Atkin OM and O Standard Atkin Duo OM and O Standard If you have ever contemplated buying a hand-built British guitar, can you afford to ignore the admirable accolades bestowed upon Atkin guitars? Huw Price explores a potentially more affordable price point pairing these sister models. lister Atkin built his first guitar when he was still at school and confesses that he wasn’t much good at anything else. So after leaving the London College of Furniture in 1995 he returned to Canterbury to start building acoustic guitars full time, while sharing a workshop with archtop maker Andy Crockett. He continued to hone his skills and develop a range of models until in 1998 he experienced something of an epiphany. He was visiting Shamus Brady at the Acoustic Centre in Wapping when he saw his first Collings guitar. He later described the experience, saying: “At that point I saw a build quality I thought wasn’t possible. I had to go home and rethink the direction I was heading in.” After a period of redesign, research and development Atkin launched a new range of guitars that combined classic vintage styling with contemporary construction techniques. He now uses an identical neck joint to Collings, with a mortise and tenon and two bolts. Glue is only used under the fingerboard extension. However, Atkin still elects to finish his guitars in nitrocellulose, and traditional bone A is used for the nut and saddle. He must be doing something right because positive reviews have been flooding in and some well-known players have started placing orders. In 2005 Atkin purchased a new 2000 square foot workshop and started building there the following year. This month’s review guitars are both from Atkin’s Standard range. OM £1695 The first thing that struck me about this guitar was the look of the wood. The Sitka spruce top displays copious cross silking, and the Indian rosewood back and sides have a honey-reddish glow rather the usual darker purple-tinged dark brown. The ebony fingerboard and bridge are not dyed, so they have a brownflecked charcoal shade rather than the pure black some people might associate with ebony. I’m not quite so keen on the dark brown lacquer covering the Brazilian mahogany neck because it obscures most of the grain, as well as the jointed heel and headstock. But it’s quite a traditional look so I guess it won’t discourage many customers. Atkin explains that some years ago he bought a large supply of Brazilian mahogany, a tonewood that is becoming increasingly scarce. So he had to decide whether he was going to waste large quantities by carving one-piece necks or take the more pragmatic approach of gluing on heels and scarf-jointing headstocks. He chose the latter and personally I’d applaud him for it. Atkin maintains that this method of construction has no detrimental effect on tone and that scarf-jointed headstocks are actually stronger. Decoration is fairly minimal, with only a small abalone logo inlaid into the ebony-capped headstock and two rings of faux tortoiseshell around the soundhole. The ebony bridge pins have abalone dots, and more ebony is used to bind the edges of the body and the fingerboard. Ebony binding on an ebony board can be very effective because the joint can be invisible. Unfortunately it isn’t quite the case on this OM where there are some slight imperfections that give the game away. Naturally the compensated saddle and nut are both bone and they are accurately cut, polished and fitted. The tuners are open-gear Grovers with butterbean buttons and brass gears. Although they’re not quite as smooth as Waverly tuners, they do 58 Atkin OM and O Standard “After a period of redesign, research and development, Atkin launched a new range of guitars that combined classic vintage styling with contemporary construction techniques” 59 Atkin OM and O Standard Atkin OM Standard Model: OM Standard Price: £1695 Manufacturer: Atkin Guitars Built in: England Body Size: OM Woods used: Top: Sitka Spruce Back & sides: Indian Rosewood Neck: Brazilian Mahogany Fingerboard: Ebony Frets (No. & size): 20 frets 2mm Tuners: Grover Nickel Sta-tite Nut Width & Scale Length: 43mm 25.4” Strings Fitted (Gauge & Brand) D’Arrario Phosphor Bronze 12-53 Onboard Electronics: None Left handers? No extra charge Gig Bag/Case Included: TKL Professional Clean and tidy lines enhance the Atkin’s clinical appearance Contact Details Atkin Guitars Tel: 01227 719933 www.atkinguitars.com “I have experienced more harmonic density from some spruce/ rosewood guitars, but the Atkin sound is cleaner and more direct, which should make them well suited to recording” give you the same classic look and they keep the headstock mass to a minimum. If you’re prepared to pay extra you can specify Waverly tuners instead, or even modern-style sealed machine heads. Likewise you can choose your own neck profile. The neck on this guitar is very slim and fast, far slimmer in fact than the neck I’d expect to encounter on a classic OM. I might prefer something more substantial with a hint of a ‘V’, but again it comes down to personal preference and on this evidence I’d be confident that Atkin would be able to cater for any taste. resorting to an increase in body size. The upshot is that if you still want more bass than this guitar can provide, you should be looking at a dreadnought or a jumbo rather than an OM. There’s nothing shy about the treble, and I’d describe the sound as having a lot of ‘air’ around it. High notes have a floaty, shimmering aura that does recall the feathery nature that many associate with a good Martin. Unusually, single notes on the unwound strings actually become mellower and sweeter as you move up the neck. This lends a singing ‘ooh’ quality to lead lines that I’m sure any player will appreciate. The mid range isn’t exactly forward, but it’s well defined and very transparent. So the inherent balance and willing response make the Atkin OM a very easy guitar to play. Nothing jumps out at you, and even those of us with imperfect picking technique will sound smoother and more competent on the Atkin than we might on other OMs. But despite all that gorgeous timber and easy-going playability, there are certain aspects that might leave some players feeling slightly unfulfilled. In many ways this is a better-than-average OM, but there’s nothing that gives this guitar that elusive ‘X’ factor. Being realistic, in the electric and acoustic guitar world most of us are content with a mere handful of models that have been around since the 1950s and before – in the same way that many gifted musicians are content to play other people’s material rather than risk a lifetime on the sidelines trying to make it on their own terms. So the fact that Atkin’s OM is, by definition, derivative doesn’t necessarily detract from his obvious abilities as a guitar maker. What we think Pros: A taste of the very top end at an extremely competitive price. Cons: Minor detailing issues and slight buzz around the 4th fret on the O. Overall: Superb hand made consistancy at an affordable price ACOUSTIC RATING OUT OF FIVE Acoustic Ratings Exceptional Excellent Good Average Poor Sound The most striking feature of the OM’s acoustic character is its ‘freed up’ quality. Despite the fact that our review model was only a matter of weeks old, it already had the willing punch and responsiveness of a well-played guitar. A quick finger ‘tip tap’ on the bridge revealed plenty of kickback from the top plate. The rear plates produced a variety of clean and ringing tap tones with the sort of looseness that I’d associate with vintage instruments. Inevitably there’s a trade-off, and in this case it’s an almost negligible loss of focus in the very low end. The traditionally taut bass of many OMs is highly regarded amongst dedicated finger stylists, but the accompanying lack of depth and bass weight does frustrate some players who need true all-round capabilities. Fortunately I can’t envisage anybody complaining about the Atkin OM’s bass response, which has been achieved without O £1695 This is a relatively new model for Atkin and there’s a bit of a story behind it. Atkin has been making OMs for many years, so he decided it might be a good idea to design a scaled-down version. So he sat 60