Maton PM Custom Stereo – For Sale

Now that I’ve whetted your appetite… here’s a rare Maton Phil Manning Custom Stereo that’s for sale.

So, the last few days I’ve been playing my newly returned PM Custom Stereo and thoroughly enjoying it. I mean… not just playing it, I just love LOOKING at it. Well, for anyone who is looking to add one to their axe collection, I’ve come across another rare Phil Manning that’s for sale. And she’s a beauty…

This PM Custom is #5… that’s right, 5 out of 250 made. I haven’t seen one with that low a number before. She’s in fantastic condition, with most of the important pieces there.

She’s still got her original Maton humbuckers, which is great as they are very difficult to find. I’ve seen a few of these PM Custom’s with the pickups ripped out and humbuckers added, which I think is a bit of a crime. Even Phil Manning himself has done it to his prototype, replacing the pickups with P90’s.

She’s in fantastic condition. I have a feeling she’s refinished, as the PM’s were usually a little more golden orange than natural like this. I can’t be sure though. Here is Bindi from Killer Bird’s PM Custom for reference.

The back of this guitar is certainly different from any other PM Custom I’ve seen. Usually the back has a red mahogany type stain to it, but this is plain Sassafras. Whatever the case, it looks fantastic.

As I mentioned, all the important pieces are there. Some hardware changes I can see are the pickup selectors and the gold Waverly tuners.The inlays have turned a nice grungy brown, which would be from the fretboard lacquer discolouring over the years. Adds to the mojo. The original trussrod cover has been changed, which is unfortunate. This could probably be replicated with a simple Letraset kit and some matching tortoiseshell plate.

The pickup rings featuring the micro switches have also been changed. These might be a little hard to chase down, but should be easy enough to replicate. The panels that are on this example should be easy enough to modify if you choose to. Honestly though, the mega Maton selector up the top does the same thing and is a lot easier to use.

The owner is looking for around $2,000 so if you’re interested in owning this rare beast, leave a comment and I’ll forward your details.