Remember when..

[Bill Bowley]

Will,

Of course, the 'Flamingo'! Shows how easy memories fade -I'd forgotten about that model -and probably a lot of other Matons as well!

[JimN]

Was there one called the "Ibis"?

I remember it being mentioned in the UK music weekly "Melody Maker", c. 1966.

JN

[mgeek]

Here's a photo of an Ibis- middle of this pic

http://www.guitarnerd.com.au/wp-content ... atons1.jpg

which came from a great blog with loads of pictures of various Matons

http://www.guitarnerd.com.au/?p=221

http://www.guitarnerd.com.au/?p=687

Things got a bit tasteful during the seventies and eighties, but their sixties stuff...wow

[Bill Bowley]

Actually, my memory has just been jogged re Maton guitars - if I remember rightly 'Dusty Frets' was in the process of doing a ref book on the brand 'way back when' - I wonder if he ever completed that?

Dusty?

[Bill Bowley]

More memory - BURNS 1964 Bison Bass in The Searchers.....

[Bill Bowley]

1970 -'The Carpenters' -BALDWIN (BURNS) Vibra Slim Bass.....

[dusty fretz]

Sorry to say I don't share Bill's recollection of me researching a reference work solely on Maton, as that would've been a pretty minority read, even back in the guitar book boomtimes of a few years ago. However, I've certainly included the brand in various articles and more general, overview-style publications that have appeared during the past decade or so. I too enjoy fond memories of Maton electrics, having owned more than a few, but all are now long gone, although I still hanker after a Vampyr six-string bass, which I reckon would make a much better baritone guitar.

[Bill Bowley]

Dusty,

Apologies for 'putting you on the spot' there! Now that I have had time to reflect on it, I think you may have only mentioned doing research on Maton guitars in passing at one stage during correspondence we had regarding BURNS scratchplates way back when - I would have to look up the letters from then to find that and at the moment I don't know if I even kept any letters from thirty years ago.

Anyway, matter is now cleared up I hope!

Regards as always

[dusty fretz]

No need for apologies Bill. My memory's not what it used to be, so anything's possible, which means I had to come up with a bit of commercial logic to dodge the bullet! I certainly did do quite a bit of research on Maton and now have a pretty fat brand file to prove it, but whether this info will ever be put to good use is now very debatable, as the market for the printed word continues to diminish at a rapid rate. I very much hope you haven't kept our correspondence from 30 years back, as still hanging onto such stuff would be rather worrying and make you even sadder than someone who HAS to live with almost innumerable piles of paper, i.e. me!

[George Geddes]

Paul, what you need is your own website where you can share all this fantastic, argument settling (or starting) information!!!

All the best

George