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Maton George Golla GG22A

My self imposed rule of cutting down on my Maton ‘habit’ has failed…. dismally.

I’ve always dismissed the term G.A.S. (aka Gear Acquisition Syndrome) as a bit of a joke. “I’ve got GAS”… tee hee. BUT IT’S REAL, PEOPLE! I understand it now… it’s the inability to say “No” to a guitar/amp/pedal that you don’t really need as you already have ten or so. With me it’s vintage Matons. I’m obsessed with them. My rule of no “more” guitars is still in effect… from the time I wrote that guitarnerd article to now, I own the same amount of guitars as I did back then which for me is amazing. But in that time I’ve sold many, many amps, pedals, guitars and whatever else I hadn’t used live to buy that latest awesome vintage Maton that has popped up. I’m exhausted, guitarnerds. Wrung dry by that temptress with the squiggly M logo.

So the latest in my uncontrollable urges is this absolutely stunning 1971 Maton George Golla GG22A. I sold one of my treasured axes (not a Maton!) for this beauty and the slight sting of that sale has been forgotten as this guitar is THAT good.

This guitar is just pure class. These were totally handmade by Maton and were the epitome of their workmanship… no CNC, no after market parts. (apart from the tuners), the best quality materials. It’s just a totally in every way beautiful guitar. Sorry, I’m getting quite emotional *sniff*.

The body is white flamed maple, with the sides and neck being maple. It has a beautiful flame front and back, and the three colour sunburst is superb.

The pickups are Matons own which were used in the early 70’s. The neck humbucker has some wear on the tip, where the previous owner carefully strummed his jazz chords. This is the only wear on the whole guitar. Apart from some small nicks here and there, she is near mint… which is amazing for a 43 year old guitar.

The tailpiece is also Maton’s own, adorned with a graceful stylised ‘M’. It adds another element of class to this classiest of classy jazz boxes. It’s a shame the 60th Anniversary Maton Sapphires don’t have the same tailpiece. It think it would’ve been that extra nod of the cap to their past.

One feature I absolutely love is that the body has two tiny bookmatched knots on the front and back. I personally think it celebrates the hand-made nature of this guitar. The same tree was used to create this whole guitar’s body. It wasn’t pieced from various wood blanks. It instantly makes it unique. It’s like a birth mark.

The fretboard is jet black ebony, inlayed with some nice abalone. The neck profile is classic late 60’s/early 70’s Maton… thin and narrow, just the way I like it. It’s extremely playable and just a joy to make music with. The frets are in great condition with no wear at all.

The headstock has an overlay of what looks like rosewood and features an inlay design that is reserved for the higher end Maton’s of this era. The tuners are stepped USA Grovers with Kluson style buttons and work beautifully.

When I got it, I couldn’t stop looking at it. I love Jazz guitars. Don’t get me wrong… I can’t play Jazz at all and only have started to really listen to it. But from a guitar design point of view, they really are an important key to the development of the electric guitar as we know it today. The Les Paul was basically a solid body arch top Jazz guitar.

I’m really glad I got this guitar. I have quite a few solid body Maton’s now, so this is totally different to all of them which makes it very special. It’s like the posh, private school cousin of my scrappy Maton Apollo.

So, with the Wedgtail, the non-sharkbite Fyrbyrd and this George Golla… I’ve had an amazing year for Matons. And that isn’t even all of them. There’s more to come. Stay tuned… like I said, I’ve been busy. DON’T JUDGE ME!