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ATK's on clearance at MF.

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#861
jasper383 said:
They are much, much closer to a Precision sound-wise, imo.

The Stingray claims come more from where that pickup is than from how they sound.
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Well, the Traditional and Bright settings are definitely more P-like, but I think the Attack setting adds a bit more StingRay quality to the sound. Now, I'm not saying it nails the tone exactly. Then again, I don't have a StingRay to directly compare side-by-side.
 
#862
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Last but not least.... :D


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Bass came setup Very well...other than the G-string saddle which seems much lower and has a slight buzz on that 1st fret.In fact it was almost even still in tune.
Which is pretty good for a 10 day UPS ride around the country in freezing and some not freezing weather.

Neck is beautiful.I checked the fretwork...seems fine..Maaaybe a very little "sharpness" on some..but I had to try to find it bassed (get it) on what I heard.

Plugged in into a headphone practice dealio for about 5 mins (ill get more time on my real practice rig tonite)..then on my 410 gig rig this weekend.So far I like what it can do.

All the controls feel VERY solid..I like the "slight resistance" as I turn the knobs...has that new/heavy duty kinda feel..if you know what I mean..doesnt feel "cheap' I guess.
(Compared to my Pbass..that you just look at them[knobs] and they spin freely/loosely)

Tuners are also VERRY smoov like buttaz.Very nice.(I'm used to older/used basses so I don't know how smooth these types are from the factory, but on my Geddy/pbass/squierP..the tuners always felt "loose-ish" if you know what I mean.)
Granted, its brand new, and I've only owned 2 other new basses in my life ...Bc rich NJ series and an IBBY 405..all the rest have been used stuff.So maybe I'm too easily impressed..but this seems really nice.

Haven't weighed it yet, but it is on the heavy side.
However, I used to own a bubinga vette 5 string...and that was heavy.

The looks...
Well..It looks good..but I was never a GIANT fan of the shape of the PG...or even the body shape on these..(just seems big)..still (and obviously not enuff to stop me from owning one)

I do love spakly objects though. and this is sparkly.The difference between this and the red though...from a distance , without being in direct light...it just looks black.Once you get up on it though..this thing sparkles like a holiday.
Some may not like that ..some may.
It does seem as though the headstock has more sparkles than the body though..?...


All in all...I like it so far as long as I can get decent tone out of it using my amp (which I think I can) Then I'm sold.

Last year or so, I had heard a lot about the ATK's and started lookin into them..reviews/youtube ;) and I liked what I saw.I was just about sold on gettin one.(even at the regular price).but never did, I just didnt have the cash.

But now here we are, thanks to the original post about an ATK clearance at MF..I finally got one...and at a great price too.

And I got a cup...cheesy cable....a bunch of very cheap picks, some of which were broken. ;)

Thanks.

:bassist:
 
#867
I did not get a cup or picks with mine! Then again...the box was wide open with only about 2 inches of tape on it. I am very impressed with the quality of the instrument and the playability. I am a happy guy.
 
#869
Joe Nerve said:
Opened em up last night. Lots of boxes. :)

My initial impressions aren't the same as the majority here. Not sure they're keepers for me.

They LOOK amazing! And I'm quite certain they can't be beat for the price, but...

mine did not come with an awesome out of the box setup, at least for me. Could be the long trip cross country and weather change. Action was kind of high, and on the 5 the B is lower than the rest. Not going to give too much of a review because I may change my mind about everything after a string change, setup, and gig... but I did not like the feel or sound of either of these out of the box. My 2 main basses are a stingray and a big al, and there's been too many, IMO, unjust stingray claims and comparisons made with these things. My stingray is light years away from the ATK, and I think I was just expecting something very different.

Again, they seem like super solid basses and might just need the help of a setup (and I may be one of the elixer dislikers)... yeah... we'll see... may be 2 more of these in the classifieds after saturday.

Still love lookin at them though. :) Ahhh. Purdy.
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How low do you like your action? Mine arrived with 3/32" at the 12th fret, and in tune. For me, any higher and it gets uncomfortable...any lower, and I start "clacking" do to my technique. I have tried my ATK700 at 2/32" before, but I can't maintain a light enough touch. 3/32" looks like my "ideal"...for now anyway.
 
#870
bassman1185 said:
I would probably describe it as the bastard child of a P-bass and a StingRay. There is definitely more bite to it than a P-bass, but there's a bit more midrange girth than on a Stingray.
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Great tone description - to me it has more low-mids than any Ray I've played/owned (owned both at one point).

The ATK IMO is close to a Ray in tone but has its own vibe, which I really dug a lot when I had one.....

J
 
#871
Got my 305 trifade burst yesterday. Wow! It plays like butter and sounds fantastic. I love the neck, a little thinner than my G&L USA L2500 and I like the satin finish. Nice figuring/marbling in the maple neck too. The Elixer strings aren't too bad either, never tried them before. Mine says it was made July 2010, by the way. The body shape is a little similar to my G&L L2500 but a little more rounded off and shaped.

I would say the tone is like a cross between my G&L L-2500 and my SX BG-205 which has an 18V Bartolini MK1 active preamp and pickups (also used by Ibanez, but these were pulled from a Lakland). I've also owned a Stingray 5, and a EBMM licensed OLP MM5 Single H. The tone has some character of the Stingray but has a different bite to it. Hard to describe. I'll know more when I rehearse with the full band.

The setup out of the box was pretty good, the neck is straight. Had to tune it up, was out about a half step down. I'm also getting that "chorus" type effect on the B string as described by someone else here, I'll try lowering the pickup on that side a bit, it does seem a little high.

Pics!

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The case is the Music123 "Economy Molded Case" and it fits nice.
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^ And that is an SX BG-205 there on the right, I paid about the same for it as the Ibanez a few years ago! :bassist:
 
#877
I got my 305 black sparkle yesterday and all I can say is wow... This bass plays like butter, the setup was excellent (no buzzing on any frets! nice low action) and it sounds great.
I sold a Stingray 5 a couple of years ago, and I have to say this ATK stands on a class of its own. You can tell the craftmanship on the Ibanez is not as perfect as on the Musicman, but for a 4th of the price??? This bass can't be beat.
I can tell my J-Basses won't be getting love for a while.

My only thing is, I'm not too crazy about the black sparkle (anyone want to trade for the sunburst? :) ). Other than that, I am utterly, seriously impressed.
 
#878
I don't think I'm going to like the black sparkle finish either but for the price, heck we can't complain right? ^_^ With the amount saved I could get it finished how I would like and break even to how much the bass would have originally cost (I think!)
 
#879
Jamie_Funk said:
Great tone description - to me it has more low-mids than any Ray I've played/owned (owned both at one point).

The ATK IMO is close to a Ray in tone but has its own vibe, which I really dug a lot when I had one.....

J
Click to expand...

I'm not surprised at the ATK being voiced darker than a 'Ray. Even if the preamp in the ATK were identical, it would have to sound that way- photos make it pretty obvious that the ATK pickup is further away from the bridge.

On a related subject, am I the only one who finds Stingrays a bit of a moving target? I've heard great ones, and not-so-great.

3 or 4 years ago, I was in a consignment shop in Toronto, and tried a first-gen 4-string Stingray against a late-model Stingray 5, and a Cort GB55. The $200 Cort made an amazingly good showing against the newer Ray, but the old one killed them both by a country mile. The difference was so great, that it made the $2,500 asking price seem quite reasonable.

I'm not suggesting that old Stingrays are good and new ones are bad, just that there seems to be quite a big variance between them: I've also played some late-model Ernie Ball MM's that had me fumbling for my wallet.
 
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