Maton guitars

[Phantasmonaut]

Man, I think these are so badass. Huge Josh Homme fan too. Anyone around here play/have one? Price keeps coming down on this: http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/msg/2930544394.html

(I am NOT the seller of that instrument)

[zastruga]

A Maton is on my bucket list of guitars to own someday. I've heard nothing but good things and they look superb. Unfortunately, I have yet to actually see one in the wild. One day...

[johnmfer]

I was in a band that opened for QOTSA in 2005, that was the first I'd heard of or seen a Maton. Is was a fantastic instrument. I would LOVE to have that.

[JeffHaddad]

My son has one - BB1200 model, I think. It's trans black and really a great guitar. You don't have to import them, there are USA dealers. I'd love a Blue BB1200, or their 50th anniversary MS500 which I think is really cool.

[Rockledge]

I have a friend in Australia, he tells me they are very respected over there. He has been telling me about them for years. I can't remember ever having seen one up close.

[hilux]

I love the way those look. I wish they weren't so expensive

[ac15er]

I had an EM325C accoustic for awhile, I couldn't play it, it hurt my fingers so much even after a good setup, in the end I had to ditch it for a big loss.

I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, no other guitar has never given me so much pain as that one, sad really as I wanted to love that guitar so much...just couldn't.

[DRS]

I suspect 90% of Maton's cred comes from Tommy Emmanuel's endorsement. GP did a review of some Maton acoustics. Talk about being damned by faint praise.

[fazen]

I think their biggest exposure comes from Murray Cook of the Wiggles.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g27/freakstroke/748px-Murray_Cook110807.jpg

[chillytc]

I think their biggest exposure comes from Murray Cook of the Wiggles.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g27/freakstroke/748px-Murray_Cook110807.jpg

Best. Post. Ever.

[slyzspyz]

I had an EM325C accoustic for awhile, I couldn't play it, it hurt my fingers so much even after a good setup, in the end I had to ditch it for a big loss.

I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, no other guitar has never given me so much pain as that one, sad really as I wanted to love that guitar so much...just couldn't.

Strange, I have the EM225C which I chose because it was very comfortable to play, action is fine and the neck shape is just right for me

[JB Eckl]

I got to play Tommy's guitars when we opened for him, and another one belonging to a friend of his who brought a great specimen backstage. They were set up low and light. Lots of sparkle, not much low end to speak of at all - you can tell they're made to be played the way Tommy plays them!

I think the Maton pickup system is a propietary thing that you can only get on those guitars, and it has a lot to do with their appeal to solo fingerstyle players.

[Man with Gas]

I totally agree Tommy gets a great sound but hey it's Tommy and I suspect his may not be a true off the shelf example either.

Very expensive for a knock off of every well known US company.

Martin, Fender, Gibson etc .. there's nothing they didn't "srongly borrow" from.

You guys in the US have amazing instruments in Martn, Taylor, Cruz etc etc ... Play a Maton side by side these makers and you'll see where I'm coming from.

BTW: We Aussies have Maton to thank for the exorbitant prices of all OS musical equipment due to the Aussie import tax that Maton lobbied for to protect them whilst they ripped off US makers back in the 60's.

[Realfi]

I totally agree Tommy gets a great sound but hey it's Tommy and I suspect his may not be a true off the shelf example either.

Very expensive for a knock off of every well known US company.

Martin, Fender, Gibson etc .. there's nothing they didn't "srongly borrow" from.

You guys in the US have amazing instruments in Martn, Taylor, Cruz etc etc ... Play a Maton side by side these makers and you'll see where I'm coming from.

BTW: We Aussies have Maton to thank for the exorbitant prices of all OS musical equipment due to the Aussie import tax that Maton lobbied for to protect them whilst they ripped off US makers back in the 60's.

To be honest I wish that Maton had borrowed MORE heavily from Gibson and Martin with their acoustics. In my opinion while they are a good live option with their pickups they would never be the guitar I'd stick in front of a microphone. I find that they have a very narrow tonal range and lack real dynamics. If you lean into a Maton dread style they compress to easily to be a real Bluegrass cannon and their smaller guitars just simply aren't responsive compared to something like a Martin style OM/000 etc.

Tommy E is one of the most astonishing players of his generation no doubt but I don't think his tone is actually a particularly strong attribute of what he brings. I've seen clips where he plays other guitars and they always tend to sound better to me than his Matons.

I feel a bit un-patriotic saying this but I've had a few Matons myself dating from the 60's to the 90's and spent 15 years in stores in Perth selling Matons and comparing them to other fine acoustic guitars. That's the opinion I formed.

I will say I picked up one of their Ukes the other day and thought it was pretty good!

[Waxhead]

Man, I think these are so badass. Huge Josh Homme fan too. Anyone around here play/have one? Price keeps coming down on this: http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/msg/2930544394.html

(I am NOT the seller of that instrument)

Very common guitar in Australia - the acoustics sell better here
Been around for 30 yrs.
High quality often made with unique Aussie timbers but I agree they're overpriced.
I prefer another Aussie maker called Cole Clark :)

http://www.coleclarkguitars.com/

[CyberFerret]

Ive got a Maton ECW80C acoustic which I love, but be aware that they are quite 'overbuilt' and are strong guitars, but tend to be a bit stiff. I find that periods when I play my Maton a lot, it tends to open up and sound a lot warmer, but if I leave it in its case for a few months, it takes a while to stop sounding stiff.

I haven't owned their electrics, but played some in stores (they are quite common in most guitar stores over here) and they seem to be nice guitars. Very good workmanship.

It's funny because Maton evokes a bit of a love/hate relationship with most local guitarists. We love having a great local builder that makes quality stuff, but at the same time, as others have mentioned, Maton have lobbied the government for protection and higher import tarrifs to artificially skew the market in their favour, which is a bit off putting.

Also, as Waxhead mentioned - check out Cole Clark guitars. I believe Cole (or Clark? - one of them) used to be a head luthier at Maton, but left to start his own company and makes very good guitars (acoustics). Their electrics seem to be straight S-type or T-type replicas, unlike the unique design of the Maton electrics.