Atkin finishes

bertie

anyone played both the aged and mirror finish Atkin ?  

comments on tonal differences from peeps that have (as opposed to reading other peeps comments on other sites/blogs )

thanks

bertie

I'll take that as a no then

 

stickyfiddle

I love my aged 47, if it helps! 

Wazmeister

Played and owned an aged 43. Stonking guitars.

wellsyboy

Only aged but wonderful guitars and really authentic vintage look to them. The finish is nicely done. I have not heard that one sounds different to the other but happy to be corrected. Some one on here must know the answer if that is your question?

sir_strumalot

I don't think they make many in mirror finish. I was looking at D37s last year, and I only saw one for sale in mirror finish, and that was in Japan. Probably the best person to ask would be Mr. Atkin. I believe he says the aged finish sounds a bit more 'open'. I bet the mirror finish sounds killer too, though.

thomasross20

Good sounding guitars and for the longest time I thought satin guitars sounded "better" but my now favourite guitar is gloss (!!!) and I believe it's part magic of the specific guitar but also better build quality and woods of higher end models. Atkin have consistently been in the top 3 of guitars and time I've been out to see what's new. I think I recall the aged finish sounding a bit more open and mature.

bertie

I "think" my possible issue is,  is the aged finish more brittle/fragile/ prone to damage  -  Ive head that premature ageing processes (on any make) leaves the finish less than durable

thomasross20

Ahhh .. concern re resale due to top wear.  
I'd go with it if it sounds better tbh. 

bertie

thomasross20 said:

Ahhh .. concern re resale due to top wear.  
I'd go with it if it sounds better tbh. 

I wont be alive long enough to worry about resale 

no, its just - this will be the last guitar I ever buy, and,  Ive recently heard a few "horror" stories about ageing finishes, leaves it much more prone to bad response to even light dings,  with finish falling off (general not Atkin specific)

Id much prefer the more open tone, of course. but I dont want a £4k guitar that starts crumbling in me hands, but is the mirror finish that much "worse" tone wise

Epsilon

For what it's worth, I've had my Atkin OM37 for about 4.5 years and other than some minor pick marks the aged finish hasn't changed at all. Certainly no sign of flaking.

It is also stunning sounding. I've never played a bad Atkin. 

stickyfiddle

All I can say is I've had mine 3 years and apart from a single claw mark (thanks Pickle...) it's as good as "new".

It's also so damn good I don't care if it ends up dinged and looking like shit - it's all part of the vibe man... 

That said my guess is it's the torrefied wood that really drives the sound, and I'm sure the mirror finishes will be very similar in thickness anyway

bertie

@Epsilon @stickyfiddle ;    -  thanks guys,  good to know

Andy_Strings

I've played both, currently have an aged 43 and it sounds slightly better to me than the other aged 43 I tried (both were excellent). They all have tiny differences but I don't think it's down to mirror or gloss. 

Soupman

I remember many years ago reading an interview with Eric Johnson in Guitarist magazine.
 He said he could hear the difference between a gold plated jack plug and a normal one. The interviewer couldn't decide if he was joking or not. 
I reckon there could be something similar going on here with different finishes affecting acoustic tone.
Is it really going to make that much difference?
There are so many other variable factors here that I think the choice of finish must be near the bottom of the list, but I'm no expert. A blindfolded test perhaps?
 
 

crunchman

Soupman said:

I remember many years ago reading an interview with Eric Johnson in Guitarist magazine.
 He said he could hear the difference between a gold plated jack plug and a normal one. The interviewer couldn't decide if he was joking or not. 
I reckon there could be something similar going on here with different finishes affecting acoustic tone.
Is it really going to make that much difference?
There are so many other variable factors here that I think the choice of finish must be near the bottom of the list, but I'm no expert. A blindfolded test perhaps?
 
 

I think it's reasonably well accepted that a very thick plastic type finish can inhibit the vibration of the top and affect tone.  If you are talking about the differences between one type of thin finish and another, they are probably very small. 

thebreeze

Epsilon said:

For what it's worth, I've had my Atkin OM37 for about 4.5 years and other than some minor pick marks the aged finish hasn't changed at all. Certainly no sign of flaking.

It is also stunning sounding. I've never played a bad Atkin. 

stickyfiddle said:

All I can say is I've had mine 3 years and apart from a single claw mark (thanks Pickle...) it's as good as "new".

It's also so damn good I don't care if it ends up dinged and looking like shit - it's all part of the vibe man... 

That said my guess is it's the torrefied wood that really drives the sound, and I'm sure the mirror finishes will be very similar in thickness anyway

I'll second these thoughts.  The one I have for sale here (OM37)   was used and gig'ed by Jimmy the previous owner for about 3.5 years and then by me.  No issues at all with the finish.  There are a few marks from use but you can't really tell because of the aged finishing.  Feels light, which may be down to the torrefied wood process, and it just sounds sublime and soulful.  

ESBlonde

My Atkin Essential D is in aged finish, I wasn’t particularly looking for that when I bought it new 4 years ago, but it was the best sounding guitar in the shop. 

4 years playing and a few gigs and it’s still not showing signs of wear (unlike the lovely case supplied with it which has scars and scuffs).

stickyfiddle

Soupman said:

I remember many years ago reading an interview with Eric Johnson in Guitarist magazine.
 He said he could hear the difference between a gold plated jack plug and a normal one. The interviewer couldn't decide if he was joking or not. 
I reckon there could be something similar going on here with different finishes affecting acoustic tone.
Is it really going to make that much difference?
There are so many other variable factors here that I think the choice of finish must be near the bottom of the list, but I'm no expert. A blindfolded test perhaps?
 
 

Nah, it's a completely different situation. The plating on a jack plug affects the electrical conductive properties of the cable (and we're probably talking 0.01% on resistance and capacitance), but makes basically zero difference to the resonance of the electric guitar. 

An acoustic is a vibrating system and changing the thickness (and by extension elasticity and weight) of the finish will definitely make a difference to how it resonates.

tomjax

I can't speak to the sonic differences, both my Atkins are non-aged, but I seem to find myself in the minority who really dislike the crazy paving aged varnish look. I'd take a tonal hit to avoid it every time.

Soupman

tomjax said:
I seem to find myself in the minority who really dislike the crazy paving aged varnish look.
+1 here.