Wanted: Santa Cruz Mahogany Concert

Hey guys,
I just got back from my local shop here in Phoenix and I found the ukulele that I absolutely want!! One problem: it's $1,500. It's a Santa Cruz Concert Mahaogany. I had never seen or played a Santa Cruz before and have never seen it mentioned here on the forums.

I played many high end ukes at the shop (that's all they carry) including Kanile'a C, T, SC, and ST's, Collings, and KoAlohas; this Santa Cruz blew them all out of the water. No comparison. I dont know if it was just this particular Santa Cruz or if it is all of them, but this thing sounded AMAZING!!

So anyway, I thought I would come one here and do a search to see what people have said about them and I can't find anything at all!!

Decided to make this thread for 2 reasons:

A: I'm hoping that someone will have a Santa Cruz that they are looking to get rid of for a reasonable price. There has to be someone out there that is "thinning the heard" and wants to sell their precious Santa Cruz to someone who will love it and cherish it as much as they do

B: I wanted to make folks aware that these Santa Cruz concerts are amazing instruments and sound like the angels above, singing in your ear. Seriously. They do.

Anyway, please respond here or PM me if you have a Santa Cruz that you would like to sell. I promise that I am the one you want to sell it to :drool:

Thanks,

Santa Cruz has been making amazing guitars for a long time, but is pretty new in the ukulele game. I can't imagine there is a huge used market yet.

Thanks for the personal review.

Amnicon said:

Santa Cruz has been making amazing guitars for a long time, but is pretty new in the ukulele game. I can't imagine there is a huge used market yet.

Thanks for the personal review.

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Yea, I'm sure there arent very many used ones out there. The guy at the shop said it took them forever to get the 2 that they have. I read that from another store owner as well, so they must not produce too many of them in the first place.

Still hoping someone will have one that they want to sell. I just talked to the guy at the store and he wants $1,395 plus tax. So pretty much $1,500. I dont think I cant allow myself to spend that much money on a uke.

Is this the shop in Santa Cruz, California that bases their 'ukulele designs on the old Kumalae 'ukuleles?

Ahnko Honu said:

Is this the shop in Santa Cruz, California that bases their 'ukulele designs on the old Kumalae 'ukuleles?

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That, I do not know. My local shop in Phoenix has 2 of them. It's the same as Santa Cruz guitar company. I now that he has 1 labeled as "1929 model, All Mahogany." The other is a Deluxe Koa Concert. AMAZING ukes though!! :drool:

Makes me a little disappointed that I'm about to order a Mainland slotted head. The $1,200 difference is just a BIT too much to handle though

Yes, Santa Cruz Guitar Company is located in Santa Cruz, CA. I've known the owner, Richard Hoover, for years. They make outstanding instruments. I've owned a few SC's and still have the ONE, their flagship model, the OM. After ten years , it has only gotten better.

They've only made a handful of ukulele's, and it's reasonable to think that no owner is giving theirs up quite yet. If you want one, you gotta pay the $1400. Or buy the Kanilea. Perhaps you should avoid boutique shops!

Santa Cruz Mahogany

Hi Dustin,
I picked up the mahogany Santa Cruz at Acoustic Vibes. Traded it for a Collings mando I had + some cash. Although there were no pictures on their site, but after your comments and I know that Santa Cruz makes some very nice guitars (and a severe case of the UAS I have and a gut feel) took the chance. I'm telling you, you are 110% correct!!! It is amazing!!! Although I am fairly new at the uke ( about 8 months) I do have some serious ukes to compare with ( a mahogany flea concert, a koa flea concert, a Dasilva soprano #34, a 1950's Maritn concert- perfect condition, a 1950's Martin tenor- perfect condition and including the original case, a Mainland mahogany pineapple, a William King #24 extended neck soprano, a William King #44 tenor, a KoAloha super concert with the crown bridge and a KoAloha ebony back and sides with a spruce top Sceptre!!!). This Santa Cruz is absolutely one of my favorites!!! Now I would like to get a Glyph Mezzo.

Just have to say this: what an amazing collection dsummers!

Funny things is, besides the fleas, those are exactly the ukes i would choose if I had the money for it!

Play and love the hell out of those ukes.

dsummers said:

Hi Dustin,
I picked up the mahogany Santa Cruz at Acoustic Vibes. Traded it for a Collings mando I had + some cash. Although there were no pictures on their site, but after your comments and I know that Santa Cruz makes some very nice guitars (and a severe case of the UAS I have and a gut feel) took the chance. I'm telling you, you are 110% correct!!! It is amazing!!! Although I am fairly new at the uke ( about 8 months) I do have some serious ukes to compare with ( a mahogany flea concert, a koa flea concert, a Dasilva soprano #34, a 1950's Maritn concert- perfect condition, a 1950's Martin tenor- perfect condition and including the original case, a Mainland mahogany pineapple, a William King #24 extended neck soprano, a William King #44 tenor, a KoAloha super concert with the crown bridge and a KoAloha ebony back and sides with a spruce top Sceptre!!!). This Santa Cruz is absolutely one of my favorites!!! Now I would like to get a Glyph Mezzo.

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oh man, that's awesome. I'm glad someone on here bought it. That thing was a delight to play!! That's a hell of a uke collection. If you ever need to off any of those, I'd love to take em off you hands And if you need a babysitter for the Santa Cruz, I am currently accepting PMs Enjoy it, that thing is awesome!! I want to see a vid when you get a chance!!

Mahghany is a hard wood to beat.

haolejohn said:

Mahghany is a hard wood to beat.

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Even harder to spell.

Ahnko Honu said:

Even harder to spell.

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Ouch!:agree:

Ahnko Honu said:

Even harder to spell.

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I agree mahaghany is hard to spell

haolejohn said:

I agree mahaghany is hard to spell

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You're right. It is so much harder than an easier tone wood to spell. Like Kao or Srpuce.

i personally don't like the sound of my mahogany soprano (prefer spruce or koa). theres just something about it thats very mellow but still loud-hard to explain. i have been playing my mitchell while waiting for my mainland to sell to buy either a new koolau (koa) or a koaloha (koa). does anyone else feel this way about the sound of mahogany?

I love my mahogany soprano. It's built by Ken Timms or Timbuck - amazing work. I don't think of the sound as mellow compared to spruce top, I think of it as a warmer, rounder sound.

thejumpingflea said:

You're right. It is so much harder than an easier tone wood to spell. Like Kao or Srpuce.

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LOL!!! This is too funny.

brad32593 said:

i personally don't like the sound of my mahogany soprano (prefer spruce or koa). theres just something about it thats very mellow but still loud-hard to explain. i have been playing my mitchell while waiting for my mainland to sell to buy either a new koolau (koa) or a koaloha (koa). does anyone else feel this way about the sound of mahogany?

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I like the sound of the mahaghany uke. i also like the sound of koa ukes. I have always felt that mahaghany ukes gave more volume than koa ones in the same uke maker format. Obviously my koaloha soprano has more volume than my mele Tenor I think. But I do know that the loudest uke I have ever owned is either my Mele 6 string mahaghany or my sceptre.

brad32593 said:

i personally don't like the sound of my mahogany soprano (prefer spruce or koa). theres just something about it thats very mellow but still loud-hard to explain. i have been playing my mitchell while waiting for my mainland to sell to buy either a new koolau (koa) or a koaloha (koa). does anyone else feel this way about the sound of mahogany?

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Brad, Ko'olau is coming out with a new line of koa ukes around Januaryish I think. They are going to be about 200 less than their current lines.