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Official ATK Club

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#601
BassGuitarNoob said:
I'm thinking about getting an ATK305 (when i can afford it) so that i have 1. another ibanez. 2. a 5 string. and 3. a pickguard!
I was wondering, what do they sound like and what are the limitations to customization and style of play?
What are the differences between this bass and say, the way a fender plays?
I noticed the pickup looks a bit... permanent.
Also, where can i buy ATK pickguards? or would i just have to mod the original myself?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I company in Germany does a replacement pickup, and as you'll see over the past 2 pages there's a Bart pickup and some other pickup I forget the name of you can just about fit in the cavity. The German place is very reasonable with shipping charges.

The necks pretty thick on an ATK, not quite as thick as some of the proper old school Fenders, but it's definitely as thick as a Jazz at least, perhaps a little more "C" shaped if you ask me. Definitely a little heavier then alot of Fenders, but if you get a real nice stap then it's not too much bother. The Bassculture has a really nice Fender like depth to it on one setting (dunno if it's parallel or serial) so I prefer it to the stock, also the highs aren't quite so high and clicky. Hasn't effected it sounding like an ATK too much though, so I'm very happy with it.

Also there's alot of people who have swapped their pre amps, and some people who have ripped them out and gone all passive, so there seem to be alot of options there.

I'm getting a Quarter Pounder Jazz pickup installed in the neck, dcos I feel it could do with a little more depth, but I like 15s, 110 gauge strings and all that kinda carry on so nothings ever deep enough for me anyway. If you find a decent luither then it's not too expensive to get stuff like that fitted though.

also I've seen a few modded pickguards, but I dunno if their DIY jobs.
 
#602
Hey ho,

I'm also playing an ATK
its a 300, a new one made in 2007. as you can see on the pic it has alu-pickguards. I put flatwounds on it and now it has even more Attack and sounds more vintage. Great bass!:)
 

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#603
bassist 4 life said:
So what do you guys suggest for strings?
I've got an ATK305, i dont really like the elixirs.
Click to expand...

ANYTHING but Elixers :)

Seriously, the Elixers are OK with the 4 string models, but on the 5 the B REALLY sounded crappy IMO. Almost didn't buy my new ATK305 due to the Elxer tone, but had a 90s one and knew it wasn't the bass itself.

Just about any other string sounds better to me - I use D'addario XL (nickels) and the tone opened up wonderfully and it sounds amazing, especially the low B.

Jamie
 
#606
Just got my ATK750KA(koa). It's NIIIIICE. Doesn't sound quite the same as the ATK3EX1. I'd say the 3EX1(300) sounds more stingray like. The 750 is like a Jazz bass on steroids, and it has the looks to boot. I'm happy. I'll post some pics of both basses soon.
 
#607
mythmaker said:
Just got my ATK750KA(koa). It's NIIIIICE. Doesn't sound quite the same as the ATK3EX1. I'd say the 3EX1(300) sounds more stingray like. The 750 is like a Jazz bass on steroids, and it has the looks to boot. I'm happy. I'll post some pics of both basses soon.
Click to expand...

Yes, the single-coil front-end pickup makes the difference. That configuration is what I think makes the ATK the most versatile bass out there. You could get differences in sound with the combination of the midrange control and the pickup positions in ATK300/305/3EX1s but the single-coil front pickup opens up even more soundscape possibilities.
 
#609
OK so I just pulled the trigger and got an older fretless atk300 off ebay. I was gonna put labella flats, though you're not officially suppose to use em on through-the-body basses. I'll probably use em anyway though. Anyone else done this?
 
#612
I've managed to just about get round the whole strings been to short for string through thing, by taking out a couple of the metal rings round the back of the body. I'd rather find strings that are long enough though, cos I dunno if I might be messing up my body by not spreading the tension out, like the rings seem to do.
 
#613
I never had any problems with the string lengths when stringing my ATK, but on the older ATK's, the ball ends tend to get wedged in the string ferrels, so I replaced them with a Fender set I had left over. I did have string length issues with my fretless Jazz, so I ordered a set of Carvin ferrels, which are longer, putting the ball end closer to the bottom of the bridge.

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#616
guess what came today!!!

t_pict0036.jpg


atk300FL fretless!

yay. It sounds awesome, its got roundwounds that came with it and it really has that "mwah" sound going for it. I'm almost tempted not to put flats on it, but I probably will anyway. But...its not perfect. It needs a new output jack (that crackling scared the crap out of me...) and it's missing one of the through-body string ferrules. Ibanez has both of these things in the parts catalog but I have no idea where to actually buy them...
 
#618
Count me in! Just got my new (to me) '90s ATK 300 back from the shop.

Reclining on the living room sofa:

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Picked it up on the 'Bay pretty cheap because of a chip/scratch on the fretboard:

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I had to have the truss rod adjustment nut replaced, but the wait is finally over! :hyper:
 
#619
SubXero said:
guess what came today!!!

t_pict0036.jpg


atk300FL fretless!

yay. It sounds awesome, its got roundwounds that came with it and it really has that "mwah" sound going for it. I'm almost tempted not to put flats on it, but I probably will anyway. But...its not perfect. It needs a new output jack (that crackling scared the crap out of me...) and it's missing one of the through-body string ferrules. Ibanez has both of these things in the parts catalog but I have no idea where to actually buy them...
Click to expand...

DON'T order the Ibanez jack - a Switchcraft of the same size is more readily available and much higher quality.

Jamie
 
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