Quote:
Originally Posted by Earl49
Thanks for that commentary, Ray. There aren't many who have had both X7 versions in hand at the same time. And also for the comment for the X7 V3 versus X20 comment too. I was likely recalling your previous comments, but could not remember the source. We can only directly compare the X7 V2 and my X20 directly. X7 sounds good on its own, but not as rich and strong as the X20. No real surprise there - comparing the parlor sized X7 to a GA sized X20.
These days 95% of my playing is indoors and solo, or with my wife playing her flute too. The rest is outdoor backyard jamming at social distance as long as our summer weather holds up. Either way, it has been a long time since I plugged in. Player perspective counts for a lot......
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I remember when I first had the X20 and then bought a used X7 V2 and it never even remotely occurred to me that they were anywhere close in volume. The X20 just seemed overwhelmingly louder. But then I remember a sound clip or Youtube that Captain Jim posted with recordings of his various Emeralds. And there was so little volume difference between the X20 and the same V2, I couldn't believe it. Yeah, the X20 is a different sounding guitar, but it wasn't really notably louder. I was stunned. So I did an experiment with my wife listening and she thought the X20 was a little louder, but not by much. And then I taped them myself and measured them with an iPhone decibel meter a few feet in front and the difference was NOT large. Which I recreated when I got the v3 X7 (I had all three for a few months). The V3 sounded as loud as the X20 at the player's ear and both sounded unbelievably louder than the V2. But recorded and with the sound meter, there's just not much difference.
That whole experience really opened my eyes, (or more precisely, ears) to the difference that offset soundhole made.
But then, oddly, I added a Martin 000-15SM and it sounded just as loud from my players perspective as the V3 and then I got a CEO-7, which is classified as an 00, and it's as loud or louder than either. Both Martins having just a front facing soundhole. I couldn't figure that one out at all. And then I ended up selling all but the CEO-7, basically for a number of ergonomic reasons, not because I didn't like the sound of the other two as much - I loved the sound of all three.
-Ray