School me on Atkin

slowth84

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wazmeister

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

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

bertie said:

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

60th guitar? Or birthday?

viz

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

Tried a couple they were good but not great imo

Jimbro66

@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

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

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

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

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

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

cruxiform

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

guitarjack66

cruxiform said:

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

It depends on your 'school of thought.'

cruxiform

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.