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Maton Guitars - During visit
The Maton Exhibition at the Australian Music Vault, 2018.
LOOK
Look out for the custom made guitars in the exhibition, for example the prototype Mini Maton EMD-6 made for musician Mark Lizotte (Diesel). He loved Maton guitars, but also played smaller bodied guitars which Maton didn’t make, so he worked with their luthier, Andy Allen, to design the Mini Maton. The Mini Maton is now played by many other musicians including Courtney Barnett. Tommy Emmanuel was another musician to work with Maton to customise guitars, in particular their pickups, the part of the guitar that allows the guitar to be plugged into a PA system to amplify the sound.
LISTEN
Listen to the songs available for playback on the digital labels. See if you can hear the guitar sound in the mix and identify its tone. Is it bright, prominent, muted, sweet? Think of words you could use to describe the guitar tone. Different Maton guitars have different tones, but they are known in general to have a rich, full-bodied sound with good projection.
INVESTIGATE
Look for examples where the musician has collaborated with Maton on the design of their particular guitar. This collaboration allows guitars to be crafted that perfectly suit a particular musician, and also helps instrument designers and makers innovate and develop their designs over time.