NBD. The Reviews were HALF right.

heb9_28 · #1 11-22-2012, 08:15 PM

So I recently picked up this beautiful Ibanez ATK 300 from the TB classifieds.

I had read tons of reviews and the two main things I saw people saying about this bass was that it is incredibly versatile and it is heavy.

I was expecting both but right out of the box I was actually shocked with the weight. Not bad at all. I am attributing this to the fact that I have been recently playing my SX 6 string Jazz bass exclusively. I have no idea how much that thing weighs, but it's heavy as heck. So I think the ATK feels "not too bad" compared to the SX. Every time I go and pick it up I really enjoy the feel of it. Not to heavy, not too light, just right.

As for the versatility; the reviews were dead on. I am still shocked at how many different sounds i can get out of this bass. So far I've figured out how to nail a pretty solid P-bass sound and obviously the EBMM sound. Looking forward to discovering other useful tones from it.

Here are the pics. I'm gonna use the ones from the ad because they are beautiful and I know I can't take pictures this well. And this baby deserves good pictures.

Solarmist · #2 11-22-2012, 08:23 PM

Looks nice - congrats.

Sonic · #3 11-22-2012, 08:24 PM

Tasty bass. I was goofing around with one the other day and actually didn't find the weight bad either. Then again I play Warwicks mostly so . . .

bootsox · #4 11-22-2012, 08:29 PM

I like the finish on that one, there's a nat one with a black pickguard at my local music shop that I've been toying with the idea of picking up. if it had a sparkle finish like yours it would have been in my possession months ago.

I'm a T40 man so the weight has never been a bother to me either.

Jeff K · #5 11-22-2012, 08:37 PM

Great-looking bass! Congrats...

heb9_28 · #6 11-22-2012, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bootsox

I like the finish on that one, there's a nat one with a black pickguard at my local music shop that I've been toying with the idea of picking up. if it had a sparkle finish like yours it would have been in my possession months ago.

I'm a T40 man so the weight has never been a bother to me either.

Thanks. Yeah my 6 string is red/maple (not sparkle red like that, but you get it) and so I like that they match. The finish is beautiful.

The more time I get to play on it, the more amazed I am at the variety of sounds I can get. I had considered trying to flip it to find something I might like better but then I started thinking about it and couldn't think of anything even close to the price range of this bass (esp used) that I wouldn't be able to get at least close to the sound of with the ATK. So.... guess I'll be keepin this one for a while. Oh, and the neck feels GREAT too.

musicman666 · #7 11-22-2012, 09:09 PM

Gorgeous bass. I'm curious as to what makes it so versatile? Is that a 3-band pre-amp? What does the toggle switch do?

heb9_28 · #8 11-23-2012, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicman666

Gorgeous bass. I'm curious as to what makes it so versatile? Is that a 3-band pre-amp? What does the toggle switch do?

Yeah it's a three band pre.

The unique thing about it is the pickup. It's a triple coil. The three way switch selects different coil combinations. They are called "traditional" (which can work some decent P bass sounds) the middle is "bright" (where I'm finding some J bass sounds, plus more) and the last is "attack" (MM sounds).

The EQ is pretty sensitive, on each setting you can really, really change up the sound. Its great.

parsons · #9 11-23-2012, 09:13 AM

I had one. Key word being had.

The two styles of basses that make up my 15+ bass collection are Musicmans and Fender Precisions, so i bought one of these to give it a try. Its a fine instrument but I highly disagree with its whole "versatile" thing people love to say about it. It does NOT come close to a real EBMM tone. Its cops some tones similar to a P or J bass but its still stands apart from them because you can tell its not the genuine thing. I did put a Duncan MM4D pickup into my ATK and then, its actually started to sound like a real Musicman but the preamp wouldve needed changing to get the full effect. The preamp is also quite noisy if you change the pickup. Even turning the interal trimpot down didnt help it much at all.

In the end its a great bass but I dont think it does what people really think it does.

Dr. Cheese · #10 11-23-2012, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parsons

I had one. Key word being had.

