Ibanez ATK300

Made in Indonesia. Paid $400 Cdn on sale. Doesn't sound like the recipe for a terrific bass, but it is.

Everything you need without bells and whistles.

If you are happy with the limited range of colors, grab one NOW!!! I am a sucker for the natural finish.

Ergonomics are great, with a feelable detent at the midrange of the 3 tone controls.

Active electronics, especially with a tube amp, will give you any sound you want between the hollow Beatle-bass thump and Ric growl.

It sounded great with my little Ampeg SVT150, but really comes to life with the Traynor YBA 200 watt all-tune amp and matching 2x15 + 1x10 + horn cabinet.

The only change I made was to switch to GHS brite flats, since I found the original round strings that came with the bass were a little old and squeaky.

Electronics are very quiet. Supposedly single coil, but you can walk right up to the front of the speaker cabinet and not worry about microphonics or other noise.

Just needed a little intonation adjustment after I changed the strings.

The bridge is extremely easy to adjust, tuner action is smooth, though gears are exposed, not sealed.

Built like a tank.

If you can't trust this construction, then you'll never trust anything.

I would bring a spare 9 V battery along to a mission-critical gig, but then maybe I'm being a little paranoid. Battery is easy to change, but you need a small screwdriver. It's a telling quality detail: the battery cover screws into metal receivers that are permanently countersunk into the wooden body. 95% of other makers would have let you screw the cover directly into the wood, wearing out the screw holes within a few years.

Normally I install Schaller strap locks on all my gear, but this was the first one I've ever received where the pegs were MORE substantial than what I was about to put on.

No dealings with factory and dealer seems friendly enough.

Been toying with bass for a few years. Have owned a Jay Turser Beatle clone, a Godin 5-string with active pickups, a Ric 4003. All were great in their time, but the ATK is the one I still use, and it spans them all as far as my tonal tastes are concerned.

It's a little heavy to lift, but very well-balanced, so with a decent strap you really feel comfortable playing it. Ergonomically, everything seems to fall into place perfectly: frets, knobs, pick-guard. No stretching or hunting for lost controls.

cheaper than a music man but sounds just as good if you bought a music man you ripped your self off

if you enjoy any style of music and are in a band that covers a wide range then this has to be a bass you seriously have to consider buying

i have to say that right out of the box i havent changed a thing since i bought it in 1996 .

only bass i have ever takan on gigs with only a spare set of strings .On strings since i've found ghs boomers i dont even need these.they are truly mighty

I've been playing bass for thirty years now,in a variety of bands.I have had several basses over the years but I sure wish i'd started with this.If I had it would look like that old beaten up thing Sting plays. After reding some of the reveiws tho when you complain about the weight of this bass ... TRY GROWING A **** AND HARDEN UP !!!!

maple neck and fretboard. ash body one triple coil pickup. active electronics

round fat bass tone. sounds great with a band

excellent fret work. very playable neck

built like a tank very good workmanship throughout

never had to deal with them

been playing for thirty years this is my favorite bass simple,playes great,and sounds fantastic

2007 Indonesion Reissue of the 90's Ibanez ATK300. From the Cort factory I believe. None the less this is a well built bass guitar, don't be fooled.
22 frets, 4 string, triple coil humbucking active pickup.
These reissues have light ash bodies, so they aren't as heavy as the originals. The neck is thicker at the nut as well compared to the originals, which suits me just fine.

The sound is very versatile thanks to the active triple coil pickup. I can get burly musicman growl, precision bass punch and jazz bass throat with ease - and everything in between. The best thing is it isn't any of the aforementioned basses - it has its own incredible vibe sound wise. I play all kinds of rock, which is what this bass is great for and then some. Its great to slap and pop, and decent for more mellow jazzy tones too. I play this bass through a BBE optical compressor, a sansamp BDDI to an SWR Bass 350 into an Ampeg 6x10 HLF. The sound I use is punchy with great growl... even when i play fingerstyle. There's no need to play with a pick to get that mid range growl anymore, which is fantastic.

Comes with Elixir coated strings which might be the reason it sounded so good in the store... a good move by Ibanez as you tend to try out guitars in a store only to find there strings are way past their shelf life - sucking the tone royally. Some minor fret buzz on the higher frets but reasonably well set up. I would get a good setup done though before I record or gigged heavily. Otherwise the neck plays like butter... i have never liked a bass as soon as I picked it up but this was a huge exception.

Bass is built solid. Replaced the strap buttons straight away with Jim Dunlop strap locks, but I automatically do that for all my guitars. I would bring a backup guitar. This is an active bass, so the battery might die or the electronics play up. You should always gig with a backup guitar, regardless. Trust me.

haven't had any troubles.

Been playing for 10 years. I have always gigged and recorded with a Fender P Bass loaded with a Duncan Quarter Pounder, but since owning this bass that has changed forever. The neck on this bass is pure bliss... my fingers glide across it with ease, each note as well defined as the last. And these basses are a steal at the price. I would replace this bass in a heartbeat if it were stolen or lost.

I had been playing bass for about 3 years on and off when i bought this. After shopping around a lot i decided this was the one. the neck feels awesome. Its comfortable, especially on the higher frets.

compared to my ol bass this one sounds great. Its really solid and comes through real well with the other instruments. I find it easy to play smoother, harmonious lines, or eaven funk style with a slap and pluck. all the different settings sound grear, no objections.

The action on this bass feels very good. It plays smooth and i find it easy to navigate the fretboard. The original reason i bought it was for how good i felt to play with the spacing and im still impressed. Some say this bass is heavy, and it is. But the weight helps it to feel solid and gives it a strong feel. I got the all black finish but it looks good in all colors.

so far no problems here. As of now I dont expect many to occur. i give it an eight due to lack of long term use.

ive had no reason to contact the company.

after 3 years of playing on and off i didnt know where to go for a new bass. after getting this the ATK I began playing again, revolutionized my style, and greatly increased my skill. My band is taking of and i can proudly say that we are very bass heavy, thanks to this instrument. I suggest it for any bassist out there.

There's been a lot written about the specs of this bass, so I won't add to it, other than to say this was a solidly-made, well put-together guitar with a lot of variety to the sounds. The weight of the bass was definitely a problem, but sometimes the answer was to work out a bit more.

Of special interest was the pickup, which was active, and had three distict tonal ranges, from nice and thumpy to full on gack attack. Sustain was excellent, due to the huge bridge. For the price I paid it was great... for a while... the big problem for me I'll explain later.

I play a variety of styles, from angular punk to soul and pop. This bass could handle all of them, and quite well. I used everything from Traynor YBA-3 Tube amps to Gallien Krueger 400 RB heads (both run through a 4-10 cabinet) and this bass sounded great for all of them.

At least it did for a few years. When in the studio, we began to notice an awful lot of crackle coming out of the bass. We thought it was the input jack and replaced... still there. I took it to a repair shop in town (great service) and they openned up everything. They couldn't fix it. Why? The pickup was active and used a circuit board that was slowly frying. Repairing the bass would involve inserting a new circuit board.

Without repairs, the bass was about to become essentially useless.

I'll give this thing a 9 for when it worked.

Great. No problems out of the box.

This is where the bass really let me down. Everything was fine except the most important part: the pickup. This became a real problem because it was very difficult to repair. Read more for how it went down.

The slowly frying pickup meant that it was only serviceable by Ibanez, who by that time had stopped making the ATK. Service was estimated at at least $300 (almost 1/2 of the original sale price) plus an "undefined" waiting period. Not wanting to do this, I decided to sell the bass. But unlike almost every instrument I've owned, I sold this for far less than I bought it for ($200) simply because the problem was very difficult to fix. Not impressed.

I wish I had done more research on the pickup. Active electronics are great and all, but unlike a normal bass, they are difficult to fix. Ibanez did not make it any easier. I ended up buying an Ibanez Roadstar 2 (a great P-style bass made in the early 1980's) and everything that's gone wrong was easily fixable.

If this thing still worked, I would have gladly given it a 8 or 9.

