Hot Rodding a Maton

[ukejon]

As with so many others here, I'm a big Tommy Emmanuel fan. Love listening to his music and have now learned to play about 15 of his songs. The man is a most gifted composer/arranger. Recently bought a EBG808TEC from a very friendly AGF member, mostly just because it seemed like a fun thing to play a guitar akin (not identical) to TE's. Now just to be clear, I have some great custom acoustics and other nice guitars that suit my fancy just fine, and like many folks here I too have played a number of Matons, including one used by a major fingerstyle star, that were rather uninspired tonally. So this purchase was by no means essential or even logical. But that has never stopped me in the past...

The good news about this Maton is that from the very start it is sounded like a genuinely nice acoustic instrument. The tone was not super loud nor was it very dynamic. Indeed, as received the tone was a bit compressed sounding but sweet in a treble-y way, not muddy, and very balanced in tone and volume all the way across and up the fretboard. And the intonation, too, was absolutely spot on all the way up the neck, which is where a lot of Tommy's compositions go. Finally, the AP5 pickup system, which I run through a AER Compact 60/2, seems really nice and offers lots of options between the internal mic and the undersaddle pickup.

Still, the tone and playability of the Maton EBG808TEC weren't where they needed to be. So I decided to go to work and do some moves that have worked well on some of my other guitars. Some of these adjustments were minor and may have no real effect while others were rather more significant.

Step 1: The action as received was around 6/64ths of an inch. Alright for many players but like Tommy I prefer it very, very low for fingerstyle. The neck is nearly straight with just the right amount of relief so I was able to sand down the saddle (bone) so that the action is right at 4/64th of an inch (1/16th), which is where I like it best.

Step 2: Pulled the plastic bridge pins and put in some very nice bone bone pins, maybe Waverly. Don't know if these have any effect but they are are nicer to look at than the plastic ones.

Step 3: Next was a bigger alteration....I sanded down the neck. Specifically, took off all of the varnish coat right down to the stain layer although there likely is some finish in the pores. Of course this is a drastic move and kills the resale value but playability is my sole goal on this guitar. Furthermore, I've done this on three other guitars and several old electric guitars that I have owned over the years and the change includes adding back a thin layer of paste wax to keep the neck from getting too dirty. As received, the Maton varnish on the neck of this guitar was rather thick, a little bit crazed (odd given that this is a 2018), and sort of sticky feeling...not at all what I like. Now the waxed neck minus the varnish feels really fine.

Step 4: Finally, cut or rather abraded in a soundport on the upper bout using 100/220/400 grit sandpaper that was double-sided taped onto a 1 1/2" PVC pipe (added a fiberglass backing layer inside of the guitar to strengthen the wood around the soundport....you can see an in-process shot below of the sanding). Again, a rather major move but I've put soundports in two other guitars (not my customs!) on which I wanted to hear more volume and clarity. Had a very big effect on this Maton in terms of creating a far more pleasant acoustic tone and a considerably louder sound. Overall, this has been a very successful alteration to my ear.

To finish up, 99% of the time I use a capo on the 2nd fret. Tommy talks about how on some of his guitars this really hits a tonal sweet spot and that is the case on this guitar as well.

So, while Maton often gets a bad rap as a purely acoustic instrument there are some modifications that can help and this now certainly is a blast to play, both unplugged and through an amp. I'll never play like Tommy but at least now I can pretend that I can!

**And a final disclaimer....of course what is presented here is only my opinion and some of these moves are irreversible...so don't necessarily try this at home kids unless you fully understand the changes to the tone and value of your guitar.

[ukejon]

I’ll add here that I never knew that Queensland maple is not an acer species that is more like orange tree wood and that tonally is much more like mahogany. Certainly the Matons I’ve played don’t sound like conventional maple guitars.

[kliend]

That's awesome

[mirwa]

Was asked to replace the rosewood fretboard with an ebony board.

Steve

[dnf777]

Great job-thanks for sharing! That takes courage. I was particularly interested in your step 3. Sounds like you didnt thin it down much, but rather changed the finish. But is paste wax on wood the smoothest? Ever try gun-stock oil rubbing? I really like a tele neck I have (factory finish). Its a really hard maple sanded really fine (I would guess 2000-4000 grit) then a light coat of oil for protection and somewhat sealing. Smoothest neck Ive ever played.