Interested in maybe getting a Maton one of these days. Anybody have any experience with em? I hear they're good as gold but I've never actually played one.
I hope this is the right place to post this. Oh well. 8)
Thanks y'all
Well, I've had some requests, but I'm going to play anyway.
Hi,
I guess you mean this Maton?
A couple of friends own Matons. One was lent to me for a while, and I've had a play on the other one too. They seemed like very good guitars and are well regarded here.
I considered buying one for a while and looked at several brands, but concentrated on Matons, Martins, Taylors and Seagulls.
To be honest, they were all good guitars in the price range I was looking at. The guy who owns the one I borrowed told me that his comes into its own when given a 'bit of stick' - so it made an ideal guitar when he played with a band as it could stand being played hard, loud, and amplified. He thought my style altogether too light and reserved to bring out the best in it. :D
They make a wide range, so comments on individual ones probably don't mean much though.
A couple of guys who used to work with Maton split off and formed Cole Clark who are also using Australia woods to good effect. They're getting quite a lot of attention now too.
Incidentally, I ended up buying a Seagull. I'd read good reports on them from Nick Torres here so made sure I added them to the list. It came down to a choice between one of the Taylors and a Seagull - with the Seagull only winning because it just wouldn't seem to let me put it down... :)
Hope you can find a Maton to try, I don't think you'd be disappointed.
Cheers
Chris
Cool, glad to see maybe they aren't just hyped up nothings. There's only one Maton dealership in the state (up in Ft. Collins, about 45 minute drive), and I definitely wanna play one before I pull out the greenbacks, so I'll probably make the pilgrimage some day when I have the time.
Those Cole Clarks don't sound bad either, I can't believe I've never heard of em before. Oh well, being in the middle of the country getting Australian brands is quite the deal. 8)
I assume your Seagull is an acoustic right? How much did that cost ya, if you don't mind me asking?
Well, I've had some requests, but I'm going to play anyway.
This is the Seagull I have. Mine has a darker looking top than the one shown.:
with the LR Baggs i-beam Duet electronics shown at the bottom of the page here:
I don't know what price they ask for them in the USA, but in Australia it was well over $1,000 Australian. Aussie $$ are worth less than US ones, so our prices always sound higher. But the much smaller market here (Australia has only around 20 million people) means that import and stocking costs add a lot. So if you double the price in US dollars, that's often around the figure that we pay in Aus$.
Some purists insists that the full body shape is better than the cutaway for sound, but I couldn't tell any difference. This guitar gave me a great combination of features and versatility of use - plugged or unplugged.
But mostly I just couldn't seem to put it down when I tested it out. You can't always explain these things. Still, I can't tell you why I chose my wife either - but we've been happily and faithfully married for over a quarter of a century now, so some things are just right because they're right... :) 8)
I like all my guitars - but with the Seagull it's love. :P
Matons inspire the same devotion in many of their owners. I guess you're a bit of a fan of Tommy Emmanuel (you mentioned liking his songs) so maybe that's where your interest in Matons comes from? Anyway, he certainly likes them. :D
Back in the 1980s I used to see Tommy occasionally at an annual music festival in a nearby town, and he was awesomely good then too. Nice to see somebody of his quality (and some other outstanding Aussie musicians too - mainly Jazz guys) in a fairly small environment - in a hall behind a pub. So the players were part of the crowd when they weren't on stage. Good old days... :wink:
Good luck with finding a Maton to play - I'm sure you'd enjoy it. Oh, and Cole Clark is pretty new so they may not be exporting much if at all yet.
Cheers,
Chris
Hi, I have been playing a Maton Performer since July of 04. I attend the Chet Convention yearly in Nashville and have become a real fan of Tommy Emmanuel. I had played Matons at the show and while I thought they were well made and sounded good especially plugged in I didn't think it was the guitar for me. A couple of years ago I had been considering a smaller guitar than I had been playing for 17 years and this Maton Performer just captured my fancy and my wife made me buy it (reallly, my larger guitar had been hurting my arm and guitar playing is my day job). I have enjoyed this guitar and have done all my performing and recording with it since. I never thought I would buy a guitar off the shelf.
I always thought that Tommy E. had the best amplified sound, very acoustic, very loud and dynamic without the typical piezo "quack". I asked him what pickup he used and was shocked to find out it was a stock Maton pickup. I really bang on it when I am performing my solo guitar concerts and the presence and tone is really great. It is very easy to play and has enabled me to play and write things I would not have before. I play contemporary and tracitional fingerstyle, celtic, concert classical, Spanish & Latin pieces, Bach, and ragtime - all on this little Maton. Go figure. Baffles me.
If you would like to hear it I have a pre-release CD of my new CD, 14 original pieces all recorded on the Maton Performer. If you would like to buy a copy you can write me through my site, http://www.neckup.com . I record into mics not through the pickup though.
I hope this helps. Sincerely, Mark
