Maton JB4

Manufactured in 1984, this JB-4 is a little different to most others. Came in black with the same gold plated hardware that the later Maton MGB-4 - Badass bridge, Scahller machines, and sported the active Select pickups (P+J configuration) unlike the usual DiMarzio's. Two volumes, one tone and a pickup select switch.

I've played all manner of music with this bass over the years and its always sounded good. A nice fat sound and reasonably versatile. Nice highs if you want them and you can fine tune the sound by blending the volume of each pickup. Doesn't get the real J-bass back pickup sound so Jaco freaks may not like it. In numerous recording sessions engineers have always liked this bass. Plug it in and it sounds good without messing around.

Great workmanship all round. In over twenty years its never needed a pro setup and its done a lot of work over that time. Body is a little chipped in a few places now but other than that itsin fine form for a 21-year old bass. Some of the gold plating is showing signs of age but that's to be expected.

This bass has been extremely reliable. A couple of issues with the controls coming loose and turning, eventually the tone pot shorted out against the jack and required a little adjustment. The knobs fell off years ago but I like it better without them so didn't put them back on. Strap buttons were replaced with Scahller strap locks to match all my other basses but were fine until them. This bass saw numerous gigs and never let me down.

The only time I needed to talk to Maton was to find out about the history of the bass. I bought it new 21-years ago and wanted to know if there were any other black ones. They could tell me its year of production but that's about all. Given the reliability of the instrument I've had no need to talk to them at all but they seem quite responsive (I was talking with the managing director!)

Been playing bass for almost 30 years and own, and have owned a number of quality instruments - Fenders, Alembics - and this Maton is up there with the best of them. It's just a nice bass to play and sounds good. What more could you want? If I ever lost it I'd be very upset. Never having seen another like it I suspect it's irreplaceable. There weren't all that many JB-4s built let alone somewhat custom ones like mine.

Made 1972 in Victoria, Australia.
4-string Fretless, solid body
Volume control, two Tone controls, Pick-up combination switch
Passive electronics
Two DiMarzio humbucker pick-ups
Sassafras body and neck, Rosewood fingerboard, Medium scale neck
Semi-gloss/Satin finish in light wood brown color
Badass chrome bridge, Brass nut, Solid accurate & reliable tuners
Original brown case, with Fender strap

Warm, smooth, unique

Had some varnish wear on front of body where thumb rest against E-string.
Otherwise, has been a perfect instrument

Has been excellent
Body's wood is a bit soft, so some care is required
Has a few minor indentations

Started playing bass in 1973 and bought this instrument in 1981. I own a '72 Fender Jazz (fretted) as well as a 2000 5-string Godin (fretted). I also own 3 electric and 3 acoustic 6-string guitars.
If lost or stolen, I would try very hard to find one of these Maton's again, but they are very difficult to find, and tend to be very individual in sound and playability between each model.
I was originally looking for a Fender Jazz Fretless, but fell in love with this instrument as soon as I tried it.

1977

It spent about 10-12 yrs in the case (unstrung of course) so it hadn't seen much work.

I bought it for $600 AUS about 6 years ago - that's what it cost him in 1978

Good bloke eh? He specified that if I ever sell it - He has 1st option.

Serial # 233

20 Frets - Grover machine heads - Badd Ass Bridge (Love it)- Hand made Brass Nut, Body is sassafras, Fingerboard is Indian Rosewood, Neck is White rock maple - 34 1/2 inches -
2 DiMarzios - P/J

I have the original advertising blah for it and it bosts the "Maton Double Thrust" truss rod! Which I'm glad I have one of. So 70's!!!

I do anything from Led Zep to the Wiggles!
FX SUX
A bit noisy with buzzes esp if dodgy power - might need more shielding.
Big fat sound available even thru pissy amps if you muck about with the available knobs long enuff
slaps well if required -
I had flat wounds on it for a while and it was VERY nice but lacked highs (strings I guess)
Good for hitting with a plectrum too if ya into that.
Sustain from hell

It spent about 8 yrs in a case unstrung -
I strung it up after 8 yrs and it kept going out of tune for a few days!!!
It's been close to 'concert' every day since and the neck [apart from a few partly worn frets] hasn't changed.

I wish I looked as young as it does!

This thing has seen NO carnage - UNTIL I bought it!
Dropped mid song once (hehehe) and made LOTS of noise but was in tune once I jumped back on!
Great big lump of bloody sassafras wood it is!
If there is someone shooting after a 'good ol' boys gig' ... hide behind one of these buggers

Waht does that mean?
I'm too busy making mass produced acoustic guitars to answer the phone man!

