Well let me say it this way, I've owned three different rw/sitka guits (in diff body styles) trying to like this "standard." Fail.
Perfect example where one should follow the tone in one's head and
not what the market (ahem, or the blogosphere!!!) points to as "the one." Fine guits, to be sure, but over time, all three have seen their way out the door as they simply were not me.
That said, I've played coco (never owned one) and do like it quite a bit! I've had only cursory exposure to walnut ...just not enough of them out there to try, but I don't "think" walnut has enough oomph for me and thus not been sufficiently impressed by walnut to make me want to try another. And as I had mentioned, never even tried a macassar so I was rolling dice on my '13 616 SLtd. All of which to say offering "comparisons" is going to be very much flawed by time in between and the vagaries of my aging memory
Ok, enough disclaimers: yeah, the macassar sounds like rw, lol. But it seems deeper and "tighter" on my 616 as opposed to other rw guits I've owned and tried. So yes, the bass is big, but never flubby or overbearing; kind of like a focused, really good bass-guitar tone. My guess (and it really is just that) is the combination of CV method and the adirondack braces along with the macassar. Now this tonal "depth" can be a real deal killer for me were it not for the euro spruce: yeah, there's the other factor, the trifecta that makes it, I suppose. You can definitely/immediately hear the softer attack and less jangle as opposed to sitka. Trebles are still crisp and well defined, so notes have this clear "outline" around them, even the bass notes, but that signature sitka brightness seems to have been EQd out. And there is more midrange presence than sitka; mids are where the meat of the voice is, IMHO. So for this lover of cedar (now you know where my bias is), the euro spruce (and engel which I love on my style-2, a GC body), is right up my tonal alley.
In terms of aesthetic appointments, the 2013 fall and spring LTDs are truly comparable, and also to say, beautiful. And I know this may sound silly to some, but the gotoh 510s are a significant part of the package as I feel these are notably mechanically superior to the stock tuners. Yet
tone is where it's at, and no "features" or aesthetics can ever trump tone. Which is why I love both these '13 LTDs. I initially wanted to find the 5-series because of the mahogany, but eventually realized that was really too tonally similar to what I already have. Thus, this 6-series LTD was dead-on for me: not just a "contrast," but a contrast that still works within my tonal desires. It really is the proverbial cannon, but all the while maintaining a focused and defined bottom end, with crisp highs sans jangle, and decent midrange. OK, that last point: I'd personally like more mids. I love this guit for all the aforementioned reasons, but am still experimenting with different string choices to push/pull the tone a hair more. But that's all fine tuning: this 616 is a staying. Hope that helps you a bit.
Edward
