Product: Atelier Z M-245
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted
12/05/2001
at
07:12pm
by
Carl
Email: Connfox1 at aol<dot>com
Features
:
10
This four string J-Bass was made in 2001 in Japan. It has a one piece maple neck with perloid block inlays. The neck also has 20 jumbo frets. The medium weight body is a two piece ash with beautiful grain. It has a Bartolini XTCT preamp. The controls are as followed: volume, volume, passive tone (pulling up on the tone knob bypasses the preamp), bass boost, treble boost. Atelier Z J-Bass pickups with exposed pole pieces. Gotoh GB-2 machine tuners, Hipshot D-Tuner and a Badass II bridge round out the hardware. The bass came with a nicely padded gig bag.
Sound
:
10
I play many styles of music and this bass does them all...WELL! This is J-Bass heaven! Everything from heavy swing to an all out slap-fest. The low end is nice and warm and the highs are just right for me. Killin' J-Bass growl! A very nice addition to the Atelier Z Bass is the passive tone knob. I grew up on a Fender Bass so it's great to have an active bass with a passive tone knob. I can have the tone as bright or as dark as I'd like it (and everything in between), still having full use of the bass and treble boost. I've used it with may amps and it always sounds great. My personal rig is an Ashdown ABM 500 head with a Acme B-2 4 ohm cabinet. I get serious thunder from this little rig! The Atelier Z Bass sounds great live or in the studio.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
The set-up was nice right out the gig bag. The action was very nice and I didn't have to change anything. The pickups were nicely adjusted. The nut is interesting. It's actually higher on the BASS side, angling downward with the TREBLE side being the lowest point. I don't know if this sounds weird to anyone but it feels good. It feels very natural to me. The frets were nicely done and the finish was flawless. There's actually some very nice burl on the back of the bass.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
This bass is a work horse! It's a very solid bass. It seems like it will take any pounding one might give it. I've used it on many gigs without a backup and I was fine. It gives me what I need and then some.
Customer Support
:
9
I contact the shop often just to say 'HI'. They are very kind and knowledgable. They love input from the players and I like that.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for 23 years now. I own 3 Fender Jazz Basses, a couple of '70's Music Man's and a great Dingwall 5 string. This bass fits right into my arsenal perfectly. For sessions, I take the Atelier Z and the Dingwall with me everytime. With those two basses I get what I need. My favorite feature is the tone knob. As I mentioned earlier, it really helps give me many different sounds. If this bass was stolen I'd call up and order another one as fast as I could! I'm very, very happy with this bass
