Tommy Emmanuel guitar

[revive]

What's the nut width?

I'd be surprised (and very impressed) if it's 1 11/16. And he's got huge hands. Maybe I should not whine so much about nut width.

[stuco]

He could play a $200 guitar and make it sound fantastic.

[steveh]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

I've played a few Matons acoustically, and they sounded poor, particularly for the price.

I met a really, really great player at a workshop a couple of years ago. The guy was a Tommy maniac and could play a ton of his stuff - very impressive. Naturally, he'd gone out and bought a Maton TE signature; it was awful. Truly appalling. Sounded like a cardboard box.

When the poor guy started listening to the other guitars (Sobells, Bowns, Forsters, Lowdens, Collings etc) he got really downcast. However, I made the very true point to him that I'd have swapped all of my guitars for 10% of his talent.

Cheers,
Steve

[earwighoney]

I played a Maton 12 string which is one of the worst guitars I've come across at such a price. It had a nut so narrow it was one of the trickiest 12 strings to play and the sound was dull, flat and uninspiring. I've played some Epiphone 12's that sounded better....

[frankhond]

Dont forget The Boss, his 12fret Larrivee. It's all over his last album.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by revive

What's the nut width?

I'd be surprised (and very impressed) if it's 1 11/16. And he's got huge hands. Maybe I should not whine so much about nut width.

Hi Revive,

Tommy's Maton's are 1 11/16" nut width according to Tommy. He does have long fingers and wide finger tips, but he often uses his wide fingertips to cover two strings at once. He plays a 1st position Am, for example, with only 2 fingers and then has other fingers available for other notes, as needed.

Regards, Glenn

[revive]

Thanks for the info Glenn. That's pretty amazing!

These great guitarists are quite inspiring. TE with his huge hands and small nut width. Andy McKee with his small hands and regular 1 3/4 nut width. Different ways for different people, but the bottom line is they make the best use of what they have to make beautiful music.

[Berf]

Not much support for Matons here it seems... having owned a couple I'd like to just chime in and say that to me they really do shine when plugged in. I've got a couple of newish guitars now that I think sound streaks ahead of my previous Matons when played acoustically... there's no comparison on that front. Both are fitted with pickup systems but I still think the Matons had the edge when plugged in (for me anyways). Cheers, Berf
Disclaimer: I am Australian so my ears may be biased!
PS. The smaller bodied ebg808 which tommy seems to play a lot I find to be a really comfortable and good looking design. If it came with a short scale I'd probably have been tempted.

[darylcrisp]

i owned a BG808 Artist for some time a few years ago, 1 3/4" nut width and if memory serves, 2 1/4" (or maybe 2 3/16")at the saddle. It was AA spruce topped with australian blackwood back/sides(all satin finish). This model came with the best Maton pickup at the time, the AP5, which along with the UST also has a very refined sounding soundhole mike. Plugged in it was hard to beat, everyone who heard it or played it loved its sound. Unplugged it was a nice voice but quiet, very lacking in bass. The neck profile reminded me of Taylors in a lot of ways but still a little different.

The TE model had some extra embellished dodads on the fretboard(that "official guitar player" initials or something of that sort). If memory serves it had the AP5 pickup, cannot remember the wood combo. I played both and preferred the Artist 808, slightly cheaper and IMO better looking to the eyes. I didn't care for a few things on the TE model.

sold the BG808 Artist after i played a Taylor. lost about $600 on the deal as nobody had heard of them much here in the USA and i had to advertise on the TE board. came with a nice Hiscox case.

d

[rick-slo]

What is a good guitar for recording, a good guitar live with some type of pickup added,
and a good guitar unamped played live can be very different things. Those big sounding,
resonant guitars can step on their own feet when recording. What works best also depends
on the style, speed and complexity of the music being played.

[fulfillingsoul]

Interesting that Tommy Emmanuel uses guitar with Mahogany b/s for Studio and with Rosewood/Maple for Stage.

Extracted from http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/d ... 259&page=3

ACOUSTIC GUITARS (STAGE): Maton EBG808 TE small-bodied 14-fret flattop with a Sitka spruce top and Queensland maple back and sides, tuned to A-444 (4 cents higher than concert pitch) for slightly stiffer string tension. Maton TE1 Artist cutaway dreadnought with a premium Sitka top and Indian rosewood back and sides, usually tuned a whole step or more below concert pitch.

ACOUSTIC GUITARS (STUDIO): Larrivée custom 12-fret cutaway. 2010 Maton custom shop jumbo with a Sitka top, mahogany back and sides, rosewood fingerboard. Wayne Henderson dreadnought with a spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and rosewood fingerboard. 2006 Gretsch Synchromatic archtop made in Japan, which Emmanuel says “sounds just like Homer Haynes’s 1940s Epiphone.” 2010 Collings 01 with mahogany back and sides. Custom 2008 Maton EGB808 (“The Yellow Mouse”). He sets up all his guitars with the neck completely straight (no relief) with low action

[drcmusic7]

Here's a link to David Taylors facebook page with some photos and video of Tommy with his DT guitar.... http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001536955542

Kindly,
Danny

[fingerpickerguy]

I saw Tommy perform last night in Minnesota. He sold out a pretty big theatre, which is pretty impressive for a fingerpicker. he commented about only traveling with "junk" guitars. He leaves his pretty ones at home. I wonder how the Maton guys feel about those comments. There was also a demo guitar at the merch table that people can try out. Though I didn't try this one, i have played others. One thing that really bother me about them is that you can feel the seem in that two piece heel. I know everyone is going green and all, but I hate it when they use a laminated heel on an expensive guitar. It doesn't look good and in the the case of the Maton that I tried, it doesn't feel good either.

As for his performance, it was outstanding. He got a great sound. He uses some delay that really helps him get a big sound. When he plays his 2 pick up dread, he gets an incredibly HUGE sound. That bass is borderline overwhelming. Awesome show.

Chris

[Ilovetaylors]

Originally Posted by fingerpickerguy

I saw Tommy perform last night in Minnesota. He sold out a pretty big theatre, which is pretty impressive for a fingerpicker. he commented about only traveling with "junk" guitars. He leaves his pretty ones at home. I wonder how the Maton guys feel about those comments. There was also a demo guitar at the merch table that people can try out. Though I didn't try this one, i have played others. One thing that really bother me about them is that you can feel the seem in that two piece heel. I know everyone is going green and all, but I hate it when they use a laminated heel on an expensive guitar. It doesn't look good and in the the case of the Maton that I tried, it doesn't feel good either.

Chris

I think a lot of guitarist and performers leave their really expensive guitars at home, and have a separate stage guitar.

Like john mayer and his traugott

http://www.johnmayer.com/blog/permalink/5423

why damage a $30,000 guitar on the road when you can easily replace a cheap one that does the job on the road.....

[SixStingString]

The maton 808 paired with an AER is an unmatched sound at any dollar level. TE wouldnt be playing it if it werent. Ive tried his exact setup. It is awesome. Unplugged the guitar is so so but plugged in...perfection.