School me on Atkin

slowth84 · July 2022

Couldn’t learn much about Atkin on AGF/UMGF so I thought coming over to this side of the pond made more sense.

Cross the pond it seems the bridge string spacing is kinda unique and might be tough getting used to?

im also seriously considering an essential 000 cos of the 1 3/4” nut , and that’s now almost Martin custom shop money.

Thanks for input and looking forward to knowing more here!

stickyfiddle · July 2022

I've had 7 acoustic guitars over about 18 years. In order of purchase:

Aria electro cutaway £200 thing
Taylor Big Baby
Taylor 214
Gibson Dove
Martin HD28
Atkin Forty Seven (LG-2 equivalent)
Bourgeois Aged Tone Mahogany D (i.e. fancy D18)

I've only played one Atkin - the one I own - but what I can say is the Dove at the time was the best dreadnought in the shop, beating multiple Martins and J45s. The HD28 was bought a couple of years later and is a better guitar than that Dove. The Atkin opened my eyes to a whole extra level of quality in acoustics because it's just so sweet and resonant, and that's what led me to buy the Bourgeois while in the US earlier this year.

The Atkin and Bourgeois are obviously very different instruments but I would say pretty much level for quality, and both make the admittedly-excellent Martin sound somehow flat and dull in comparison. I have no issue with string spacing at either end - I think it's a little wider than the Martin but no problem. (Honestly I wonder if these things are often used as excuses except where a neck is genuinely uncomfortable)

I haven't tried the 000 model but I'd wager it will be among the very best available.

Mellish · July 2022

When I went to GuitarGuitar Birmingham (uk)i tried two Atkins (Essential D and one I can't recall).

Although probably perfectly good guitars, they just didn't do anything for me. I ended up buying a Gibson Dove Original

Welcome to the FB mate

TheBigDipper · July 2022

When looking for my last acoustic, I played several Atkins - not dreads or jumbos, but OMs and the like. I wanted a smaller guitar for fingerstyle playing. I liked every one - for both sound and playability. I actually bought a Brook in preference, but I would have been perfectly happy with an Atkin. Or a Huss & Dalton, for that matter.

I didn't have any issues with fretboard widths, etc., but I've come to realise I'm far more forgiving and adaptable than some other people who can have genuine issues with certain sizes, so maybe I'm not the right person to listen to.

The equivalent Martins I tried were definitely flat and dull in comparison - even after one shop said it was the strings and changed them to prove it (good for them, but it wasn't...).

crunchman · July 2022

They are great guitars. If I buy another acoustic it's most likely to be an Atkin but in the UK the prices are lower than in the US, while Martin, Gibson, Santa Cruz etc are all more expensive here. If I don't get an Atkin, it will probably be something else British built. Here, you get much better value as you cut out the import duty and international shipping costs.

bertie · July 2022

my 60th in 20 months - it'll either be an Atkin OM37 or a possibly custom Waghorn

Wazmeister · July 2022

Mellish said:

When I went to GuitarGuitar Birmingham (uk)i tried two Atkins (Essential D and one I can't recall).

Although probably perfectly good guitars, they just didn't do anything for me. I ended up buying a Gibson Dove Original

Welcome to the FB mate

I had the opposite journey…

Went to GG as I was looking for a Gibson J45, and i played everything there.

There was a Atkin The Forty Three there, and it was head and shoulders above the Gibsons. Amazing aging and relicing too, which i love.

Mellish · July 2022

Wazmeister said:

Mellish said:

When I went to GuitarGuitar Birmingham (uk)i tried two Atkins (Essential D and one I can't recall).

Although probably perfectly good guitars, they just didn't do anything for me. I ended up buying a Gibson Dove Original

Welcome to the FB mate

I had the opposite journey…

Went to GG as I was looking for a Gibson J45, and i played everything there.

There was a Atkin The Forty Three there, and it was head and shoulders above the Gibsons. Amazing aging and relicing too, which i love.

We all hear slightly differently mate. Often it's enough to influence our decision over which acoustic

Tannin · July 2022

bertie said:

my 60th in 20 months - it'll either be an Atkin OM37 or a possibly custom Waghorn

60th guitar? Or birthday?

viz · July 2022

Tannin said:

bertie said:

my 60th in 20 months - it'll either be an Atkin OM37 or a possibly custom Waghorn

60th guitar? Or birthday?

