CEO-07 vs 000-18 vs 000-16 StreetMaster

[MRtin]

CEO-07 vs 000-18 vs 000-16 StreetMaster… Best overall guitar for finger style and strumming?

[Stevien]

Syntax Error! There is no correct answer to this question. You need to play them yourself. Everyone has a different ear.
Steve

[Jeremy]

Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of them if your yardstick is fingerstyle and strumming. My personal favorite between the three is the CEO-7, it's a small guitar that sounds like a big one thanks to its construction, but the chunky neck might be a turnoff for some.

[pszy22]

I have both a 000-16SM and a 000-18. They sound different, but I like the sound of both. As you probably know, the 000-18 is sitka over mahogony while the 000-16SM is VTS adi over rosewood.

The 000-16SM is generally louder if that is important to you. I will say that the 000-16SM is alot of guitar for around $1700 (if that is important to you).

p.s. Perhaps the number one complaint about Martin guitars is bindings falling off, not a problem with the SM.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by MRtin

CEO-07 vs 000-18 vs 000-16 StreetMaster… Best overall guitar for finger style and strumming?

Originally Posted by Jeremy

Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of them if your yardstick is fingerstyle and strumming. My personal favorite between the three is the CEO-7, it's a small guitar that sounds like a big one thanks to its construction, but the chunky neck might be a turnoff for some.

This thread could go on for several pages with hundreds of posts, but you’ve already gotten your answer.

If you had made this a poll, you would’ve gotten votes for each guitar, but mostly from people who, like you, haven’t actually played all three, so it would’ve been the blind leading the blind, so to speak.

Everyone has their own preferences, and you need to find a way to try each of these to find yours. If you don’t live in an area where you can try all three in stores, they are widely available so you can order them online. If you can’t swing ordering all three at once and keeping the one you like the best (warning, danger, will robinson, you may end up with two or three guitars), then maybe try two at a time at first (I would suggest the CEO-7 and one of the others as your first pair).

I’ve played all three and they are all great guitars—each has something unique to offer. While the CEO-7 has a Gibson shape, it doesn’t really sound like a Gibson. If you’re a Martin fan (and, with a name like MRtin, I would take a wild guess and say that you are—either that or you’re a Wizard of Oz fan), you might like it better than a Gibson. The 000-18 is the 000-18. The 000-16 Streetmaster is a very interesting guitar. I’m convinced that, if Martin had made these with natural finishes or more traditional ambertone finishes, they would be more popular.

Try to find a way to try all three. In addition to tone, playability is key. There are things like neck shape, scale length, etc. that will influence which one you like best.

[Corndog]

Sound differences aside, the -18 and the -16 have similar neck profiles and string spacing.
The CEO-7 has both a chunkier neck and much wider string spacing at the saddle.

To the OP- only you can determine which of these suits you.

[egordon99]

Agree with everyone else; you need to try them out and pick which one YOU find the best.

For me, I love my CEO-7 but the neck is very different compared to a standard series Martin.

[Wellington]

ANYTHING but a Streetmaster

I vote CEO

[LawrenceMollard]

Those are three very different guitars. You might need to do some more research.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by Corndog

Sound differences aside, the -18 and the -16 have similar neck profiles and string spacing.
The CEO-7 has both a chunkier neck and much wider string spacing at the saddle.

To the OP- only you can determine which of these suits you.

I was gonna mention this. I’ve played the 000-18 and own a CEO-7 - I haven’t played the 000-16SM. I like the sounds of both mahogany options a lot, but when I was doing a lot of fingerpicking the CEO-7 was the obvious choice because of the wider string spacing. Now that I’ve owned a couple of guitars with the chunkier Mod-V neck, as well as a couple with the MLO neck, I absolutely love the Mod-V and don’t much like the MLO - another major point (for me) to the CEO-7. But all of these things are subjective, personal preference calls. For me, the Mod-V and wider spacing at the bridge are big points in favor of the CEO-7 - for others, they’d be reasons to avoid that guitar. Nonetheless, they’re important to understand and consider for the OP as they decide what they like.

Sound-wise I’d be equally happy with either of the mahogany options, but in terms of playability, the CEO-7 was an easy call for me. As for the 000-16SM, I’d have the same reservations about the neck and I don’t know how I’d like the sound. My rosewood guitar is an 000-28EC which has an even beefier Mod-V neck than the CEO-7, and almost as wide spacing at the saddle. I have clear preferences that may be useful or not to the OP, but those factors are at least worth being aware of…

-Ray

[cc132]

I'm a simple man. In almost every case, I'd go with a Standard Series over another Martin. My vote was for the 000-18.

[Goat Mick]

I have actually played all three of these and they all would work very nicely for what you are wanting to do. I voted for the CEO-7 because I think it is one of the best Martins being produced right now.

[rollypolly]

I voted 000-18, just because it seems to be the most tame and straightforward of the bunch. The other two have Adirondack tops , so you may or may not have a preference for those. They tend to be less warm compared to sitka. I have a 00-18 that's great but the 000 would be even better for strumming.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

I voted 000-18, just because it seems to be the most tame and straightforward of the bunch. The other two have Adirondack tops , so you may or may not have a preference for those. They tend to be less warm compared to sitka. I have a 00-18 that's great but the 000 would be even better for strumming.

Now the top on a 000-18 could be Lutz spruce, since Martin has stopped specifying the exact variety of spruce for spruce-topped Standard Series guitars (and some other guitars that had Sitka spruce as the standard for their tops). Since Lutz is a hybrid, it could sound like Sitka, but it might not. I have one guitar with a torrefied Lutz spruce top, and love it, so I wouldn’t care if a 28 series guitar had a Lutz top as opposed to a Sitka top, but there’s a handful of folks over at UMGF who are apoplectic about the change.

[000Guy]

I have played only the 000-18 and CEO7 models. I prefer the 000-18 for it's larger sound and greater versatility.