Maton guitars?

PeteM

I played a gig last night and one of the guys on the bill, Paul, was playing an Australian made Maton acoustic, which he picked up in Australia when he was working there. The tone of the instrument is brilliant, with ultra clarity and definition, and the action is heavenly. It seems Maton have been making guitars for 60 years.

Has anyone had any experience with these guitars - if so, what do you think? Here's a link to their site. http://www.maton.com.au/index.php

AlanRatcliffe

I've seen quite a few - I suspect somebody imported them for a while in the '80s. Very nice, often using unusual Australian hardwoods like jarrah.

They are better known these days thanks to Tommy Emmanuel playing a couple.

Squonk

Hi Pete

I played one of these when I was in the UK.
This guy was a Tommy Emmanuel fan, and just bought one even though he was a real beginner.
I cant remember the model, but it was easy to play and the tone was excellent.
He wouldn't do a trade with my Takamine ☹

Banditman

Haven't played one but heard some good things about them from Kiwi & Aussie friends. I think Crowded House used Matons on & off.

Some quirky electrics too (as in quirky like the Brian May Red Special type thing if you follow) but still good reviews.

AntD

I bought my FG150/12 second-hand in the 1980s, though it hasn't been played much lately. I hauled it out again this evening (Mrs D: Whose guitar is that?) and decided to give it a go again, if only to build up hand strength better than playing nylon-string. I've kept the Maton brochure I got from Georg Kouba (Mullers, then Mr Music in Long Street in Cape Town), who was bringing them in for a time. My 150/12 has a lovely chunky sound, nice light action and a neck that comfortably fits my delicate little paws. It also quite happily plays at concert pitch and the neck hasn't needed any attention yea these 20-odd years. The brochure describes the 150 or its 6-string equivalent the 100 as Professional models, which presumably means designed for workhorse duties without unnecessary bling. Works for me. Ralph Towner watch out.

SvR65

I have not had the opportunity to play a Maton, but if you go do a search on these guitars you find pretty good reviews! So I reckon it can't be bad...

Cole Clark is another Australian brand that I think is worth checking out. They are also all solid Australian timber, good looks and fair pricing (much more so than a Maton)... But another problem is to get one here - no dealers in RSA that I know of...

(Jack Johnson plays with them).

Bob-Dubery

The Maton website has some interesting comments about woods.

"The musical instrument making community is becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of availability of some of their favorite traditional tonewoods. Brazilian Rosewood and Honduras Mahogany have become virtually impossibly to obtain and will vanish unless drastic action is taken.
Ebony is also becoming rare, and it would be environmentally irresponsible to keep utilising these timbers without looking for alternatives.

"Fortunately Australia has a wide range of under-utilised tonewoods, and as the supply of traditional material diminishes these timbers will come into their own as a world standard. Many of the Australian timbers are plantation grown and will yield musical instruments after 80 years, as opposed to the hundreds of years required for traditional woods."

1) I am glad to see a guitar maker taking a stand for conservation

2) There is a need to exploit alternate woods and sources of woods for the sake of conservation of the guitar.

3) The comment about wood age interests me. Is the 80 years V centuries a function of the woods used, or is it a function of the wood being plantation grown (or is it just baloney)?

AlanRatcliffe

Australian blackwood is very closely related to koa. For all intents and purposes (from a looks, working and tonewood perspective), they are the same thing.

singemonkey

zohn wrote: Africa is getting raped at the moment of its "alternative" tonewood resources as well as part of the "conserve the Tropical forests" - initiatives.
Khaya (African Mahogany), Sapelle Mahogany, African Blackwood, Ovangkol, Madagaskar Rosewood and African Rosewood (Bubinga) are a few that springs to mind. African Blackwood is already virtually extinct...
To get back to Maton - I have read/heard a lot of good reviews about "Ausie" or "Tassie" -black wood as a tone wood. Some refer to it as "Koa on steroids".

Disturbing stuff to hear. Something I've wondered about (sorry about the threadjack going on here PeteM). Where else are they harvesting these woods? Gabon, I assume? The DRC?

What effect does musical instrument making have on these trees? Which industries are most responsible? If you know some of this stuff, I'd appreciate if you start a thread.

singemonkey

Wow. Their electrics are cool.