Ibanez Review: ATK fret & fretless, USA & Korean

History:

Purchase: 2 basses, fretted USA version by David Bunker, and fretless Korean version. The USA cost $650 NOS and the Korean fretless cost $400 used. I found them in local shops. The USA version caught my eye because of its Bunker [Trekker/ PBC] neck. The Korean because of its fretless neck. In both cases I played them an they had that "good and right" sound and feel so I bought them. I find that basses bought on features and sound, but lacking that "feel" thing, wind up being returned to the shop within a week. I'm not positive, but I think the USA is called an ATK300 and the Korean an ATK304.

What I Like About This Ibanez ATK fret & fretless, USA & Korean: The Bunker version has a broad tonal spectrum, the climate wood-jacketed steel Bunker neck, and an edgy sound, with an animalistic midrange. The Korean version is more mellow than the USA, and has ghost lines on the finger board. With Thomastik flats it has a wonderful woody sound. With 1/2 round [semi-flats] it sounds like an old fender or other older solid body. Both allow easy action and stay tuned while playing. I also like the fact that these are very capable MusicMan spin-offs but NOT clones. The do NOT copy the appearance of the MM, but are based on the essential idea: the heavy body, big honking PU close to the bridge, the Fender-type pegs on both sides of the head [2+2, not 3+1] and big empty space for playing with a big pickguard [not oval, but retro].

What I Do NOT Like About The Ibanez ATK fret & fretless, USA & Korean: The pickguards on both are slightly wavy. They are rather heavy. Also, another PU nearer the neck would make them a whole lot more versatile. I think some later Korean ATKs have the additional PU. As with my other Bunker-necked ax, there is an annoying tendency for the string[s] between the nut and the fingered frets to be heard during quiet practice. IOW, the string both above and below the fretting hand is playing, and the "wrong" part is playing some tuneless nonsense. This is only annoying at practice, as it is never heard by the pickup.

Ibanez ATK fret & fretless, USA & Korean Quality Rating: The Bunker neck on the USA is also known as a "Tension Free" neck. The wooden jacket does not carry the string tension load [so theres no tension rod]. Inside the jacket is a high strength steel neck to which the peghead is attached but the wooden jacket has no hard connection to the head. The "inner neck" is secured to the "outer neck" just ahead of the neck- to-body joint, so the neck bolts at the neck socket go into the wood as with any normal bass neck. This bass hass a very nice dark transparent red finish. The Korean fretless has a 3pc laminated maple neck. The woodgrain and tobacco- burst finish of this bass are both ugly, but the surface of the finish is well executed and the assembly and fit of all wood and hardware is without fault. Both units feel very solid. Tuners are smooth and the knobs have no problems on both versions. Both units feature very ugly pickguards contrasted against the huge shiny chrome bridge plate that is so long it actually wraps around the PU. This bridge plate provides the "signature look" of the ATK series. Fenderesque 2+2 pegs are very assymetrically spaced, so as to evoke the MusicMan theme at the peghead.

Review Summary: The defining thing about both is that they are very capable MusicMan inspired basses that do not mimic the appearance of a MM [appearance is generic retro but with a bit of MM cues mixed in]. Unlike those clone-mimics that look exactly like a MM, ATKs have there own thing going. The sound is also in the MM genre but is its own style. Yes I also play a MM, a fretless StingRay. I don't play a MM fretted, but I don't want one. I prefer the ATK. Between the fretless MM and ATK, I love both. The MM is more whiney and cuts through loud jams. The ATK is more mellow, cuts decently but not through a major trainwreck. The upside of less cutting is a woody sound. As to whether the fretted ATK can excite a dedicated funkster, I lent it to the local chief of the thumb-hammering snapper popper tribe and he kept it for months. It did not in his case displace a MM. He has no MM [he plays a Pedulla]. I do not play hammered bass [even tho I play 3 MM-type axen] so I thought I'd relate the above situation for anyone looking for an ax to hammer [or a hammer to grind?]. To me, all MM basses are a "change of pace" thing. They are not my first choice were I to have only one bass to play all the time.

Rating of this Ibanez product: 4

This Ibanez ATK fret & fretless, USA & Korean Bass Guitars Review Submitted By: Golem

Review Date: 2003-01-28