Santa Cruz OMPW 50th Anniversary

A great-sounding back-to-basics OM celebrates five decades of Santa Cruz guitars.

September 17, 2025

The Santa Cruz Guitar Co. is about to turn 50. Founded in 1976 by an enthusiastic trio of hippie luthiers, Richard Hoover, Bruce Ross, and William Davis, the company quickly evolved into a powerhouse among the small shops offering custom-built alternatives to the factory-made guitars that had dominated the steel-string flattop market since the 1920s. Five decades later, the company is still run by cofounder Richard Hoover, who has been the sole-owner since the late 1980s. The shop is still located in the heart of Santa Cruz, California, and it continues to build some of the world’s finest guitars. Santa Cruz is famous for its one-of-a-kind instruments, but for this milestone, the company is building special editions of its most popular models. These guitars will be officially released in January of 2026, and we got an early preview of the first anniversary models built: an OMPW and a 1929 00. In this video, I demonstrate the OMPW. We’ll feature the 1929 00 in a separate video soon.

When Santa Cruz began making OM models in 1984, they helped popularize the style, which had been rare since Martin stopped production of its original OMs in 1934. Santa Cruz has never focused on exact reproductions of vintage designs, and its OMs were offered with alternative woods and the company’s signature tonality. Starting in 2000, Santa Cruz created the OMPW (Pre War) and D-PW as affordable models that retained the big SCGC sound, and the no-frills OM and dreadnought became instant classics. Over time, the Pre War line started to include instruments with higher-grade woods and custom options, and the line between PWs and other models blurred. I was happy to see the original, back-to-basics OMPW among the models chosen for a 50th anniversary treatment. Retail price for the anniversary models hasn’t been finalized, but word is that they will be on the more-affordable end of Santa Cruz offerings.

The OMPW follows the standard OM template: It has a 000 body with 14-fret neck, a long scale, and a neck that measures 1¾-inches at the nut. The guitar we demoed has a gorgeous Sitka spruce top with tight grain and generous medullary rays, and a high-quality set of Indian rosewood for the back and sides. Appointments are minimal: The body has black binding with a single white strip for top purfling, a black backstrip, a simple black-and-white rosette, and 2-mm pearl position markers in the ebony fingerboard. The ebony bridge has the original Santa Cruz shape with a slightly back-angled saddle that is part of the company’s distinctive bridge geometry. Despite the OMPW’s business-like character, high-quality materials and impeccable craftsmanship give the guitar an unpretentious elegance. The small number “50” on the heelcap is the only hint that it’s part of a special edition.

The OMPW plays and sounds great. In a nod to the “Pre War” part of its name, the guitar’s neck shape has a gentle V-profile, which gives a slight vintage vibe, albeit with the playability of a modern guitar. Tonally, the guitar has the treasured OM balance and focus, and I was particularly impressed with the generous sustain that the OMPW offers. Rich overtones and great dynamic range complete the package. From a purely tonal perspective, this is an instrument that holds its own with any OM.

50 years in business is a major accomplishment, and congratulations to Richard Hoover and his team are in order. I can’t wait to play more of the anniversary guitars, and to help Santa Cruz celebrate its birthday next year.