The Santa Cruz H guitar (essentially a deep bodied Grand Concert – 14 11/16th” wide and 4 5/8” deep), owner/luthier Richard Hoover says: “Most players are astonished when they play the H model for the first time. Its volume is startling for a small-bodied guitar. The body's depth allows for a much larger presence than would be expected in an instrument of this size, and the guitar's even balance gives the H a precise response. This model is highly recommended for those who prefer the sweetness of a small guitar but also need more volume.” As a result, it's ideally suited to fingerpicking, coaxing the sonic character of each note while projecting an overall tonal depth. Despite its small appearance, this H employs a body depth approaching that of a much larger dreadnought-sized guitar, producing extra volume and bass support to bolster its rich tone. 

Long an honored presence in the Santa Cruz collection, the 1930’s inspired H Model joined the Santa Cruz catalog in 1977 during the formative years of the company. This was a challenging era to introduce a non-Dreadnought, non-12-fret guitar. Opting to be favored by natural selection, Santa Cruz presented the now standard 14 frets to the body configuration to an audience that valued the additional 2-fret access on such a classic, vintage body.