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ATK or Douglas?

xjeganx

xjeganx

Apr 16, 2007
186
0
Clifton, NJ
#1
I am looking to acquire a new bass and preferably an active bass with some form of humbucker to add a bit of variety to my passive jazz bass. Since I am not looking to spend a whole lot of money, I have narrowed my choices to a Douglas WPB-980 NA or a used Ibanez ATK. My jazz bass is a SX and I love it so I am not too worried about the quality of the Douglas. Are the new ATKs made in Korea or Indonesia? I ask because for the price of a new ATK I would at least expect Korean quality. I have owned several Indonesian made guitars from Ibanez and the quality is very hit or miss.

And to give an idea of what I am looking for tone wise, think along the lines of Justin Chancellor (yes I know the Wal is unique in its tone and many factors contribute to J.C.'s tone but I am just looking for something remotely in the ballpark)
 
#4
well if u get that douglas please tell me how it is because reguardless that is my next bass im gonna get hopefully it will still be there. im in for the douglas i have the 825? the jazz and hb 5er...i love it.....but the atk is prolly great too
 
#6
Aarix said:
Douglas & SX are not the same company, but they are both distributed by Rondo music...
Click to expand...

I know they are different companies but the way I understood it, Douglas was a step up from SX in terms of quality. I'll have to ride out to the SamAsh near to try and see if they have any ATKs to test out since I know the two Guitar Centers nearby never carry any of the good Ibanez products.
 
#8
my douglas 955WPB sure does me pretty well.

Douglas instruments are produced by Saein:

http://www.saein.co.kr/

And probably can be considered a step up from SX in a number of ways. Some of the models are identical to the usually well-received Shine products, although they are usually significantly lower priced. The WEB846 that's the subject of the $170 rondo 6 string thread is a classic example. I've actually considered starting a thread to drum up interest and see what other models on the site Kurt might be able to carry in the future.
 
#11
The new ATK is Indonesian built. I have a reissue and it's top notch build quality. It's by far the most solid and versatile bass I've ever played. It can get some nasty growl, and with a slight adjustment of the EQ, sound nice and warm, and it can do a pretty good impression of both a P and a Jazz bass. It can even get real close to a Stingray sound.

Overall, great bass for the money.
 
#13
ATK. It's not even a question man.

edit: Don't get me wrong thou, I got G.A.S for the WPB-980 NA too but I think it would only rock if it's modded like what most people do with their other SXs.

My qn is thou, is it a good bass (not considering hardware and electronics). I mean will it be a great bass after mods? Is it worth the mods?
 
#15
I appreciate all of the input. I have no problems modding the Douglas as I love to mod my gear whether it needs it or not. My only concern would be the chunky neck of the ATK since I can't stand the neck on a P bass as it is. I would really need to get my hands on one first. And hopefully I can resist getting a MM neck, some Antiquity pickups and a new pickguard for my Jazz.
 
#16
I found my ATK neck to be not too much different from my MM neck. The ATK neck was a bit thinner (depth wise) and maybe a bit wider, the MM was a bit deeper.

I might be making that up, as its late and i cant really remember, nor can i be bothered getting them out thier cases :P , Either way, if you like the MM neck, there isnt much between it and the ATK neck.
 
#19
DWBass said:
Uhhh........Rondo so needs to get this bass in stock!!

Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

That's exactly the one that caught my eye, too.

Haven't modded my Douglas at all. Like it. I play it here with no effects no eq, direct through a guitar pedal into my soundcard, just recorded and rendered, and then rerendered with the bass at an audible volume. Warning, pretty crappy playing on both instruments.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/37820320280e48/

I think there's still a lot to unlock from this bass without a lot of mods. Of course, this has nothing to do with whether an ATK is better, just the notion that a Douglas can only be quality after some modding.
 
#20
yea well...im sure the atk beats the douglas...but in all honesty, the hardware on mine is super solid. tuners are insanely smooth, bridge is awesome, solid as a rock. neck nice and straight and only a tiny bit of buzz, which ive grown to like because its almost unnoticeable but i can hear it and it give a little bit more growl in a wierd way if you catch what im sezzin. like i said i havent tried the atk but i have kinda wanted one, but that new dougles...idk it might have the atk by the nuts. if any one gets one i want the review on it
 

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