Maton EAJ85

2006 Maton EAJ85 (Electric Australian Jumbo)

Made in Australia.

"AA Select" Grade Solid Sitka Spruce soundboard, Herringbone Rosette & inner binding, Blackwood outer binding, Solid Blackwood back & sides, Queensland Maple neck, Blackwood veneer headstock, Rosewood fingerboard with MOP dot inlays, Rosewood bridge, High gloss finish, AP5 pickup system, Tortoiseshell pickgaurd, Gold Grover turners. Comes with Maton Hiscox moulded flight case.

This guitar has a very well rounded sound. It has quite low bass, nice treble and produces a very even tone. One doesn't council out the other. As with all guitars the strings used effect the sound/tone of the guitar. Mine is strung with 12-53 Elixir's nano web phosphor bronze. It came with 12-53 Elixirs... Not sure if they were phosphor bronze or what only that they were 12-53's Elixir's. I tried D'Addario EJ16 12-53 phosphor bronze. They sounded a lot darker than the Elixir's. More lows, treble still reasonably bright but despite being a quite loyal D'Addario customer I decided these strings weren't for my EAJ85. So when it was time for new strings I went and got some Elixir's... "If it ain't broken don't fix it." I suppose is the Philosophy here. In my opinion Elixir's are the way to go with a Maton. Little pricey but the benefits make up for it.
This guitar is loud, very loud. It's sound travels well. Although loud the guitar responds very well to power applied to the strings and can be very soft. The AP5 pickup system is very good. Sound good through a PA or amp. Gives you full control of the sound with the EQ and is powered by 2 AA batteries.
This acoustic is also no one trick pony. It is easy to play many styles with it and is great for finger style as well as chord and pick work. Either style produces a nicely rounded sound. I play a lot of Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, Mississippi/Delta blues and just about anything Finger style on it. Some Jazz and classical when I'm in the mood and it does everything very well. I have no complaints about it's sound at all as it sounds excellent.

Action and fit is flawless. The guitar has a quite low action for an acoustic. The guys at Maton know exactly what they are doing. Frets, binding, finish are all amazing. The nut was especially well installed as with the bridge and frets. Inside of the guitar is also very well made with no glue drippings or rough areas. Bracing is great. Everything is great.
I have a problem with where the truss rod access point is. Instead of being on the headstock it's inside the body hidden away under the soundboard and is extremely tricky to get to... Not that I've had to but I still find it very annoying. This in no way effects the guitars set up and playability, just seems unnecessary to make it hard to find. I must say the headstock looks nice without the truss rod cover.

Looks and feels well made. I don't play in a band that uses acoustics so I haven't had a chance to test it. Finish is pretty tough, although the Hiscox case lid has dropped onto the guitars side a couple of times and it's edges are metal. This has put a nice little dint in the finish (I recommend holding the cases top when ever taking/placing the guitar in it's case.). Strap Buttons seem sturdy. I would say it would be very dependable and wouldn't feel the need to use a backup at a gig. Having said this I would still take a backup because I have a habit of breaking strings at very bad times. I never gig without a backup. Not really much hardware to speak of as the bridge is wooden and fixed. Turners are Grover so I'm not worried about them having any problems.

I gave it an 9 because it's an acoustic and you can't expect it to be shoved through a quad box and come out fine. It's not a Les Paul. Having said this, for an acoustic it seems damn tough.

Never had to have it repaired. Doubt I will ever have to. If I do have to get it repaired I'm not stressed as I've heard they are extremely helpful... Also it's only a 40 minute drive to the factory for me so I can take it there myself. It has 1 years warranty.

I've been playing nearly 5 years. I play a lot, between 4-6 hours a day if I get the time. I own 2 pawn shop resonators, couple of Epiphone's being Les Paul Custom, SG/G400, B.B. King Lucille and a Zephyr Blues Deluxe. Fender Strat, Ibanez AK85, Gretsch Pro Jet W/Bigsby and a Gretsch G6196T Country Club. I own a Roland Cube 60 amp, Peavey Valveking half stack and a 70's Goldentone Tube amp. I don't really play this guitar plugged in but do on occasion and it sounds good through any of them. I've also played it through a couple of PA's which it also sounded good out of. If it were stolen or lost I would most likely get another one. It just looks and sounds so good. I looked at some Martins and other Maton when deciding on this guitar. Obviously this one appealed to me most but the other guitars I tried where all good but just didn't seem to have what this guitar had. The Martins were always out of my price range and I believe Maton's are just as good if not better.
In some ways I wish it had a cutaway but if I wanted to get higher than the 15th easily then I'd have bought a standard dreadnought with cutaway shaped I suppose.
Like I said in the action and fit section I dislike where the truss rod access point is but I'll get over it as it's really nothing and the headstock looks better as it is.

In my Opinion it's a fantastic guitar. If you're looking for a acoustic, especially if you are interested in a jumbo acoustic then I highly recommend this guitar.

Jumbo, made in February '05, from solid blackwood (back and sides) maple neck, gorgeous spruce top. AP5 pickup, gold Grover tuners, herringbone binding and sound hole rosette. Lovely gloss finish all over, including neck.

Sounds wonderful through my Laney A1, and my PA system with minimal reverb. Closest sound I have heard to some much more expensive guitars. A little on the brassy side, not as deep as a rosewood instrument, but more depth than mahogany. Probably needs medium strings to produce its best sound

Fit and finish are awesome. I was fortunate enough to be sold an example that had been put aside for an endorsement, this is not an average Maton by any stretch of the imagination. The blackwood has a lovely golden sheen that complements the beautiful spruce top. The spruce is as good as I've seen on any guitar, regardless of price

This guitar is quite heavy, and obviously built to last. Previous experience with Matons indicates that fret wear can be a little premature, these brass frets will eventually be replaced with a more durable alloy fret wire

An early issue resulted in a phone call from the local factory rep, they're keen to have satisfied customers. My local dealer has been incredibly helpful with Matons in the past.

I love the sound and looks of this guitar, and the fact that it is built to withstand harsh Australian conditions. The factory says the guitar can handle humidity in the 30% to 70% range, compared to 45% to 55% for another manufacturer.