Maton Stratocaster

A rare example of Maton’s own version of the classic Fender Stratocaster.

I received an email today from Tristan with the title ‘Maton Stratocaster’ which certainly got my attention. Tristan is lucky to own one of these rare birds and was kind enough to share his story and some beautiful photos with us.

I picked up an old Maton recently that I thought you might be interested in – it’s a Strat copy that I bought from my housemate’s boss. Apparently he kept it in the boot of his car for about 10 years and was going to get it fixed ‘any day now’. Ha! It wasn’t in the best condition but I bought it and did it up a little.


I had to replace the switch which was broken, the strap buttons, jack and jack plate were all missing so I replaced those too. The wiring was incomplete (and switch broken anyway), so I redid the wiring once I got a replacement switch for it and just did it to standard Strat wiring.

The knobs are a mismatch and I assume all non-original – don’t know where they came from, and I think that the pick guard is not original as none of the holes match up with the body (neither do the ‘tan lines’ of the yellowed white of the body).


Serial number 016 on the back of the headstock.

At some point a previous owner has engraved their own serial on the plate where the neck bolts on as well. Spring cover is missing and I haven’t found one that fits nicely yet.


Plays very nicely, the neck is perfect! I have to say that I’ve never really been a fan of Stratocasters, and I would dearly love a Maton FB70, however I find myself liking this guitar more and more.

Thanks to Tristan for the fantastic photos. Those knobs are off a Fender Strat or Tele Elite. These guitars had stock Strat hardware on them. And if anyone has a Maton FB70 they want to sell, let me know and I’ll forward your details to Tristan.