New model uses all Australian tonewoods for superior sound and style
Maton has been committed to building guitars from Australian timber for more than 50 years, and recently even unveiled an eye-catching electric guitar made from materials taken from iconic Melbourne-based music venues.
Now the company has introduced a new acoustic, the Australian EA80C, which has the company’s mission statement right there in the name.
“Is it called the Australian because the EA80C uses all Australian tonewoods and is the showcase piece in how to use Australian tonewoods on an acoustic guitar?” asks expert blues picker Justin Jonson in the above demo video. “Bingo!”
Bingo, indeed. As Johnson points out, the guitar’s top “might look like spruce, but it’s actually a wood called Bunya. I love the subtle streakiness on the top, too, and the grain looks a little different than spruce.”
(Image credit: Maton)
The back and sides, meanwhile, are "AA" blackwood with a blackwood and rock maple pinstripe zipper, and the wood on the bridge and the fretboard is desert acacia, "which I don’t think you would have every guessed,” Johnson says.
Johnson then goes on to point out some of the Australian’s other striking features, including the “keyhole headstock” shape, the gold Grover Rotomatic tuners, “which bring out this really nice contrast with the tans and the browns and all the wood tones,” and the “nice polish job on the fretboard and the frets.”
From there, Johnson takes the Australian for a spin, first with some fickerpicked blues licks, and then some solid strumming.
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“The guitar rings out really nicely and feels really lively,” he says. “Not only does that have to do the tonewoods, but it also has to do with the scalloped X-bracing. It creates a more lively and responsive top.”
(Image credit: Maton)
And while the Australian sounds killer unplugged, Johnson also shows us what it can do via the Maton AP5 PRO pickup system. “It sounds so amazing and natural,” he says, adding that you can change the position of the internal microphone to “really find that sweet spot both for your guitar and for your playing style.”
To sum up, Justin says, “This is honestly one of the best fingerstyle guitars I’ve ever played. I just can’t put it down. And the fact that this guitar showcases those Australian regional woods and does such a killer job is pretty amazing. It’s really awesome on a lot of different levels.”
To check out the Australian EA80C for yourself, head to Maton.
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