1996. Japan
Upgraded with 1 fender noiseless neck J-PU, with extra swich to put it on.
With that extra PU it sounds much bigger (with balls) and louder, you can even get J-bass sound if it's on and the otiginall swich is on single mode.

I play music from blues, reage, trash metal... and it sounds great for all types of music.

With ATK I have fender p-bass standard, 1 custom made fretless and vintage (1779.) yamaha SB500, and atk is my favorite.
If it were stolen or lost, I would buy it again, and upgrade that one too.

1997 made in Korea. 22 ft. 3 EQ 1 master knob. Kent Armstrong "Motherbucker" pick-up. Ibanez electronics.All maple bolt-in neck, Ash (electronics)/ maple (bridge) body.

I used to think it sounded awesome until I got fustrated at my bass sound a while ago and decided to change the original pick-ups and electronics: Now it sounds like a pro bass and, exploits the special bridge contruction and maple body sound. Word to the wise: Seymour Duncan Bass-Lines SMB-4D MusicMan replacement ceramic pick-ups ARE awesome with this bass...match made in heaven!

Cutaway sucks bigtime otherwise very well finished and plays like charm when ajusted properly. A bit heavy (ok very heavy): trade-off for sound I guess.

This bass will withstand decades of polar/tropical conditions before it cracks.

:) no kidding...my 3 kids can testify. It's resting on a 100$ stand that drops (as my heart does), once in a while, on the floor due to heavy trafic. This happened at least 5 times without even scratching it. No fragile bass for me 'till they're outa the house.

Hasn't broken down...will probably be burried with, so that's at least 50 years of half-life expectency...should be nicknamed "Chernobyl".

For the price I paid, few...what a value! I'm even looking to modify it a bit more. With the pick-up upgrade, you will put to shame ANY MusicMan owner (K almost... that bass still looks WAY nicer than the ATK does, espacialy in white)

Mines a japanese made model with a solid as hell ash body and maple neck in honey laquered finish. Got the string through option and 3 band EQ like most of the others (im not sure if its on all of them).
Only thing i can fail it on is the 3 piece maple neck, ones only the headstock, but ive heard that this puts less strain on the neck and i only dont like it cos it looks a bit ugly considering how gorgeous it looks from the back, especially the honey laquer headstock which i think im gonna paint black or somethin. thats all down to taste though i suppose

I play predominately punk on it with a pretty think pick (.73 nylon most of the time) but it still belts out a nice chunky growly harsh sound but thats partly due to me using pretty over the top eq settings and dont use much bass (but plenty of lows). I dont use the string through option cos it seems to defy the point of this guitar which is a nasty raw attack! if you play rock kinda music anyway. Id reccomend not using strings any thinner then .95s if you use a plectrum and want plenty of low end as its a pretty tight sounding bass anyway. I use this guitar for my grunge/rock/punk/weird band because it has a very strange distinctive sound, i have a fender bullet which caters for when i want something a bit more mellow and warm(although it has quite a bit more snarl then a precision even though its sorta similar) but sayin that i do use it in a sinister surf punk band. best thing about it is the massive bridge which seems to give it a great reasonance

The set up ive got at the moment (which i think is how it came) is amazing, im not a fan of low action cos i seem to find it harder to play for some reason but even though slighly on the high side its very easily one of the easiest to finger basses ive ever played. Had a horrible setup done at sound control which was really low and fret buzzed very badly so i dont think its really that sorta guitar anyway. the necks sweet and therse no friction whatsoever. Ive only given it an 8 cos of the shitty jack its got, mine was pretty worn out when i bought at it and has totally gone now which would be ok but theres no way of getting to the middle of it to sort it out at all, can buy new ones so its not too bad

This things solid so its gonna take a few hundred nasty drops to break it, nothing i can really say is flimys in any way at all apart from the pickup selector but its solid chrome so i think its got a fair chance of living. My jacks a bit crap as i said but i dunno whether this is down too poor quality or abuse

only asked em if they still stock the jacks and it didnt take them long to reply with the part number etc

been playin for just over 5 years now and ive progressed alot on this guitar (probably due to my old one been awful) but im very happy with it and lots have people have given me good feedback on the sound of it when ive played live. although its a bit of a musicman rip off its certainly done in its own style. i definately wouldnt buy it if i was gonna play jazz or blues but it suits lots of styles very well, even reggea, just sounds a little on the heavy side but that just means it cuts through all the better. price i paid was amazing and id quite happily of paid twice as much for it (if i had the money)

Just wanted to add my comments on what I think is a very underated bass. I sold mine, as I tend not to collect a large quantiy of instruments-and I miss it. I bought my 4 string, sunburst model with a beautiful maple neck. A bit thick-but you soon get used to it, along with the jumbo frets. It was made overseas-not sure if it was Korea or Japan. It was the first bass I played that really gave a big sound. More on that in a minute.

This is the sweet part. Great sound. One of the few basses, I could play in a power trio situation on a live gig-and rise above the drummer-without a lot of squeaky high end, or hiss. I play fingerstyle. I used it thru a set of 4x12s and sometimes 8x10's-I was really just so pleased with the punch of this guitar-and it looked good on stage. The maple neck and sunburst body, especially.
What I didn't like about it, was the weight. I found it heavy-to the point that I was getting lower back pain. Had to sell it. Thinking back, I could have worked on my back with some exercises-but I was fearful that the bass could be doing damage. (all this occured while playing on stage-hell it could have just been stress-from a big showcase gig at the Roxy in Los Angeles. Some writers, say it is heavy -others say it is light and not bad at all.

Good quality workmanship, finish on both body and neck. Go for the Sunburst and "yellow tone" maple neck, if you can. String thru body-really gave you a nice vibration and bass throb against your leg. It had to be cutting a great set of notes! Subtle touches were nice as well.

It is OK for live playing just abit heavy for me and I am a big guy-it could be the balance. I now play an Ernie Ball Sterling-that seems to be better for me. Nice case-and I am looking to replace it. Any comments email me at Mikefor99@aol.com.

Never had to mess with it-although I did have one Ibanez that was cheap and Guitar Center at the time-told me to send the bass back east somewhere. Shoddy. The ATK was pretty much, a perfect purchase.
The company really should have continued the line. I like commitment on an instrument-which is why Fender and Ernie Ball, have done so well. Good news spreads-and guys listen.

Playing fingerstyle-rock, blues and jazz for about 20 plus years. I like my Ernie Ball Sterling (not a Stingray fan)-my all original Gibson EB-3, some uprgaded Fender P Basses. Ibanez like Peavy should try and keep successful instrument lines in production. It also gives authority and credibilty.

I currently own 6 Ibanez ATK basses.I have 5 ATK300s and 1 Koa Topped ATK500.I love the ATK Series basses.Very awesome for my style of music which is orginal punk rock.I have a Vintage Sunburst ATK300
that is possibly a 95,I have a cream white ATK300 thats 95,I have an amber finished ATK thats a 95 and my KOA topped ATK500 is a 95.I have a black ATK300 thats a 94 and a Japanese ATK300 in honeyburst
that is a 99.All ATKs are fretted with 22 frets.All of mine are 4 stringers.They have ash bodys and 3 piece maple necks.Comes complete
with 3 band EQ which consists of a volume,bass,mid,treble.The body is more of a mix between a Musicman and a P Bass.The bridges are very awesome on these monsters you have the option of either top loading or through the body.The tuners are very well made Schallers they stay in tune pretty well no problems in terms of tuning.

Well I play original punk rock stuff and it definately fits my music style.In fact,the one punk bassist that inspired me to like the ATK basses is bassist Greg Kriesel from The Offspring.The ATKs really fit that punk stuff very well.I currently run my ATKs through an Ampeg B3 158 bass combo for now.It really puts out that warm tone.At
first when I got the basses,the action was not set up so there were some minor adjustments made.The ATKs are known for that warm tone.They all provide that warm tone I go for.I have never played on stage or in a studio yet but I am waiting for both to come.The only things I really dislike about the ATKs is that out of all 6 ATKs I own I never notice a difference in sound or tone when you flip the toggle switch around.Another problem Ive had with 2 of my ATKs are the jacks have gone out but that was no big deal in the long run because they can very easily be replaced.

