Top Atkin Acoustics - Made in the UK!
Published on 10 January 2025
Are you currently searching for your acoustic guitar ‘life partner’? A guitar that will be your main playing, writing and gigging partner for the majority of your days? If so, you’ll be wanting to choose something special: a guitar that’s built impeccably, responds beautifully and has more than a hint of the ‘classic’ about it.
If this sounds like you, I expect you’ll already know about Atkin guitars. Atkin are easily one of the best hand-built guitar brands around right now, and the fact that they are British just adds the icing onto an already tasty cake.
Contents
Atkin Historic Series ‘The Forty Three’ Aged
Atkin Essential OM Aged Finish
Atkin Guitars
Atkin guitars are the passion project of luthier Alister Atkin, who has made custom one-off guitars for some of the most notable players in the world. Their acoustic models are what have really put the brand on the map (though their electric guitars are super-cool too), with styles available that certainly recall heritage American guitars, but made in very small, custom batches.
Atkin are a team of 7, and make under 400 guitars a year out in their Canterbury workshop. A combination of mostly hand-building with certain computer-controlled elements (for example, the frets are cut, fitted and finished by hand, but the fret slots are cut by computer into the fingerboard) ensure that each Atkin guitar is precision made but also full of personality.
Since 1995, Atkin’s reputation has grown via word-of-mouth, and now counts artists such as Robert Plant, Richard Hawlet, Eddi Reader and Graham Coxon as users.
We recently took delivery of some beautiful new hand-made Atkin specimens, so here’s a few to get you excited…
Atkin Historic Series ‘The Forty Three’ Aged
My first choice today is the Atkin Historic Series Forty Three, a delicious slope-shouldered number with a torrefied Adirondack Spruce top. The torrefaction process helps this guitar achieve that rarefied ‘pre war’ full that all aficionados desire: there’s a strident power to the notes from this model that just wouldn’t sound the same without the roasted top.
Talking about ‘period details’ on a guitar from a brand that’s less than 30 years old may sound odd but it’s a part of our lifestyle as guitar fans, and Atkins’ nods to historicity is superb here. From the headstock decals to the warm sunburst finish and - more significantly - the subtly relic’d nitrocellulose finish, this feels like an extraordinary well preserved guitar from the past.
Atkin D37 Aged
Everyone loves a good dreadnought and the Atkin D37 Aged is one of the best around. This one doesn’t stray too far from expectations in terms of design: it’s a classic through and through. What makes this stand out is the build, the feel and the experience of playing it. It’s a beautiful sounding guitar, with that ‘correct’ spruce and rosewood tonal package that D-28 lovers will be delighted by.
Again, the devil is in the details, and the aged nitro lacquer hits the spot here, as does the addition of herringbone purfling and an ebony fingerboard. Guitarists who are looking for that world famous dreadnought sound and are fans of dynamics will find plenty to love here.
Atkin Essential OM Aged Finish
Those who prefer a slightly more intimate acoustic guitar experience will doubtless savour the smaller curves of an ‘OM’ or Orchestral style guitar. Another famous Pre-War style, the OM’s shallower body and less bottom-heavy sound make it a fantastic choice for fingerpickers and folkies.
In terms of playability, response and sheer ‘pick up-ability’, the Atkin Essential OM Aged Finish is maybe my favourite of today’s picks. It just has that indefinable ‘thing’ that makes a guitar an attractive prospect to play on.
Like one of the other Atkin guitars I’ve checked out today, this one has a torrefied Sitka Spruce top for that authentic ‘fully matured and dried out’ tone! On top of that, Atkin have adopted a special style of Pre War bracing for this model, which to my ears really brings out that note separation. This guitar has a beautiful tone, complimented by a lovely tight feel.
Buy British
Whilst I understand the draw of the bg famous brands wholeheartedly, there is something rare and wonderful about the fact that these incredible instruments are being entirely built right here in the UK. They are world-class instruments, so it's hardly a case of supporting local talent at the expense of your heart’s desire: these are better than most of the acoustic guitars I’ve sat down with over these last 17 or 18 years, with no hyperbole added. I have no qualms or hesitations on suggesting that you put these up next to the best of the US makers when you come in to try our top end acoustics.
Try them for yourself and see if you agree! And for more info straight from the horse’s mouth, check out our interview with Alister Atkin.
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