the 12th fret the heel quickly adds an unbendable mass and the upper limit of the rods capability. Allow me a quick explanation of how the rod works. The single action truss rod found in most guitars is laid in a groove very close to the back of the neck. When tightened (clockwise) it compresses the back of the neck, pulling the bendable area of the 1st to 12th fret back against the pull of the strings. When loosened (counter-clockwise) the string pull bows the neck forward in the area of the 1st to 12th fret. In better guitars the truss rod should have a dual action where the rod will also stretch the back of the neck to allow for precise forward adjustment. From your description it sounds like you can achieve a straight neck up to the 12th fret where it appears to bend upwards as it joins the body. This will cause buzzing or fretting out in the upper positions with high action and poor intonation. There are tricks to improve playability at this point, but the proper remedy for a nice guitar like this is to reset the neck angle and enjoy for years to come.
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Action
Q: Why does my guitar's action rise seasonally or rise on my new guitars after a period of time?
A: A well made acoustic guitar, by design, is a delicate balance between structural integrity and tonal response. It would be easy to overbuild a guitar that wouldn't distort under the multi-kilogram tension of the strings, but it would have a disastrous effect on the resonance and sustain of the instrument. To achieve the sensitivity to respond well to the strings energy, the guitar top may be made lighter in weight and tend to yield to the pull of the strings. This tension will cause the back to stretch and the top to compress, sinking at the sound hole and rising at the bridge. The strings move further from the fretboard and require more force from the left hand to depress them. I've borrowed techniques from the construction and restoration of Stradivarius violins to "spring" the top bracing to avoid the otherwise inevitable triumph of string pull over structure, without compromising tone. For guitars, including earlier Santa Cruz, without benefit of these improvements periodic truss rod adjustment and lowering of the bridge saddle to compensate for the rise of the top will keep the action playable. If the saddle is taken to its lowest point, and the action is still too high, it will be necessary to reset the angle of the neck to offset the rise in the top. This is a routine procedure for advanced technicians but costly if not covered under your warranty. I would advise it if the monetary worth or the sentimental value of your guitar justifies the cost. The results should be "like new" playability, improved intonation, and increased volume and tone.
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Strings
Mediums to Lights and Back: Proper neck relief and how to measure it
Medium gauge strings are no problem for your Santa Cruz with the caveat that the mediums extra tension may move the top and neck slightly thereby raising your action. Clockwise adjustment on the truss rod should bring it back to what you had with the lights. If you achieve the proper neck relief (see below for specs) and still find the action high this can be remedied by lowering the saddle. When changing from medium to light gauge strings you would compensate for the reduced tension by turning the truss rod counter clockwise and/or raising the saddle height with a replacement or, in a pinch, shim it up a bit it to avoid string/fret buzz. These remedies presuppose that the neck to body angle is within spec. If this is not the case it will need to be corrected by the maker or an experienced tech.
Then again things may be fine without any adjustment so skip all this and go play guitar.
Here's a trick you can try at home to determine the proper neck relief with out the supervision of an adult luthier. With the guitar strung to tension place a capo at the first fret. No capo? Enlist a passerby to press their finger at the first fret on the low E string until you're satisfied with the results. Place your index finger at the 14th fret on the low E. Halfway between these two positions the bottom of the E string should clear the top of the 7th fret by .005" to .012". If your not practiced at judging that by eye take a one, five, or ten, dollar bill, which measures four and a half thousandths, and before you mail it to me slide it between the top of the 7th fret and the bottom of the E string. If the bill gets pinched between the two your neck is too straight. If three bills or one folded in thirds slides freely through this space you are exceeding .012" and the neck has excessive forward bow. What remains in between these two extremes is the range of measurement that the player will need to achieve more or less relief depending on playing style, choice of string gauge, and height of action.
Unless you are well versed in the mechanics of your truss rod, it is best to use the above-mentioned bills to attract the attention of an experienced repair person and have them perform these adjustments for you.
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