Maton M125 Natural

I picked this guitar up in 1998, it was made only a few months earlier in 1997.

It's a solid spruce top.

It has no pickup pre installed. For that you have to buy a Maton EM125.

One of the selling points that the guys in the shop gave me, was that Maton were no longer selling them here in Australia. Apparently they were such good value, that people were buying them in preference to their more expensive models. :) They did say that they were still being made for export purposes though.

It has a clear satin finish, which is why they call it the "natural".

Like all Matons, it has thick, chunky style bracing under the soundboard for extra durability. It's designed with Australian climate extremes in mind.

Like all Matons, it has a very even tone across the strings. By that I mean, some guitars have more volume in the bass notes, or in the trebble strings. Matons are very very even.

Maton guitars have a very distinctive sound. I once heard a new song on the radio, and I could tell the artist was Australian, because his guitar sounded like mine. That's how distinctive they are.

This is not an especially loud guitar, at all. That's is probably due to the extra thick bracing refered to above.

The guitar came with a bridge and nut made of some special graphite compound, designed to emulate the sound of bone but not be as harsh on the strings. Being suspicious of newfangled stuff like that, and wanting to improve the volume, I had it replaced with authentic bone nut and saddle. That worked ok, but I have to say, the tone of the guitar was better when the graphite compound bits were on it.

Later still, I had the bone nut & saddle replaced with brass nut & saddle. Now it is a reasonably loud guitar. But still not an especially loud one.

Maton guitars don't use a standard thread on their truss rods. That means you can't just get an allen key and tighten the rod yourself, like you can with most guitars. You have to get a special Maton key, that looks like a poker. The trick is, you remove the strap pin at the bottom of the guitar, and a luthier shoves this Maton poker up it. Then you keep playing, while the luthier adjusts the action to your satisfaction. It works for me.

The "natural" satin finish looked great when I got it. Now, 8 years later, it looks like a coffee table.

I played mandolin at one gig a few years ago. The guitarist-singer broke a string, so I lent my Maton to him. My oath did he ever sweat on that hot night. After the gig, there was this green stain at the top of the soundboard somehow, and it's never quite gone away. Don't ask me how he put it there.

This too works for me in a way. Everybody says they like the way my guitar looks, with it's brass bits and its worn looking soundboard. They say it looks old and rustic, like me.

As for everything else on the guitar, it's rock solid. As long as you don't do anything silly, like play sword fights with it, it will last forever.

Here in Australia, the support for Maton is excellent. Every major city has a "certified Maton repairman". The Maton guys in Melbourne are very helpful if you ring them too.

The first one I got was the Maton 125 with the beautiful "bunya" soundboard. That was a really really beautiful soundboard! However, it seemed to have this buzz that everyone could hear, and no luthier could explain. So I took it back a couple of weeks later, and traded it for an M125 with a spruce top instead. The spruce top sounded better.

an australian guitar,no frills just natural finish
second hand but looks new (obtained through ebay would you believe)
No extras, worth seven

I fingerpick hard and bang away on it like nobodys business.

No amp though I have an old schaller waiting....
Its noisy alright, I have big clumsy hands so I put heavy strings on.
It is bright with full harmonics on any fret.
I played at a party and the comments were very commendable even from players who had never heard of the brand
it is also a lefty (at last)

No faults
Honest

Like I said
It takes a beating , it just dont feel pain
hold its tuning for months
this a quality item.
I look at it and I have to pick it up.
Of course it is the first lefty i've owned in 40 years
i'd use it anywhere without fear

I rang 'em once and I could take it in for a check-up anytime
Unfortunately I live 700 kilometres away but next i'm passing..........

I BEEN PLAYING 40 YEARS OR SO
I've had fender copies arias yamaha nylon, all right handed strung left and NEVER SOUNDED or played well.
It was a dream to play a decent guitar.(and only recently)
I advise all lefties to play a lefty guitar and ignore people who tell you to play right, after all if it was that good all righties would be playing l.h. guitars.
If I lost this I would buy same again.
there is nothing else it needs . top value for money

Maton 125 Natural Series Acoustic 6-string. Nothing too fancy about this guitar. I have added a Keyser-Fishman pick-up in mine. That's it. As it comes it is a no-frills acoustic. As far as an acoustic 6-string goes the features are standard - which is a 5 in my book. Nothing fancy cosmetically but let's keep going. ;-)

Make no mistake - this guitar chimes and shimmers with the best of them. Quite a dark tone compared to many acoustics. The projection does not match a Martin but IMO the tone surpasses them. I have heard people complaining that Maton acoustics are "too bright". Not this baby! This guitar has a full acoustic sound.

The KF pick-up is exceptional as well. Plugged into an amp this guitar sounds just like it should. Sure the amp colours the sound - but nothing else seems to.

After about 4 years of "settling in" I took this guitar for a set-up. All that was required was a minor truss rod tweak. The frets were all still good and the (somewhat abused via various accidents) body had scratches but was otherwise fine. This guitar will withstand plenty of punishment and keep coming back for more.

You will not get a more solid acoustic - end of story.

I havenever had to deal with Maton. The gutar stands on its own.

I picked this guitar up on special. It has lasted longer than my marriage and is still going strong. I picked it up for a steal with a gig bag and it has never let me down. I also own a Rickenbacker 370/6, a Fender Highway 1 Strat, and a Gibson LP Gothic. Out of all the guitars I own, the LP would go before this one. This guitar is just so incredibly "pick-upable" it is incredible. Virtually all my songwriting starts on this guiter. It has taken plenty of knocks and just keeps coming back. I love this guitar for everything it is and isn't. My only surprise is that Maton price them too low. This is not a beginners throwaway guitar. This is a no-frills yet high quality instrument. You wont do better no matter what your price range is.

The M125 is the entry level Maton model
The M125 is identical in features to the M225, except the M125 does not have banding around the edges which I think make it look better anyway.

For the price you will not find a better acoustic. This guitar sounds as good or better than gibsons, fenders, epiphones and yamahas twice it's price.
The sound this guitar puts out will easily fill a room.

This guitar came out of the box perfect. Even the intonation was spot on, which is always a good sign

I have only had it six months, but it seems like it will last years.

Have not had a reason to contact Maton yet...

If you are unsure about which acoustic to get, I promise you you can buy this one without even demoing it in the store.
I am curious to see what their flagship model the Maton Messiah which costs $3500AUS sounds like!
all the information is at http://www.maton.com.au