Martin CEO7 or Gibson historic LG2 banner 1942? Please advice!

[dkg1616]

I absolutely love my LG2 1942 reissue - played the CEO7 and it wasn’t even a comparison for me. Gibson blew it out of the water on this one.

[Turtleneck]

It’s kind of a Chevy vs Ford thing.

Whichever flavor of sound you prefer is your choice.

I own both guitars and although my LG-2 is an ‘52, I play them 50/50% of the time.

[Murphy Slaw]

You're gonna have to make that call.

Me, I'm a Gibson guy.

[rokdog49]

Both are great guitars but they are different..

[tchip8]

I just got a 50s reissue LG2 a couple weeks ago and have played a couple CEO7s before. They are both wonderful guitars. It really depends what you are going for.

I chose the lg2 because it has that gibby midrange bark that I love so much. It is less pristine, but more inspiring for me especially as a couch guitar for songwriting.

The CEO7 has a bigger voice and more low end. It also sustains more. I would say the CEO7 is technically the better guitar and sounds gorgeous, but just didtn have the same character and mojo that the lg2 has. Go with whichever guitar speaks to you more!

[cliff_the_stiff]

Tough call. I prefer the tone of the gibson and most likely I would prefer the feel of the Martin given the nut differences.
I think you should go with the’52 LG2 mentioned above.

[baseball]

I would go with the CEO, particularly if you are using those clips for reference.

I always think of Gibby's sounding a little low on the sustain. More focused, whereas the CEO sounds a little wider open. You can always let your strings 'die' to keep the focused sound, but it's hard to add a tone that isn't there.

than and I like the Martin neck Profile better. ..and the list price is 1500 bucks less, but i mention that last because ultimately tone is king.

[58dutchie]

Thanks so far for all the comments and advice. I think it will be a Gibson in the end, the two guitars I will choose from are the Gibson historic 1942 LG2 banner and a second hand (like new) Gibson custom shop 30's L00 with adirondack top. I cannot test the guitars side by side...and I'm still not convinced if the LG2 or an L00 will be best for me. I'm a bit concerned about the narrower nut width (1 11/16") of the LG2 but I will play that guitar one of these days.

[Monty Christo]

I acknowledge that this is not the comparison you're looking for, but I owned a CEO7 for almost a year before I sold it for an LG2 American Eagle that continues to be an all-time favorite .

I fell for the Gibson-esque looks of the CEO7, thinking it would have that kind of sound, but it simply didn't. Tone-wise, it's a Martin through-and-through, with long sustain, rich bass, and lots of note separation. So if you want the trademark Gibson thud, quick decay, and dry, woody tone, I'd look to Bozeman instead of Nazareth.

[BluesKing777]

Originally Posted by 58dutchie

Thanks so far for all the comments and advice. I think it will be a Gibson in the end, the two guitars I will choose from are the Gibson historic 1942 LG2 banner and a second hand (like new) Gibson custom shop 30's L00 with adirondack top. I cannot test the guitars side by side...and I'm still not convinced if the LG2 or an L00 will be best for me. I'm a bit concerned about the narrower nut width (1 11/16") of the LG2 but I will play that guitar one of these days.

What guitar/s are you playing now?

Just curious....


BluesKing777.

[58dutchie]

Just to inform you all: in the end I bought a Gibson historic 1942 banner LG2! I played lots of guitars and the last two were the banner LG-2 and a Martin 00-28 (surprisingly). I absolutely loved the Martin, but you could notice the difference between the baked adirondack top of the LG2 and the sitka top of the 00-28. While the had more volume (and more sustain!), the LG2 had more power. You could really beat it up hard and it would stay transparant and not become muddy (that was what the 00-28 did). Furthermore, the LG2 had a 'sweeter' and crisper voice overall. A narrower spectrum, but it just had something magical. It had the 'mojo' the 00-28 lacked. And it had just the sound that I wanted: instant Tom Waits. ;-)

Thanks for all your kind help and advice!

[jaymarsch]

Congrats on your new Gibson! Glad to hear that you made the decision that works best for you.
Best,
Jayne

[rollypolly]

Congrats! Glad you figured it out. Those are definitely very different sounding guitars. The Gibsons are great strummers and keep their clarity. I think it’d be cool if Gibson made a ladder braced LG-1 again. Waterloo is doing it and I’m sure they’d sell.

[SalFromChatham]

Congrats! Fine choice either way…

Mores sustain vs more crisp decay. None is better; just depends on a personal preference.