Sold – Maton Alver Archtop Acoustic c.1965

Named for Alma and Vera, the respective wives of Maton founder Bill May and his brother Reg, the Alver brand provided the company with a range of instruments at a lower price point than their Maton cousins.  This lightweight single-cut 16″ wide 4″ deep laminated arch top body style, developed by Bill May in the 1950s, was used on a wide variety of both Maton and Alver branded acoustic and electric guitars for a very good reason: it is a strong, light, super resonant and versatile design whether in acoustic or electric form.

This Alver is one of the cleanest and well cared for examples we have seen. All the vital statistics are listed above but it is worth highlighting the 4lbs60z light weight which gives this Alver a very lively voice.  All Alver models lack the truss rod fitted to Maton-branded instruments, but the Queensland Maple neck is strong and straight.  The neck set, nut, frets, bridge and tailpiece  are all in excellent original and functional shape.  This guitar is a fine piece of design; the white top binding contrasts with the black-red burst and the overall design aesthetic is restrained and elegant.  The asymmetric headstock shape places this Alver in the mid 1960s. As with most Alvers there is a pencilled Batch Number (B.161) on the interior Maton label, but no serial number.  Comes with a gig bag but a period correct two-tone Stamford hard case would suit this guitar well – please enquire as we have one or two of these available!