What’s the difference? (Except for Harry7)

mgaw · July 2022

Tried a couple they were good but not great imo

Jimbro66 · July 2022

@slowth84 you may have already learned that Alister has been building guitars for about 27 years. The guitars I saw of his in the late 90s were very good but not outstanding. Over the years he honed his skills and the guitars became better and better. During the 00s he built guitars of his own design in addition to recreations of old Martins. I think he must have then found there was more demand for the repros so concentrated on them, later adding Gibson recreations to the range.

In 2013 I was searching for a quality acoustic guitar and tried several Martins, Gibsons and Taylor’s. A Martin Eric Clapton model left me unimpressed. A Martin D28V was better and on my shortlist. The Gibsons I tried were not for me and the Taylor that best suited me was £5,000! - way beyond my budget. Then I remembered a guitarist friend praising Atkin guitars so I travelled to Alister’s workshop in the south-east corner of England. He was very welcoming and easy going. At that time there was a separate area with around fifteen guitars hanging on the wall and Alister told me I could take as long as I wanted to try as many as I wished. All of them were a jump in quality and sound from the mainstream guitars I’d tried. I came away with an OM28H Retrospective model which was just so easy to play and had such depth of tone. A few years before I’d owned a Santa Cruz OM Pre-War model which was very nice but the Atkin was a step up. The Atkin has stayed with me ever since and I can’t imagine ever parting with it.

I’m away from home at present so can’t check the string spacing at the bridge. I personally liked that the OM28H had 1-11/16” nut width because I play mainly finger style and often use my thumb to fret the low E and A strings. The 1-3/4” nut width of the Santa Cruz was not so good for thumb-over playing. I believe Alister does offer 1-3/4” nut width for customers who prefer it.

Although Atkin guitars are quite a lot less expensive in the U.K. than those of Collins, Santa Cruz, Bourgeois, etc they have, nonetheless, increased in price considerably since I bought mine. I don’t know whether Alister has any USA dealers but if not the shipping, import duties and taxes might make them costly for you to buy.

Let us know what you decide and welcome to the forum!

Edit: When you said “cross the pond” I assumed you were in the USA but I see from your profile that you are in Singapore. I’m not sure what that might mean in terms of availability and cost of Atkin guitars.

Dave_Mc · July 2022

bertie said:

my 60th in 20 months

Wow that's some serious GAS! Well played! EDIT: Should have read down further before making that joke, beaten to it...

malcolmkindness · July 2022

His early guitars were a bit variable, but the more recent ones are excellent in my opinion. They tend to have very narrow necks and string spacing which doesn't suit me.

bertie · July 2022

malcolmkindness said:

They tend to have very narrow necks and string spacing which doesn't suit me.

very narrow ? really ?

most are 43 / 44 which is pretty much "standard"

malcolmkindness · July 2022

bertie said:

malcolmkindness said:

They tend to have very narrow necks and string spacing which doesn't suit me.

very narrow ? really ? most are 43 / 44 which is pretty much "standard"

It may be standard, but they always feel skinny to me. It wasn't a criticism, I was just pointing it out. Personally I like a chunky neck and wide string spacing.

MSedg · July 2022

Total Atkin fanboy here, so do take with a pinch of salt - have owned (or played with a view to purchase) Gibsons, Martins, Guild, Bourgeois, Collings, Santa Cruz, Iris, McIlroy etc. Now own 3 Atkins (000-37s, L36 custom, OM37 custom) and a Gibson J45 Vintage. The Atkins cover all my bases apart from dreadnought/jumbo, as I’ve not (yet) found a J43 that does it for me. Two have 1 11/16 nuts, one is 1 3/4. I haven’t noticed any issues with bridge spacing, though I don’t know what it is off-hand. Doesn’t feel notably odd to me though.

The main thing that sells them to me is their light build and “alive” feeling. The ones I’ve taken home have been really responsive to a light tough but with plenty of headroom. The only one I’ve owned which has been close was a ‘48 Martin 0-15, which was bone-dry and really resonant, but had a bridge in the wrong place. Atkins got me 95% of the way there but with perfect intonation and playability. Consistency is good - certainly better in my experience than the big manufacturers. The thin finish is great and certainly contributes to the resonance, but it is THIN - if you like a pristine soundboard then you will need to be careful. I prefer the aged look, which is lucky as I have two small children who have taken their toll on my guitars.

I know they send some stuff to Woodsounds (sp?) in S. Korea - not sure about Singapore though.

Wazmeister · July 2022

cruxiform · July 2022

I thought using the term 'school me' was punishable by death around these parts?

guitarjack66 · July 2022

cruxiform said:

I thought using the term 'school me' was punishable by death around these parts?

