Robinson Guitars are uniquely designed with the utmost in player experience at their foundation, and with an artistic style that is equally understated and tastefully appointed. At first glance, Bob Robinson’s guitars are immediately intriguing, while a closer look brings into sharp focus the design and assembly elements that are uniquely modern but remain well rooted in guitarbuilding tradition.

  Robert Robinson guitars feature an offset cut-away and a unique neck joint that allows the player to comfortably access all the strings across the fretboard for the full length of the neck. The neck joint is borrowed from the high-end furniture world, where Robinson is head-designer of a successful medium-scale boutique furniture manufacturer in Chicago.

All Robinson flat top models feature a solid, unbraced, carved back which is graduated in thickness. This design allows the back diaphragm to vibrate freely, similar to an archtop guitar or a speaker cone. The responsiveness of the back is immediately noticeable when you play one of his instruments.

The body of the Robinson Model 21 is built of carved quartersawn Claro walnut, with a mostly-traditionally X-braced red spruce top. The body measures 16” across and has sides that taper from 3-5/16 to 3-5/8”. With its tight waist and slim sides the guitar fits smaller than it measures. The bindings are rosewood, and the sides are purfled with maple and finely finished mitres. The soundhole features a walnut and maple rosette. The body is finished in high gloss lacquer.

The Claro walnut neck features a traditional ‘Bird Beak’ headstock joint, akin to the one that graced all Martin guitars built before about 1917. Robinson’s headstock design is sleek, modern, and balanced, and features a hand-hammered recessed truss rod access cover, zero fret nut set-up, Arts & Crafts inspired inlay, and nickel Waverly tuners with snakehead buttons. The neck is finished with a rubbed gunstock oil finish.

Below the surface, the intricate and unique design continues; but unlike many luthier-built guitars that are heavily braced and over-engineered, Robinson’s model 21 bracing is light and well thought out. The guitar is designed to breath easily and respond well to any touch but is less compressed and more ‘open’ sounding that the Maple Model 16. The guitar’s build features solid linings and a fairly traditional forward-positioned X bracing lay-out, with four very small tone bars, rather than two hefty ones typical of a Martin bracing pattern. The bridge plate is maple, and quite small and thin.

The neck carve has a rounded C feel of medium depth, and a near-uniform thickness up the barrel. 1st fret neck depth measures .8450”, 12th fret depth tapers to .857”. The nut measures 1-3/4”, string spread at the saddle is 2-7/32”, and the scale is 25.4”. The fingerboard is fretted with slightly larger .095” x .047” fretwire and is compound radiused, from 9” to 12”. Ebony fretboard and bridge, custom-machined aged brass tuner bushings. K+K Pure pickup.

With its lightly built, big, X-braced flat top and slightly shallow body depth, the Model 21 offers a balanced, dark-yet-detailed voice that is perfect for a medium attack, be it strummed or fingerpicked. The carved back imparts a quickness to the attack and brings up the midrange that otherwise might be less apparent, given the top’s thickness and bracing.

This guitar is offered as a guitar-show demo and shows the very lightest of handling wear to its finish. Its pricing has been discounted as such, but its full warranty remains in place.

A custom Hoffee carbon fibre case in included.