The problem with these perceptions is we have to make sure we are all talking the same language – does “cannon” just mean “loud”? Or does it mean less bass? Or maybe, something else? The eq curve on different guitars can affect what we perceive as volume, and that curve is most easily affected (and changed) by the strings. So first, I’d say that a Santa Cruz guitar isn’t gonna ever sound the same as a Collings or a Martin, but hopefully, you chose it because you thought it sounded and felt better. Second, to get a better apples-to-apples comparison, put the same strings on both guitars – either SCGC strings, or maybe even sets of something completely different. Then, you’ll have to play them to break the strings in, and then you’ll need someone else to play them so you can get a better sense of how they sound from out in front. That will really give you a better sense of what the balance, and volume, of each guitar is. It could very well be that its the SCGC strings, but you might find something else.
I’ve always been intrigued with how guitars can sound, or be perceived, so differently by the player, the audience, and the microphone – is it in the build, or the materials, or the builder? But that may be the essence of another podcast –