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< All Maton EBG808TE reviews
Audiofanzine FR Audiofanzine FR
Published on 12/14/08 at 02:45
Value For Money : Excellent
(Originally written by Salurem/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
Tommy Emmanuel's guitar except for a few details (e.g. nuts).

I replaced the original graphite nuts and the plastic pins with bone parts. It doesn't change the sound dramatically but it's more worthy of such a high-quality guitar.

Made in Australia.

Excellent wood quality. Good finish.

Except for the CGP inlay of the fingerboard, it's not a flashy guitar. No golden parts, no abalone overdose.

It's equipped with an excellent Maton APmic preamp and 2 pickups (bridge + body).

UTILIZATION

Very comfortable and light guitar. 44" scale and compact body.

No cutaway but that doesn't bother me.

SOUNDS

It's ideal for finger picking. Tommy fans won't be disappointed.

The wood and OM shape combination produces wonderful mid and high frequencies. It sounds crystal-clear with D'Addario EJ16 strings. Long sustain. Superb overtones. The low-end is a bit weaker.

The guitar provides a larger sound range when plugged thanks to the multiple settings and the pickup combinations. This guitar deserves a good amp (I play a Schertler David).

OVERALL OPINION

Excellent value for money (my luthier liked the wood and the sound very much).

The guitar needs a few enhancements (nuts and pins) and a good adjustment (the original action was very high).

Like most guitars, two models won't necessarily have the same sound. I was lucky to be able to test two of them at the store. Test it first, if you can, and also the Artist model which is made of a different wood.

As a summary, if you like Tommy Emmanuel's sound this guitar is for you (even if you can't play like Tommy). Although the unplugged sound is not very loud, the sound is remarkable in the mid and high frequency ranges. The guitar is amazing when plugged to an amp.