My ATKs were all set up unproperly so I had to get them properly set up.They really sound a play alot better.I really havent had anything in terms of flaws they all are made in good quality in my opinion.

I am looking forward to playing them live I bet they would last.I think the finishes are good enough to last.The strap pins hold up very damn well on my ATKs.As long as they provide the warm tone that I like and they hold up well they are definately dependable in my book.I would definately use them without back up.

Never dealt with them yet.

I have been playing for 5 years.Besides my 6 Ibanez ATKs,I had recently purchased a brand new Ibanez RD300 in black from Sam Ash.I also own an Epiphone Ripper bass in natural I have plans for that one.I have also a Jay Turser JTB440 Musicman Copy bass.In the future,
Ide like to get one of those Ibanez USATK basses and see how I like them.One thing in particular that I wish the ATKs had is more finsh options such as dark red,dark blue,maybe dark green.

This is one of the most underrated bass guitars ever made in my opinion. The ATK 300 can sound like just about any bass out there. The three way pickup is fantastic. It has a great feel and a massive bridge.

I have used this bass for both stage and studio use and it sounds better than anything else I have ever used in both situations. Using this bass with a mesa boogie bass 500+ a 4X10 mesa boogie cabnit and a 15" mesa boogie cabnit will sound better than and go louder than just about any other combonation out there. If your thinking about getting a music man, give this bass a try first, you will be glad you did.

The Ibanez ATK 300 has a great vintage look to it similar to the music man stingray. Black body with maple neck looks awesome. You have to love the massive chrome bridge. The weight is very nice similare to the music man stingray but a little lighter.

I had to replace the input jack on my Ibanez ATK 300 because it wouldn't hold the cable tight enough and the sound would cut in and out. I replaced it in about ten minutes and it is back to new.

Never had to deal with customer support. This bass is no longer made so they probably wouldn't be much help.

This is the best bass if you play metal, rock, slap and it is a great jazz bass aswell. Very versitile.

Hi, I bought my Ibanez ATK Bass in Nashville at a Pawn shop about
11-years ago for $265.00 It came with a really cool old flight case that I have since sold. I have been playing bass for over 30-years and I will never sell this guitar. The sound, weight, tone, feel and durability of it all is FANTASTIC! This is a keeper and I can not believe what a sleeper this bass is. The name Ibanez has a weird value when it comes to vintage and serious instruments. I mean, did anyone ever ask you what bass you play you say?: uh-uh, I play a Fender, a Musicman and OWN an old Ibanez just to goof around with.
I still do this after all these years and will try and give this bass it's due! I rate the ATK a 10-all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GREAT

GREAT

GREAT

GREATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this second hand in a local shop and paid 400 euro, three band eq with the single triple coil pick up,and selector switch so its and old one, 22 frets, 4 strings nuff said

I play in a lot of different bamds, one heavy metal, a rage against the machine tribute and an acustic covers band so i need a lot of sounds and i can get them all with the atk, i use and Boss mega ditortion pedal and a morley wah for soloing and plug it through a HH head and a 1 by 15 cab, U can play Funk to Death metal with it and i do

I bought it second hand and the action was perfect, there was a chip were it had been dropped and that was it, every thing looked and worled well

I ve giged on average once a week with this for a year, i rearly have to change the battery and only once did it lose tunig when i had been on stage for over 3 hours in the middle of summer, this bass is tough other bands have used it, its been dropped, i accidently hit people with and it keeps on going, Only fault is the jack is a bit lose but i unfderstand its common with all ATKs so occasioally u get that pooping sound when u move around pluged in

The shop i bought it off have always been help full with and problems (beat it music, Blackrock CO LOUTH IRELAND)and the ibanez web site a diagrams of wiring on older modles

Been playin bass for 3 years had this for 2, its and excellent bass and always does the job, I would loss the head if so chap even picked it up with out me knowing, let alone it being knicked. For other basses on that price range u could get vintages and squries brand new, But one thing it ways a fucking TON but I Love it

Mine is a 4 string wood finish made in Japan model, bought second hand. Just has the triple coil humbucker, not the added single of the later models. Mine must be about 5 yrs old but still in great nick. Has 22 frets (more then enough for me)

Like most people will say it has a good sound for funk and rock but lacks a more complex mellow tone for styles such as jazz. Good mids and bass but mine seems to be quite a metallic tone overall. I dont think I'd rate the sound quality as high as others have as I have played other basses in this price range which have more character(have other people found this?)eg ibanez Sound Gear.
To sum up I'd say my ATK has a very clean tone with ample range, bass, mids etc, but lacks personality, also don't thinks it "growls" as much as others would say.Has more of a bright/glassy sound than dark/woody. Is probably fine for the price especially if you can pick one up second hand.

When I got mine, the action was high but soon lowered it. I get some fret buzz but can be easily controled. I bought this bass because It fits like a glove, great neck, not to skinny like some modern designs (I like to have something to hold onto). Also string spacing is more than you get with fender/ibanez sound gear designs, this makes slapping/popping easy, also forces me to play less notes and with more rythum. I love the timeless/retro design from the tuners to the cool bridge design. Best playing/looking bass I could find! Although find it slightly neck heavy when standing. The front wood finish is stunning but feel the back and neck wood is not the prettiest wood available. Ok for price range, but have seen better. This may vary on each example.

I have used this bass to gig with without backup with confidence. Only once the wire to the 9v battery came lose at band practice and had to be resoldered. This base is solid, apart from the active electronics there is nothing to go wrong.

n/a

Been playing for 7yrs. and play my ATK through a 300watt Trace Elliot head and 4x10. Combined I get a very clean sound best suited to funk/rock but would still like a little more growl. As I like to play funk/hip hop music this bass suits very well. Other basses just don't feel right when I want to play really percusive funk/slap grooves. This would be my dream bass if it had slightly better qualty wood and maybe a single coil passive pickup. Would buy one again if I had to.

I'm sorry for my english...
Japan made, ash top, mahogany body, 21 frets, 3 band EQ plus 3 way switch, BIG bridge (wich adds a lot of sustain), string thru body...Everything you may wwant in an old fashioned bass.

Now the best news: This bass it's just a bomb. It's one of the brightest basses I've tried, and has very warm and deep bass range. The midrange, however is its weak point: Don't wait to obtain a Sterling, JB or Neusser tone in this bass, even playing at the bridge position (I must say i'm a midrange obsessed)
Very clear, warm and full sound and yes, the bass has also a GREAT slap sound.

You can lower the action as you want, altough you may want to lower the nut too (i'ts difficult to play in that position) The bass responds very well to neck adjustments, so don't be afraid to doing it. The feel is very much like fenders or MM, very expresive , but you may be dissapointed for the polyester finished fingerboard. Cuestion of taste

Just a tank. Very well made.

This is the best one I have in terms of its price. I
also have a Fender JB, a MM/EB Sterling and a Warwick Corvette Pro, and this is the bass I use most on stage (I've prefer The MM for the studio, altough I'm planning using it in the future) and my FAVOURITE one. I play mostly funk, latin and flamenco and it WORKS, but you can use it also in other styles (the bass suits well to rock, pop, but maybe not as well for jazz because its lack of smoothness)The differences in quality with the MM don't costs the difference in price.
The BEST bass of its range of prices I've tried

Bought used, mad in japan in '97. Standard scale, fretted, sunburst vit maple neck, passive electronics, with the exclusive atk series pick up.

I play in an alternative rock band trio, we do covers and self-made songs. I need a fat but versatile sound, that fits every style of playing. Well, I must say that this thing suits perfectly. I use it with a peavey tnt115 amp. The ATK has a really powerful voice, a warm tone, with some brilliant echoes at teh end. This bass is surely the perfect on stage machine.

When I bought it, the bass was in good conditions. Just some scretches on the back. The wood is of good quality, and the bass weight a ton. The neck required a light adjustement with the trussrod, and now its perfect. Good finish at all.

