Santa Cruz Guitar Co. founder Richard Hoover has always chaffed at guitarpickers' tendency to rank mahogany guitars below those made with rosewood, and when you play this example you'll immediately get his point. Especially with a 12-fret version like this one you get plenty of bass response but also get mahogany's characteristic clarity and sparkle. It's a joy to play thanks to the comfy neck with no V to it. There's light wear to the finish, mostly confined to the back, and not much of it. It's nice to see a mahogany guitar so fully "dressed," with ivoroid binding, herringbone, and fine black/white lines edging the binding. Original case is equally clean.