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NGD: Atkin The Forty Three

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Yesssss!

I started this journey by lusting after a Martin 000-28 for those Clapton Unplugged tones and the smaller body acoustic that's sofa friendly. Managed to take a trip to the Martin factory earlier in the year as we were on holiday not too far away (which was awesome) and that was it: I must have a Martin! 

I eventually settled on a 00-28 as being the one for me, but I couldn't shake the high action thing. I understand they do this on purpose, but it doesn't feel right to me for some reason. I was never truly blown away by them. 

I first found out about Atkin guitars through this forum and having heard nothing but good things, I decided to take a look. After seeing that Ivor Mairants had some in stock and were having a 15% off sale I thought I must definitely go down! I finally went today and tried an OM-37 and this J43. I also tried out some Collings', but at over £4k they were ultimately more than I was prepared to pay. I was also "lucky" the strings were slightly on the dull side; had they been really fresh I might have been seriously tempted to part with the big bucks!

I'm amazed at how light this guitar is. It has such a lovely big bottom end, but still a tight crisp sound great for finger picking and using a pic, quite versatile. The OM was also nice, though I wasn't madly into the over tinted top, felt like a Donald Trump tan, each time I picked up the J43 though, it just felt right. So it seems funny that I set out for a smaller body acoustic and ended up with this, but I love it!

I'm slightly concerned I'm going to be wearing straight through the finish though as it feels super thin. I guess as it's a relic model it doesn't matter too much! On that note, I think the relic'ing helped as it just felt already well played in. I also love how pointy the heel is, just a nice detail. 

Fun!





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Comments

  • mixolydmixolyd Frets: 826
    edited November 2019
    As a lefty I played a right handed one of these upside down yesterday.  Extremely expressive, very light, ergonomic and yes that lovely rich bass!  Despite not being able to play it properly I didn’t want to put it down.  I’m not convinced that it sounds like a vintage J45 though, seems more like its own thing.

    Im not surprised you chose it over the OM: I tried a lovely Brook OM size and the lack of bass made me want to go straight back to the Atkin.  The slope shoulders on the Atkin also meant that the smaller bodied guitars weren’t hugely more comfortable.

    The one I tried was in natural, your sunburst looks way better.
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  • Yes, that's a good observation re the sloped shoulders, it didn't feel that much bigger than the smaller bodied ones - though the Collings did feel really nice. 
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  • Jimbro66Jimbro66 Frets: 2419
    What a great choice. Alister makes fantastic guitars. HNGD and many years of playing pleasure.
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  • Cheers Jim! I'm really pleased with it, it's a beauty!
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  • EpsilonEpsilon Frets: 600
    I played that very guitar at length in Ivor Mairants and it was absolutely fantastic - congrats! Ended up going for an Atkin OM37 myself elsewhere but it was an incredibly tricky choice, and I expect a 43 may be in my future (once the bank account has recovered).

    The comment about it not being like a J45 is spot on. It's very close aesthetically but this was miles better than any Gibson I've tried.

    Enjoy it!
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  • Looks lovely. Happy NGD.
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  • jellyrolljellyroll Frets: 3073
    Very nice - I’ve  also played that very guitar and have recently acquired an Atkin 0 for sofa duty. Great guitars.  Enjoy. 
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  • Thanks all! I'm very pleased with it. Aesthetically I was so drawn to the OM - the herringbone binding, gloss finish, rosewood B/S, volute and also the logo, I love the logo on that thing - but ultimately went with what felt right. Maybe someday in the future one of these will also be on the cards.... but doubtful as I've now bought 2 new guitars in about 3-4 months ha!!
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    Gorgeous
    Red ones are better. 
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  • That's spectacular. I need to try an Atkin or 6. 
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • Cheers guys!
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    I spent a hour or so in Ivor Mairants trying Collings and Atkins and kept preferring the Atkins (across a few models) - fantastic things 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • Fifty9Fifty9 Frets: 491
    I nearly bought this but couldn’t stretch to it at the time. Fantastic guitar. Enjoy it.
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  • WhitecatWhitecat Frets: 5378
    Fifty9 said:
    I nearly bought this but couldn’t stretch to it at the time. Fantastic guitar. Enjoy it.
    Lol, literally same here. :)
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  • AlexOAlexO Frets: 1083
    Mega guitars! Enjoy!
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  • You do know the action can be lowered on a martin right?
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • You do know the action can be lowered on a martin right?
    Yes
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11414
    Resurrecting an old thread.  Played a "The 43" in Guitar Guitar today.  Absolutely stunning guitar.

    Would like to try one with a set of D'Addario phosphor bronze though, instead of Elixirs.
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  • Must admit I'm yet to change the strings as the elixirs just sound ever fresh! But I don't like the way they feel greasy. It's a beautiful guitar for sure, but the shoulders on the neck are slightly on the large side for me so it gives me a cramp a little bit, which I can't recall having with another guitar before. As it sounds so lush I'm sticking with it
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1171
    I'm always baffled by the high action on Martin guitars as well... sure it can be lowered, but it's an additional hassle that you just don't want to have with a new guitar. I do however have a nice Adirondack top 000-18 that came from factory with a very nice action setup, so maybe they're starting to improve on this.
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