A very reliable beast. Always in tune. It looks always good

I'm playing since 1998, and owned a poorly made eko bass from the '80s. I hate everything in this bass, and I think it could easily stand other much expensive and quotated instruments like musicman and similar. This thing have a real personal and distinctive sound, and a very cool vintage andpersonal design. If it were stolen or lost, I'll surely search for another one. The only other bass I would like to own is a fretless fender jazz of the '70s.

Serial#C441741. Make in Korea. Not sure of the year...Probably Mid 90's. 4 string 22 frets on a fat neck similar to a P-bass neck. Solid Ash body. Volume, Low, Mid, High, and pickup selector. The pickup is active and really gives a big punch(sounds just like a stingray!)
Maple neck and fretboard. Wonderful sunburst finish on the body. 5 bolt-on neck. String-thru body with a giant bridge that could stop a train. Schaller tuners. I custom made a see-thru acrylic pickguard that can be seen here. [url]http://www.richstillwell.com/ATK300.htm[/url]

Great funk and rock bass...Fat sound. Fits the music I play in my band perfectly(Rock cover band) I use it with a Hartke 2000 bass head and Custom built 2x12 cabs. Usually use the Ibanez Phat Hed pedal for overdrive and the Phase 90 pedal for extra effect. No noise whatsoever from the bass so far. You can get great warm sounds and great bright sounds from this bass. A Stingray+. A great bass for the stage...a little heavy but very full sound.

Got it as a gift used...So I don't know the factory set up.

Super for live gigs...just make sure you stretch before hand...your back will thank you. The hardware is very sturdy and the bridge, as I said before, is so big and solid...it ain't going nowhere.
I have only had to adjust the truss rod once...and that was when I first got it. The previous owner was a heavy gigger in a country band and used this bass a lot...But it's in such great shape...and not abused at all.

N/A

I've been playing for about 12 years and this bass is my baby. I own an ATK405, Ex Series, and a Fender Japan Jazz Fretless.
If it were stolen I would buy another used instantly, since they are no longer made. I love the feel and rugged construction of this bass...It actually feels like you are playing bass...not just a guitar with 4 strings. The original pickguard was black and covered up the beautiful finish on the bass...so I had to do something about that.
I would say this bass is comprable to a Stingray but with more sounds and lighter.
Replace the cable jack and put some Elixir strings on this bad boy and you will be rockin for many years to come. The Ibanez jack's are notoriously crappy out of the box...So just replace it right away if it hasn't been done already.

Great bass...Would never part with it.

Mid 90's made in korea. I got for 250 used.(a steal) I had just lsot and auction for one on ebay that went over 400$ and was feeling quite down. See im in a sorta funky punk band and my old bass jsut wasnt cutting it. First i was opting for a epiphone les pual bass, but i decided i wanted a different sound. Anyway i looked all over the internet and found a guy selling his atk for 250$ damn what a deal. I imediatly got on it and purchased the bass from him and was a happy teen once again. ok features well it has a 3-band eq a pickup sellector for the triple coil mm style pickup and a strong preamp

Amazing i love it Music man sound but with other sounds readily availiable through the coil selector.

Action was crap but it was used so. It looks beutiful with the big metal bridge and the nice sunburst finsh. Frets are a little rough.

Havnt had it long enough to tell

never needed it yet

One of the great steals in the world of basses. Sound looks all come together wih this bass. Its BASSicly a good BASS

Sorry for my english'speaking i'm french. So this is a 1999-japan model that i own. 22 frets, body in ash, maple for the neck and the fingerboard. The neck is big and the weight of this bass is very high! The bridge is interessant: we can link the string thru-body or no. The tuner are so heavy like a fender. It's an active electronic with volume, blend, lows-mid-high, and a three switch position. The pickup is a special ibanez triple-coil. So good feature like a musicman with low price.

especially untidy, perhaps a good sound for rock but not for jazz, fusion, world...I say that the pickup is not good so i changed it with a bart 9sl(jbass style) i had. Ok, it's strange but i like the atk 300 lutherie and the bart's sound so why not? It sounds good for me and i find again the unpluged sound. Without the bart's choice, to change the pickup is promising. Bassculture make custom pickup for atk..

R.A.S. good finish, good set up, no flaws(made in japan..)

This bass is a panzer so reliability is no soucy!
Since buying it, no surprise.

For the price it is a very good bass!! But it have to change the stock pickup, so find an other pickup and it's equal with musicman quality. Be careful : the younger atk(305..) are made in corea..

My ATK is a little different than the others i've seen because it has a flamed koa top and it has an alder body, while most are supposed to have Ash. mine isnt nearly as heavy as my ash bodied Peavey T-40.

it has all the standard features. the pickup selection is NOT single/parralell/series, it's actually top coil/bottom coil with trebkle boost/series. unfortunately, i think mine has top coil/top coil with treble boost/series; at least that's what it seems to do when i bang on the pickup with a screwdriver.

it also has a maple neck, and active 3 band preamp. inside the control cavity there is a little trim pot (i guess!) that lets you cut or boost the treble even more and you can set it to your liking, i just left it where it was because it sounds fine like it is. but i thought it was a cool feature anyway.

i'll give it an 8 for features, it'd get higher if my pickup selector wasnt whack. the koa top looks very nice, but i could do without the flame. i dont know, flame tops just dont do anything for me, but it looks fine anyway. it has a clear pickguard, but i took it off because it was really thick and i didnt like how it looked either.

I play lots of different stuff, so that doesnt matter. i have a yorkville BM200 which is a VERY good combo amp that gives a very uncolored sound, it just lets your bass sound go through. with the first pickup selection, there is a good amount of mids and bite. it sounds great fingerstyle and for slap as well. it's not quite as 'growly' as a fender jazz bridge pickup, but it does a good job growling anyway. sounds very nice, and the EQ works great to get it to sound like whatever you want it to, especially in conjunction with your amp's EQ. the middle pickup selection sounds kind of screwy. it sounds just like the first one, but it has a LOT of highs. like someone boosted the 10khz up about 6db. i dont like this setting very much, and you cant make that treble boost go away really. it's the top coil, and i think it's supposed to be the bottom coil. maybe thats why it sounds bad!
the series mode sounds very MM Stingray-ish. with the right EQ settings (not a lot of EQing really) i can nail rage against the machine's "take the power back" bass tone very well. i cant help but slap all day when i'm on this selection. slapping the open E has a very loud bite to it that i really like, especially when you tune to D, which i dont do very often. it has sort of a cut midrange, but it still bites and cuts through really hard. it's hard to explain, it sounds pretty close to an MM from the recordings i've heard, but i've never played an actual MM stingray, so i dont know exactly how close it nails the tone. all i knwo is it has a sound all of it's own and it's a very good sound. very gig and studio worthy. i'd say it's 100% gig and studio worthy, it sounds very expensive, but it isnt!! very impressive, especially for an ibanez, which im usually not very fond of. i'd give it a 10, but im still bummed about minme having the screwy swtich. also, i use DR Hi beams on this bass, so i have no idea what it sounds like with nickel wounds or flats, but i think using nickels or flats with this bass would just be stupid!! also, there is NO hum, EVER. thats why there is that 3rd coil in the middle of the humbucker, it keeps the hum away for good!

i bought it used, but it was set up just fine. i didnt need to change the action, it's nice and low and buzzes a little bit but i think it sounds fine, i think the fret buzz helps give it a more growly biting sound sometimes. and it's not a LOT of fret buzz or anything of course, just when you play hard.
everything else is fine, it plays like a dream and is VERY comfortable. icouldnt believe it. the neck is also really fast and smooth, i love it.

it's sturdy enough. not as soild as my peavey t-40 but it's as solid as the incredible hulk.

i'd gig with it, but i'd take a back up, just like i would with any bass. it's very dependable, i dont think reliability is a very big issue with ANY bass as long as u dont play baseball with it.

i have no idea. ibanez's website is pretty helpful though, has wiring diagrams and manuals for older models, like the ATK.

the only thing i dont like is how i cant get the bottom coil in single coil mode. but everything else about this bass is great. plays great, sounds great, looks good, it's not heavy, and it was only 300 bucks. i think it's a very good MM for people who cant afford an MM or wont pay that much for one, like me. i usually dont like active EQs on my basses, i like passive ones, but i think the preamp is a good thing with this style of bass. it's a very good investment, even though it isnt good for ALL types of music. it'll work well with most rock and funk and maybe even blues, but i think i'd be pretty out of place for softer music types, unless u cut all the treble and then it'd just sound bad. maybe then the nickel wounds or flats would help, but this bass is meant to be slapped if you ask me. thats what i use it as and im very very happy wiht mine! i'd definately recommend it. i'll give it a 10 for the "bang for buck" factor, but really, with a bass like this, why spend over 1000 on something that is just a little better???

