2002 Martin CEO-4 Slope Dreadnought Guitar

March 27, 2018

2002 Martin CEO-4 Slope Dreadnought Guitar

Martin's limited-run CEO series is derived like its name -- from ideas sent-down from the top. This particular CEO model is like a Martin-ized J-45. It's a slope-shouldered dreadnought body with a sunburst finish and a spruce top over mahogany back and sides. While it has a Gibson-like "bounce" to the tone -- a little more fundamental and airy -- it's totally Martin in character with its more-scooped mids, silkier top-end, and long scale length.

This guitar is in for consignment and it's essentially "new old stock" save for minor use-wear on the top, a tiny ding here and there, and and a very small, tight, tiny repaired hairline crack next to the endblock area on the side. My only work on it was to give it a better setup. It's braced on the lighter side (which is why it sounds so good), but that's left a minor bit of belly at the bridge. It doesn't effect the playability at all -- which is spot-on.

Specs are: 25 5/16" scale length, 1 11/16" nut width and 1 1/2" string spacing at the nut and 2 1/4" spacing at the bridge, 16 1/4" lower bout width, 11 3/4" upper bout width, and 4 7/8" depth at the endblock. The neck has a mild, C-shaped back profile and the action is perfect with 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret. It's strung with 54w-12 strings.

The top is solid spruce, the back, sides, and neck are solid mahogany, and the fretboard and bridge are black micarta. While traditionalists are quick to scoff at non-wood materials, I think the more humidty-stable, hard-wearing micarta has not been a detractor on newer Martins at all. It's practical stuff.

The headstock veneer is rosewood, too.

The saddle has its original, full height and is compensated properly. The bridge came with string-ramping already done behind the saddle -- a feature I really like for maintaining good tone no matter how low your saddle gets.