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Ibanez ATK300 IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!

Kurtis Marleau

Kurtis Marleau

Jan 8, 2015
88
69
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
#1
I've been looking for an Ibanez ATK on and off for years and years. I was offered one for $200 back in 2010 but I was in high-school and couldn't afford it... if only.

I saw a cover band last year and the bassist was weilding one of these little ugly beasts and I was blown to the wall by the sound of it with just a tiny bit of drive! It re-sparked my love of these basses. When I started shopping around I was disappointed to see prices. In Canada, these are going anywhere from $700-$1400.

I've finally found an affordable Ibanez ATK 300! Can you guys tell me more about this specific bass? How well does it handle drop tuning? How are the controls? How do I make it growl and snarl? Is there anything I should be aware of that would discourage me from buying it? What year is this model? Is it actually a "multi coil" pickup? Is there anything you would change or replace on this instrument?

I'm not a fan of the white pick guard... Can it be replaced?
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#2
#6
Hey-

I had a 5 string version of this 15 years ago. It sounded and played awesome. One problem was that little selector switch. Mine crapped out after less than 50 changes. In mine, that is NOT a standard little toggle switch. It is hard mounted to a circuit board. At the time, I could not get/find a replacement. I hope your experience is different. It was super cool, but I had to let it go…..shame.

Doug
 
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#7
Congrats on the ATK. I'd say they handle drop-tuning well, I have mine set up for BEAD tuning and it's great. My favourite tone settings are the switch flipped toward the neck or in the middle, which are both more uniquely "ATK" tones, with the middle setting being brighter. The switch flipped toward the bridge is more like a Stingray kind of sound.

I don't like the ATK pickguards either, so I just removed them from both my 4 string and my 5 string.
 
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#10
One of my main gigging basses! I have a 305 which is the same but 5 string. I didn't dig the preamp as much as the actual bass so I built an unclefluffy stingray classic preamp and put it in there. The switch and pickup are original still and have worked perfectly for 15 years of weekend warrior gigging. In many ways I prefer this to my Ernie Ball Stingrays. The body shape feels great, the action can be set super low and not buzz, and the tri coil pickup gives it an extra dimension over a standard Stingray pickup.

I remember when these were rolling of the line in Indonesia there was some that had fret issues but most of them were perfect. Apparently they were using a new machine to place frets at that time and when it worked, it worked well. The problem was some got through the quality control when the machine was out of calibration.

Steves music is a great store as well! Looks like that's where that one came from. I would have nabbed it if I saw it before you! :)
 
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#19
Re: tuning down: Paul Grey of Slipknot used one for years, so it probably handles low tunings pretty well.
I had one and really enjoyed playing it. The only reason I sold it was due to my own inability to stop twiddling with the EQ 😅
It can growl and has plenty of usable sounds.
I was quite surprised by the thickness of its neck, compared to other Ibanez's (Ibanee?) I've owned. Not crazy thick, even my stubby sausage fingera could operate it.
ATK is a great choice!
 
#20
Phe said:
Re: tuning down: Paul Grey of Slipknot used one for years, so it probably handles low tunings pretty well.
I had one and really enjoyed playing it. The only reason I sold it was due to my own inability to stop twiddling with the EQ 😅
It can growl and has plenty of usable sounds.
I was quite surprised by the thickness of its neck, compared to other Ibanez's (Ibanee?) I've owned. Not crazy thick, even my stubby sausage fingera could operate it.
ATK is a great choice!
Click to expand...
That’s hilarious how you were looking for what the plural of Ibanez is…Ibanee LOL
 
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