1985 Ibanez ATK 300 Korean made. 22 frets, 4 stringer, natrual finish,
One Humbucker and a dummy coil (for noiselessness) at the bridge. Active, soild maple neck (maybe two peice) Ash body (I belive). Cool body style, looks like a old school BTB. Bridge is either strung thru the bridge, OR thru body,,, HOW GREAT IS THAT!?!?!. 3 band eq, with a GOOD pre-amp, unlike other Ibanez basses. 3 way pick up switch for "humbucker", "Single coil", and "Single coil with treble boost" (at least according to ibanez).

Sound? god like tone, it can get nasal and nasty, big and nasty, big and deep, and sorta sounds like a souped up EB With more tone. I like midrange, so i use that alot, becasue it has buttloads of it, but it souds awesome scooped to. this thing cuts thru ANYTHING, It's not to nosey, only if you crank every treble knob you have. The bass leans more to the bright sounding catagory, but it still has a deep rich tone.

I got it used, and it was setup pretty good, the flaws were from the prevoius owner. The neck also plays liek a dream, HELLA FAST.

This thing is a tank, it can stand a world war, let alone a puny "live gig". The finish is great, even after many, many years. The strap buttons are solid, but i'm still gonna put some strap locks on them,,, just in case. It's very dependable, i would gig without back up. the neck is solid, unlike other namless ibanez necks... *cough* soundgears *cough*

Well, i got it used, so i don't need the ibanez support. The thing has never needed repair, it's great.

I own a p-bass, and the ibanz is ten times more soild sounding. If you find one, at least plug it in. If it were stolen, i would find the guy, and rob him of his manhood. my favorite thing abotu this bass is the TONE, And the option of either stringing method. i compared it to a new Stringray, and it didnt come close as far as tones i could get from it. Wish it had a J-Bass Pick up at the neck, but i think the newer ones do.

The Ibanez ATK 300 Bass Guitar is basically a musicman stingray copy. Mine has a Tobacco Sunburst, Maple fretboard and 22 fret, 5 bolt neck. I think this is a good looking bass with a lot of tone variety and nice value. It has an active pickup, volume control, treble control, bass control, mid control knobs, 3-way pickup selector switch and a Triple coil bass humbucker pickup with mode/coil switching. The 3-Way switch can be a little confusing at times. It sometimes makes a huge difference in tone and other times none at all.

I bass in a variety of situations from rock to cabaret to blues. I have a lot more boom than slap in my playing. I play with Fender plastic coated strings to get my tone through an Eden Nemesis cab. Sometimes foot pedals depending on the situation. I find that the bass sounds very good in my club situations. I have heard other players slap and tickle these basses and they are really pretty good sounding at that level too. It has a nice range of sounds. The negatives are in the cable plug. I?ve had terrible problems with mine and have heard the same from other people who have these basses. Because of the plug problems you may hear clicks etc in the studio that you might not catch live. I don't have 100% trust in the electronics but mostly because of all the times I have had to go into the back and resolder wires that where pulled out when the jack came loose. I now have the jack glued down

All in all I like this bass. Especially for it's price. I have heard comments that it is a heavy bass but it feels lighter than a couple of my Telecasters. The frets were fine. I don't have 100% trust in the electronics but mostly because of all the times I have had to go into the back and resolder wires that where pulled out when the jack came loose. I now have the jack glued down and have the back set so that I can remove it without unscrewing it so that I can tweak the circuts as needed.

Because of the cable plug I didn't rate this bass that high for Reliability. I am always a little scared to have it as my only bass. I have no problems with the neck or the finish. I like the bridge and it seems quite sturdy.

Haven't used customer support. I have had to have the plug repaired many times. But they were guitar shops.

When I bought this bass I was primarily a guitar player who fooled around on bass. Now I enjoy playing bass at gigs every week. Would I buy it again? That depends on how much money I felt I was able to spend. It is an excellent value for the money (You can only find them used now but they go very cheap. I?ve seen them go for as little as $150 on ebay. I have considered buying a spare.) But for a serious player you may consider spending a lot more.

I believe this is a 1997 model from either Japan or Korea. It's a 22 fret 4-string with active 3-band EQ. There's one MM style 3 coil (2 coils, 1 dummy) with a 3-way selector swith; you've got 3 choices: single coil (still humbucking), series, and parallel. The pickup is a stock Ibanez. The body's ash with a sunburst finish. The body is kind of like a p-bass on steroids. The bridge gives the option to string through the bridge or the body. The tuners are big open gear, probably schaller. The maple neck is huge, but very playable, and has a maple fingerboard. It was sent in a crappy little gig bag with padding comperable to that of 2 sheets of paper, but it was extremely well packed, so no hard feelings.

I play every style, but I favor rock and funky stuff (love the Red Hot Chili Peppers). I can't play without a growl anymore, and this bass hangs with the best of 'em. I play through a GK 700RB and a Peavey 4x10 4ohm cab. The bass isn't noisy at all, with one exception: if the tweeter is on at a fair level and the treble is cranked, you'll get a nasty hiss, as well as a nasty sound from too much treble. I haven't used the tweeter hardly at all recently, but it sounds good either way. This this has a huge, full sound, and awesome sustain (it better, because it's damn heavy). Definitely has a warm, bright sound up front, but a dark sound can easily bet achieved. The bass sounds mostly like a MusicMan, but by switching the pickup selector, you can get 2 distinct other sounds. With a little work on the eq, you can get just about anything. Also, this thing growls like a champ. The harder you play, the more it does so, but a growl free, extremely warm sound can be achieved by playing softly. I love the sound of this bass in the studio, but the onstage sounds that I get are unreal. Unfortunately, it's pretty heavy (doesn't bother me one bit, but I'm just warning whoever reads this. In the end, it's not noticibly better on the stage than in the studio. I like the fact that the bass control doesn't make the sound muddy, and even if you cut the treble all the way, your tone doesn't disappear. No dislikes in the sound department

When I got the bass, it was well set up. After a bunch of shows in different atmospheres (rainy weather to dry heat), the next straitened a little bit, causing huge buzz on the D and G strings below the 7th fret. This was easily fixed by a 5 minute truss rod adjustment. The action is between medium and low. The finish was well done (until i dropped it), and nothing was loose or noisy. The controls and hardware were (and still are) in good shape; no rust. The neck is awesome, but because of that one time where I had to adjust it (easy fix), I'll give this category a 9

This bass definitely withstands live playing. It's a tank. I dropped it when the shitty strap I was using decided to break. It fell right on the body, bounced into the air, then landed on it's back and the headstock (I believe that this was the real cause of the whole neck adjustment thing, but I can't say for sure). I picked it up to find a quarter sized chunk of the finish missing next to the output jack with little cracks along the outside of the missing chunk. I've seen how thick the finish it, and it will never wear off. The hardware was completely unharmed. I thought that my strap button had fallen off, but I turned out to be wrong. They're definitely solid. It was in perfect working order for the whole show after being dropped, and I had no backup.

