Maton MS500/12

Was made in 2009 - 24.5" scales. Two controls, one tone on volume. Two pickups, bridge and neck. Bridge has coil tap function. Three way selector switch - same as Gibson - front, middle, back. Boday is solid with the exception of the sound hole cavity on the top part. Body stylr is typical Maton Style. Bridge is standard tunomatice, with Grover tuners and a 12 string set up. Great finish.

Excellent sound. Although this is a 12 string, it is able to cater for things such as funk. The double strings really help with a chorus feel. The guitar would obviously not suit those metal players, but definitely goes beyond the "Mr Tambourine Man" stereotype of a 12 string.

Use it with a Bugera Amp as well as a couple of Peavey Bravos - clean channel best. Effects include all Boss effects you can name - Chorus, Phased, Delay and overdrive work well.

Sounds are good at high volumes. I preferred the bridge and both pick up selections.

No flaws - guitar was extremely well made.

I am pretty sure I can depend on it. I do not currently play live but I am sure if would survive some knocks. As a 12 string I would not bring another one. Maton make solid guitars and this is not exception.

No problems with company support.

Been playing a long time with an assortment of gear. Most recent includes a Tele with Peavey Bravos and Bugeras. Love lots of effect. Always thought I would like a Ricky 12 but this instrument has more than exceeded expectations.

There are two versions of this guitar, Standard and Deluxe. This review is for the standard.

Short scale (24.5 in.) electric 12 with a single coil in the neck and tap-able humbucker in the bridge. A toggle allows each pup and a blend of the two.

Deep neck with narrow rosewood fingerboard (for a 12 string), dot inlays (only diff from the Deluxe version is square inlays on an ebony board). Large headstock fitted with Grovers.

Chamber in the body on the bass side with a bridged soundhole.

8 for the humbucker and its coil tap switch both unusual and welcome on an electric 12.

Sound? Almost entirely great!

This guitar will be played in a kind of electronic folk band where it will be played clean only and need to blend with a Tele, a mandolin, a banjo and a lap steel. Thus it needs to offer a fair bit of tonal variation. First, the tone control is very responsive and can be used with subtlety.

Bridge as humbucker is very chimey. It lacks crispness but the big bell like tone is winsome. Though I usually play only clean I tried this in overdrive and was surprised to find it not just usable but that the octave doubling of the lower strings held out against the distortion quite well.

Bridge as single coil is thin and brings a volume drop. I find this sound too weedy for regular use.

Neck pickup is big and warm sounding with a pleasant acoustic character to it. Very tasty sound. I always start with this one.

Blend with bridge single coil is airy and mid-scooped with clear articulation of individual notes across a chord. When the bridge is turned into a humbucker and blended the character changes to a moer compressed sound, still airy but more nasal in tone (a little like the blend position of a Telecaster) very good for arpeggios and open chords when you want a bit more ache to the sound.

8 rather than 10 for the feebleness of the bridge pup as a single coil by itself. I would need to use compression to make it useful to me. The rest of the sounds are beautiful, however.

The finish is purely beautiful. Mine looks like the example on Maton's page here: http://www.maton.com.au/electrics/ms500-12-std.html

The figuring of the grain in the blackwood cap, the cream binding on the top, the rustic subtle finish of the neck all add up to a stunning looking instrument.

The headstock could be a worry as it is disproportionately large. Most electric 12s address the space problem of the extra six tuners by either cramping them (Danelectro) or very cleverly putting the alternative strings in a different and highly accessible part of the headstock (Rickenbacker) The approach on the Maton is the same as the one you'll see on the double necked Gibson made famous by Jimmy Page, that is to just make the headstock bigger. While this means that the tuning pegs are easy to get to and distinguish from each other when tuning, the headstock's larger size adds to the neck's heaviness and perhaps lends itself to breaking more than other comparable necks. It does, however, feel very solid.

A combination of jumbo frets and good initial setup made this an instantly playable 12 string. Factory set action was low without any buzzing.

Maton make a lot out of their use of Tone Pro hardware on their site. The very Gibsony tuneomatic bridge and stop tailpiece are reputedly very hi tech and effective. As a Fender player I'm used to more manipulation on setting the saddles (and my Danelectro 12 has a good compromise between the two with a height and distance adjustable saddle for each pair of strings). However, I was able very easily to adjust the action to how I liked it and the intonation was perfect from the word go.

When I picked this of the wall stand at the shop the first thing I noticed was how heavy it was for a semi hollow short scale. My Danelectro 12 is also heavier than it looks and has a very light body. I had to modify a large rough sided leather strap (from Maton, as it happens) to stop the neck plunging down every time I wore it. I was very surprised to find that the Maton doesn't do this. I tried a normal shiny vinyl strap and the guitar stayed where I put it. Impressed!

The narrow fingerboard (at the head end, anyway) threatened some problems and has taken some getting used to. Anyone with large fingers might have serious problems playing this anywhere below the fifth fret. That said, the thickness of the neck itself (ie the depth beneath the fingerboard) is very comfortable in the hand.

