Maton ECW80C

This is a 1999 Australian dreadnought cutaway made with solid Queensland maple for the back and sides; mine has a lid made of bunya -- a timber native to Australia and suitable for use in making guitar tops. Bunya is similar in weight to spruce, but stronger, producing excellent projection and volume with clear upper mids. The look of bunya may not be for everyone (check out images at www.maton.com.au), but it makes this guitar distinctively Australian in appearance.

The ECW80C also has a Queensland maple neck, 21 frets, rosewood bridge and fingerboard with dot inlays, quadruple inner banding, herringbone rosette, blackwood outer banding, lightly figured blackwood veneer over keyhole head stock, deluxe chrome tuners, and a nitrocellulose satin finish. The dovetail-jointed neck has a very comfortable thin profile and measures 1-11/16? at the nut. Scale length is 25-1/2?; the fingerboard has a 12? radius. While the AP5 pickup is standard for this model, mine came with the upgraded APMic blender, which combines an under-saddle pickup with an on-board microphone mounted in a foam sleeve on the lower inside lip of the sound hole. The preamp is powered by two AA batteries (120-hour life), and has slider controls for volume, bass and treble, and knob controls for midrange and mic blend. As with most Maton?s, this guitar has a simple yet natural appearance. The bunya top adds a uniquely rugged look -- there are no fancy inlays or extra frills here. This guitar was sold with a molded Lite-Flight Maton case. Maton buyers should contact their dealer or the factory directly to get a special tool needed for truss rod adjustment, as repair shops outside of Australia probably won?t have one. I had ordered one along with my original purchase of an EBG808 Artist from Haworth Guitars in Australia (www.haworthguitars.com.au), who has served me well in the past.

I hear a lot of comments about how the reviews found on this and other message boards merely reflect opinions about how great people think their latest purchase is. Face it, people will write a review either when they are impressed with a product and want to tell others about it, or are equally motivated by a negative experience and want to slam the product on-line. When it comes to solid-wood guitars, I would hope that buyers wouldn?t lay down their hard-earned cash and keep a guitar with sound quality which to their own ears, wasn?t at least a ?9? or a ?10.?

That said, this Maton is a keeper. I regularly tell people to get a copy of the album ?Only,? by Australian guitarist and my personal hero, Tommy Emmanuel for the quintessential example of Maton tone. While the body of the ECW80C is made of Queensland maple, this name almost seems like a misnomer. To me, this tonewood has much more the appearance and hardness of something from the mahogany family than the more familiar big leaf maple. The sound of this guitar is full and warm, exceptionally well balanced with excellent sustain, but woodier than the sound commonly associated with American maples. The bass response is loud, but not ?thumpy? sounding. Using the manufacturer?s recommended phosphor bronze light strings, its tone is clearly in the same family as my EBG808, but louder overall and stronger in the bass register. The Queensland maple doesn?t produce quite as many complex overtones as the blackwood- bodied Matons. When medium strings are substituted, some additional higher-order harmonics disappear, and the sound becomes tighter, leaning more toward the sound of a Martin. Tuned down a half step or so with mediums, though, this guitar regains its sparkle, and I have found it particularly well suited to playing in alternate tunings with both light and medium strings. This has become my guitar of choice for DADGAD and CGDGAD finger picking, though it is equally well suited to musical styles that use standard tuning and/or flat-picking. I generally keep it strung with 012?s. Recording buffs will find this an excellent guitar to mic, requiring little or no EQ to get usable recorded tone.

Maton really has the electronics thing nailed down, as their pickup rivals the dual source systems made by the likes of L.R. Baggs and B-Band. The APMic is a clear cut above the Fishman blenders that are prominent in the marketplace these days, with nowhere near as much real estate removed from the side of the guitar to accommodate the controls. Adding 20-25% mic smoothes out the tone, picks up the percussive sounds of fingers/pick, and adds a bit of extra warmth to the midrange. Using more mic can induce feedback if you are near a speaker, but you really don?t need much mic blended in at all to achieve optimal tone. If you are accustomed to using a ?Feedback Buster? sound hole plug, you will need to get one from Maton as their sound holes are slightly smaller (100mm diameter) than most American guitars.

Setup on this guitar was very good from the start, with the action set at factory specs that are comparable to Taylor?s. Like most Matons that have been in the States for a while, this one needed a tweak on the truss rod upon receipt from the previous owner. The Maton truss rod tool consists of a screwdriver handle with a two-foot long shaft, and a square quarter-inch nut driver welded to the end. Truss rod adjustment is accomplished by unscrewing the bottom strap pin with an Allen wrench, then inserting the shaft of the tool through the exposed hole in the body to reach the end of the truss rod from the inside at the neck joint. Care is needed to avoid disturbing the pickup wiring while inserting the truss rod tool. The Maton tuners operate very smoothly and hold pitch well. As with my EBG808 Artist, the satin finish is ultra thin (think Seagull S6 or Taylor Big Baby), and offers little in terms of protection from minor dings and scratches. Although the guitar was listed as only played a few times when I bought it, the original owner had obviously managed to push several short dent lines into the wood by fumbling around while trying to insert a guitar cable. On the positive side, I was able to raise the grain on these minor blemishes fairly easily -- something that can?t really be done with gloss finishes. Maton does claim that the thin finish enhances tone, and after almost two years of regular use there is still not a mark on my other Maton. It?s all a matter of how careful you want to be with your guitar.

