LG-2 vs CEO-7 vs E10OOSS

[radioregime]

Thank you all for you advice in my first post. After spending much more time on finding the right size guitar and right tone wood pairing, I have finally gotten to specific requirements. I have found the guitars that fit these requirements And I am trying to decide between these 3. Unfortunately, all three are hard to catch in stock to try locally, and impossible to catch in one place for comparison.

Gibson LG-2 Nathaniel Rateliff
Martin CEO-7
Eastman E10OOSS

They are all around the same size, style, look, Adirondack, mahogany, etc. I love the sound of adi/hog. It is amazing to me. And I love this size guitar.

Where I am torn:

On tone, the Gibson has a tad of that mid growl I can catch on a j45. Nice clarity as well. The Martin has a bit of a deeper growl and twang that I love. The Eastman is perfectly between. All fantastic tones that I would happy with.

On brand, I love the way the Gibson looks the most, especially the fretboard inlay. But the quality issues are a concern. Martin seems like the safe choice for quality and probably the least risk of buyers remorse. Eastman has the best value but it’s hard to shake all of the stigma attached to the name on your headstock. It would be a mental test rather than an aural one.

I feel like the only way to settle this is to try all 3 in person blindfolded playing myself and then someone playing to me. And making a blind choice. This is probably never going to happen. I am hoping I can piece together people’s experiences with these 3 guitars. If you have ever touched either of these 3, can you offer any opinions and advice to me? Some alternative guitars that could be a close proxy are the LG-2 banner, and the E10OOSS/V. The CEO-7. doesnt have a close enough model but I feel like there is a good chance some of you have touched that one.

[MBee]

I also had cold feet about the name on the headstock when I got my E1SS LTD. so I went out and tried a bunch of slope shoulder gibsons: various j45s and a J15. I really wanted to show off that Gibson name. But I pretty soon got over myself. The Eastman is just a killer guitar plain and simple.

[deejayen]

I recently bought an acoustic, and tried a CEO-7. I really liked it - the neck profile was a better fit for me than the newer Martin profiles. It definitely had a Martin sound in the vein of a D-18. I think it would be a nice guitar for solo instrumentals (which is mainly what I play) but given the choice I think I would have been edging towards a used and well set-up D-18.

I ended up buying a used Gibson LG-2 American Eagle. I haven't played the Nathanual Rateliff model or one of the custom shop LG-s with an adi top. I can't say it was the best guitar for my style, but I felt compelled to buy it, and I'm really growing to like.

I think if the Gibson is calling your name, then I'd go that way. I'm not too worried about Gibson quality control issues. A good tech can sort the little things which new Gibsons often need, such as rounding off the nut edges and smoothing the fret ends etc. I think the way it plays, and the sounds it makes are more important than the finer details, and in any case, the look and vibe of it are terrific!

[tomcstokes59]

I have actually owned (sort of) all three of those models.
LG2 - I have the 50's re-issue but played the Rateliff at Fullers. The Adirondack definitely gives it a boost and the aesthetics are very nice. I preferred the neck on the 50's Re-issue. It has a little more heft to it. The knock against Gibson quality is undeserved on newer models. Bozeman is making excellent guitars these days.
Martin CEO7 - great guitar and about the same price as the Gibson Rateliff. The neck is very comfortable if you like a slight v feel to it. Looks like an L-00 but sounds like Martin interpretation of the Gibson sound. The back I believe is Sapele and not true mahogany. At $3K you would think Martin could use genuine Honduran mahogany. It has the widest nut of the three. Again - if you like the v neck, great guitar.
Eastman E10 00SS - I actually owned the /v version. Absolutely fantastic little guitar and probably $2k less then either of the above. Back and side woods are actually Khaya (African mahogany) But the one I had was a tad narrow on the nut ( 1 11/16") but more important very thin neck. Loud for a 00. Very light. If I could ever find one with a little more meat to the neck and a wider nut, this is the one I would get. Caveat - I have no problem with Eastman on the headstock. They make very fine instruments.

Good luck - those are excellent choices.

[Vapour]

Played through the Nashville stores last week (one vintage LG-2 at Carter, 3 CEO-7 at Gruhn's, an Eastman E10ooss/v and E20ooss/v at Corner) and voted with my wallet. The E20ooss/v came home and it wasn't really even close.

[Monty Christo]

All I know is that I bought a CEO-7 because I thought that if it looked that much like a Gibson, it would sound like one. I couldn't have been more wrong; it's a Martin through-and-through.

I replaced it with a LG2 that has become my number-one, go-to, do-it-all workhorse. And it sounds just like a Gibson!

[JPCary]

How is the E10-00SS tone compared to the CEO-7 and LG-2?

[Slimt]

Whats different from the Lg2 and the LG 2 NR other than inlay?and binding.? Just curious. The CEO 7 is a different guitar.

I would prefer the LG2

[tomcstokes59]

Originally Posted by Slimt

Whats different from the Lg2 and the LG 2 NR other than inlay?and binding.? Just curious. The CEO 7 is a different guitar.

I would prefer the LG2

From Gibson NR page
Gibson LG-2 Western is also a blend of Nathaniel's own vintage Gibson LG-2 and Country Western. The smaller-sized mahogany body and Adirondack red spruce top deliver vintage-approved tone. The 24 3/4" scale length bound mahogany neck features split parallelogram inlays, and the headstock is crowned with a mother of pearl Gibson block logo and Crown inlay, a nod to the Country Western, while the nickel Gotoh Keystone tuners and black bridge pins are reflections of Nathaniel's personal guitar. The volume and tone controls of the onboard LR Baggs® VTC electronics are mounted at the bottom of the soundhole, per Nathanie . . .

[Slimt]

Originally Posted by tomcstokes59

From Gibson NR page
Gibson LG-2 Western is also a blend of Nathaniel's own vintage Gibson LG-2 and Country Western. The smaller-sized mahogany body and Adirondack red spruce top deliver vintage-approved tone. The 24 3/4" scale length bound mahogany neck features split parallelogram inlays, and the headstock is crowned with a mother of pearl Gibson block logo and Crown inlay, a nod to the Country Western, while the nickel Gotoh Keystone tuners and black bridge pins are reflections of Nathaniel's personal guitar. The volume and tone controls of the onboard LR Baggs® VTC electronics are mounted at the bottom of the soundhole, per Nathanie . . .

Thank you.

[blakey]

Originally Posted by MBee

I also had cold feet about the name on the headstock when I got my E1SS LTD. so I went out and tried a bunch of slope shoulder gibsons: various j45s and a J15. I really wanted to show off that Gibson name. But I pretty soon got over myself. The Eastman is just a killer guitar plain and simple.

212 of 250 here. Couldn't agree more. Nice to have a limited edition too.

[Silly Moustache]

Never found a modern Gibson that met my expectations tonally or in presentation.

Don't know much about the Martin copies of Gibson designs.

I do have two Eastmans (E20-P and E40-00) but If I was looking for a good Gibson style guitar, I'd look at Eastman first.

What I DID do in 2016 was buy a Waterloo WL12.

[Mr. Paul]

Though some here will dismiss new Gibsons at every opportunity, they are building some great guitars right now. Love the LG-2 though I've not played this particular model. I love Martins but did not connect with either ceo-7 I've played.

[Knollhaven]

I do love Eastmans, but I had this model and sold it due to the too-skinny neck profile. I voted Gibson because it sounds like if you go that way, you’ll never second guess choosing the Gibson tone. Life is short.

[KenL]

I'd go with the Martin because it has my favorite neck, a Mod V with a 1 3/4" nut.

I'm an Eastman fan too, but the neck on this one wouldn't work for me.