Video

CEO 7!

I use to think the guy who headed up martin guitar co. Was a clown. Had no reason to think that . Just judgemental stupidity on my part. He makes me look like the fool that i am by creating the greastest guitar of all time, the ceo7.

Ce07 big sound small guitar

amazing video man, so helpful mi g

I thoroughly enjoyed your review. I own a CEO-7 and love it for its tone and looks. Ironically, I don't like the neck. As a retired old coot with bad shoulders and arthritic hands, I purchased Martin 0-18, with a faster neck that is much easier for me to play. It is now my favorite guitar. I won't sell the CEO-7, but I play it less than it deserves.

Cherry is pretty underrated, in my opinion. I've had a cedar/cherry S6 folk, and I also had a Martin SWDGT (dred). Both sounded good. The cherry doesn't have overtones really, and the sustain isn't really there, but sometimes you don't want it to be. It's great for singer songwriter stuff. Although I don't have cherry anymore, I still think it's great.

Like them both but LOVE my 000-18!

Excellent video. Helped me make a decision. Thank you!

I played a 00-18, 000-18, ceo-7 and Eric Clapton 000-28 today at a local music store. For starters, all of the mahogany guitars sounded better than the ec000-28, which was surprising to me. The ceo-7 sounded best, more base than some of the dreadnoughts in the room. But the 00-18 and 000-18 were way better playing guitars up and down the neck imo. Tuners on the ceo-7 are stiff which I didn’t like.

Hands down CEO 7!

CEO 7 is for the blues and the 000-18 is more allround (more classical stuff also). Thank you. Fine video and infos. Fun watching

The CEO looks really good to me. But anyone who plays Back Home Again in Indiana is pretty rad! 🤘

ceo mellower, composed, and composed plus bass...00018 is brighter, more mids and a touch more sustain, remember they are different body styles!

Prices already went up $300. No mercy

Now I wish I would have gotten the CEO-7.

Through my limited headphones, the CEO-7 seems to have more character, more articulate? a certain clarity? (searching for the right words, not sure I found them. I can hear all the strings,. The 18 is very smooth, very beautiful in its own right. There is a homogenous sound to the strum. I think I would take the 18 for bluegrass or folk. I am a more percussive, rootsey player. I think the CEO 7 (before experiencing the feel of the necks) would be my choice

I love my CEO-7. Great for fingerpicking and the bass and mid-range response from a smaller body is amazing. Every time I pick that low E string it makes me smile. Not to mention, it's so stinking beautiful! Great video, I appreciated your comments. I also liked that you threw in a little Back Home Again in Indiana!😀

great vid!

Ceo7 is a whisker too smoky for me

000 for me

Great video. I have both and like them both. The Gibson L00 and the Martin CEO7 would also make a nice shoot out. As far as sound the 000-18 is louder and the CEO7 is more rounded in my mind. Thanks for sharing. Andy

Funny how everyone interprets things differently especially when it comes to sound. I find the CEO7 fuller and the 000 more muted. I see many disagree, that's fine, you have to get what sounds good to YOU. Everyones auditory experiences differ. For me, lots of high frequency loss due to 40 years of dentistry, those high speeds are killers. Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong either way, however for me the CEO7 wins by a large margin. I will eventually get a 000-18 but probably the Clapton version. At any rate thanks Chris for putting in the time for this demo!

Great review! I had the opportunity a few years ago to demo some guitars in the Martin Picking room at their factory (I only live 15 minutes away so I really should be there every day lol!) I think I played about 8 of them without really looking at the spec sheets as I wanted to be as non biased as I could regarding wood, pricing etc. I could not believe how much I loved the CEO7 by a ton. I mean their was no comparison and they had some wonderful guitars there. I was actually put off by the fact that it was designed by Chris. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and I've spoken with him on several occasions. But, geez, I would have thought it was designed by Clapton or someone... however, he hit this one on the head. Truly magnificent, bravo Chris, and good for you to emulate the Gibsonesque features. Going to finally pick mine up at the Nazareth Music Center. They have the absolute best prices on Martins without exception. I'm getting this for $450 cheaper than Sweetwater or any other big box store! So if you are in the area, check them out, I don't think they ship... Now, I love Sweetwater, and use them a lot, you usually get lots of choices you can see, but when you have the chance to support a local store, inspect and play before you buy, AND save $$$, I go that route. Sorry for the long post, thanks very much for the video Chris, you rock! Regards, Mike

I own both of these guitars. I think both sound pretty much the same. I too, like the 000-18 tuners much better and also prefer the 000-18 neck. I think both are relatively equal at this point in time. Over time, however, I believe that the CEO-7 will be a better overall value due to its significantly lower production number and it’s Adirondack top, which should age better than the Sitka.

If you made it short scale, isn’t it just a 000?

Very nice job, thanks!

You made that guitar sound wonderful. I have standard OME Cherry and really like it. Mow much different is the sound of yours vs. the sound of mine?