Matons are clearly crafted to last, and given the same handling called for with any solid-wood guitar, last they will. This guitar could easily be depended on for playing out live. Anyone who has seen Tommy Emmanuel perform knows the kind of treatment that a Maton will endure -- a lesser guitar would be in pieces. Using them to double as a percussion instrument, he slaps them like a drum, scratches their soundboards with his fingers to make Aboriginal sounds, and even strikes them on the face with a drummer?s brush? And he?s had the same two favorite Matons for years on end.

I?ve exchanged e-mails with Maton on several occasions, and have always found them courteous and responsive. They have added a link on their web site to a community forum that is frequented several times a week by the Maton folks to answer questions. I had a problem with the internal mic on my EBG808 Artist, and they were reasonably prompt in sending me a replacement free of charge. Maton does very little marketing in the States, and readers are encouraged to download the price list from their web site for a full run down on all the models that are available. Many of their best models are not shown on-line.

My family recently went to see Tommy in San Diego, and I brought this guitar with me for him to sign. We showed up an hour and a half early, and waved at him frantically when from outside we saw him walk through the lobby. He was happy to come out and chat with us, and he played my ECW80C for probably five minutes or so while we talked. He absolutely went nuts over this guitar! Maton had just sent him an ECJ85 jumbo, and he was disappointed by the thickness of the neck. He loved everything about mine, especially the feel (which is the same as my EBG808 Artist), and he offered facetiously to trade me the jumbo for it. I originally figured he was just being really nice to a family of obvious fans, but I heard later from the guy who was hosting Tommy while in town that he was still carrying on about my guitar backstage! Needless to say, I still have the ECW80C, and it now proudly bears Tommy?s signature tastefully on the face above and parallel to the neck between the sound hole and the 14th fret. Suffice it to say that if it?s good enough for Tommy, it?s good enough for me, and I won?t be letting this one get away!

This is an Australian maker and the CW80 series has the definitive Maton sound. Handmade in Audtralia, this model is an acoustic-electric cutaway with solid top (aa grade sitka spruce), back and sides (Queensland maple). I have the older model which came with unshielded piezo pickups. That gave me some noise problems but the guys at Maton corrected it immediately upon notice. I was told that it was a batch defect. The new ECW80C has replaced the pickups with their AP5 pickups. Matons have a unique truss rod system which can only be adjusted with a special adjuster. So if you are not in Australia, maintenance and servicing could be a problem. As far as I know, Maton does not make cases. Sorry, but Maton gets a 6 for not providing hard cases.

I bought this because of its warm sound. The natural tone is good and provides rich middle tones. When amplified (I use a Trace TA 100R), the sound reproduction is faithful. Personally, I found other guitars too bright (esp Japanese makes eg Takamine, Yamaha). This was a welcome change. Since the shielding problem was fixed, I've no problems I've also tried Taylors but I find this Maton more responsive to my playing style (a mix of finger picking and strumming). When needed, it can resonate bright enough to cut above the full band sound.

The factory set-up was good but Maton recommends that it be brought back after 6 months to re-adjust the action. The initial action was set to 0.12 gauge D'Addarios.The neck is not as fast as Taylor guitars (nothing beats them !) but I can get to where I want to go without problems. My Maton came with natural nitro stain finish. Bits of it came off at the sound hole when I played my plectrum downstrokes against it unknowingly. So be careful with your technique. as you may hurt your guitar accidentally. This Maton was well up all round as a quality guitar should.

This is a workhorse. It is very reliable in live playing and sounds good when plugged direct into the PA system. I've used it without backup (I play in a worship band in church almost every week) and it has never let me down. The hardware is good and the soundboard has not warped after almost 2 years in humid Singapore (provided adequate care is given in storage).

Top class. I bought my Maton in Sydney and brought it back to Singapore. When I had my shielding problems, I sent Maton a fax. Almost instantly, I received an overseas call from Maton answerindg all my queries and sent replacement piezos to me FOC. mine came with a 1 year warranty but I should think that Maton will provide assistance without too much difficulty. The only pronlem is that outside of Australia, there is virtually no-one selling or servicing these guitars.

The price of this guitar is what you would pay for an entry level quality acoustic (eg Martin D1, Taylor 400 series). Yet, the quality matches the mid-range models of some American acoustic makers. It definitely beats Japanese guitars hands down. For that, it is very good value for money. I would recommend it for someone seriously thinking of owning a good acoustic electric guitar but who is unable or unwilling to pay too much. Feel wise, I'd probably go for the Taylor. Soundwise, the Maton virtually unbeatable in its price category.