Santa Cruz PJ
This Santa Cruz PJ Custom 2000 is from Acoustic Guitar magazine's 10th Anniversary Collection.
Practicing a style of lutherie born from a genuine love of the guitar, the Santa Cruz Guitar Company has specially crafted this exceptional 10th Anniversary edition of the Santa Cruz PJ guitar. With a 12-fret body and a 24-inch scale, the PJ is a parlor-size guitar that will surprise you with its presence. Don’t let its small size fool you--the PJ is truly a sophisticated guitar, perfect for intimate settings and recording.
Santa Cruz luthiers always go out of their way to ensure a high level of consistency in sound that will inspire and challenge you, and this special-edition guitar is no exception. To get those warm, round aspects of the guitar’s tone, they use master-grade Indian rosewood for the back and sides and Sitka spruce for the top. Optimized bracing and innovative top construction provide maximum resonance and sustain.
Exemplifying Santa Cruz’s signature craftsmanship, the PJ’s appearance is as elegant as its sound. The highlighted 10th Anniversary logo on the ebony fingerboard is framed by an intricate vine design made of various abalone shells, mother of pearl, and gold. Abalone is repeated in the rosette, top border, and in the bridge feet, where a vine motif matches the design surrounding the Anniversary logo. Other special features include vintage Irving Sloane tuners with ivoroid tuning knobs mounted on a bronze baseplate, and a slotted, unbound headstock with ebony overlay.
Product Specs| Condition | Excellent (Used) |
| Brand | Santa Cruz |
| Model | PJ |
| Primary Materials |
Sides & Sitka Spruce Top, Indian Rosewood Back |
| Body Style |
Parlor |
| Year | 2000 |
From the December 2000 issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine:
While RainSong offered a futuristic design, the Santa Cruz Guitar Co. looked to the past for inspiration. A contemporary version of parlor guitars built in the late 19th century, the Santa Cruz PJ is only about 12 1/2" wide across its lower bout, and it features a 12-fret neck with a short, 24-inch scale. “We took the design of guitars from the 1890s and early 1900s, and turned it into a modern instrument,” says Santa Cruz’s Richard Hoover. “We also included attributes such as an adjustable truss rod, and all we’ve learned in the last 100 years of guitar making.” The instrument is constructed with Indian rosewood back and sides and a Sitka spruce top, and the anniversary logo is integrated into an elaborate vine design made of abalone, mother-of-pearl, and gold, inlaid by master artist Larry Robinson. “Late 19th-century art nouveau seemed consistent with the [parlor guitar] era,” Hoover explains. Vintage-style Irving Sloane tuners with ivoroid buttons mounted on the guitar’s slotted headstock keep the instrument in tune with style, and the PJ’s voice is intimate yet surprisingly rich and complex.
