Official ATK Club (Part II)

[Diogenes]

I just asked because the Ibanez manual doesn't even mention that method of stringing as an option...

When I first got my ATK a few years ago I had heard that there were two stringing options. Top loading supposedly provided a snappier tone but string-through was supposed to give the tone more roundness and sustain.

I now just top-load out of convenience because when I strung through the body, the break angle at the saddles was such that it created gaps between the string's outer windings large enough to let the tone and sustain leak out.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

I went through bridge, since standard D'Addario you find in most stores will NOT fit through body - they taper on the E and B too early for that near/in front of the nut. Through bridge - perfect fit.

But I honestly don't care for through body stringing, in that I've tried it before and found no advanatage soncially.

J

I've had the same issue with my top-load 35" fiver for years. With regular Long Scale D'Addarios on that bass, the B string taper sits right on top of the nut. Happens with other brands as well, so for years, I used nothing but bulk-ordered D'Addario SLS XL's on it.

The irony is that with other companies now offering super long scale strings, I've been on something of a shopping spree the last while, but I keep coming back to the XL's. For instance, DR Sunbeams sounded awesome on the 4-string P-bass I had last year, but their B sounds a bit hollow and woofy on my fiver. Also, the "zing" that sounded so sweet and musical on the P-Bass, sounds a bit clanky with EMG's.

The B-string issue challenges all my theories about balanced-tension sets. On paper, the .130 D'Addario B-string looks awful floppy compared to their .045 and .065 D and G strings. But in practice, it's the most even-sounding fatty I've found to date.

For me, the fact that the ATK will take LS or SLS strings increases its utility as a backup bass. I can continue buy SLS in bulk for my other bass, and use 'em on both, but in an emergency, I can slap just about anything on the ATK...

 

[bassbrock]

Steve, those Elixers IMO muffle the ATK sound - I threw D'Addario XLs on mine and it really opened up, especially the B. Once properly setup with those strings, the B was fantastic.
J

+1 - I found the Elixers to be a little too dull and lacking sustain after trying to play the ATK305 with the full band. I put on D'addario nickel wounds and all is well.

 

[Jamie_Funk]

I just asked because the Ibanez manual doesn't even mention that method of stringing as an option. I find that a bit odd. Definitely gonna try it when I'm ready to install new strings. Thanks!

The only slightly tricky thing is getting them to stay firmly in the holes while tightening the strings, especially the big fat B - I used to hold the ball end it with my needle-nosed pliers while turning the tuning key with the other hand.

You get used to it and it is fine.

J

 

[Tonegasm]

Anyone try Rotosounds on an ATK? I love them on my passive 4 strings.

 

[Jamie_Funk]

I've had the same issue with my top-load 35" fiver for years. With regular Long Scale D'Addarios on that bass, the B string taper sits right on top of the nut. Happens with other brands as well, so for years, I used nothing but bulk-ordered D'Addario SLS XL's on it.

The irony is that with other companies now offering super long scale strings, I've been on something of a shopping spree the last while, but I keep coming back to the XL's. For instance, DR Sunbeams sounded awesome on the 4-string P-bass I had last year, but their B sounds a bit hollow and woofy on my fiver. Also, the "zing" that sounded so sweet and musical on the P-Bass, sounds a bit clanky with EMG's.

The B-string issue challenges all my theories about balanced-tension sets. On paper, the .130 D'Addario B-string looks awful floppy compared to their .045 and .065 D and G strings. But in practice, it's the most even-sounding fatty I've found to date.

For me, the fact that the ATK will take LS or SLS strings increases its utility as a backup bass. I can continue buy SLS in bulk for my other bass, and use 'em on both, but in an emergency, I can slap just about anything on the ATK...

Steve, I agree re: the XLs - my favourite strings, and you can find them EVERYWHERE and they are fairly inexpensive at around $22 Canadian for a 5 string set. Also, I don't worry about "balanced tension" because the gauges and "unbalanced" tension of the set I use (130/100/80/65/45) sound and feel wonderful. Tried the .135 and while massive sounding, was too stiff and really the .130 sounded better balanced for me.

It is all personal preference though - some LOVE Elixers, I think they sound like crap. I love XLs...hate hate hate ProSteels. Whatever floats your boat.

Jamie

 

[steve_rolfeca]

The only slightly tricky thing is getting them to stay firmly in the holes while tightening the strings, especially the big fat B - I used to hold the ball end it with my needle-nosed pliers while turning the tuning key with the other hand.

You get used to it and it is fine.

J

I found that the truss rod adjusting tool that comes with the bass, is perfect. Just used it to poke the ball down into the slot.

By the way, a set of regular D'Addario EXL 170-5's top-loaded, cured my B string woes tonight. Made the whole thing sound crisper and tighter, in fact.

 

[Diogenes]

Anyone try Rotosounds on an ATK? I love them on my passive 4 strings.

Which ones? I've tried the RS66, RS77 and RS55... they all sounded great in their own ways.

But I'm kinda set for a few years on strings. About a year and a half ago Sam Ash had a blow-out sale on their GuitarResearch bass strings (45-105... mislabeled packaging) so I bought a couple of packs to try them out and loved them. I ended up getting 65 packs at 66¢ per... and shipped for free. They've been great strings.

