Maton
The Maton name is a derivative of the words
“May” and “Tone”.
Until the mid 1930s an Australian guitar manufacturing industry was
virtually nonexistent. Good quality guitars were hard to find and
at this time the best guitars came from the U.S.A. Bill May, a
Melbourne-born jazz musician, woodwork teacher and luthier decided
to change all that.
During the early 1940s Bill established a custom guitar
manufacturing and repair business known as “Maton Stringed
Instruments and Repairs”. This enterprise was so successful that
Bill was able to convince his older brother, Reg, to join him as a
full time guitar maker and in March 1946 the “Maton Musical
Instruments Company” was born.
Maton is still a 100% family owned Australian company, now operated
by Linda & Neville Kitchen (Bill May's daughter and son in
law). Showing great faith in the potential of the company, Bill
opened up Australia's first major guitar making facility in
Canterbury, Melbourne, in 1949. More than 300 different models were
created at the Canterbury factory, a staggering testimony to the
creativity of the Maton team from that era.
Maton called the Canterbury factory home for 40 years until it was
time to upgrade to a more modern and spacious facility in
Bayswater, Melbourne, in 1989.
After 12 years at the Bayswater factory it was time to relocate to
an even larger facility in the inner Melbourne suburb of Box Hill,
in an attempt to satisfy the overwhelming demand for the
handcrafted instruments. The new purpose built facility is four
times the size of the old factory in Bayswater. From this new
factory the company will be able to meet its current demand and
further develop international markets. The success of this
Australian icon is largely due to the inspiration and creativity
Bill May possessed and was able to reproduce in his instruments.
Having established Maton as Australia’s longest running and most
successful guitar manufacturer, and pioneering the use of many
Australian wood species in guitar construction, Bill May is
regarded by many Australian luthiers as the founding father of
their industry.
Bill May’s importance to the history of Australian music was
recently recognised at the Australian Music Association Awards
where he was posthumously awarded their highest honour and inducted
into the hall of fame.
Viewing products 21-26 of 26. Please click a product name to view details.
Maton EBG808CL "Performer"
$1,699 $1,359
This new guitar series continues the success of the BG808. It carries the...
Maton Mastersound MS500 50th Anniversary
$1,999 $1,599
The 50th Anniversary Mastersound is a celebration of the original MS500,...