The two styles of basses that make up my 15+ bass collection are Musicmans and Fender Precisions, so i bought one of these to give it a try. Its a fine instrument but I highly disagree with its whole "versatile" thing people love to say about it. It does NOT come close to a real EBMM tone. Its cops some tones similar to a P or J bass but its still stands apart from them because you can tell its not the genuine thing. I did put a Duncan MM4D pickup into my ATK and then, its actually started to sound like a real Musicman but the preamp wouldve needed changing to get the full effect. The preamp is also quite noisy if you change the pickup. Even turning the interal trimpot down didnt help it much at all.

In the end its a great bass but I dont think it does what people really think it does.

An ATK sounds less aggressive and has less output when directly a/b'ed with a Stingray. In all other situations, it is a very nice Stingray substitute, IMHO.

wcoffey81 · #11 11-23-2012, 10:23 AM

nice bass, it's an interesting mix of old and new styles and the finish sets it apart. but here is my question: why buy an ibanez atk 300 that looks so cool and then try to dial in ebmm and fender sounds? what is wrong with dialing in the atk 300 sound and let-r-rip?
if i want a camaro i would buy a camaro, i wouldn't buy an 89 taurus and try to make in look like a camaro. i know i'm very new to all of this but but it seems like a constant theme

heb9_28 · #12 11-23-2012, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wcoffey81

nice bass, it's an interesting mix of old and new styles and the finish sets it apart. but here is my question: why buy an ibanez atk 300 that looks so cool and then try to dial in ebmm and fender sounds? what is wrong with dialing in the atk 300 sound and let-r-rip?
if i want a camaro i would buy a camaro, i wouldn't buy an 89 taurus and try to make in look like a camaro. i know i'm very new to all of this but but it seems like a constant theme

^This^

I didn't buy the ATK because I wanted a P. I know I said I can get a good "P" sound, but I'm definitely not claiming that it is identical and no one would be able to tell the difference. Same with the MM. My point is, obviously there are different sounds from different basses for different styles of music or even different songs. The ATK does a lot of different "ATK" sounds, that sound great and can suit a variety of songs!

So I guess my main point is that this bass can sound good for different styles. I didn't get it so it would sound exactly like other basses, but because it would suit different styles (and because it's so darn pretty). I play a lot at church so we do some old school, hymn sounding stuff, some more contemporary "rock-ish" sounding stuff, some more gospel sounding stuff.

As a disclaimer before other people get upset, I am also not suggesting that you absolutely cannot play a P bass for any genre or that a MM is limited to a certain style. The fact remains that there are lots of different basses that sound very different. And that is ok.

So, mea culpa if I suggested that this bass could be indistinguishable from a Fender P or an EBMM. Not my point. Just a great bass.

stingray69 · #13 11-23-2012, 03:19 PM

Beautiful bass - really nice! I love that red sparkle finish! If they had a 5-string version of your bass in that finish, I'd buy one in a heartbeat! I have a Premium ATK 5-string & would love to pick up a 5-string ATK (405) for a backup. Glad your digging it! I find a truckload of versatility with mine too! Excellent J-tones, very nice & thick P-tone, stingray tones. Congrats on that beauty & the great tones you are getting from it!

parsons · #14 11-24-2012, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heb9_28

So, mea culpa if I suggested that this bass could be indistinguishable from a Fender P or an EBMM. Not my point. Just a great bass.

Im glad you see it the way you see it. I wasn't suggesting that you were saying anything different. There are a lot of posts in this forum where members will rave about how its a poor mans stingray and even some will say that it sounds identical to it which is not the case. Thats why I speak up about it so potential owners dont get the wrong impression. Youre on the right path my friend, enjoy the ATK.

danomite64 · #15 11-24-2012, 12:57 PM

I had a pre-EB Stingray and Sabre, an EB 'Ray 4 and fretless 5, and an old ATK 300. The Sabre sounded just like the older 'Ray, but the EB Rays didn't sound much like the Pre-EB's at all. So when I see words like "genuine" Stingray sound being used, I think of the ones Leo built, and my ATK comes closer to that sound than my EB 'Ray did. I say 'did', because I sold it. It was a quality instrument, but I never could get it to sound as good, as my older 'Ray, even after switching out the preamp and pickup. Also, the neck didn't seem to like outdoor gigs too much. Anyway, I didn't buy my ATK because it sounded like my old 'Ray, but when I went through my divorce and had to sell off most of my gear, my ATK made the situation a lot less traumatic.