As I modded my pointy old Electra X700JB (my avatar comes from that NBD) into a fire-breathing P-bass over the last year, I found myself wanting of a sonic match in a five-string. Unfortunately for me they didn’t make a ton of five-strings in Japan in the ‘80s, and it seems that five-string P-basses haven’t really caught on, either. I want to love the Spector Legend 5 Classic I acquired last fall but even after some mods I still haven’t found a sound of my own with it that really does it for me. After a deal for one of those rare five-string P-basses fell through, I found myself playing the five-string I had bought new back in 1995 … and loving it more than ever! I set out to find a four-string to match that one. Well, I have had the five for 24 years, and the four for 24 hours. Mission accomplished! {} Apparently, my 14-year-old self knew something it would take my 38-year-old self a while to figure out! Let’s be clear: the Ibanez ATK does not sound like a P-bass. It does, however, make it really easy for me to sound like me. My pointy fire-breathing P-bass still has its place, as it has the edge when I start heaping dirt on parts, but I tend not to use a fifth string in those situations. With the four- and five-string ATKs, it would seem I now have a consistent core sound regardless of range.
Congratulations! But they are probably heavy beasts? I played an ATK 305 exclusively for 4 years, it weighed in at 4.7 kg (10.36 lbs).... I hope you are already a member of the ATK club. Official ATK Club (Part 4)
