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End of an era: Andy Allen retires

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TanninTannin Frets: 5499
in Acoustics
Andy Allen, head luthier at Maton for many years has retired. 

Andy has suffered some ill-health in recent years. Possibly this has brought on his retirement earlier than people expected (well, me anyway). 

Andy founded the Maton Custom Shop and has always been its one and only luthier. He has happily taken advantage of other in-house specialists for particular tasks (e.g., the paint shop lads, or the engraving and inlay specialist) but that aside Andy hand-built every Maton Custom Shop guitar ever made.

An easy-going, rough and ready seeming bloke covered in tats with a lifelong love of heavy metal, he has an extraordinary feel for what makes an acoustic guitar work.  

Over the years he has been a wonderful guitar builder, with a who's-who list of big-names playing his guitars, headed of course by Tommy Emmanuel but also many, many others. I am sadly disappointed that he won't be building the Bunya and Queensland Maple custom Maton I had planned to order next year. On the other hand, I am immensely pleased with the Maton Custom Shop WA May I already have. Andy built that one too, of course.

Maton is a well-run firm so I expect that they will have put a succession plan in place long since. Someone there will have learned the ropes from Andy and pick things up where he left off. Will the new head luthier have the same gift for making wood come alive that Andy has demonstrated so many times? 

Cross your fingers, wait and see.



^ November 2021: Andy making my WA May.

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