I bought that Maton concert uke !

Well that was a long weekend, I was itching to get back to the music shop and get my hands on this baby again for the last 4 days, but the shop was closed for 4 days over the easter hols so i had to sweat it out.

I rang this morning and asked if it was still there, "I knew you'd buy it" came the reply, "you bastards" I said.. "you should never have shown it to me in the first place".. lots of laughter... "OK dont sell it to anyone, I'll be there in an hour".

On the 40 minute drive through the canefields I tried to reassure myself that I was only going to have another look at it, I was not definately going to buy it, there could be a flaw in it, or a buzz, or an intonation problem, maybe its just not right for my playing blah blah.....

All total rubbish thoughts, I knew deep down I was going to buy it, i had known that 30 seconds after i first played it a week ago, keeping up this charade with myself about self control and resonsibility was ridiculous and pointless, but I needed to hang on to at least some dignity so i played the "I am I sensible and fastidious buyer" game with myself for almost an hour.

Ok cut to the chase, enough waffling, I bought it. it had $599.00 on the price tag and i was prepared to just pay that amount, i had already confirmed with Maton that the full price for the concerts was going to be around $750 so getting this first release model for 600 was a bargain anyways but i just threw in a quick "what's the best price you can do me If i pay cash right now ?" and thought maybe i'll get 10 or 20 bucks off it but maybe not as it was already on special.

The salesman spent a couple of minutes clicking away at the computer before saying "530 is the lowest I can go".

Bang ! The gold mastercard hit the counter before he had time to draw his next breath hahhahahha.

I just got it home and am having a coffee and a ciggy to calm my nerves before a spend a few hours getting more acquainted with it.

I know, I know, you want a video, I will do one tonight I promise, in the mean time here are some photos just to wet your appetite.

Here's some more pics.

Alright webby! Nice looking uke.

Really pretty! Looking forward to a sound sample.

Very beautiful! And an awesome case to boot!

Thank you for saving my butt and buying it before I going back to NSW lol...
Indeed, it is a really beautiful instrument ! I love the simple and straight grain, very classic.
Congrats!

Great work Webby, these ukes really look the business, well purchased sir. Is that Tassie Blackwood they are using? it looks mighty fine. I have a Maton as well but it was one of their first batch, circa 1960 ish? Enjoy mate.

Camsuke said:

Great work Webby, these ukes really look the business, well purchased sir. Is that Tassie Blackwood they are using? it looks mighty fine. I have a Maton as well but it was one of their first batch, circa 1960 ish? Enjoy mate.

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Well on the paperwork and on the website is specifies victorian Blackwood, however I have done a bit of research over the weekend and this is what i have found out so far, Blackwood is the genus but there are a few variations within the species, I had also heard that tasmanian blackwood was the best however the victorian Blackwoods grow as far away as South Australia and I have an idea that the South Australian forests are where Maton source this particular timber, but the actual variation is actually still Victorian Blackwood.

the tone is hard to pin down, its loud but it's also pretty mellow, very rich midtomes when you are strumming at mid strength, snap it hard with some flamenco strums or some tight western swing chords and it doesn't wimp out either, but when I did a comparison with the Tanglewood laminate a lot of the top end treble seems to be missing, not that this is a problem, its a nice tight rounded top end, but the tanglewood did add a touch more crispness (yeh that's the word) to the high notes.

It is when you do some nice fingerstyle rolls and some melody lead lines that the solid wood instrument really starts to shine and put the laminate in its place, i found that with my guitars once i reached a certain level of proficiancy then upgrading to a really nice instrument made all the difference, When you have a real professional, hand crafted and perfectly set up tool it really forces you to lift your playing and push harder when practicing, the instrument is more than capable to accomodate your ability and the reward in sweet sound when you work it hard is very satisfying, this uke has that potential for sure, nothing I have played on it so far has sounded anything but full, clean and very rich and in tune.

i would still have to say that the Eleuke comes first for ease of playing and the Eleuke necks chunkiness is by far the best neck dimensions i have ever tried, but I just know this maton is going to mature and improve as it ages and gets played in and setlles down.

One thing I would like some advice with is strings, i cant believe I'm actually saying this but the Aquilas that came with it (original nylgut not the new bio's) are a bit muted and mellow, which is totally surprising because on the Dolphins, the Eleuke and the shark the Aquilas just crank out sound thats loud and tight. i put the new bionylon aquilas on the tanglewood and they really seem to fit that uke because they have a 20% softer tone than the nylguts in my opinion.

So now I finaly have to admit what a few wiser members than me have been pointing out in the "what strings" threads for ages... Aquilas are really really good at bringing cheap ukes to life and some midrange and high end ukes respond ok to them too BUT !....they are not the only strings to consider or necassarily the best strings in the world either. I think if I changed from the nylguts to the bio's on theis Maton it would mellow it down just too much, so i need advice on what strings I could consider that would give me a sharper crisper top end than the Aquilas without sacrificing the incredible balance and richness that this uke has across the whole tonal range.

Video review coming............

Try some D'addario's maybe.....

Congratulation. Gorgeous uke and case. Looking forward to sound sample.

OMG I thought it was a Martin and you so excited you misspelled it. It is a beauty and meant to be. I have a rule when that impulse buy strikes. If I am still thinking about it the next day or days after I need to go and buy it. Congratulations.

Love the lining of that case.

Conga rats! Lovely uke!

And I would try some Worth's on it.

awesome. and great story too. congrats

I'm going to resurrect this thread because I'm dying to know what choice you made on strings and to see if you've made a sound sample yet. I'm thinking more and more that I simply have to get my hands on one to try and that it'll more than likely go out the door with me. Also, what's the neck thickness like?

devvyleys said:

I'm going to resurrect this thread because I'm dying to know what choice you made on strings and to see if you've made a sound sample yet. I'm thinking more and more that I simply have to get my hands on one to try and that it'll more than likely go out the door with me. Also, what's the neck thickness like?

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Glad you do that devvyleys coz I am curious to hear the sound sample too. Maton guitar is just WOW, but I haven't have a chance to listen to its uke yet.

webby said:

One thing I would like some advice with is strings, i cant believe I'm actually saying this but the Aquilas that came with it (original nylgut not the new bio's) are a bit muted and mellow, which is totally surprising because on the Dolphins, the Eleuke and the shark the Aquilas just crank out sound thats loud and tight. i put the new bionylon aquilas on the tanglewood and they really seem to fit that uke because they have a 20% softer tone than the nylguts in my opinion.

So now I finaly have to admit what a few wiser members than me have been pointing out in the "what strings" threads for ages... Aquilas are really really good at bringing cheap ukes to life and some midrange and high end ukes respond ok to them too BUT !....they are not the only strings to consider or necassarily the best strings in the world either. I think if I changed from the nylguts to the bio's on theis Maton it would mellow it down just too much, so i need advice on what strings I could consider that would give me a sharper crisper top end than the Aquilas without sacrificing the incredible balance and richness that this uke has across the whole tonal range.

Video review coming............

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Congrats on the new beautiful uke.. I am not a pro, however I would say try some martin clear flurocarbins on there.. I don't think you will be disappointed..

I now have one of these beauties. Would love to know if anybody has tried alternative strings.

Congratulations! I don't know anything about them, but they build Tommy Emmanuel's guitars. Can't go wrong, I guess. It looks great, reminds me a bit of a Martin.

fitncrafty said:

Congrats on the new beautiful uke.. I am not a pro, however I would say try some martin clear flurocarbins on there.. I don't think you will be disappointed..

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+1 that would be my recommendation...

my sound sample of maton concert

here's my sound sample, not perfect playing