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Official ATK Club
- Thread starter Justin Tuskey
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Is it just me or are there alot less '90s ATK going second hand about nowadays, had a little look the other day and couldn't find anything. Not gonna be able to afford to have one for a while, nevermind modded with a Bassculture and a Jazz pickup routed into it, but there used to a be a fair amount of them about.
There is one for sale right now here on TB:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=482884&page=2
Personally, I don't see the allure of the old ones vs the new - I had a 90s one and the new one sounds just as good and is LIGHTER. Mind you, I modded BOTH with an EMG DC, so perhaps my opinion is less relevant
I DO much prefer the stain finished necks on the new ones to the gloss on the old. Other than that, the two play/feel the same.
J
Stain like what they use on EBs? Or is that summet different? I think I heard some part of a Stingray was "waxed", but I dunno if that was the neck or not. Either way I quite like the feeling of laquered maple, feels and sounds a bit more solid. Kinda like that my bass is kinda on the heavy side too, wouldn't want it any lighter. Also on an aesthetic level I don't like the lack of truss rod up top.
Plus on top of that I don't wanna by another sweatshop made piece of kit, feel bad enough about the Danelectro U2 guitar I bought a few years ago without really putting any thought into the fact it was gonna inevitabley be made in China/Korea. Plus a 2nd hand 90's one will probably be a bit cheaper, although most the 90s ones are Korean I guess and I was kinda lucky to get a Japanese one, but if it's 2nd hand it doesn't really matter.
Also I'm in the UK too, which is a pain cos pretty much everything's harder to come by over here.
Plus on top of that I don't wanna by another sweatshop made piece of kit, feel bad enough about the Danelectro U2 guitar I bought a few years ago without really putting any thought into the fact it was gonna inevitabley be made in China/Korea. Plus a 2nd hand 90's one will probably be a bit cheaper, although most the 90s ones are Korean I guess and I was kinda lucky to get a Japanese one, but if it's 2nd hand it doesn't really matter.
Also I'm in the UK too, which is a pain cos pretty much everything's harder to come by over here.
Stain like what they use on EBs? Or is that summet different? I think I heard some part of a Stingray was "waxed", but I dunno if that was the neck or not. Either way I quite like the feeling of laquered maple, feels and sounds a bit more solid. Kinda like that my bass is kinda on the heavy side too, wouldn't want it any lighter. Also on an aesthetic level I don't like the lack of truss rod up top.
Jamie:
I meant to say SATIN - bad typing. It's purely preference of course re: satin vs laquer of course. I for one think the truss wheel is VASTLY superior to any headstock mounted truss nut, ESPECIALLY in that you don't need an allen ley for it, but they both work the same so again it's subjective.
Plus on top of that I don't wanna by another sweatshop made piece of kit, feel bad enough about the Danelectro U2 guitar I bought a few years ago without really putting any thought into the fact it was gonna inevitabley be made in China/Korea. Plus a 2nd hand 90's one will probably be a bit cheaper, although most the 90s ones are Korean I guess and I was kinda lucky to get a Japanese one, but if it's 2nd hand it doesn't really matter.
Jamie:
I'm thinking there may have been a sweatshop or two involved in the Korean ones too at the time
Has anybody replaced the tuners with Hipshot ultralights? My only major complaint with my 305 are the tuners and I'm thinking of replacing them, so I might just as well replace them with ultralights. I'm not sure which one to get though, the 3/8" or 1/2" string posts?
I'm thinking there may have been a sweatshop or two involved in the Korean ones too at the time
Yeah I know, kinda sucks, mines a Japanese one, but it's 2nd hand so it doesn't make any difference. Not gonna have the money to get another bass for ages, cos I have to get a fair amount for my rig and I'm getting a Jazz grafted into my current ATK for when we record our album so I'll be totally happy with my setup. If anything I'll probably wanna save up and get a custom made boutique ATK copy made, that'd be awesome
Yeah I know, kinda sucks, mines a Japanese one, but it's 2nd hand so it doesn't make any difference. Not gonna have the money to get another bass for ages, cos I have to get a fair amount for my rig and I'm getting a Jazz grafted into my current ATK for when we record our album so I'll be totally happy with my setup. If anything I'll probably wanna save up and get a custom made boutique ATK copy made, that'd be awesome
That thought never really crossed my mind, but I think that WOULD be a great idea. Wood and detail options are endless, and if you wanted you could still have the stock stuff put in, or juice it up a bit. Now...who to contact
The only problem is having to give it up for the luither to look over for a while. As much as I'd love a 1 piece body and 1 piece neck I can't help thinking that those, probably more the body construction then the neck, will contribute to the ATK's tone. A slightly fatter 1 piece neck with slightly slimmer frets would be awesome though.
Other then those 2 details I can't really fault anything from my personal preference, apart from the electronics which I'm well on the case of (Bassculture pickup and I'm running it without the ATK pre which sounds alot better albeit a bit weaker until I get a pre I like). The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the woods and general construction could be of a little better quality, the things are solid but I've played more quality feeling instruments, having those subtle qualities in an ATK would be awesome.
Other then those 2 details I can't really fault anything from my personal preference, apart from the electronics which I'm well on the case of (Bassculture pickup and I'm running it without the ATK pre which sounds alot better albeit a bit weaker until I get a pre I like). The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the woods and general construction could be of a little better quality, the things are solid but I've played more quality feeling instruments, having those subtle qualities in an ATK would be awesome.
Hey - how long do you all find a regular 9V battery lasts in an ATK-305? Like how many playing hours before you have to replace?
Unlike active electronics (18V) they last a long time, provided you remember to unhook the cable from the bass when not playing. I have a rotation of batteries around three months. Yes, it should be more frequent but I know when the batteries are getting dead, choppy sound, and I have spare ones around just in case. Why? Because I don't want to add more crap to the environment, there's enough of dead batteries floating around this planet due to musicians changing them too often.
I thought the ATK was active? Aren't all basses that use batteries considered Active? Or is there something I'm missing?
The Ibanez catalogue mentions that the pickups are passive, suspect as there's no real pre-amp involved, even if the EQ section needs a little bit power for operational purposes.
Hmm.. I was told that it was an active bass.. weird. So why would the EQ require power if it isn't active, as opposed to a non-battery passive?
And I also see they just re-introduced the ATK305 in Black and 3TS .. I wish I had waited to buy mine as I'm not a terribly big fan of the natural finish... :/ black with a Tort guard would have been nice.
I've got a black ATK305. Has anybody ever painted one white? That would make it white on white with a maple fb.
Well, you could do different EQ designs, either true passive or with some circuit voltage needed. I must say, the mid-range EQ in ATK is one of my secret tools.
The PICKUP itself = passive
It is connected to a PREAMP with EQ - this is the ACTIVE part
Net result = active bass.
J
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