	Santa Cruz Guitar Company Pick-up Systems \| Neck Design \| Neck Adjustment \| Action \| Strings \| Finish \| Warranty Frequently Asked Questions If you want to submit a technical question, you can email your question to faq@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. top^ 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 haedstock 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. top^ 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. top^ 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. top^ Finish Q: My old Gibson's finish is really cracked and I don't want this to happen to my Santa Cruz. What did I do wrong and what can I do right? A: Yikes! The dreaded sixties Gibson finish! Every vintage guitar aficionado and technician is familiar with this problem and has grown used to throwing up their hands "that's the way they are". There are a few causes of lacquer checking and cracking and the Gibsons of this era seemed to use of all of them. The most common contributor is the lacquer formulation. Along with the solids used to give the finish body, a plasticizer is added to give it flexibility. Too much of this substance makes the guitar difficult to polish and can have a dampening effect on the tone. Too little and the lacquer dries brittle, unable to flex with the movement of the wood from string tension or humidity changes, consequently cracking. Another factor is the thickness of the finish. Building a thicker coat of lacquer creates tension within the finish which will crack as the wood moves. The final insult to these sad instruments is what lacquer chemists call the thermal shock cycle. This quantifies how many cycles of heat then cold the finish can endure before cracking form the above mentioned causes. The good news is that your troubles are mostly cosmetic. The finish won't fall off or further harm your guitar tone. Every guitar will be benefit by protecting it from extremes in temperature and humidity and this may prevent further damage to your finish, but the bottom line is to consider this vintage character because that's the way they are! top^ Warranty Q: I just bought a used Santa Cruz in mint condition. Is it still covered by your lifetime warranty? A: The lifetime warranty covers the guitar for the lifetime of the original owner. SCGC typically goes far beyond their stated responsibilities to help any Santa Cruz owner but the official lifetime warranty doesn't extend beyond the original ownership. Q: I own a Santa Cruz that I bought new. I'm thinking of having some work done on it by my local luthier. Would that affect the warranty? A: Having a luthier work on the guitar in itself won't affect the warranty. Any damage or problems resulting from work done by a luthier of your choice would not be covered under warranty. top^
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Santa Cruz Guitar Company

Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to submit a technical question, you can email your question to faq@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.

top^

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 haedstock 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.

top^

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.

top^

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.

top^

Finish

Q: My old Gibson's finish is really cracked and I don't want this to happen to my Santa Cruz. What did I do wrong and what can I do right?
A: Yikes! The dreaded sixties Gibson finish! Every vintage guitar aficionado and technician is familiar with this problem and has grown used to throwing up their hands "that's the way they are". There are a few causes of lacquer checking and cracking and the Gibsons of this era seemed to use of all of them. The most common contributor is the lacquer formulation. Along with the solids used to give the finish body, a plasticizer is added to give it flexibility. Too much of this substance makes the guitar difficult to polish and can have a dampening effect on the tone. Too little and the lacquer dries brittle, unable to flex with the movement of the wood from string tension or humidity changes, consequently cracking. Another factor is the thickness of the finish. Building a thicker coat of lacquer creates tension within the finish which will crack as the wood moves. The final insult to these sad instruments is what lacquer chemists call the thermal shock cycle. This quantifies how many cycles of heat then cold the finish can endure before cracking form the above mentioned causes. The good news is that your troubles are mostly cosmetic. The finish won't fall off or further harm your guitar tone. Every guitar will be benefit by protecting it from extremes in temperature and humidity and this may prevent further damage to your finish, but the bottom line is to consider this vintage character because that's the way they are!

top^

Warranty

Q: I just bought a used Santa Cruz in mint condition. Is it still covered by your lifetime warranty?
A: The lifetime warranty covers the guitar for the lifetime of the original owner. SCGC typically goes far beyond their stated responsibilities to help any Santa Cruz owner but the official lifetime warranty doesn't extend beyond the original ownership.

Q: I own a Santa Cruz that I bought new. I'm thinking of having some work done on it by my local luthier. Would that affect the warranty?
A: Having a luthier work on the guitar in itself won't affect the warranty. Any damage or problems resulting from work done by a luthier of your choice would not be covered under warranty.

top^

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