N/A

I own an Ibanez EDB 690 Ergodyne bass, and a standard P-Bass. I also own a small Peavey Basic 112 for practice between gigs, and a few effects pedals. If it were stolen or lost, I'd definitley get another one. I love the sound, and I don't really hate anything about it. My favorite feature is either the sound i get from it, or the neck. The neck is at the perfect width and the strings are perfectly spaced for slapping. I wish I could get the bass with a finish of my choice (I'd get some crazy big flake finish), but the one it has is just fine. I don't know why they discontinued this thing. If it was because of a lack of sales, that's a shame. The price that I got it for was a huge deal compared to it's actual value, especially for me being the first owner (I got lucky). All in all, this thing is a 10.

4 strings also available in 5. i prefer 4 strings anyday.
Neck Type: maple bolt on neck. 22 frets Three pieces.
Fingerboard: maple fretted
Body Type: Ash. heavy shit but nice. i love it.
Pickup: Active triple coil pickup located next to the bridge.
Controls: Three band active E.Q plus volume.

amazing! using this bass you can totally choose your sound, great for all styles, pick, walk, slap & pop, i tend to pretty much dislike pick playing, i hate the sound of it but thats just me.

i havnt yet used any effect with it, just clean so far. i have no dislikes about the sounds i can achieve, their is so much variety.

i bought it second hand.

this bass feels expenisive, im sure its durable, this is the first bass i ever picked up ITS HEAVY, every other bass i have picked up feels like a little toy, yet i have not roadtested fender or musicman basses, im a relatively new player. the strap button feel very solid, the finish is great. and i would gig with this bass without a backup, i will be very soon.

bought it secong hand!

great bass, feels, looks and sounds very expensive, a real steal for the price they are second hand. if you cant afford musicman or top range fender basses but want the same quality and similar sound get this bass!

4 string, 34' scale, maple neck/fingerboard, alder body, either string thru body or bridge, one MM p'up, 3 band eq, 3 way character switch. Think Music Man sterling with a bigger, more substantial body, at a fraction of the cost...I have 2 fretted and fretless. I rated it an 8 because a Jazz p'up in the neck pos. would round it out.

I play sessions, Alt, pop, c&w, r&b. with/without pick, finger-style and slap funk. It just jams. A bit on the boomy side, but I like that (engineers don't, tho') nice highs, great texturing mids. I play a Mesa M-2000, and with this bass and that amp, I am set for all occasions.

Both of mine were used, but even still the neck fit is tight and stable. The white finish is perfect, and after a pro setup 2 years ago, i say that this bass is as comfortable as my slippers. As far as Ive seen, standard Ibanez quality.

4 years of super-reliable service. I have averaged more than 3 days a week on this bass.

never needed it.

I own enough basses to get me divorced. I own 2 of these. I want a third. I only play these anymore. you figure it out.

These bases are an attempt at a Musicman style of bass. Made in Korea c 1993. They were imported to the US for only a few years. They are still in production, and now are Lakland-type basses with a single J pickup and triple coil humbucker at the bridge.

22 Frets. Med-jumbo.

4 string.

Solid top - Body is made of ash. Maple neck, with maple fretboard. Fretboard is laquered. Back of the neck is satin finished. The body has a nice amber-burst finish. Ugly pickguard (that I removed). The body style is vaguey Fender-ish. The bridge is a huge, Telecaster-style unit that encircles the large humbucker. It is setup to allow either through-body or through-bridge stringing.

Tuners are standard Schaller, open back tuners. 2+2 configuration.

Neck is 1 11/16" at the nut, but is nicely proportioned. My bass is set up very nicely.

4 knobs and one switch: volume, active eq - treble, mid, bass. Switch allows series, parallel, single coil operation of a single, large, triple coil pickup in the bridge position. The center coil is a "dummy" coil, so even in single coil mode, it's noiseless.

Control cavity is very well shielded, and grounds are good. The battery compartment is a separate cover with brass inserts for the screws to avoid stripping the body. nice!

This bass has a huge tone. The series setting is full and loud. The parallel setting approaches the J-bass sound with both pickups on full. The single coil sound is nice and warm. I reversed the pickup so that the single coil mode activated the coil closest to the bridge. I get a bit more growl and nasal tone that way. The preamp output is easily adjusted with an internal trimpot.

I use this bass with a Sansamp bass DI/driver, and it sounds phenomenal. but then, most basses sound great with the Sansamp... I use various amps, but I'm using my SWR WM10 with 1x10 ext cab a lot these days. This bass sounds great though this rig.

The electronics are quiet, but there is noticeable hiss with the trebloe cranked. I don't use too much active treble, though because this bass is very bright. I'm using DR Highbeams.

This bass gets a surprising variety of tones. In series mode, it's a rock monster, loud and cutting. I like to slap in parallel mode. In single coil mode, with the treble rolled off a hair and the mids bumped a hair, it gets a great straight-ahead quasi-vintage tone.

For those with bad backs, be forewarned. This bass is damn heavy.

I bought the bass used, so I don't know how it came from the factory. It's setup very well right now, though.

There are no defects in the finish. The fretwork is great with rolled edges and level frets. The body is made of 3 pieces of ash, so the grain isn't perfect. It is nice, though. The screws holding the bridge to the body are rusting a bit.

The stock pickguard is tragically ugly. The new ATKs seem to have forgone the pickguard. I removed mine, and it looks a lot better.

This bass is a tank. I have no fear that it will crap out on me. I don't usually bring backup basses to gigs with me.

Never have had to deal with them.

I've been playing for almost 20 yrs. I own a Heartfield DR5 (that I love). I love my new ATK, though. It's really a fantastic bass. Totally underrated. i'd be heartbroken if it were stolen. I'd search for a new one pronto, and the thief would hopefully meet with an ugly fate ( or meet me with my Glock...)

I think the best part of this bass is the sound. It's really clear and bright. Very modern sounding. Great for rock. It's more versatile than people give it credit for, especially with some eq-ing.

Believe early 90's ATK 300 4 string (Japan?). Active three band eq with one soapbar pickup. Three way selector switch. 24 playable frets on a maple on maple bolt on. Mine is a natural finish ...which I HATE..and the bass looks quite retro. But the sounds are many and AWESOME! I use this mostly for studio work and practice as my Jacksons and Charvels look better...and sound close. Body is the typical P-Bass knock off. Mine came with a padded gig bag.

Suits many styles well...mine is metal. In the studio I use it through a SansAmp Bass DI box and it rocks! Stage amp is a Hartke HA3500 with XL 4x10 and XL 1x15 cabs. No noise at all. GREAT range of sounds. Hate the look...love the sound.

As the others...poor factory setup...finish is flawless. A little tweeking to get the action where I like it and all is well.

Stays in tune. Hardware is sturdy.

na

Playing for 13 years...would repeat the purchase...sounds alot like my old G&L SB-1 I used to have. Love the sound...hate the look....

A 1996-96 Ibanez ATK bass. 22 Frets. 4 Strings. Single Humbucker coil (with a phantom coil for hum cancelation) with active electronics, high/low/mid volume and coil selection switch. The strings can go through the body or bridge. Basicly is's a MusicMan clone. Ibanez has since stoped making them. They were available in 4 and 5 string models and fretless.

This bass was made to rock. Funk/Rock/Punk/Metal it all does extremely well. The electronics are dead quiet. Played with a pick it's extremely agressive. I play through an Ampeg SVP-Pro preamp through Carvin Cabs and it sounds great. I've even been able to coax more mellow tones from the bass using a muted thumb technique. It would have no problem cutting through a wall of guitars, but the bass is lacking in the low mids growl. If you are a fan of MusicMan's then this bass would certainly be of some interest to you. While it's a blatent attempt to copy the Ernie Ball MusicMan sound/look, it does have it's own voice. Stringing the bass through the body is the only option as I see it, as it increases sustain and adds body to the the sound.

When I recieved the bass it was set up nearly perfect. I think it was set up by MusiciansFriend before it was sent out. I noticed no major flaws. The neck has remained relitivly straight intill recently. I don't believe there is any kind of support in the neck besides the truss rod, and last time I adjusted the neck I detected some minor waving. Even so the bass still plays very easy and relitivly efortlessly. I did notice that there was a slight fret buzz through the bass even after being adjusted (despite this, it adds to the character of the bass). As this is an Ibanez, the quality of the wood is relitivly low (I've heard other stories of Ibanez necks warping...) despite that fact that it is three ply maple. The high gloss black finish was excelent, though some of the screws holding the pickguard have tarnished niticably. The bridge is excelent - one mammoth solid piece of mettal.

