Ibanez ATK-400 - need YOUR opinion !

are referring to the new ones?
is the bass with 2 pickups, the jazz style in neck and the triple coil in the bridge?

ATK are generous, solid and good basses. even the japanese and korean ones. the new one are relly interesting and they have a good tonal spectrum. they are great for rock, in my opinion. if you can try one before you buy because they are heavy and the neck is big, similar to a precision. for me they are the best basses made by ibanez and they are cheap too. i prefer them to BTB. and i'd like to have one in 5 string.

 

You should get one. Greg K from the Offspring and Kevin Baldes from Lit both use ATKs and they sound awesome. The tuners are cool looking too because theyre in weird places.

 

personally i think ibanez's look awesome,all of them.and feel great too cuz theyre graphite and luthrite and stuff.but i just dont like the performance.i mean i havent tried that many different companies of basses,but all there new ones,well the bridge seems like its a foot off the neckboard!u have to put alot of effort into pushing the string down onto the fret.i'd go with the ibanez soundgears.they come in 4,5,and 6 string versions,theyre very good for the prcies.there different models range from $209 up to $800.

 

All the ibanezes Ive tried were setup very well. If you're talking about action, that is fully adjustible. Ive seen 5 string BTBs with the strings literally against the frets. You can move them as close or as far as you want, you just need to adjust the relief in the neck and the saddle height.

back on the subject, I think the ATKs are much better than Soundgears or any other Ibanez. Theyre awesome basses.

 

Ive got an atk USA 5 string, and for what its worth, its an awesome bass. if the new models are anything like the old one id say go for it. as far as im aware, the new ones have an added jazz style pickup, and a smaller lighter body. mine is great for funk and rock, and the pickup/eq combination is great! i say go for it!

 

I used to own an ATK300 (the Korean number).

Heavy as hell, but it gives you a Stingray tone without the price tag. Vicious biting tone, with lotsa options from the p/u selector and active tone circuitry.

I found it's the kind of bass that needs to be played quite actively and agressively - I used to find alot of fret buzz and general lack of silkiness when I played it "soft".

Sounds killer for slap (if that's yer thang).

Now, can't comment on the new pickup models...

 

No Ibanez ever made has graphite anywhere on it, except maybe for the nut.

And the Soundgear line is the poorest line that Ibanez makes. The BTB and ATK blow them away, and even the Ergodynes(which I do not like) are better as well.

 

That's exactly what I found with mine...you had to play it with some intense left-finger pressure, and didn't really like to be "babied".

Balls-out, with no care for buzz seemed to be the only way to go!