Josh Homme of “Queens Of The Stone Age” who has already played guitars from the Maton-Mastersound-Series, suggested to develop the BB1200, mainly because he wanted an alternative guitar with more attack and the richest sustain. Inspired by this, Maton, in close cooperation with Josh created the semi acoustic model BB1200, and dedicated its name to the American power rocker. He called his first light blue model Betty Blue. It was love from the first strum, an untouchable love that is often being looked at with great suspicion by some women. For instance, Jeff Beck's first wife confronted her husband towards the end of their marriage with the final question: It's either the guitar or me? Jeff's comment: “you can have three guesses who has to start packing”

Construction

The BB1200 is made like most Maton guitars from (for us) unknown Australian timbers. This model has a core made of Queensland Maple which grows only in northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea and hasn't much in common with our Maple. In the beginning, Queensland Maple was used in production as a Mahogany substitute. Queensland Maple developed a reputation for its great balance and resonance in all of the frequency layers and fast became the backbone of Maton production. It is used on almost all of the guitars because of its great stability while still light and visually pleasant. The BB1200 core is made from this timber and hollowed out using a CNC milling centre. The top is made of two pieces of solid Victorian Blackwood formed and lightly contoured featuring f-holes. The timber reveals beautiful grain in a light circular pattern.

The back is set in single layered binding, and the top in a five layered binding.

The glued in neck made from Rock Maple (this time real Maple) is equipped with a bound rosewood fingerboard featuring mother of pearl block inlays and 22 mid-strength frets.

Apart from those details, one finds next to the Maton Logo the widely approved Rotomatic Machine Heads from Grover.

To adjust the truss rod, one has to loosen a little label between the neck and neck pickup (2 small screws) to be able to reach the solid nut made of brass. The strings run along the top cap over the Tonepros Bridge (similar to Tun-o-matic) and are held by a stop Tailpiece.

The pickups consist of two Maton Humbuckers: JHB Alnico 8 (Coil Tap) at the bridge end and JHN Alnico 8 (Coil Tap) at the neck end and are selected by using a three way switch, and managed by two volume controllers with Push/Pull-Coil-Tap-Function as well as a general sound volume controller.

The finish of the BB1200 is a highly polished immaculate tobacco burst.

The excellent production standard is reflected in the modern possibilities that Maton has created with its new plant opening in 2003 in Box Hill/Melbourne.

Practical Implication

The BB1200 immediately feels comfortable to play with. The neck with its wide, but not too fat build profile gives comprehensive freedom of movement to the knowledgeable player. So let's move to the amp to explore the inner values. The neck pick-up lets off steam in a mighty way, coming with a powerful depth. Here it would be advisable to control the bass accordingly on the amp. Otherwise, the sound picture is well balanced with richness in the mids, and compact and full in the highs. These are good conditions for powerful accompaniment, but let's go on overdrive where thick sound is the subject.

If you like full-bodied sound, this is where you'll find it. Whether ballads or sentimental blues, the ride on the BB1200 is pure pleasure. The sound is smooth and the sustained notes – superb! Fast linear passages clearly produce imaginable three dimensional sound patterns. If we pull the volume controller we disengage the inner coil and we have a slightly husky single-coil sound. No, - it is not a Strat sound but rather a somewhat leaner version of what we heard before, still full of juice and quite powerful. The highs are slightly more pronounced but are in no way sliding into sharp or harsh sound territory. This sound lends itself perfectly for rhythmical playing.

Back to distortion it still delivers well. Altogether more lean but in no way thin, its performance even on one coil is still remarkable.

The bridge pick-up balances well with its neck brother. Clear sounds are still able to rest upon open highs and rhythmical work delivers an accentuated touch response. Because of its semi acoustic construction even fast played runs appear with a clear defined structure, each note lined up in a row like pearls on a string, dissolving into three dimensional space.

If we pull the accompanying volume pot to disengage one coil, the sound image becomes considerably sharper than with the neck pick up. The highs become very accentuated while bass and middle sections are clearly limited. It is still a valuable option for staccato like rhythm playing. In summary – the sound flexibility of the BB1200 is not to be underestimated. Obviously the Australians know what they are doing.

Conclusion

What an impressive alternative to the established semi acoustic standards. The accomplished construction of a milled core with a solid cap, together with a smooth, comfortable neck and powerful electrics are the characteristics of this high class instrument.

It will still take some time until Maton guitars will become known in our region and be available in our stores. However, a start has been made, a very good one. The high price, even though justified, doesn't make it easy in a very competitive market. Nevertheless – if you come across a Maton, don't hesitate to try one out.