In the UK (2023) ....I found the CEO7 to be £1,000 GBP more than the 000-18!!!!!! So stuff that LOL

Great guitar playing! The 18 has a brighter tone, crispness to the treble that the ceo7 doesn’t. Thanks for the video

Just got the ceo-7. Your video definitely helped make my decision between the ceo-7 and the 000-18. I was also looking at the lg2. Love the look and love the sound. By the way, I was worried about the neck, but it is not an issue at all. Thanks for the review.

Gotta wonder if he ment the spacing from fret to fret was wider on the triple-o was than the ceo7 or the frets themselves? I guess I'm just wondering if there's less playing room on the neck on the ceo7?

I've had a lifetime flying heavy aircraft so I couldn't discern any sound difference, they both sounded sublime. Thank you. I'm looking at trading my D-28 against the CEO - mainly for comfort reasons. I bought the D-28 new in 2008, so it's had a fair run. [Edit] I bought the CEO-7 and quite quickly swapped the tuners for Gotohs which were drop in replacements and much smoother. The instrument is superb and brings welcome Adirondack/Mahogany to sit beside my Sitka/EIR 000. They are SO different yet both so comfortable and both sound great. You can't go wrong with either of the guitars you've reviewed. Aging Toner to me seems a sad thing to do to a beautiful piece of wood when Nature and Time do such a wonderful job colouring the Sitka (like on my 2008 000-28). The burst on the CEO is just that, it's aesthetic it's not attempting to 'fool you' into thinking the instrument is older than it is.

Great review!! I own a CEO 7 and love it , the 00 size is very comfortable. Thx

First, THANK YOU for the way you do your sound comparisons. Most channels compare the sound of 2 different guitars by playing one for a minute or two, then playing the other one for a minute or two. The problem with that is that the last 10-15 seconds of guitar #1 is playing something totally different than the first 10-15 seconds of guitar #2. The way you play guitar #1 for a few measures then switch to guitar #2 while playing essentially the same patterns helps the listener hear the differences better. If you want to do a PERFECT sound comparison (aka my preference), play a song with a variety of strumming, picking, etc. and switch guitars every two measures. Yes it would take more editing to get it pieced together, but then you would have the best guitar sound comparison of anyone else on CZcams.

Now that it's been 2 and 1/2 years, perhaps you could update us on this custom shop guitar...just a thought.

My favorite color is Autumn Sunset! Seriously

I had to come back and say thank you. I bought a CEO 7 about 5 months ago and I love it! The neck is great. I like the sound of the 000 18, but I have a D18GE and I don't care for the reimagined neck of the 000. Great playing too!

I think the 18 has a bit more volume in the upper mid-range, the ceo7 has a bit more in the brightness. The dead strings might sound better in the ceo7. I'm really excited about trying these models finally.

What’s the string spacing at the bridge on the 00018?

Great shoot out! I've actually been going back and forth between the CEO-7 and the 000-28EC. I opted for the CEO-7 this time, thanks in part to this video. However, I've known me for many years and I know how this ends...Eventually I'll find a way to get them both. Thanks for a thoroughly informative and entertaining review! Subscribed...

Liked them both. The CEO had fat bass, but the 000 had that same fat bass, with additional high frequency, giving it a more open sound. I'd say, if you looking the one Holy Grail type guitar, to cover alot of styles, the 000 18 could be the one.

Chris, Well done! My CEO7 is exactly as you have detailed. I LOVE IT! It's unique and my go to when fingerpicking. I also have some other Martins and find it warm and rich sounding. Warm mids and rich high end. Not as boomy lows as my D18 or HD28 but perfect for blues and songs like Jillian Welch, etc. Great review! Cheers Rick Louisville

I have a lot of guitars including Martins. I demoed both you do here. But call me crazy, I bought an Eastman E10-OMSB. It had an Adi top , but I loved the 12 inch radius fretboard compared to the flatter Martin. I got it for 750 bucks took the savings and bought a new D-18 Amberburst.

The sound of the CEO7 is not nearly as crisp as the 000-18. Not a bad thing, just different. Depends on what you're looking for. I'd love to hear the CEO7 compared to a Gibson LG2. I've played both, but not one right after the other. My memory tells me that there's more similarity between the CEO7 and the LG2 than between the CEO7 and the 000-18. I have a 000-18 custom shop guitar and absolutely love it, among my other 5 Martins. I have a J45 True Vintage for when I'm looking for a more mellow, indistinct sound.

Go Cubbies!!

Great review ! thanks

CEO for me. The overtones are beautiful. It also requires less effort I feel to fingerpick as the top creates more volume. I use only fingertips so the response really matters. The 000 is probably more versatile but I wanted a finger picker to go with my 35 dred. I chose the CEO over other models costing as much as 12g. It is an amazing instrument.

Skunks would love you stripe lover

I am curious, do you own both of these and why two so similar guitars. They both sound amazing with subtle differences, probably due to scale length and Adirondack vs Sitka. Which do you prefer? I have heard that the CEO 7 has a weird neck profile, any thoughts on this? Finally, I have a D18GE and have been considering the CEO, but they are very similar, Adirondack over mahogany. Perhaps a spruce over rosewood? I find the 000 16 Streetmaster intriguing with the VTS Adirondack over rosewood.