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ATK's on clearance at MF.

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#746
Behold the intergalactic sparklebeast! The color doesn't bother me much in person, and it actually looks great with the moto pickguard. First impression: very well built bass. The 5 string neck feels just about right, frets are great. Intonation wasn't even bad. When I got it all the strings were rattling pretty bad, but a quick twist of the truss handled that. The action is very low, lower than typically works for my pickstyle playing... Probably tweak it a little higher. Sonically it's pretty cool. The trad setting is definitely the best for my purposes... It just sounds right. Well worth the money!
 

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#748
:cool: I just got an email notification from Music123 that my "used stock" Black ATK300 has been shipped :hyper:
Less than 2 hours from when I placed the order. I wonder why they weren't able to do that with the original order for the "new" one :ninja:
 
#749
I got my red sparkle 300 after work today...no additional swag included. :(

It is a really great looking bass, It was setup well. The sound is OK...I mean it is good, but not earth shattering....has a wide range of tones. I pumped it through my GK Fusion 550/Goliath III/S.O.B rig......sounded pretty good, but the treble boost introduced a lot of noise... it is a steal at $130 though!!!!

Here is my 300 with my Fenderbird Jazz that just got finished yesterday.
42d6672a.jpg


I originally purchased this bass as a platform for my next Frankenbass....basically a vehicle for a set of 1976 Rickenbacker pickups....the basic gist of the mod would look like this:

06a952ab.jpg


When adjusted for the difference in scale, the neck pickup is about an inch closer to the bridge than on a Rick, but it physically can't be moved any farther away.

The bridge pickup can be placed about a half inch closer to the bridge than standard....assuming no extensive mods to the pick guard. If I use a horseshoe pickup surround, it would cover up the ATk pickup area nicely. If I use a hipshot Rick bridge, there will be about an inch of space where the route under the bridge would be exposed (if there is one)...something could be crafted to cover it. (obviously I don't have the bridge pickup actually in the surround for reference)

Now I just need to convince myself that it is OK to cut such a nice looking bass.

Here is the ATK with my 4001 for reference

c5054300.jpg
 
#752
So after having a chance to play it through my SVT-VR, I'm really impressed with the tone and feel of my red sparkle ATK300. While it is pretty burly it feels very comfortable on a nice Levy's strap. The finish is a little over the top, but well done. Not a big fan of the stock strings but nothing a set of DRs can't remedy.
 
#753
Got mine in. I have to say, I love the red sparkle. The bass weighs in at 10 pounds, which is doable. The tone is actually really nice, although not quite as aggressive as I thought it would be. But it has a nice range of tones available.
 
#754
Just got done playing the new atk305, and I'm really enjoying it! Neck was set right so I lowered the strings a bit and just kept going. The neck feels fantastic to me, very comfortable and chunky which I love. Has a very good tone, easy to get a fat, articulate punch. I was having issues for a bit with the controls though. I boosted the bass and treble and cut the mids (not a tone I really use, just messing around with tones) and it lost all low end. Very nasally. And very wrong. After further messing around, I discovered my bass and mids controls are backwards!! Not sure if it's a wiring issue or just the wrong pots put in the wrong spot. Not a deal breaker though, especially given the price (as well as not wanting to return it and not being able to exchange it). Plus, it's not the only bass I own with switched around controls. I just learn the layout and I'm good. Overall I'm extremely happy and thrilled with the purchase!
 
#755
TechJunky said:
Just got done playing the new atk305, and I'm really enjoying it! Neck was set right so I lowered the strings a bit and just kept going. The neck feels fantastic to me, very comfortable and chunky which I love. Has a very good tone, easy to get a fat, articulate punch. I was having issues for a bit with the controls though. I boosted the bass and treble and cut the mids (not a tone I really use, just messing around with tones) and it lost all low end. Very nasally. And very wrong. After further messing around, I discovered my bass and mids controls are backwards!! Not sure if it's a wiring issue or just the wrong pots put in the wrong spot. Not a deal breaker though, especially given the price (as well as not wanting to return it and not being able to exchange it). Plus, it's not the only bass I own with switched around controls. I just learn the layout and I'm good. Overall I'm extremely happy and thrilled with the purchase!
Click to expand...

Yeah I did the same thing. Then I looked at that little plastic dealie attached to the knobs. I guess they meant it that way...not sure the thinking behind that, but I can get used to it.
 
#756
TechJunky said:
Just got done playing the new atk305, and I'm really enjoying it! Neck was set right so I lowered the strings a bit and just kept going. The neck feels fantastic to me, very comfortable and chunky which I love. Has a very good tone, easy to get a fat, articulate punch. I was having issues for a bit with the controls though. I boosted the bass and treble and cut the mids (not a tone I really use, just messing around with tones) and it lost all low end. Very nasally. And very wrong. After further messing around, I discovered my bass and mids controls are backwards!! Not sure if it's a wiring issue or just the wrong pots put in the wrong spot. Not a deal breaker though, especially given the price (as well as not wanting to return it and not being able to exchange it). Plus, it's not the only bass I own with switched around controls. I just learn the layout and I'm good. Overall I'm extremely happy and thrilled with the purchase!
Click to expand...

glad to hear you dig it overall man. I had the SAMe problem but it was my mids and treble knob. I posted it over on the ATK club thread. at the time I got the bass brnad new for $350 when they were selling it for $550 all because "something was wrong with the preamp" I fixed it really quickly and got $200 off for 10 minutes of work. I guess you could leave it but I have other atks so I like consistency. enjoy it man!
 
#757
I can get a brand new ATK300 trifade finish for $199. I know it's not $130 that some of you paid but I'm not keen on the red and black finishes anyhow. I'd prefer to see some of that grain in the swamp ash. Should I move on this?
 
#759
BBG4SII said:
I can get a brand new ATK300 trifade finish for $199. I know it's not $130 that some of you paid but I'm not keen on the red and black finishes anyhow. I'd prefer to see some of that grain in the swamp ash. Should I move on this?
Click to expand...

I would. In a heart-beat. I think it's a pretty good lookin' burst

My black 305 showed up half way through rehearsal tonight. Despite the absence of muggage, I'm grinning from ear to ear. I didn't get a chance to give it a real good going over, but it sounded good and the action is super low, which I like. One of the knobs fell off right away, but I think the set screw is still in there. (Couldn't see it without me spectacles.) I didn't think the weight was an issue, though time may tell.

Bandmates all liked the black sparkle and the drummer thought I should leave the plastic control label thingie on there permanently.
 
#760
Gig report. I play in a 50's-today cover band. Elvis, dance, rock, Johnny Cash we do it all.

So I ran it into my Eden Nemesis 15 combo with 15 extension. The last bass used on that amp was a SUB Stingray. I was using a DI to the PA.

Compared the Stingray I had to boost the treble a tiny but on the amp. But it sounded dead close with the switch all of the way back in the attack toggle.

This was with the black 305. The red sparkle has to go. The neck is too thick for me to get used to.
 
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