Maton EST65C Stage Series Deluxe Reviews 5

In the past three years I've had several Matons a CW80,EBG808CL "Performer", M225,EBG808L a Taylor 710, Takamine EF261SAN, a Rodriguez Classical and a Fender DG25s. Guess I must have been on a quest for perfection, but with a limited budget it was hard to buy the Guitar I really liked which is a Gibson Songwriter cutaway or a Dove. I have a Gibson ES-137 semi-hollow archtop which was acquired by trading in a Fender Stratocaster and the Taylor. The best guitar for me from that bunch was the little EBG808CL "Performer". The Taylor was the easiest to play but had poor treble and was lousy when playing chords loud. I bought this Guitar from Haworths in Kiama Downs NSW Australia and as usual they gave me good trade and service. Cost $2039 AUS Dollars.

This is the best Maton I've evry played, They have one of everything in the shop and it was a toss-up between the EST65 and the EA80 Australian. The action and neck are fantastic quick and easy to fret. The EA80 has a little deeper sound but the neck/action was for me very hard to use as were other Maton's available. The EST65 is a thinline and very comfortable to play has all solid woods. This particular guitar is a Maton style vintage sunburst. It must be a secret as I can't find it on their webiste, but it is well worth trying to find. It has a great balance of tone and suits most styles and the string set is good for fingerstyle as well. Plugged in to a Fender Deluxe 90 amplifier you can create great amplified acoustic and also play Rolling Stones and Bluesy Rock. I like to play Folk Rock, Country, Blues Rock. This guitar is very good and campares to the Gibson Songwriter and Dove for tone and action. This is a fantastic acoustic/electric guitar and can cover Fender Telecaster type sounds as well.

If I were to be pedantic I would say the Maton vintage sunburst is rather washy, but that's how they do it and I guess they don't want to be known as a Copy company. I can't think of anything else that I don't like about it at the moment. I'd like to have more info on the specifications.

The quality fit and finish of this particular guitar is first class. Maybe it's because it is a "Deluxe" model, I don't know.

This is the best Maton I've ever played and I've been playing since 1972. It compares with the Gibsons and Taylors I've palyed and has a better action than the D-18 and 0016GT Martin I campared it to. This has all the cutaways, electrics and solid woods you want and for in some cases less that half the price. The EST65 "Deluxe" won't disappoint anyone.

Dennis G rated this unit 5 on 2003-11-15.

Write a user review

© Gear Review Network / MusicGearReview.com - 2000