For 45 years, Santa Cruz Guitar Company has operated with one guiding vision: working with a team of highly-skilled artisans to handcraft the finest custom acoustic guitars. Under the guidance of founding luthier Richard Hoover – one of the fathers of boutique guitar making – Santa Cruz has become among the most sought-after instruments in the world.

A key to Santa Cruz’s success is precise attention to detail. At the foundation of the company is a talented team Hoover has carefully developed through decades of refinement. The Santa Cruz workshop features 18 builders who use traditional violin methodology to produce just a few hundred guitars each year. These numbers vary depending on the complexity of the often one-of-a-kind builds. Hoover’s small luthier family includes the best of the best in guitar-building. He feels strongly that his business remains open-source and inculcates these principles in his successors. As Richard would say; “It’s maladaptive to keep secrets, our real bank account is in our goodwill with others.”

An integral part of the Santa Cruz philosophy is the salvaged materials used to build each guitar. From rare 3,000-year-old Sitka Spruce reclaimed from the Alaskan perma-frost, 45-year-old Kauri from the ancient forests of New Zealand to coveted, old-growth Brazilian Rosewood, Santa Cruz searches out the finest woods in order to create heirloom-quality instruments that are as unique as they are beautiful. With a focus on utilizing responsibly-harvested, old growth, and sustainable materials, Hoover and his team have a passion for discovering tonewoods with a story, like Redwood salvaged from the tunnels of the last great train robbery in the West or from a historic old bridge in Yosemite National Park. Richard revels in new acquisitions like Genuine Mahogany saved from an old South American monastery just before it was abandoned to the elements.

In addition to their stellar cast of luthiers and fine materials, Santa Cruz Guitar Company makes each instrument unique by working closely with the players themselves. Not only are form, function, and cosmetics determined, it is essential the guitarist’s preferences in the qualities of sound be incorporated in the final plan. Hoover and his team offer world-recognized expertise delivered with the warmth of a trusted coach to assure that the client gets exactly what they need.