This bass has served me well for many years. Due to financial reasons, I've giged with it withough backup (dangerous I know) and it's come through. The recent neck problems have given me cause to wonder on the quality of the wood though. I've also experienced a problem with the input jack. Apparently this has been a re-occuring problem with ATK's. I've taken impecable care of the instrument (never keeping it out of the case or in the cold) and it would probably last for a long while (with trus rod adjustments taking care of the neck).

N/A

I've been playing bass for over 10 years and this has been my main ax for most of them. As I said before it has served me well. In it's price range it's an excelent deal, but it falls short when compaired to higher end basses (as expected). I would rate this bass as a very good simi-pro bass for heavy music, but if your looking for a profesional bass with a little meatier sound and better construction, look at MusicMan's or Warwicks. If your a conosour of the MusicMan sound; this one is a must. It's a good bass but I plan on trading it in soon. If it were lost or stolen, I would get a Warwick - no question, and would not consider another Ibanez.

Same as the other reviews. 3 band active eq. active triple coil pickup, can be string throught the body or bridge, maple fingerboard.
very heavy. Made in Korea from mid to late 90's. This bass has a big body and a big, fat, thick neck, but it is suprisingly confortable and easy to play, and I have small hands. Needs a thumbrest!

musicman stingray type tone. very agressive and bright. Gets a deep warm tone with the bass control turned up, but the brightness does not go away, even with the treble turned all the way down, so you wont get a vintage fender tone. Great for thumping popping and agressive toned rock and funk. Great sounding bass, but that brightness can be annoying if you are used to vintage-type tone. Midrange contol sounds real good too.

Brought used, so I dont know, but it was very well set up when I got it. I did not see any problems in this category.

Extemely solid in every way. I think this bass would be hard to break or damage.

dont know purchseed used

This is a slighly underrated bass, and I dont know why it was discontinued. Doesent sound as good as a Stingray, and not as versatile as its touted to be. I would buy another one of these. Depending on you playing style, you might need a thumbrest. Wide body does not fit in some gig bags.

Ibanez ATK, I don't know the exact year, Probably 1998 or 1999. Ash bodied long-scale four string,huge maple neck and fingerboard w/jumbo frets & black dot inlay. One volume, 3 band Eq, plus weird tone switch. One super cool 3 coil pickup. Huge metal bridge surrounds the pickup, like a telecaster, plus you can string through the body OR through the bridge. Oh yeah, It has a black pickguard, if you care

I want to take a moment to compliment Ibanez on their excellent necks, I own two Ibanez basses and both have this super smooth neck, wish i knew how they were finished.

I play rock and a little bit of Jazz, with a little eq tweaking this baby sounds great, I actually prefer it to my Ricky. The pickup is always humcancelling, no matter what setting it is on. The Eq is boost/cut, that alone lets you pull a host of tones, but then you get this three position "Character" switch. Ibanez calls the settings something like "bright," "Dark," and "Traditional." With the help of a tuning fork, I call the settings "one coil(all the way up),"Two coils(middle)," "Three coils(all the way back)."

I bought this bass used, so I can't talk about the factory setup, but when I bought it the action and setup was pretty good. The finish was chewed up, but thats exactly how I like it.

Built like a rock. This is the Chevy of basses. My only complaint is that the electronics are all directly wired onto the circuit board, hope they don't break on me.

Haven't a clue, they probably shouldn't waste their money on tech support, their basses are indestructable.

I've been playing For nearly a year now and own a passive soundgear and a Ricky 4001 in addition to this bass. I run all these through a downright shitty 15 watt Ibanez amp. I probably should sell one of these basses so I could have a decent amp, but...

Anyway this is my favorite bass. If It were stolen I would dig up another

This is a brand new (99-00) ibanez atk300, and since it's been discontinued, i guess it's one of the last of it's breed. I'm primarily a rock/punk guitar player but i'm playing bass for a jazz band, and this has provided a really painless transition. It's a HUGE bass, but it plays like a dream. It's got a huge triple-coil pickup (active), a on-board three band EQ, volume and a three way selector, an awesome maple neck and fingerboard, an swamp ash body, huge vintage style tuners and the atk special dual mount bridge so you can mount the strings through the body or on top.

well as i mentioned before i play all rock (jazz, punk, classic) and so far it hasn't failed me yet! i'm running it straight through a tiny 30 watt gorilla bass amp, and it sounds great. Extremely versatile as far as sound (you can thank the three band EQ for that!)

everything is great! it looks, sounds and plays great!

this bass will beat the crowd and still be able to play a MARATHON! first time i've bought a guitar and NOT had to replace the strap buttons

no need for customer support

i've been playing guitar for about five years now, and bass for about three, this is my first bass and if all goes well, my last! being a guitar player i prefer small scale necks (who wouldn't go for a nice vintage mustang bass?) but i love this one and would raise holy hell if anything ever happened to it!

See Below for a list of features. I would just like to add that there isn't really anything you could add to this bass.

This seems to be a really aggressive bass. I'm primarily a guitar player, so keep that in mind, but it seems to be that this bass is best left to hard hitting styles of music. When I play bass, it's primarily punk, and it is perfect for this. I also enjoy playing some country, and I'm not pleased when using it in this style. It's great for rock. Also, you can get a nice variety of tones in this bass. Does it have every sound you need? That depends. For me, a guy who writes and records his own music, it's perfect. Would it please everybody? Of course not. I've yet to see any instrument that does that. If you take it for what it is, this a the best value around, hands down.

The bass was set up very poorly. The action is kind of high, but I really like playing this bass. Once you get used to the action, it's a dream to play. The finish was top notch and everything else was perfect. Ibanez, spend a little time on setup please.

It's a rock. Wear it and hit some notes. Feel how the whole bass vibrates? That's a good bass.

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I've been playing guitar for 12 years and bought a bass to beef up my recordings. I checked out a lot of basses, and this one was the best value. Of course, I really wanted a G&L ASAT bass, but this being my first bass I thought that would be overkill. This bass beats all in it's price range easily and some of the more expensive ones. If your looking for value, look no further.

This bass was made in Korea. I think it's a 98. It has 22 frets. Solid top. It has active pickups with a 3 band equalizer and a master volume control. It has a 3-way selector switch. The pickup is an ibanez atk pickup. It is a triple single coil which can be made to have many different sounds, via the selector switch and equalizer. The neck is a 3-piece maple, the headstock is basswood, and the body is ash. The finish is white. The body is the standard fender p-bass shape. The bridge is an ibanez atk bridge. You can either string it through the body for more low-end and sustain, or through the bridge for more high end. The tuners are vintage-style schaller licensed. The frets are jumbo. It's kind of heavy, but that's not really much of a problem.

This bass is probably the best sounding bass I've ever heard or played. I researched many basses before I decided to get this model. I originally though of it as a cheaper way to get the ernie ball music man sting ray sound, but when I played it out in the store, I was totally blown away. It actually sounded BETTER than the Music man. I have total control over the sound with the active pickup and equalizer. I can get just about any sound I want. This bass is so versatile any bassist from any style could use this bass and be happy with the sound. It can get everything from smooth jazz tones to bright tones for punk. I play bass and sing in a punk band. I play it through an epiphone practice amp and through an ampeg svt classic. It sounds great no matter what I put it into though.

It has some buzz around the 6th or 7th fret. The action on it is perfect. It was in the music store for a year or two before I bought it, so they may have tweaked it a bit. The only flaw was the fret buzz. This bass is perfect.

It stands up to live playing pretty well. I do all the punk kicks and stuff it never even budges. I can depend on this bass like I would depend on Bill Gates to give money to charity for tax write-offs. The strap buttons are solid and the finish is layered on heavily. It will never rub off. The hardware is also very solid.

