Beyond the official site, dedicated owners and collectors have built their own archives, such as the "Maton Museum" project to catalog every Maton guitar ever made. Online forums and vintage guitar marketplaces like Reverb.com or Gino Guitars are also excellent resources, as they often list sold guitars with photos of labels, providing valuable real-world data points for comparison.
: Some stickers use a simple date stamp like "09/12," indicating September 2012. Alpha-Numeric (Post-2014ish) : Uses a code like "2AG," where represent the year (2022) and represents the month (July, as G is the 7th letter). Prefix System
The 1970s marked a shift. A guitar with a serial number of was dated around 1981-82 . The last digits of a serial number are a common tell, often corresponding to the year of manufacture; for instance, a number ending in "74" is a safe bet for 1974. The famous JB-4 bass, produced from 1977 to 1994 , used serial numbers from 001 to 887—the first production year, 1978, includes serial number 032. maton serial number search
Determining the exact age, history, and origin of your Maton acoustic or electric guitar requires a deep dive into its serial number. Since 1946, the iconic Australian guitar manufacturer has used several different serialization systems.
Tracking down your guitar's structural history offers several key benefits: Beyond the official site, dedicated owners and collectors
Vintage Maton guitars can be slightly trickier to date because early records were occasionally inconsistent. However, they generally followed a format.
: Pre-1980s serials are often sequential and lack a built-in date code. You can cross-reference these in the Maton Museum , which lists production ranges for specific models. Helpful Resources Alpha-Numeric (Post-2014ish) : Uses a code like "2AG,"
For lovers of Australian-made acoustic and electric guitars, a is the first step toward uncovering the history, provenance, and exact age of their instrument. Whether you have just acquired a vintage 1960s Mastersound or a modern TE1 Tommy Emmanuel signature model, understanding how to read the serial number is crucial for valuation, insurance, and simply appreciating the craftsmanship behind your instrument.
Because Maton has not published a single unified decoder for public use, enthusiasts and collectors have reverse-engineered the systems over time. If your serial number doesn't fit neatly into the Museum's ranges, the following unofficial decoders can be valuable tools.
If you cannot see a number on the back of the headstock, look for these locations: