Alver 4D Acoustic Guitar by Maton - c.1962
By Maton
Another sweet old Alver guitar made by Maton. Not sure what model, but it’s close to a 4D and there’s not a lot of info around on these guitars. These were a cheap student guitar in their day and I like the cheap features they had like the painted-on edge-binding and painted wooden bridge to look like ebony. Playing-wise, it’s pretty good, great in the open position and playing up the neck is good too. It’s pretty hard to play past the twelfth fret on these old guitars though. There’s a wee bit of separation at the heel to the body, but overall, it’s very stable and stays in tune. The neck is nice and fat and feels good. Sound-wise; not bad, not great, but not bad. It doesn’t have the sustain of a Martin or Gibson acoustic but the notes have a distinct clarity and I reckon this would be a useable guitar in a recording situation when you’re looking for that odd guitar sound for a particular part in a track. Or, just get a beer and bang away on your back porch! It’s a nice little guitar and comes what could be an original case.