I've never had to deal with Ibanez. It didn't have a warranty card on it when I bought it. I'm probably just gonna take it back to the music store where I bought it if anything ever happens to it. The keyword there was EVER.

This is the best bass i've ever heard, seen, played, or owned. The only other bass I own is a hohner p-bass. It's ok, but the ibanez is much better. The bass is HUGE. It is about twice the size of the ibanez soundgears. I love the size though. I love everything about this bass. The thing I like the most is the active pick-up and equalizer. It's a pretty unqued pick-up and it makes the bass' sound very very versatile. I compared it to the sound of the music man and an epiphone thunderbird and les paul basses. The ibanez totaly blew them out of the water in every category. Price, features, sound, playability, versatility. This bass is on top in everything. I chose it because of how great it was. If it was stolen or lost, i'd buy another. My advice to any bassist is to buy this bass. You get the sound of just about any model of bass with any kind of pickups with a little tweaking of the knobs. It's not that expensive either. You can pick one up for about 300-500 dollars at any music store. Well worth the price!

Standard factory set-up with active electronics. This bass has a 3-band EQ, 3-way pickup selector switch and the unique soapbar pickup. This bass can be strung through the bridge or body depending on personal preference. With the options of how you want to string the bass and the 3 different "voices" of the pickup make this an extremely versitile bass, especially for the price (I paid $625 and that included a hardshell case)

I really am pleased with the sound of the ATK. I use the bass rock/alternative setting with a Hartke 1415 Combo amp (140 watts) and it gives me all the tone I need. The previously mentioned selector switch allows for three seperate tones without any adjustment what-so-ever. When strung through the body, the bass has excellent sustain. With the selector switch in the bridge position, you can achieve the metallic, "treble-y" sound that seems to be popular now. The other two are a bit softer and offer a nice, fat sound. I use flat-wound strings strung through the bridge and I generally have the switch in the neck position. This allows a warm, fat sound even when playing with a pick (although, I generally use my fingers). I use a Boss ODB-3 Overdrive pedal in some situations and the sound is mediocre, although the flats are the main reason the distortion isn't that great. All in all, I feel the sound is acceptable and the variety gives the rating a little boost.

This bass, as mentioned in a previous submission, is set-up terribly at the factory. Being a relative beginner (I've been playing only 1 1/2 years), setting up the bass was a difficult process. However, anyone with expierence shouldn't have much of a problem lowering the action, etc. The bass seems to be sturdily built (it's very, very heavy!) and is quite a pretty bass to look at. Overall, I have yet to expierence any problems other than the set-up. This rating is the least applicable in my opinion seeing how action, fit, and finish are mainly personal preference but the 6 rating is purely because the action is rather high (which could probably be corrected by a professional)

I purchased this bass about 5 months ago (August 99) and it is still in perfect condition. I am not currently in a band, so I cannot say how this bass would stand up to live playing, but I can't think of a single reason why it wouldn't. I'll give this bass a reliability rating of 10 because, as mentioned, it is still in mint condition and has not given me any indications that it won't still be in playing condition twenty years down the road. However, keep in mind that I have not really tested it in a gig situation.

N/A; I have not had a problem and i do not foresee having any with this bass.

As I mentioned, I am basically a beginner. My previous (first) bass was a Squier P-bass, so the ATK is an obvious step up for me. However, I have tried out several other basses, and there is nothing better in its price range. Someday, I hope to purchase the only bass I've played that I liked better than the ATK, that would be a MusicMan Stingray.

The particular instrument I bought is an ATK-300 from 97. It has a unique cream finish with triple ply (w/b/w) black pickguard. Even though the instrument was built in Korea (probably by underpayed underfed teenagers-damn the system), its quality of construction (and sound) is AMAZING. Solid top (no binding, furling, etc. on neck or boy) Ash body, 3 piece maple neck. It's HUGE (this ain't your daddy's soundgear) The active electronics include 3 seperate pots for bass, mid, treble. The unique thing about the ATK is a "Tone Shaping" circuitry that can push your tune anywhere from Les Claypool picking to Bootsy Collins slap to Jaco smooth. The bridge is a huge hunk of metal that spans over 5x3 inches. In the center of it is a massive triple coil pickup (it can be set humbucker, single, dual) The bridge is string-thu-body for that funky deep tone. Maple neck, 22 jumbo frets on a maple neck, butterfly open tuners, etc. Beautiful looking, really.

God, what's not to love? The ash body gives the ATK great bassy resonance, and the triple coil pickup has as much tonal range and quality of sound as a $900 bartolini. I play through 1) a Crate bx-100 2) Ampeg Vt-22 tube head w/ 2-15 cab-- and whatever i'm jamming on (i've even played it thru a crate 20 watt guitar amp)My FX include a guitar wah (which sounds fine on bass) and an FX prosessor with dist, chorus, flange, etc. The amp could be the most god-aweful piece of excrement and this instrument sounds good. There's even an option to string on the bridge without going through the body for a higher tone. Ibanez really went wild on this one. Part of the great sound is the god-damn sie of this sucker. It's like holding 2 Soundgears, and sounds about the same.

I had to ajust the action (not a problem) after i got it. It had been sitting on a rack in the music store where i bought it for at least a year, I guess nobody had thought to pick it up. The pickup, pots, chips, toggle, wires, even battery were all fine, full, and running. I looked under the hood and all the circuits are ok, not even any corrosion, dust, or sign of usage. I replaced the old battery as it was 2 years old (if it was still at full charge, that's gotta say something). No un-superficial flaws, a couple of marker smudges from the poorly-labeled pricetag, and a price sticker from 97 (i stuck it on the back to show how much the bass actually cost- it runs 750.00 and i payed 275.00. This baby's rigged for silent running. I could imaging this instrument running until 2099.The cream finish is flawless still, and I've never heard of or seen another ATK with the same finish. Apparently, it was only supposed to be available in various sunbursts, black, and red.

This guitar could withstand Green Day trying to make a reference to a crappy, hard hitting band. The battery has a low-drain system that warns you when the power's low (but the battery runs longer on the ATK';s electronics than the Soundgear's runs). The chrome hrdware is durable as well, and will stand up for much longer than I'll be alive. Like your typical Ibanez, the finish is multi-layered, and would take some sort of Sevie Ray Vaughn from hell to rub it all off. I would and do use this bass without a backup (because my backup is a single split-coil Yamaha Attitude bass named "Pinky". The batt is easy to get into unilke most other Ibanez instruments (the only easier batt access is on a Fernandez. All around, a very dependable guitar.

2 years ago, I bought an rg 570 and the Ibanez folks were real nice about it. I never had to talk to them, though, and if the bass ever breaks (ever is the bold word there) I'll just take it to one of the city's shops. '

I'm not really what you call a professional bassist. I started out 14 years ago on piano, then took up drums 6 years ago. I started getting into electronics in 8th grade and bought my first guitar, then my second and started a repair company. I guess now my prime instrument is drums, followed by piano/synth/orgen, then guitar and bass. I bought the ATK sort of spuratically as i walked into Luchetti music. My friend lily and I noticed the ATK hanging there and I had to do a double take when i noticed the price had dropped like this- $750-$699-$570-$420-$275. I bought it right there. I really couldn't ask for a better bass. I play (try to play) jazz, reggae, funk, rock, everything on it, and it's so damn versatile!
Right now i own a Danelectro 59-dc, a strat, a Fender acoustic, and the ATK, not to mention the instruments i borrow, and the old ones i fix up (and all the pianos, amps, drums, etc). I've played on everything from a Conklin, Spector, Tobias, Mike Lull, Zon, Modulus, etc. to your basic Soundgear, Jazz Bass, and Washburn. This ATK beats them all for the price, sound, craftsmenship, features, and strength. I'd compare it to the basic SR400 Soundgear, the Fender Mexican Active Jazz, the Yamaha Active (even though i DESPISE yamaha "ooh, our basses are as good as our lawnmowers! Buy a jetski and a microwave and get a free Pacifica 12 string!")etc. I'd buy it again, for much more than the 275 dollars i payed.