It depends on your 'school of thought.'

cruxiform · July 2022

guitarjack66 said:

cruxiform said:

I thought using the term 'school me' was punishable by death around these parts?

It depends on your 'school of thought.'

Ah right. I just remember other folks kicking off about using that term in the past.

jellyroll · July 2022

My personal view is that their Martin-alikes are better than their Gibson-alikes. Some of their Martin based models that I’ve played have been really good in a tight, bright, loud way. But I haven’t played a Gibson based Atkin which impressed me.

guitarjack66 · July 2022

Why are Martin guitars more highly rated than Taylor guitars? Is it simply longevity?

Cryptid · July 2022

My old D37 was easily the best D28 type I've tried. Wasn't suitable for the material I was playing at the time so moved it on... which I now regret.

Tried two examples of 'The Forty Three' and an Essential D, none of which inspired me.

Had an invite to try a Jumbo down at their workshop in Kent as there was no stock anywhere, but then no further response to my messages. Ended up happy with a bargain J-200 Studio from eBay for a third of the price.

guitarjack66 · July 2022

Why are Martin guitars more highly rated than Taylor guitars? Is it simply longevity?

DB1 · July 2022

I had an Atkin Forty-Three. It was OK, but didn't last long. A caveat here: I didn't really take the time to get it set up the way I like. I like it set low almost like an electric set up.

I sold three Gibsons fairly recently - an LG2, an L-00 and a J45, all perfectly nice guitars. The LG2 popped up for sale again at the place that I sold it to, and I went along with the purpose of buying it back.

There was an Atkin Small Jumbo Black Pearl Edition which absolutely knocked the socks off the LG2. I say that with reluctance because a) I'm a Gibson fanboy - OK, fanoldgit - and b) the LG2 was about £800 cheaper, both used.

It was lively and vibrant and made the LG2 - which I really liked - sound a bit lifeless and dull. I didn't want the Atkin to be better, tbh.

I bought it. Anyway, a little later I went to sell it because I'm not really an acoustic player and wasn't doing it justice, so I ordered a used Martin 000-15M to fill its boots. Anyway, the Martin arrived and it was very nice, but unsurprisingly given the price difference, the Atkin was just better. I had to withdraw it from sale, at least until I find something that's as good.

I bought another L-00 this week at a very decent price, thinking that this might do it - my other L-00 was really nice and I missed that. It turned up a couple of days ago, I did a quick comparison, and sold the L-00 again today.

The neck on the Atkin is probably a little slim for me, truth be told- perhaps it's just the Small Jumbo spec, because every other Atkin that I've tried has been reasonably chunky. It feels like quite a shallow D and the string spacing feels a touch narrower than I'm used to, but it's so light, resonant and lively, that it's a joy to play. I've got the action lower than a snake's belly, which isn't to everyone's taste, but I like it.

It sounds fabulous and feels like a top quality guitar - most acoustics feel 'unfriendly' to me (action too high and string tension too great) but this one's a joy.

If I'm to be a bit critical, I'd say that the 'ageing' on the two that I've had hasn't impressed me that much. It's certainly nothing like the effect that age has had on my properly old guitars. The crazing looks a little 'chemical' if that makes any sense, and I could live without a 'reliced' model in that respect.

crunchman · July 2022

guitarjack66 said:

Why are Martin guitars more highly rated than Taylor guitars? Is it simply longevity?

They sound better

guitarjack66 · July 2022

crunchman said:

guitarjack66 said:

Why are Martin guitars more highly rated than Taylor guitars? Is it simply longevity?

They sound better

Surely that is in the ear of the listener?

artiebear · July 2022

guitarjack66 said:

crunchman said:

guitarjack66 said:

Why are Martin guitars more highly rated than Taylor guitars? Is it simply longevity?

They sound better

Surely that is in the ear of the listener?

Well it would be true, if only they all did

Tannin · July 2022

bertie said:

malcolmkindness said:

They tend to have very narrow necks and string spacing which doesn't suit me.

very narrow ? really ? most are 43 / 44 which is pretty much "standard"

43mm is narrow. 42mm is "very narrow". 44mm and 44.5mm are standard. I like 46mm much better but only the Europeans seem to do that other than by custom order.

bertie · July 2022

Tannin said:

bertie said:

malcolmkindness said:

They tend to have very narrow necks and string spacing which doesn't suit me.

very narrow ? really ? most are 43 / 44 which is pretty much "standard"

43mm is narrow. 42mm is "very narrow". 44mm and 44.5mm are standard. I like 46mm much better but only the Europeans seem to do that other than by custom order.

wrong

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