Maton: guitar maker: 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 ...
Gilles Mercier, Luthier: Conception et fabrication artisanale de guitares. Aix en Provence, France.
(...) Another experience, another vision, another conception : trained at the Mittenwald School of Luthiers, for a long time, Gilles Mercier, oscillated between the production of the instruments of the string quartet and the guitar.
He is now settled in Aix-en-Provence and makes only guitars. Recommended by musicians such as Dana Chivers, he is one of the few luthiers to use violonistic lutherie techniques. In particular, he works only with knife, plane and chisel, without machinery. The rosaces are black and white in accordance with violin filature technique, a neck/head V-joint lamination and French polish, in the purest tradition of the 19th century, are his unique marks.
He offers affordable concert models and more elaborated models in which, as in a epoch long past, "time doesn't count" ...
Home site of the acclaimed A.C.E. (Acoustic Classic Electric) custom made Guitar, and line of guitar strings - manufactured by The Poly-Tech Companyguitars, guitar, custom guitars, custom guitar, electric guitar, guitar strings, acoustic guitar, acoustic electric, classical guitar, nylon string electric, finger style, musical instrument, nylon strings, jazz, country, rock and roll, bass, sand, gibson, godin, takamine, luthier, guitar design, guiltar
Stookley Guitars:
My love affair with the Guitar dates back to my teen years when I received my first instrument a "Silvertone Electric" as a Xmas present and I have been enthralled with the instrument ever since. In later years I started designing and building custom guitars for individual clients as well as selling on the Internet under the banner of "Stukely Guitars". Over the years business has grown to the point where we have had to outsource some of our operations in order to keep up with demand and I am excited to showcase our newly designed Website, along with a new Company name "Stookley Guitars" and a revamped line of instruments. In the coming months we will be re-introducing a number of models including the Solo 1, Solo 2, X-Terminator, and the top of the line Soloist. Whatever your playing style, be it jazz, blues, country or rock I'm sure you will find a Stookley model just right for you and once you have played a Stookly you will settle for nothing less. Don't forget also to check our line of quality Guitars Parts to kickstart that special instrument project you have been puttimg off ...