I'm on a 30 day trip through New Zealand and Australia, and one of the goals I set for myself was to try and play as many Maton guitars and other Aussie brands as well. New Zealand was a bit of a disappointment, as I found only three Matons in the six shops I visited, and none was the "golden fleece," the Tommy Emmanuel editions.
Sydney had some nice shops, but Matons were also a bit hard to find, though I found some nifty shops anyway. But Melbourne, which I was previously told would have Matons hanging on every wall in every guitar shop was not far from the truth. The first shop I visited,
Guitar Paradise, had some lovely Matons, but not Tommy Emmanuel. The rep I spoke with there, Mack, let me play as many guitars as I wanted, so I found myself with Matons, Martins, Alvarez, at my disposal. Mack then told me HIS favorite guitar shop was across town,
Acoustic Centre. I had nothing but time on my hands and gift transportation card, so I found myself looking at a beautiful wall of Matons -- including two Tommy Emmanuel (cutaway and non-cutaway). Again, I was given free rein to play, so I tried them all. I also discovered Cole Clark guitars, made by former Maton employees, and some drool-worthy David Worthy guitars -- all Australian made.
The Tommy Emmanuel guitars are pretty much all everyone makes them out to be. Even though I like cutaways, the 808TE without felt and sounded better to me. Were it not that I'm still slogging and flying, and carrying a case along with my other luggage would be expensive and impractical, I chose to walk away (shipping to the U.S would have been prohibitively costly).
Still, I accomplished my quest. I got to play some Maton Tommy Emmanuel (and other models) and I can honestly report that guitar making in Australia is going strong!