NBD - Ibanez ATK200

[neepheid]

I'm going to try to do gear abstinence next year, so I thought I'd have one final swatch at FB marketplace.  I was instantly reminded how dangerous it is when this bad boy appeared for a very keen price (complete with a Hiscox Liteflite hard case) and on the right side of England for my purposes.  I decided to carpe that diem.  9 hour round trip, but it was definitely worth it.  Basically unusued, the only issues were that it was a bit dusty in places, and there was some goop on the headstock where a clearly disintegrating stand had been cradling.  Managed to get that cleaned off - it hadn't stained the finish, yay!  Gave it a fret polish and oiled the fingerboard and gave it a good old setup.

 

 

So, how is the "Stingray killer"?  Good, as far as I can tell in headphones.  My favourite finish for these basses would be Soda Blue, but this natural one is growing on me in its elegant simplicity, and the black pickguard suits it very well.

 

But that's it!  No more!  I will be striving to make 2026 a fallow year in the gear acquisition stakes, so I guess I was getting one final hit in before the lockdown.

 

FYI - no Stingrays were harmed in the making of this.

 

Merry Christmas to me (and everyone else!)

 

[PaulThePlug]

That Bridge 'n Monster Pup Surround... Mighty Meaty... like a Telecaster on Steroids! And love a natural finish

[ezbass]

When I finally ‘jumped ship’ to the low end, I very nearly went for one of these. I can’t remember what it sounded like (are they really ‘Ray-alikes?) but I do recall some weight. One of Joe Bonamassa’s early bassists, Eric Czar, used ATKs.

[neepheid]

5 minutes ago, ezbass said:

When I finally ‘jumped ship’ to the low end, I very nearly went for one of these. I can’t remember what it sounded like (are they really ‘Ray-alikes?) but I do recall some weight. One of Joe Bonamassa’s early bassists, Eric Czar, used ATKs.

 

Honestly, mate, I don't know and I've never really taken the time to find out.  Actual 'Rays never appealed to me.  If I've ever played one, it'll have been briefly at a bass bash or something.  People just call this the "Stingray killer", probably because the Internet is built from beef.  Always beef about something, trying to get a rise out of some group or other.  I have no idea how true it is, the whole "Stingray killer" thing, and I don't really care.  I can tell you this sounds like it'll be tasty live, plenty mid poke, even when the EQ is set flat.  I might be modding the switch though - the two pairs of coils together in parallel is pretty scooped sounding and easily my least favourite sound of the three.  Might mod the switch to be north pair/both in series/south pair in the future.

 

It is on the chonky side of things - 4.7kg/10.34lubs according to the bathroom scales.  Personally, I consider this to be a middleweight, but I know many have other ideas (and unfortunately for some, it's not a simple preference, but a physical requirement for their basses to be lightweight).

[ezbass]

26 minutes ago, neepheid said:

the two pairs of coils together in parallel is pretty scooped

 

26 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Might mod the switch to be north pair/both in series

I much prefer series to parallel in a side by side comparison.

26 minutes ago, neepheid said:

It is on the chonky side of things - 4.7kg/10.34lbs

😱😖

 

27 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Always beef about something, trying to get a rise out of some group or other. 

 Ain't that the truth?

[LeftyJ]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

It is on the chonky side of things - 4.7kg/10.34lubs according to the bathroom scales.  

Can you believe this is actually a smaller-bodied model compared to the original ATK shape? Those can be even heavier! The 200 (and several other more recent models) have a slightly slimmed-down body shape, it's not as wide as the original ones. Helps when looking for a case that fits. And the headstock is just slightly narrower as well.

 

I've had three MIJ ATK's from the 1990's and all of them were boat anchors - especially my 5-string ATK305. They were wonderful basses, and I somewhat regret selling my first one. 

 

I've had them alongside a Stingray 5 for a few years, and as far as comparison goes I think they were very similar - both in weight, tone and feel. The neck shape of the ATK305 was a really close match to the SR5. The main difference in feel was the satin lacquer finish on the ATK (but polished to a gloss by years of playing) versus the oil finish on the Ray. Tonewise, the Ray had more clank and less mid scoop with all set to neutral, and was overall the more agressive sounding of the two. The ATK had a trimpot on the preamp board to adjust the output level, but even when matching it to the Ray it was still the more polite sounding of the two. Both had that distinct brightness but on the Ray this started at a lower frequency, it seemed, which helped it punch through a mix just a bit better. Both were fantastic basses though, and the ATK punched well above its price point. 

 

Enjoy! 

 

 

[neepheid]

Well, so that I don't fall foul of gear abstinence rules next year, I've ordered the on-off-on switch required to make it north (single)/series (both)/south (single), instead of north/parallel/south as it is wired stock.

 

 

And in case you're wondering, this is what I'll be doing with it:

 

[LeftyJ]

Interesting! On the old ATK's it was parallel - north - north with a treble cut (and the center coil activated in both single coil settings as a phantom coil). 

[neepheid]

33 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

Interesting! On the old ATK's it was parallel - north - north with a treble cut (and the center coil activated in both single coil settings as a phantom coil). 

 

Yes, these later models have a quad coil pickup, but they don't have individual wires for each coil, you can only operate them in pairs.  The stock switch does this:

 

 

And the middle setting (parallel) blows IMO, hence the impending mod.

[crazycloud]

5 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

On the old ATK's it was parallel - north - north with a treble cut (and the center coil activated in both single coil settings as a phantom coil). 

 

The 200 is a dual coil more like an MM, not the triple coil of the originals.

[LeftyJ]

10 hours ago, crazycloud said:

 

The 200 is a dual coil more like an MM, not the triple coil of the originals.

 

I see! I was confused because they've still put them in a casing that mimics the look of the 3 blades on the original triple coil. 

[neepheid]

Am I invisible?  Did I stutter?  It's a QUAD coil.  I used pictures and everything!  Yes, because the two pairs (so that's four then) can only be addressed as individual pairs (in that each pair of coils are joined together inside the pickup then present the each end of that pair as a wire) then it logically becomes a dual "coil" situation, it's more like two units, than two coils.

 

I may be splitting hairs here, but technically correct is the best kind, and I'm a little cross that I've basically been talked over/around in my own effing thread

 

[Bassassin]

I've had ATK GAS for years - I still remember one turning up on Ebay for £80, back when having £80 spare was a distant dream for me. I posted it on here in the Ebay thread, some kind soul snapped it up then tried to flog it to me for £200.

 

If you're still here & reading this - you know who you are. Luckily I've long-since forgotten... 

[Geek99]

I’d quite like that if someone took the flattened battleship off the front 

do two pickups so close together give a markedly different sound?