Getting curious about Australian brands like Maton. Anyone here played them and can share their thoughts

[Golem]

With the AUD at all time lows, seemed like it might be worth importing Australian gear. Really Maton is the only Aussie brand I know. Other than the acoustics and Josh Homme's signature with them, I don't think I've ever heard people talk about them.

 

[twoheadedboy]

I had a Cole Clark Fat Lady acoustic/electric for a while. Very nice guitar. It didn't sound amazing acoustically, but it had the best plugged in sound I've heard from an acoustic/electric.

 

[Defendant]

I've never played a Maton acoustic that didn't sound weird to me. Nicely made but my ear just doesn't want to hear their wood choices.

The retro-style electrics are good, apart from the rotary switch.

 

[customguitars87]

With the AUD at all time lows, seemed like it might be worth importing Australian gear. Really Maton is the only Aussie brand I know. Other than the acoustics and Josh Homme's signature with them, I don't think I've ever heard people talk about them.

The acoustics are really all that’s worth discussing there. I’ve played a Tommy Emmanuel signature model and it was fantastic. My mediocre acoustic playing couldn’t do it justice, but Tommy sure could.

 

[Axaholic]

I've been playing them for 25 years. They don't all sound the same, so you really want to get your hands on a few different models to decide what you like. I'm left handed so I don't try other people's acoustics too often, and when I do it tends to be another Maton.

I prefer them over everything else I've tried, although being leftie, you don't get to try too much.

Plugged in with their modern hybrid piezo/microphone electronics they have the reputation as sounding as good (or better) than anything else on the market

 

[BADHAK]

I had a Cole Clark Fat Lady acoustic and it was decent. Seemed well made and played well but it didn’t sound that good. Very quiet compared to other similarly priced guitars I compared it too.

 

[Balls Deep]

The AUD isn't at an all time low. Regardless, if Maton is good enough for TE, its sure as hell good enough for anyone around here.

 

[Timtam]

Yep, the AUD$ is not at an all-time low against the USD. That was around 50 US cents about 2 decades ago. It's currently around 0.64. About a decade ago it jumped briefly to 1.10. Wish I had bought more then. Currency "experts" are seemingly almost always wrong about which way things are heading. In the 1970s the AUD bought around US$1.25, before the AUD was floated in 1983. Exchange rates suck. They can literally double the cost of an MIA guitar. New Fender AVII's are currently around AUD$4000.

 

[Tony Done]

I've been playing Maton acoustics since '76, and I've got to like their "tight" sound, though it does very much come down to individual models. For example, the "Australian" series sound dull and clunky to me. I currently have a '92 M300, which is all-laminate. A couple of things I am convinced of are 1) that they are very well made and 2) that the AP5 pickup/preamp system is outstanding.- I've heard them side-by-side with other makes at local music festivals. They also seem to stand up very well to the hard Oz climate. - I had one for over six years in the Ord Valley, in the wet-dry tropics, no problem. Based on my experience with their acoustics, I would be very happy to have one of their electrics. I tried one with a Lollar CC neck pickup a few years ago and liked it a lot.

 

[thrashmetl]

A friend of mine used to work for The Eagles of Death Metal. He brought home one of Jessie’s Maton Josh Homme sig semi-hollows once and I have to admit I wasn’t all that impressed.

 

[Sweetfinger]

I have seen maybe four or five acoustics over the years. They were made well enough, not a lot of frills or ornamentation. They reminded me of the Canadian brands. It's anecdotal info but probably more experience with the brand than 98% of the other North American players out there.

 

[Ultra GP]

Matons are nice guitars. Very well-made. Only issue I've had is the plating on the pickup covers wearing off.

I've not tried the bolt-on neck models like the MS500 though. Seems like they're only offering acoustics as of now. For a while it was just the BB1200JH.

I've been intrigued by the Cole Clark acoustics too.

 

[OotMagroot]

Murray Cook from The Wiggles always had some cool Matons.

 

[GuitarGalah]

I mostly play electric, but I did a dedicated search for a good acoustic some time back.
The Maton (on the right) won out, against serious competition. We can get Martins and Taylors, but Australian tonewoods are pretty amazing, and our Maton and Cole Clark guitars give them real competition.

The one on the left I rescued from my sister. Apparently she had planned to learn some time back and picked up a remarkable guitar, only to decide it was too big. I was helping her move some stuff into storage, and was stunned she had it, AND was shelving it.
Brought her a nice 3/4 guitar to encourage her, and I'm looking after it very happily.

 

[scotty31]

Charles cilia is supposed to be a gun custom builder. Planning to order a superstrat style axe from him soon

We have some amazing acoustic luthiers here
Gilet, woodtone, fenech, kim lissarrague - have had the privilege of owning/holding a few of these.