Atkin

Atkin Acoustic Guitars — Canterbury Built, Golden Era Soul

Alister Atkin left the London School of Furniture in 1995, rented a bench in a workshop just outside Canterbury, and started building guitars the way he believed they should be built: by hand, with premium materials, and with an obsessive attention to every detail that affects tone and feel. Three decades later, Atkin Guitars is one of the UK's leading acoustic guitar makers, with a sixteen-strong team of craftspeople still in Canterbury, still building every instrument by hand.

Every Atkin is rooted in the same inspiration: the great American acoustic guitars of the pre-war era. The team has repaired, restored, and studied more pre-war instruments than almost any other independent luthier workshop in the world, and every one of those instruments has taught them something that goes directly into the guitars they build.

The Aged Finish

In 2010, a guitar that got scratched during construction became the accidental origin of one of Atkin's most celebrated features. Rather than refinish it, the team aged the entire guitar to match. The result stopped everyone who saw and played it, and aged nitro became a standard option almost immediately. A thinner, aged nitrocellulose coat allows the top to vibrate more freely, opening up resonance and tonal complexity in ways a thick modern finish cannot match. Standard aged and heavy aged options are available across the lineup.

The Tonewoods

Atkin was among the first boutique builders to fully embrace torrified tonewoods as a standard option, using controlled heat treatment to replicate the cellular changes that occur naturally in wood over decades of aging. The result is a top that responds like a vintage instrument from the first note.

The Models

D37 — Atkin's dreadnought flagship, inspired by the great pre-war D-28s. Full-voiced, powerful, and projection-forward. Also available in a Pre-War variant with slotted headstock and period-correct appointments.

The White Rice — A tribute to Tony Rice's legendary D-28, with an enlarged soundhole and the wide, open bracing that gives it Tony's characteristic projection and tonal complexity.

OM37 — A full 25.4-inch scale in a slightly smaller body, balancing warmth and bass response with the string-to-string clarity and ergonomic comfort that makes it the go-to for fingerstyle players.

00037 — A smaller body with a shorter scale, producing exceptional midrange warmth and a singing treble response. Ideal for fingerstyle, blues, and folk.

The Forty Three (J43) — Atkin's slope-shoulder jumbo, inspired by the late-1940s Gibsons. Enormous, warm, and low-end forward, with a punchy clarity and a character that is immediately recognizable.

The Forty Seven (LG47) — A compact small-body model in the spirit of the Gibson LG guitars of the 1940s, lightly built over mahogany back and sides. Outstanding for fingerstyle and a favorite among players who travel.

Dust Bowl Series — All-mahogany construction in O, OO, OOO, and parlor body sizes, producing the woody, mid-forward tone that rosewood and spruce cannot replicate. The natural choice for blues, Americana, and roots music players.

Essential Series — The most accessible entry point into the Atkin lineup, with baked Sitka tops, mahogany back and sides, and the same hand-scalloped bracing and meticulous construction as the premium models.

Played by the Best

The Atkin artist roster grew entirely through word of mouth. Graham Coxon of Blur, Richard Hawley, Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Albert Lee, Elvis Costello, and Mark Potter of Elbow have all found their way to Atkin through players who told players who told players.

Browse our full selection of Atkin acoustic guitars, and reach out if you'd like help finding the right model, body size, or finish for your playing style.