Tommy Emmanuel Plays Keith Miller's New Maton Guitar @ CAAS 2019

It's not everyday I get a new guitar, and certainly rarer still to have it played by a maestro the likes of Tommy Emmanuel! Saturday, July 13, 2019, was one such day. It was the last day of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville, TN, and this one was shaping up to be one of the best that we've attended to date. We got to spend a lot of close up time with some of the best guitar players on the planet, and even got to share a few tunes of our own!

Friday afternoon, I stopped in at the Artisan Guitars Maton booth, and tried out a beautiful Maton EBG808C Nashville Series guitar. I had no intention of buying a guitar, and really didn't have room for another instrument in the car, but on rare occasion (rare for me, anyways), a guitar player gets "called" by a guitar, and I knew from the first moment that I'd found something very special, and uniquely suited to me.

I came back by the booth with Bobbi the next morning, and after playing her a short set, quickly got her blessing to make the purchase. Afterwards, one of the best of the best came in the room, Mr. Tommy Emmanuel. He did a set on a nearby Gretsch for a crowd that had gathered, and I thought it'd be nice if I got a pic of him with the guitar since he is, after all, the international ambassador for the Australian based Maton Guitar company. The video below is what happened next, and to say I was was thrilled is an understatement. Look for my son, Nathan, as he makes a cameo appearance with his Kamaka ukulele during one of the songs! And, by the way, you don't want to miss the last thing he says to me as he hands me back the guitar! haha

This guitar will never sound better than these moments in Tommy's hands, but I assure you a lot of heart is still left to be invested in it. For those of you concerned over the fate of my beloved Taylor DDSM, fear not! That guitar will always be very dear to me, and wil continue to play old favorites and new songs as well.

Special thanks to Bill Warmoth, and his team at Artisan Guitars in Nashville, and of course, Maton Guitars, for crafting this great instrument, and thank you Tommy for giving it the master's touch! That was quite an initiation for a special guitar, and a day I'll not soon forget! #MatonGuitars #TommyEmmanuel #CAAS #ArtisanGuitars