“We can see this dividing opinion more than almost any guitar we’ve reviewed”: Atkin JH3001 review

What is it?

We’ve often wondered what would come off the drawing board were the offer of a ‘signature’ guitar to come our way. Let totally off the leash, would we include every option imaginable? Or simply opt for a perfect remake of a vintage classic?

When you’re a person of renowned imagination, whose compositions, arrangements, playing and general antics border on the outlandish, you’d be right to expect something a little off the wall. And considering the musician behind the signature model before us today, it’s fair to say that The Darkness’s Justin Hawkins hasn’t disappointed. In fact, we’ve never seen anything quite like it.

As with all signature models, in reality the JH3001 was a collaboration between artist and builder. Here, that included Justin, his guitar tech Ian Norfolk, Alister Atkin himself, and Laurence Lock, senior luthier at the company.

“Collaboration aside,” Laurence tells us, “Justin did have free rein. But as he already has his Atkin Mindhorn [JH3000] signature models, he was happy to go with the same obeche body wood used on those, which is our in-house favourite here.”

We all recognise this particular guitar shape as the perfect template for an instrument like the JH3001. That lightweight lump of the aforementioned obeche is beautifully sculpted and features an angled heel for improved top-end access. The instrument’s upside-down headstock – atop the quarter-sawn, roasted flamed maple neck – adds an extra touch of cool, too.

The most strikingly obvious thing is that large swathes of the Neon Yellow or Neon Pink nitro finish – both are available – have been removed. Next on the list is a cavity for a middle pickup, but it’s vacant, and then the pots and wiring are revealed due to the fitting of a transparent pickguard.

Less radical is that the flamed maple fingerboard carries 22 tall narrow frets and black dot markers, with the model’s name appearing in large block letters at the 12th fret.

Electrics and hardware-wise, we get two powerful hand-wound Atkin pickups. There’s a Gibson-style humbucker at the bridge and a single-coil-sized double-rail humbucker at the neck – “the two-humbucker setup is home for Justin,” Laurence chips in – plus a Gotoh floating vibrato with locking nut.

There is also an angled three-way toggle switch located, somewhat unusually, on the top horn.

“Justin has been sporting Charvels with Floyd Rose bridges on certain numbers for a while now,” confirms Lock, “but he also wanted to get something with features unavailable elsewhere, like the selector switch mounted on the upper horn.”

Two volume controls and no tone pot was another unconventional Hawkins request. And while this may seem limiting at first glance, if one juggles between pickup volumes with the selector in its middle position, an almost infinite range of voices can be extracted.

Despite the JH3001’s radical appearance, look closer and everything is beautifully crafted: frets are perfectly shaped and finished; you couldn’t get a cigarette paper between the neck and its pocket; and the rubbed-back, tinted neck lacquer looks fantastic. Bonkers it may be, but it’s quality bonkers.

Specs

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• PRICE: £2,999 (inc case)
• ORIGIN: UK
• TYPE: Solidbody twin-cutaway electric
• BODY: Solid obeche
• NECK: Roasted figured maple, slim C profile, bolt-on
• SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Locking/43mm
• FINGERBOARD: Roasted figured maple with a rubbed back finish, black dot inlays and model name inlaid at 12th fret, 406mm (16”) radius
• FRETS: 22, narrow tall
• HARDWARE: Gotoh locking Floyd Rose-style floating vibrato with locking nut, Gotoh vintage-style tuners, T-style chrome knobs
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 55mm
• ELECTRICS: Hand-wound Atkin 14k humbucker (bridge), 10k dual-rail humbucker (neck), separate volume control for each pickup, top horn mounted 3-way pickup selector toggle
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.4/7.5
• OPTIONS: The JH3001 is only available direct from Atkin at the quoted price. Custom options are available (£POA)
• RANGE OPTIONS: Atkin also offers more classic S-styles like The Eighty-Five (from £3,199) with HSS pickup layout and 2-post vibrato
• LEFT-HANDERS: N/A
• FINISH: Neon Yellow (as reviewed), Neon Pink – heavily reliced nitrocellulose
• CONTACT: Atkin Guitars

Playability and sounds

It’s a relatively lightweight guitar at 3.4kg (7.5lb), and with the beautifully sculpted body curves the guitar feels great to hold. It’s a tactile experience and you find your hand wandering up and down the neck, even when you’re not playing a note.

Once the fretting action begins, the slim but comfortable C profile feels not unlike that of a modern Strat in the palm, and the finish is drag-free and fast. Although locking nuts impart a different feel when bending due to the string not sliding in the nut slot, it’s certainly not an alien experience, even to this classic guitar die-hard.

One has to confess that tuning is extraordinarily stable once set, the nut locked down and any fine-tuning carried out at the bridge. The Gotoh vibrato responds unfailingly to everything from Hank-type wobbles to Van Halen-style divebombs, returning to pitch every time.

We chose a Marshall Jubilee combo as this month’s test rig due to Justin’s adherence to the brand. Although the Atkin’s pickups are high output (the dual-rail a goodly 10kohms and the bridge ’bucker a whopping 14k), they tame extraordinarily well so that up to about 7 or 8 the guitar behaves like a regular humbucking solidbody.

A nice way to use it, especially for those used to riding the controls, is to think of 7 to 8 as full volume, then 9 and 10 as an instant power boost for solos. Add channel switching or pedals and the options become limitless.

So with that in mind our Atkin/Marshall amp pairing produces a wonderfully clear and shimmering set of clean tones. The neck is warm, fluent and sonorous, while the bridge humbucker produces a bright, clanging tone that, played loud, is gigantic – think live Keef or perhaps Eddie with more gain added.

Whack those volumes up, step on a distortion pedal and it’s easy to see why Hawkins loves this guitar. Even at lairy gain levels the definition remains, with Gary Moore-ish melodies sounding sweet on the neck pickup, and Justin’s own Darkness-style leads staying articulate on the bridge.

However, in the middle is where most fun can be had, both clean and dirty. Balancing one pickup against the other one can pull out a staggering array of sounds.

In fact, some might be tempted to leave the switch here and use the volumes alone to tailor the required tones, so what looks like a potential limitation could, in fact, open up a world of sonic colour.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

Quizzing Atkin luthier Laurence Lock on whether any variants are on the way, he told us: “We’ve recently completed a hardtail by request, and we’re currently looking at a Sustainiac option for a repeat JH3001 customer. But we are essentially a custom shop on the electric guitar side of things, so pretty much anything is possible.”

Justin, brother Dan and the band are on tour in the UK until early August, so to catch the JH3001 in action (you won’t miss it, even from the back row) we suggest you grab a ticket soon. Love it or loathe it, you’re unlikely to encounter a more striking-looking machine. And an extremely fine one at that.

Guitar World verdict: We can see the Atkin JH3001 dividing opinion more than almost any guitar we’ve reviewed. However, delve below the gaudy exterior with its stripped-back finish and its innards on show like a Damien Hirst sculpture, and this is a crazily good piece of work. What’s more, it suits the man perfectly.

Hands-on videos

Atkin

WHEN ATKIN MET HAWKINS - THE BIRTH OF THE JH3001. - YouTube

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• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.