Maton MS500, natural finish, 2006. The Mastersound is an original 60s shape that carved out a nice little niche for itself over a few decades. This model hails to the renaissance the model enjoyed in the mid 2000s; they were flavour of the month for a couple of years there. It's a quintessentially Australian look, especially with the glorious grain of the Queensland maple body on full display under the satin natural finish. The tone is pretty recognisable on these: jangle with a swampy, earthy midrange. It gets along well with bright amps and has a certain understated charm. The shape is comfy and feels pretty compact, owing to the medium scale and slim neck; it's an easy player. These are long out of production now and there's no change to that in sight, so they're not getting cheaper any time soon. Straya!

Model: Maton MS500 Mastersound
Made: Melbourne Australia, 2006 (serial 06990349)
Finish: satin natural
Body: Queensland maple
Neck: rock maple, rosewood fretboard, 12" radius, 24.6" scale
Weight: 3.280kg
Mods: pickguard replaced, pickup selector replaced with 3-way, jack replaced
Pickups: Maton single coil (neck), humbucker (bridge, splittable)
Case: none

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Headstock has some dimples on the end and some light scuffs on the back. Neck is pretty clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back only. The back has a handful of minor scuffs and dimples but not major marks. Sides have a few dimples on the shoulder, near the jack and the bottom horn. The front is also pretty clean, just some dimples near the bridge and shoulder and some normal play wear on the top horn and guard. Overall: good condition (7/10).

Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, action is low, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. Frets look pretty good, plenty of life and fairly even, 7/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10/46s.