It's the most reliable thing I have ever owned and I'm f--kin old man!

Made in Victoria Australia in the late 70's i think - had it for 10 years now - 22 frets, longscale bass - unsure what the neck is but the body made from queensland sassafras wood. Good Heavy solid workmanlike Grover open back tuners.
Great workhorse bass. until Warwick arrived on the scene, i'd have said you wouldn't find better. came from the factory with Brass nut and Badass bridge, Di Marzio pickups - P bass and J at bridge, and a brown violin-style finish, Beautuful to look at and a really warm tone.Passive (I hate batteries)
When they first came out it was pretty unique - dating a bit these days...

Play in different bands - from buddy holly to thrash to jazz to folk - it does it all. Very pleasant tone, sustains beautifully and will pop and clack away if you have the urge to whack it. Harmonics ok - I have always used rotosound round wounds so i ilke a clear top end sound.
I have large hands and this is a good fit for me.

Beautiful - never had to touch it in 10 years of gigging. - biggest problem was the screws holding the dimarzio's started coming loose and a couple actually dropped out during a gig - no problem - 20 seconds with a screwdriver fixed that up. Biggest problem is it's case fell apart over the years and i got a flight case made up. - one nick in the polish of the neck from the old case.

I've bashed this poor thing around for a decade, polish it once a year whether it needs it or not. never ever let me down. finish is still flawless ( and i'm talking a 24? or so year old instrument) never nbeeded a backup (although i am buying a warwick 5 now)

only getting the warwick becasue they don't make these any more, and they never made a 5 string version.

absolutely useless.

the company doesn't make them any more, and my phone equiries have been a waste of time.

I'd take it to the guy who looks after my guitars if there was any problem - but so far i've never had any trouble at all.

Been playing 30 years. use it through either a marshall 200 watt rig, or my beloved Fender Bassman 135 (love that amp). if the bass was stolen i'd whip out and grab a warwick thumb bass to replace it.
I love it's indestructibility, and how pretty it looks - it's the most reliable thing in the world. had too many other basses over the years to list.

My 4 string special order Cherry Maton Bass was made in 1983 in Australia. Like other JB4s it has a sassafrass body with a maple neck and black African ebony fretboard of 20 frets. The scale length is 34 inches from the Badass bridge to the brass nut, tensioned with Schaller machine heads. It has two dimarzio pickups - jazz at the bridge, and precision at the neck. It also came with the original hard case with the Maton plaque.

As is typical with most P-J bass, the JB4 features a volume pot for each pickup, and an overall tone control. There is also a switch between series and parallel configurations.

It would be nice to have active electronics, a master volume, extra frets, and an extra string, but the flat response from this instrument is so good I find I hardly ever bother changing the tone/volume settings - except in extreme circumstances - and the feel of this bass is so comfortable that an extra string would probably just get in the way.

This is an incredibly versatile bass yet with a unique sound. I've used it for rock, funk, jazz, and even marching and classical and I can always get the sound I'm after. It's bright and punchy with some of the best sustain you'll ever hear. I've used it on a number of amps, and it always sounds great, though I have at times found earthing problems in "live environments".

The series/parallel switch seems to give a volume boost at the expensive of muddying the tone somewhat - hence I only use it in emergencies!

It looks beautiful and always feels great. I spent many hours scouring music shops to find the most comfortable bass for me to play, and every time I played a Maton I felt like it was made especially for me. My hands always seem to fall into the right places on this instrument.

Unfortunately the ravages of time have chipped some cosmetic blemishes into the paintwork including a fairly nasty gash on the underside near the output jack where the case developed a hole unbeknownst to me for far too long!!!

I've had this bass for five years now and only changed the strings once despite playing it nearly every day. It rarely goes out of tune, and when it does it seems to be across all strings evenly - bizarre... I probably could have been more careful with this bass, but she has been very forgiving.

The company were kind enough to send a copy of the promotional material for the bass to the previous owner which also included some individual details specific to this bass.

I've been playing bass for about fifteen years and dream of being the reincarnation of Jaco Pastorius just like everybody else. I've got a sneaking suspicion that this bass was sent to me by the devil - it's red with the serial number 666! It makes me want to play all the time, and lets me play whatever I want. I bought it off a guy who originally had it in a shop on consignment for A$1200 (US$600+) for only A$500 so it was a ridiculous bargain, especially as they don't make these anymore. If it were stolen I'd hound every cop and pawn shop I know until I find it, and then track down the thieving bastard who stole it and drop my bass amp on him (or her) from a very large height. They're very hard to find these days, but hopefully one day I'll be able to find a companion fretless version.