Here is an extremely original and low-mileage Alver archtop acoustic guitar, made by Maton in the late '50s or early '60s. Alver was the budget or 'student' line of guitars made by Maton at the time, and didn't have body binding or other fancy (and costly) adornments. They were made of laminate, so are extremely stable.

Bill May's wife, Vera (mother of present owner, Linda Kitchen, who runs the very successful Maton business with husband Neville) is the reason for the 'ver' part of the Alver name. I can't remember for the life of me where the 'Al' comes from!

This vintage guitar sounds surprisingly sweet, and is in perfect playing condition. Neck angle is exactly as the day it was made, with nice low action with the bridge not having been hacked as can so often be seen on vintage archtops as the owners try to avoid the expense of a neck reset. The frets and fingerboard show the barest signs of having ever been played, and there are a couple of scuff marks and small chips to the finish, and that's about it. The name T. Kehoe has been written inside the guitar underneath the label. Check out the detailed photographs in the 'more pictures' link below.

This guitar has had just one owner. It was purchased by the father of a girl who was learning to play guitar, and I have purchased it from that girl quite some decades later! She pointed out that she never really did learn to play, so it has been sitting in a cupboard all these years. The condition of the guitar bears that out!

Even the original hard shell case is still in amazingly good condition, other than at the bottom back edge, which would respond well to some gluing.

This is definitely one suitable for the collector, or for a musician wanting to get that authentic archtop tone, with a distinct upper-mid and treble lift, and is quite different to the larger, solid-timber vintage archtops from Maton. I have just fitted a new set of Martin bronze strings to it, and it sounds very, very sweet!

Sold to Marty