 

[Jamie_Funk]

I found that the truss rod adjusting tool that comes with the bass, is perfect. Just used it to poke the ball down into the slot.

By the way, a set of regular D'Addario EXL 170-5's top-loaded, cured my B string woes tonight. Made the whole thing sound crisper and tighter, in fact.

I knew they would

J

 

[Stinsok]

I used my 4 and 5 strings last night on their maiden voyage. They sounded clean and clear and had plenty of ooomph to push the band.

 

[THand]

Which ones? I've tried the RS66, RS77 and RS55... they all sounded great in their own ways.

But I'm kinda set for a few years on strings. About a year and a half ago Sam Ash had a blow-out sale on their GuitarResearch bass strings (45-105... mislabeled packaging) so I bought a couple of packs to try them out and loved them. I ended up getting 65 packs at 66¢ per... and shipped for free. They've been great strings.

hee hee...I bought a bunch of those strings too!

I didnt know that was why they had that blowout tho.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Dead spot!!!

Now that I have fresh strings on the 305, I'm finding a broad dead spot from the B to the C# on the G string. It's the worst kind- the fundamental dies faster than the harmonics, so the note goes "baawing" and seems to jump an octave as it decays.

What makes it really interesting, is that the same notes are dead a few frets over on the second string. When I play the same notes on the third string, they ring for ages. Of course, at that point I'm fretting much closer to the body, so it seems like it's definitely related to neck resonance, and not a bad fret.

I'm going to try tweaking the truss rod, but if that doesn't work, it's getting threaded inserts....

 

[Stinsok]

I just noticed something...after a gig I usually lay off a day or so before playing again. Usually, my fingers are kinda sore but not this time. It must be due to the Elixer strings. I'm not totally in love with the tone, but they are easy on the fingers!

BTW, GC has them for $549.00

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-ATK305-5-String-Bass-Guitar-517441-i1392775.gc

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Dead spot!!!

Now that I have fresh strings on the 305, I'm finding a broad dead spot from the B to the C# on the G string. It's the worst kind- the fundamental dies faster than the harmonics, so the note goes "baawing" and seems to jump an octave as it decays.

What makes it really interesting, is that the same notes are dead a few frets over on the second string. When I play the same notes on the third string, they ring for ages. Of course, at that point I'm fretting much closer to the body, so it seems like it's definitely related to neck resonance, and not a bad fret.

I'm going to try tweaking the truss rod, but if that doesn't work, it's getting threaded inserts....

Hmmm. Truss rod adjustment didn't help the dead spot. Tightening neck screws, etc. didn't help...

...and switching to machine screws and threaded inserts didn't help either.

On the C#, I can feel the open A string start to ring at the same time that the fretted note starts to suddenly decay, so I guess that's where the energy is going.

Next, I guess I'll fool around with clamps, weights, etc. on the headstock to see if I can make it go away...

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Gig Report:

Used the 305 at church this morning. I ran my Eden ENX260 into two Flite 3-way cabs for backline, plus a bit of foldback in my monitor. As usual, the Eden was just able to keep up with the drummer without going into the red, so it was all good.

Other team members in their 20's, mostly uptempo, punky versions of standard christmas hymns and carols, plus "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (the sermon was about confrontation and forgiveness). No rehearsal other than a quick run-through before the service, figuring out arrangements on the fly.

I'm not used to having onboard tone controls, so I had a few moments of options paralysis, but other than that, the ATK was a breeze to use. It cut through very well, with minor tweaks to suit each song. My "base setting" was bass and treble flat, with a little push in the mids.

I had a happy accident during the run-through, when I turned the bass down between songs, instead of the volume. We started the next song, and wallah! My level was suddenly a bit low, but I had a snarling, grindy Stingray in my hands.

That was probably my biggest revelation about the ATK this morning- the EQ is surprisingly musical. I can run each control at full cut or boost, and it's still quite useful. I like that- I hate chasing my tone around the dials when an EQ is over-sensitive. The character switch is more subtle than I expected, but still useful. I ran the Traditional setting and a touch of treble cut for a darker tone on How to Save a Life, and the Attack setting the rest of the time, with the bass flat or cut by about a third, and the treble anywhere from ten to, to ten past, depending on what the guitar and keys were doing.

Plucked near the bridge, it was easy to get a grind or a growl, depending on how I attacked. Plucked over the fingerboard, the tone bloomed nicely for the quiet, moody bits. For some reason, I had a good feeling about this deal going in, bu still, it exceeded my expectations. With a different name on the headstock and some fancy lumber, I would have been quite happy to pay $1,200 to $1,500 for this puppy...

 

[THand]

Gig Report:

Used the 305 at church this morning. I ran my Eden ENX260 into two Flite 3-way cabs for backline, plus a bit of foldback in my monitor. As usual, the Eden was just able to keep up with the drummer without going into the red, so it was all good.

Other team members in their 20's, mostly uptempo, punky versions of standard christmas hymns and carols, plus "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (the sermon was about confrontation and forgiveness). No rehearsal other than a quick run-through before the service, figuring out arrangements on the fly.

