This story begins back in November 2008, just after the US Presidential election and at the beginning of the world financial melt-down. Up to this time, with our affinity for all things Mahogany - we had commissioned quite a number of custom guitars from Santa Cruz with Mahogany sound boards. As a hardwood, this is quite a challenge for our builders to sufficiently thickness plane the top to be resonant all the while mindful to not compromise construction.
In the years leading up to 2008 we had commissioned dozens of custom Santa Cruz guitars, from their 00 to the OM Pre-War models, also their delightful H-13 and D Pre-War models, too. Each of these had a soulful distinction, light weight and incredibly responsive right out of the box. Their tonal reference became an obvious comparison when sampling early vintage Martins from the 1930’s, particularly the 00-17 from the depression era. We had a couple of those vintage Martins come through our shop, each as light as a feather, with a dry and woody tone that spoke to every visitor who played them.
For a short while, these Martins were very simply constructed, with the tops and backs glued directly to the sides (no bindings). There were no Fretboard inlays, plastic tuner buttons to replicate ebony on the simple open gear tuners, a pyramid bridge, and a single white Ivoroid circle inlaid for the rosette. Reminiscent of simpler times perhaps, their construction emphasized the limited availability and high cost of Spruce tops due to the war effort. This was a poor man’s guitar, the perfect guitar for accompanying the Blues… In the fall of 2008 I had already begun thinking about how to capture this bit of history in a new & modern instrument, a fitting reminder for our economic times, which might also be as coveted seventy years into the future.
In January of 2009, Richard Hoover and I struggled to find time to meet early one morning during the annual NAMM convention. As at the time I was working the booth for our friends at Moridaira, we agreed to meet in the hall early one morning before the convention center opened. Speaking candidly about the fate of the economy and views on what 2009 might unfold; Richard asked what I thought about the year ahead of us as it pertained to Artisan Guitars & SCGC. I told him that it I would like to introduce a depression era instrument at a lower price point to ring in the New Year.
I described the simple appointments of the vintage Martin 00’s and the Style 17 appointments. With their all Mahogany construction, no bindings or inlays, solid Peghead, simple rosette and Pyramid Bridge – Richard stopped me at one point and offered, “We could do it without bindings, though we won’t – it’s just not elegant enough”. With the concept provided in great detail, I wanted to emphasize a final point, that the traditional SCGC logo would be out of place with the spirit of the era, and could we introduce a special logo? “Like what?” he asked with some reservation. I told him about one of my favorite American hero’s, Raymond Loewy, who designed most of the logos during that era, and the original script style Coco-Cola logo in particular. I promised to send him more information about Raymond Loewy after the show, and he promised to work on the concept for an order of 12 guitars.
Fast forward to late January… Richard called in a rather exuberant mood and described in detail his final concept for the 1929 00-17 (initially nick-named the “Depression Era 00-17). It would be largely as we discussed, constructed of all mahogany, simple ebony Fretboard & Pyramid Bridge with no inlays, solid Peghead, ebony tuner buttons, and a tortoise pick guard. He had decided on Mahogany bindings, and promised to work on a design for a vintage script logo, to be inlaid in grained Ivoroid. I gave him an order for twelve guitars, and we set off in our own directions, both inspired by our collaboration.
The New Santa Cruz Vintage Script Logo
A few days later I received a CAD drawing of the new vintage script logo. Delighted to see they had captured the essence of Loewy’s design elements, we immediately approved the concept, and looked forward to the arrival of 1st 1929 00-17. These original 12 instruments were scheduled out for delivery over the 2009 calendar year, from April through December. At this point I was so smitten with the concept, I set aside #12 for my own personal purchase (although in the end I took home #13).
With the arrival of our 1st edition in April, it had barely been in the shop for 48 hours – unveiled with much excitement by our entire staff. It was light weight, dry and woody sounding, offering that signature Santa Cruz balance of bass response with a keen sparkle in the mid-range and trebles. The appointments were just as we had planned, and the new logo inlay in grained Ivoroid was decidedly the most fitting design to celebrate the 1930’s look and feel of this guitar.
A visitor from Texas happened by just as we were finished taking fresh photos and witnessed us gawking over the 00-17 with excitement. He asked to play it, and returned the next day to purchase it. During his brief visit he returned to his hotel room and posted information and photos to an acoustic guitar forum about his new acquisition… Not long after, there came a barrage of phone calls and emails – from Paris to Los Angeles… The 1929 Series was born, and a real hit.
One of the most exciting developments was the level of interest in the new vintage script logo, with many inquiries about having a different model commissioned with the new logo. Weeks passed and our 2nd and 3rd editions had arrived in May, each now pre-sold.
The 1929 Series – In the News
Richard Hoover and I had enjoyed several conversations about the Santa Cruz 1929 Series, yet at this point still referring to it as the Depression Era 00-17. During one of our conversations in early summer he reported SCGC had received an overwhelming level of interest in the guitar (from customers and dealers), then candidly asked if they could make it a model. With some reservation, considering we had another 7 or so still on the schedule, I asked “What’s your plan”? He was planning to introduce a 0-17 and 000-17 with 1929 appointments during the summer NAMM show in July. We agreed that if no press announcements were made prior to the show, (and that Artisan Guitars could reserve all 3 instruments introduced there), we whole heartedly agreed it would be good for SCGC and their dealers as well. Richard had decided to name them the “1929 Series” at this point.
In July of 2009 the Wall Street Journal published an inside story about Martin Guitars “using a Depression-era strategy to keep production flowing and avert layoffs” – focusing on introducing lower end models. In the midst of this same article, the WSJ also published an interview with Richard Hoover, stating “Others in the $472 million annual acoustic guitar market are trying something similar. Santa Cruz Guitar Co., a small California producer, recently introduced a “1929 model”, which company President Richard Hoover says is “not so much about austerity. But it’s simple, and most importantly, something that feels OK to indulge in during difficult times.”
Since that time, the 1929 Series has since been mentioned in articles from GQ magazine to the Robb Report.
The New “Old” Logo Debuts
At the Winter NAMM show in January of 2009, SCGC introduced a number of models featuring the new vintage script logo, we presume due to overwhelming demand. By mid-summer 2009, Santa Cruz was ready to launch a revision of their website which revealed the new logo would be broadly embraced in all future print and online advertising. We love it, and think it is here to stay!