As the neck is bolt on and there is no truss rod cover on the headstock I accepted with a sigh the idea of removing the neck to alter the relief if needed. However, this is taken care of very well.There is a metal label between the neck and the pickup with the model name on it. Removing the two phillips screws on either side reveals a cavity containing the truss rod adjustment device which is a male bolt rather than the more usual hexagonal hole and needs only a 1/4 in. spanner to turn it. No neck removal (or even the scratchplate) necessary. Having had to take the neck off the Danelectro 12 I can testify to the torment of it and thus pronounce Maton's solution as "Nice".

A 7 rather than higher because of the heavy headstock and the tightness of the string distance at the lower frets. While the finish and outfitting are all top notch, these issues relate to playability and must be considered more critically than those.

Haven't gigged with it yet but I can imagine the finish will take some care to protect. If the huge headstock holds out and I get a good hard shell case for it all should be well.

I've dealt with Maton on a matter of restoring an old Flamingo guitar and not only got through to real people but people who knew what I was talking about who were very helpful. Bodes well.

I've been playing guitar for three decades now and at the very least know what I like. I've played electric 12s by Rickenbacker, Burns, Epiphone and (my current one) Danelectro. All have their good points and bad points. My ultimate electric 6 is my 52 reissue Telecaster which is everything I want in a guitar. The Maton comes very very close to being the 12 string equivalent of that with its good variation of tones, joyful playability and gorgeous looks. I need a 12 that both supports and blends with voices and other instruments without harshness or unevenness. I'm really looking forward to making this a part of my band's sound and think it's going to be a keeper.

Black with white binding around the mutated Ricky sceptre soundhole. Rosewood neck - beautiful. Maton single on the neck and hummy on the bum (bridge). Volume, tone, coil tap and "gear shift" rotary switch. 2005 model. The body is Queensland maple. The Grover tuners are fiercely unforgiving if it goes out of tune. They say it has jumbo frets but they don't feel as pronounced as, say, Teles and the like.

First up, I was looking for a Ric 660/12 as I'd had to hock my aulde 360/12 to pay the rent a couple of years back. I fought with that 360 for the best part of 20 years and knew that. although I loved it with bleeding heart and bleeding fingers, I'd never go there again. But along comes this Maton down at Billy Hyde. Picked it up, played it (through a JCM, of all things, as I recall) and totally fell in love. All settings across everything from a Roland Microcube to no-names to Behringers and Marshalls - Byrds/Beatles and beyond. Actually, the mids settings reminds me of the classic Ric sounds of Punk era (Jam, The Pretenders etc). Powerful and yes, jangly.

Like running your hands through water, actionwise. I don't think I'll ever touch another 12 like it. Low with no buzz. As stated, the Grovers are a bugger and need micro management when tuning but this beasty sounded great from the outset. I always like other players trying out my gear and one mate who loathes 12 strings and anything that sounds remotely jangly, picked this up, settled on treble everything and went wild with it. He was converted. Just bear in mind that one shouldn't do Lightning Hopkins bends on this sucker and all will be well (duh!).

No dramas yet. Haven't gigged with it at this point and don't think I'll need to. Primarily use this for film score and home recording. I'm not precious about it but my other guitars are more made for live work - an old Levinson Blade I've had for donkeys years, a Variax 500 and a Ric 340. I've known players who would rather be quartered by wild horses rather than part with their Matons. I can see (and hear) why now. Built to the highest standards, with an odd and rare beauty to match.

Haven't dealt with them yet but I've hear only good things about Maton support over the past 25 years or so.

Coming up for 30 years of "doing my time" mangling guitars. Other gear? Currently a couple of Rics, a Godin Freway SA (for the GR20 git-synth) , a cheapie Travis nylon cutaway, a Danelectro 6/12 double neck, the Blade, and the Variax and a Stagg fretless bass (don't knock it, till you've tried it). If I don't work direct to desk, PC or Mac, I favour the Behringer GMX212 these days, although I still pull my elegantly ageing Rolly JC120 out from time to time. This Maton really is a remarkable instrument in that, beyond novelty, it inspires and eggs one on to find more sounds and approaches with it. A rare thing for an axe, let alone a dreaded 12 string.

Made in Australia in 2005, I'm guessing. 12 strings. Christmas present, bought used. Specs are on the site. This one is a in a natural finish (with white body binding and dot inlays) which isn't listed as the availiable colours on the site, which is odd. White pickguard. Great looking guitar.

The thing that impressed me the most was the tuners, actually. I was suprised to see 12 solid looking Grovers on there. Typical Maton stuff otherwise.

Beautiful and very full on the neck pickup. Very acoustically resonant. Bridge P/U seems a little weak and trebly. Very unforgiving to slightly off tuning, so, tune up good.

Can't see any flaws. Setup was fine. Finish is beautiful.

Everything on this guitar feels solid; from the P/U selector to the knobs. No complaints at all.

Haven't had to deal with Maton, but you can get to them easily enough.

My first 12-string, and my first 12-string electric. I can't imagine why you'd need anything else in this department. Still getting used to playing it and making sure everything is ringing out well. Open chords are beautiful. I can't wait to experiment more with it. This guitar is a winner!