I'm not used to having onboard tone controls, so I had a few moments of options paralysis, but other than that, the ATK was a breeze to use. It cut through very well, with minor tweaks to suit each song. My "base setting" was bass and treble flat, with a little push in the mids.

I had a happy accident during the run-through, when I turned the bass down between songs, instead of the volume. We started the next song, and wallah! My level was suddenly a bit low, but I had a snarling, grindy Stingray in my hands.

That was probably my biggest revelation about the ATK this morning- the EQ is surprisingly musical. I can run each control at full cut or boost, and it's still quite useful. I like that- I hate chasing my tone around the dials when an EQ is over-sensitive. The character switch is more subtle than I expected, but still useful. I ran the Traditional setting and a touch of treble cut for a darker tone on How to Save a Life, and the Attack setting the rest of the time, with the bass flat or cut by about a third, and the treble anywhere from ten to, to ten past, depending on what the guitar and keys were doing.

Plucked near the bridge, it was easy to get a grind or a growl, depending on how I attacked. Plucked over the fingerboard, the tone bloomed nicely for the quiet, moody bits. For some reason, I had a good feeling about this deal going in, bu still, it exceeded my expectations. With a different name on the headstock and some fancy lumber, I would have been quite happy to pay $1,200 to $1,500 for this puppy...

Cool! I keep saying that they are worth the original asking price, reguardless of flavor.

 

[Justin Tuskey]

Gig Report:

Used the 305 at church this morning. I ran my Eden ENX260 into two Flite 3-way cabs for backline, plus a bit of foldback in my monitor. As usual, the Eden was just able to keep up with the drummer without going into the red, so it was all good.

Other team members in their 20's, mostly uptempo, punky versions of standard christmas hymns and carols, plus "How to Save a Life" by The Fray (the sermon was about confrontation and forgiveness). No rehearsal other than a quick run-through before the service, figuring out arrangements on the fly.

I'm not used to having onboard tone controls, so I had a few moments of options paralysis, but other than that, the ATK was a breeze to use. It cut through very well, with minor tweaks to suit each song. My "base setting" was bass and treble flat, with a little push in the mids.

I had a happy accident during the run-through, when I turned the bass down between songs, instead of the volume. We started the next song, and wallah! My level was suddenly a bit low, but I had a snarling, grindy Stingray in my hands.

That was probably my biggest revelation about the ATK this morning- the EQ is surprisingly musical. I can run each control at full cut or boost, and it's still quite useful. I like that- I hate chasing my tone around the dials when an EQ is over-sensitive. The character switch is more subtle than I expected, but still useful. I ran the Traditional setting and a touch of treble cut for a darker tone on How to Save a Life, and the Attack setting the rest of the time, with the bass flat or cut by about a third, and the treble anywhere from ten to, to ten past, depending on what the guitar and keys were doing.

Plucked near the bridge, it was easy to get a grind or a growl, depending on how I attacked. Plucked over the fingerboard, the tone bloomed nicely for the quiet, moody bits. For some reason, I had a good feeling about this deal going in, bu still, it exceeded my expectations. With a different name on the headstock and some fancy lumber, I would have been quite happy to pay $1,200 to $1,500 for this puppy...

awesome to hear man. thats a great review! I dont know if I coul pay $1200...but only because I dont have that kind of money. now if I knew what this bass was capable of, and HAD to get the money, I'm sure that I could and would. and they are WELL worth the original price.

an update though. I dropped an audere p3zb preamp in my natural ATK and was digging it at first, but now...not so much. its just not a good match up for this bass. not aggressive enough. I am buying an original atk pickup and preamp from JC, the guy who is gutting his, and replacing it with rick parts (waiting to see that unfold) and am taking it back to original specs. well....new specs actually. when I got this bass it had a seymour duncan preamp in it. liked the tone then too but I want my two fretted atks to be similar. I love the tone also the audere didnt have a gain pot on it so I couldnt adjust levels. it was about 12db lower than my other two atks. NOT cool at all. so at least going back to stock will give me an adjuster so I can level match my basses.

 

[scHism]

Anybody here have any experience stringing an ATK300 BEAD? I'm curious as to how the pickup handles the low B.

Look for Paul Grey (Slipknot) tunes, he strings his ATK BEAD.

 

[Tonegasm]

Update: Picked up the ATK300 for $130 and sold it locally for $260 which means my ATK305 ends up costing me a whopping total of $50. Wasn't using it anyway. Way heavier than my ATK305.

I tore apart my ATK305 and began the satinizing process. A little bummed because the tuner ferrules pulled some finish off of the headstock and it'll be visible even when I reinstall the ferrules. Bummer. I dabbed some clear poly in the spots to cover the wood and help darken it a little bit so it's less noticeable. The headstock logo came off just as I thought it would but I don't really care. This is going to be my 5 string beater.

Tomorrow I should finish satinizing and will post pictures.

 

[Medford Bassman]

i got my ATK 300 up for sale. I have used it only once. Black. Nice bass, I have to thin the herd.
$300 shipped.