Santa Cruz 00 Skye: Adi top
 

I'm posting mostly because I fell in love with guitar, and bought it a couple years ago, and want to make sure that it gets proper attention. I had never heard of Eric Skye and was against signature models on principal. Eric plays mostly jazz which isn't my favorite style, but the sound of the guitar took me away.

To be honest, I haven't played enough different guitars with different tops, to know the difference between between Sitka, Silverspruce, etc, and while I was told that it was Adi at the music store, I didn't remember that fact till after I got the guitar home. I'm told that this model is the most popular Santa Cruz model currently...which, if true, makes sense to me.

I think the guitar responds and feels a lot like the classical guitar which I played for 30 years. Now I play mostly folksy/bluegrassy sorts of stuff, but when I figure out how to record, I'll post some samples that compares different styles of music on my classical and on the 00. Meanwhile here's a couple of songs preformed by Eric Skye that demonstrate the incredible tone of this lovely instrument. Enjoy!




Can you get sweeter than this?


PS shows what you can do above the 12th fret without a cutaway! (I wish it were a cutaway (though it would downgrade the looks), I don't have long fingers like Eric)

They are fantastic guitars.

Their liveliness is akin to watching a drop of water on a hot skillet. Every touch vibrates the whole body and neck and even the headstock.

They are so responsive and light, and every input becomes an output, so you have to be technically very clean. Every error will result in an audible squeak, buzz, sharp or flat note(s).

Eric Skye plays so cleanly and has such a perfect blending of technique and musical feel to his playing. He and Richard Hoover did very well in creating this instrument.

The Santa Cruz 00 Skye makes you be on your best behavior! :)

Santa Cruz are sweet guitars. You have one of the best guitars made today. Enjoy!

My SCGC OO sitka/rosewood is my favorite guitar of all time. The OO-Skye and 1929 OO models are both on my short list of someday-guitars to add to my collection.

I only wish That I could play even half as good as Mr. Skye!!!

I'd be happy with 1/10 -

When I try out guitars I can usually tell immediately if I don't like it. Some I take 10 minutes or so and then decide I like them. With the 00-Skye I tried, it grabbed me like a bolt of lightening and, for me, my dream guitar. One day, perhaps.

I had the chance to try a SC Skye at A Sharp Music recently, and I couldn't get it out of my hands fast enough. Bolt of lightening is a good description.I didn't have the money on me, and that guitar had me by the throat. It wouldn't make me sound like Eric Skye, but it would make me sound a lot better than I am.

What principle would keep you from buying a great guitar. I guess you did right by not following your principles.

.................Mike

I don't know what Richard Hoover does to these instruments, but for me the results are majestic. I am so glad that you did not follow your principals, because Eric's signature model is gorgeous in any way.

I just came across this post, and wasn’t sure if I should chime in or not, but it's a subject dear to my heart. I couldn't be happier with the way this whole thing worked out. At the beginning Richard said we could do anything I wanted. So it was a spare-no-expense dream situation for sure. It’s clearly not for everyone, but for me personally, it’s perfect for everything I do; fingerstyle, flatpicking… It’s the only guitar I own (I have two of them), and I never think about other guitars anymore.

It's been six years now since we designed this guitar. I understand it has gone on to to be the best selling signature model for them, besides the Tony Rice of course. A lot of people probably don't know how endorsement deals work, but I don't get any kind of piece of that. I have no financial interest in the sale of the guitars whatsoever. But I do get a big kick out people getting in touch and saying they are very happy, seeing them in stores, reading reviews, etc.

I also was not crazy about the idea of signature models. And for that reason it was a very conscious thing from the beginning not to have any obvious personalization, like an inlay of my favorite cat or something. I just wanted it to be something that anyone would see at a store and find it appealing in an old school, simply appointed kind of way. And being a huge acoustic guitar nerd myself, I just wanted it to be truly great to a large amount of people, yet reflect my own personal preferences in tone and playability. And of course people can order them anyway they like. I have seen quite a few custom variations over the years. I've seen them in Brazilian, mahogany… with a cutaway, sunburst, narrower necks, wider necks. I've even seen it as 000…

I recently acquired a pre-owned SC 00-Skye and couldn't be happier. What amazes me the most about this guitar is not how great it sounds (it does) but that it has really opened up my playing to include almost the entirety of my skill set and musical styles. I'm guessing that most of you are like me in that you play or have played many styles of music in your life. I often find that when I pick up, for example, a nice dreadnought guitar that I play almost exclusively bluegrass and fiddle tunes. Les Paul = Page, Strat = SRV/Jimmy. Light and responsive smaller guitars and I play melodic finger style, etc, etc. When I pick up the 00-Skye my whole pallet of styles and techniques are there for the plucking. The other day I put the capo on the 5th fret because I like the sweetness of tone in that position and suddenly found myself playing an instrumental version of 'The Same Deep Water As You" by the Cure! Where did that come from? It's really a weird experience but it makes me understand how Eric can own just this guitar (I'm not there yet...).

As for the 'signature model' issue, I agree with what has been said above. And in addition to people putting unique inlay or images or photos of themselves in the soundhole, I also dislike when faux-distressing is used to imitate a specific guitar. In the case of the 00-Skye, the specifications are unique to the model but are within the range of what is historically normal for this type of guitar. In fact one of the things that attracted me to the model is that it shares many specs with some of the Norman Blake small-body guitars and some of the specs he has reported to value in various interviews. Add to this that SC uses their top-shelf woods and you have a newly designed classic guitar that is comfortable, with wide ranging power from sweet to amost break-up, and with a pre-war inspired, scooped brace type of sound with that SC thing going on. If I could only have 1 guitar I'm not sure what that would be but the OO-Skye would be on the short list for sure.

Well done Eric and Mr. Hoover. You did it!

The lack of the inlaid favorite cat was the deal-breaker for me. Otherwise, I was fairly impressed with the one I played.

;)

I own the OO-Skye's grandpa - a 1929 Martin 00-21 with a neck that is 1 13/16" like a Skye, not the expected 1 7/8". I have to say I agree with all of the posts here - I have played a few OO-Skyes and they really deliver a playing experience that feels like my 00-21. As Skyes age, I am sure they will be even more amazing.

Eric - thank you for posting to these types of threads. We appreciate your playing and your insights that led you to work with Richard Hoover to create this model. Truly excellent. I didn't know one way or the other about how a Signature Model relationship works with a small shop like SCGC, but you can sure be proud of what you drove the creation of, and no surprise that it is a great seller.

I know Eric personaly and when he plays the guitar the sound is magic! Iwas lucky to aquire one myself this year and is the best guitar I have ever played and will never part with it!

A vital part I think is the guitar itself, _but_ IMO Eric has a really good tone he achieves with his right hand. I think the combination of picks (of course along with his practice and dedication) is a major part in this. I wonder why not more people play with Alaska picks!?