Ibanez ATK 400

[Sean]

[b]Introduction[/b]

Late last Saturday night I was signed into a pretty deserted Basschat and was going through motions of reading PMs, checking the For Sale and Ebay Links threads and saw that Jon (Bassassin had posted a link to an ATK with a BIN of £95. I gave the listing a cursory once over and made the purchase. I thought that even if it turned out to be disappointing I could easily make my money back if I wanted to but hopefully I would have a decent quality giggable bass. All I had to do now was wait until the postman turned up with it at work.

[b]Initial Impressions[/b]

I was on my way to the canteen to collect my roll yesterday and bumped into the Postman who was carrying something vaguely bass shaped wrapped in bin liners and parcel tape. I stopped him and took the parcel off him thinking that it was quite poorly wrapped and then started to expect the worst. After a good grope, I realised that the gig bag it was in is one of those Warwick padded ones which afford decent protection but certainly not enough for a journey through the postal system. I got a pair of scissors and cut the bin liners away and examined the gig bag which is fairly sturdy and in reasonably good condition, certainly serviceable for going to rehearsals and those small gigs where no one handles your gear and you go in your own vehicle.

Gig bag open, quick intake of breath and…

Phew! It’s OK, it’s all in one piece and hasn’t been a victim of the mysterious ultra-violence that goes on between leaving the vendor and arriving with buyer at times. First impressions were that it’s nowhere near as heavy as some of the reviews around and also the comments on Talkbass have indicated and also the neck is much slimmer than I was led to believe – it’s comparable to my Lakland 44-02. In fact the whole bass is comparable to my 44-02; maple neck and fingerboard, sunburst finish, J/MM configuration pups, through-body or bridge stringing option, 3 band active EQ, five bolt neck joint, variation on Leo body shape, made in Korea and general heavy duty, high quality construction.

[b]Examination[/b]

The action is a little bit high for my taste but this is something that I can sort out as I’m going to give it a proper set up and going over. Played acoustically it sounds very bright, loud and airy – it seems to breathe well. The top is a laminate of ash, the body is mahogany, which seems to be an unusual choice for what sets itself up as a Stingray clone/wannabe/alternative but it certainly has a lot of promise at this stage. The plastic film on the electronics covers has been left on and there is no buckle rash or marking on the back of the body.

The cracking around the volume pot is just a small war wound and looks as though it occurred as a result of the instrument being dropped or bashed against its volume pot; it’s purely cosmetic and hasn’t affected the wood underneath.

Build quality and feel is extremely robust, the pot knobs are very solid and heavy; they have a nice feel when turned. The bridge as you can see is huge and contributes to the tone in spades. The tuning machines are quality units and turn beautifully. The five-way selector switch moves very nicely and feels very positive and not at all loose.

The neck construction is six-piece and it is maple with abalone inlays. The headstock is angled back, which distinguishes it nicely from a Leo clone. It’s much slimmer and faster than I thought it would be too.

[b]History[/b]

Let’s remember this bass was £95 BIN (£15 Shipping) and came with a gig bag and what seem like fairly new strings, there’s certainly a lot of life in them, so any criticisms I may have may seem a bit harsh but so far I just can’t find one. We all know that the Stingray inspired the Lakland 44s and 55s and that the ATK was Ibanez' “Stingray Killer” in the 1990s but it’s got me wondering how much the ATK influenced the design of the Lakland or vice versa. It seems evident that there is a thread there; they came on to the market at about the same time.


[b]Meat & Potatoes or Salad?[/b]

So now it’s on to the business end of it all, the sound of the thing, the raison d'etre. I’ll try to relate everything to the five-way switch position - now that I've got the manual it makes it easier.


Once I’d changed the strap buttons to Schaller and fitted the strap I plugged in and it became apparent to me why this bass had been sold at such a low price; the preamp 9v battery was flat! The bass sounded quiet and farty. After changing the battery the instrument came to life and boy, is it loud! It’s very zingy and bright and just begs to be slapped. For the first five minutes of playing it all methodology and reason left me and I just flailed away at it grinning like the idiot I can so easily be. The five-way selector switch gives a heck of a lot of options and the combinations make it a very versatile instrument indeed. Position 5 is the Jazz neck pup soloed and it’s very punchy for a single coil, position 4 is bridge coil of the humbucker with neck pup and this setting thumps in a very different way to setting your blend on a jazz to the centre detent and seemed to me to be the default setting for anything you’d normally play on a P bass. The middle position is the bridge single coil setting and this, as you might imagine, is very thin, trebly and bright and is not a sound I relish on any bass so I quickly skipped over this one. Position 2 is what this instrument is all about and surely the reason why this bass gained a reputation as a Stingray killer in some people’s eyes; it gives a huge ass-kicking sound with plenty of punch and sparkle in equal measure. Playing Chili Peppers’ songs on this setting through a GK RB700 with just a touch of compression gives a very faithful reproduction of the Flea tone and sonically if not aesthetically this would be ideal for someone in a RHCP tribute act. Position 1 is the inside coil of the humbucker and is very useable, it’s bright and nice for slapping with a bit of smiley face EQ adjustment.

[b]So what?[/b]

How does it compare to my Lakland 44-02? It’s a very different animal despite all the similarities but the mahogany body makes it sound very different from the Lakand’s Ash and the electronics are worlds apart. The ATK is a fantastic instrument and I’d recommend one to anyone in the market for a Stingray/Sterling as a bang-for-buck alternative. I’ve never particularly liked the feel of Stingrays so for me I’d take an ATK every time and I think that this ebay bargain is a keeper. For the time being at least.

Many thanks to Bassassin for the heads up and also thanks to Barneytthedog for sending me the manual for the bass.



Attempt to show the crack (as described in ebay listing)



Eccentric offset tuners on angled headstock



And a nice bit of mahog'

Edited February 1, 2008 by Sean

[Dread Bass]

sounds great congratulations i lways liked ATKs and i rate ibanez basses very high.

[paul, the]

What a bargain, Sean! And the 'eccentric' tuners are really cool.


JMMs interest me after enjoying the neck pup on my friend's jazz and the infallible tone of Stingrays. Would be interested to hear it with a mute, especially considering the mahog' body.

[kdphysio]

Sounded like a bargain, and definately looks like one! Congrats.

Great review, bytheway.

[Dread Bass]

That looks awsome as well as a good price.

[Bassassin]

Y'know - it's odd. I feel, on the one hand, a warm glow of altruistic generosity at having spotted, and selflessly publicised this stunning and desirable bass, to the lucky members of the BC community.

And on the other, I feel like sobbing, bitterly and endlessly.

Beautiful bass Sean - enjoy!


Jon.

[Brave Sir Robin]

That for a hundred quids? Maybe you should have played the lottery that day!

Didn't know the ATK 400 was mahogany, one more reason for me to feel jealous

[barneythedog]

Bassassin, I'm weeping with you

Oh well, at least I avoided the probable divorce had I bought ANOTHER ATK, but I do love them, and I have a real soft spot for the 400's as I think the neck pickup adds so much to its flexibility.

Good review Sean, glad the manual helped.