Maton 60th Anniversay Starline 4 Guitar

(Product Code: 280055)

In 2006 an archtop guitar is more likely to be used at ear splitting volumes with dropped tunings, crowd surfing and tattoos than in a small bar after midnight with dinner suits, soft lighting and martinis. So??how were Maton going to do this?

In many ways this guitar represents a new stage in guitar making history because it is a perfect example of the latest technology working together with traditional craftsmanship to achieve a superb result. Great guitar making is achieved when the makers are so comfortable with their tools, equipment and techniques that the end result is a work of art, uncompromised by machining constraints or less than perfect hand skills. This guitar (like all Matons) is made by hand and by machine and in both cases the guitar is only touched by their most experienced luthiers.

The guitar?s dimensions are based on the old Golla series (named for George Golla) though the headstock is a direct reproduction of the Mayfair headstock from the mid 1950s while the fingerboard and neck are the same specifications as the much more recent BB1200 to allow the effortless execution of today?s playing techniques.
Maton wanted this guitar to be a celebration of 60 years and to try and be as much about today as about their origins. Thus it has a classic timeless look (including a block inlay with Bill May?s signature engraved on it) with construction techniques and pickups that ?are as modern as tomorrow? (to quote Maton's esteemed Managing Director, Neville Kitchen). The pickups are the same as those used on the BB1200 and make great use of Alnico 8, a magnet that, as far as we know, has not been used in pickups before and which seem to suit this type of guitar brilliantly.

Although it looks like a ?jazz box? the Starline offers a myriad of tonal choices. Both pickups are splitable and the combination of separate volume controls with a master volume produce a very broad palette indeed. In fact, during our first testing we tried a jazz player, two country players, a blues player and a power pop player and we could all find a sound to suit us. Subsequent tests revealed a powerful hard rock rhythm sound as well.

The Maton Starline 4606 (1946 - 2006) is a strictly limited release and are proud to say that this is the very best electric guitar Maton have ever made!

Starline 60th The specifications are as follows:

* Face - AAA grade Spruce (from Alaska) with Bound ?F? Holes
* Back & Sides - Figured Qld Maple
* Neck - Straight Qld Maple
* Core - Bunya
* Fingerboard - White Bound Ebony with Mother of Pearl Block Inlays. Bill May Signature engraved on the 9th Fret and "Anniversary" on the 12th Fret.
* Headstock Veneer - Rock Maple with MOP inlays & logo
* Nut - Bone
* Scale Length - 25.5?
* Number of Frets - 22
* Body Width - 400mm
* Body Depth at Edge - 80mm
* Body Depth at Bridge - 112mm
* Nut Width - 42.5mm
* Pickups - Maton JHB & JHN Alnico 8
* Bridge - Gold Tonepros Saddle on Maton Base
* Scratchplate - Tortoiseshell on Black / White Backing
* Machine Heads - Grover Gold Deluxe
* Tailpiece - Gold Trapeze Style
* Strings - Elixir
 

Only 60 ever made. We have one in stock!