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My eBay ATK300L came today, and it sounds great! A few minor dings here and there, but the neck is true, and the tone sounds even. Came with the original case as far as I can tell. It needs a good cleaning and polishing, but will not take as much elbow grease as the last one I had. Here are some pics right out of the case...












You can just make out the crack on the right side of the control cover...

July, 1995, #4139

After I've had a chance to clean it up, I'll post a few more "afters".... Now, the search starts for a 5'er

Aloha,
Ian

Very pretty! I love the amber colour too, I've never seen that colour on ATK's here in Europe (I've only seen MIJ lefties in Transparent Black here, like the ones I have, and some MIK lefties in that same colour but darker, more towards solid black). I'm glad you like it. Good luck finding a lefty 305! I must admit I like my 300's better than my 305 though. The 305 sounds tighter and the highs are a bit brighter and less warm, and more pronounced. Both 300's sound more lively and woody. I also prefer the 19mm stringspacing over the 16mm spacing of the 305.

Yeah, this is definitely a nice color. I didn't know the 305's had 16mm spacing. Does that mean they're using the four string neck, and fitting it for the five string? Interesting if so.

I measured the strings that are currently on the bass, and they size out to a light gauge set - 40-to-100. They feel nice and sound good. I bought a light set of the B-52 Rockers - I was going to put on a medium set of B-52's, but the light's seem to sound and play nice. What are you using on your ATK's Jeroen? How about any other ATK owners - what are you using. I put medium B-52's on my friend's bass, and they have a clear, piano-like sound to them.

It's now 1:50am Honolulu time... a perfect time to clean and polish a bass!

Laters..... Ian

No, it's a specific 5-string neck, but with a narrower spacing. Similar to the difference between a Stingray and Stingray 5.



Elixir .045-.105 Extra Long Scale. When strung through the body, the regular Long Scale E-string is slightly too short, the outer winding stops just in front of the nut, so the added length really is needed.
I still have one set of DR Hi Beams I got from Andrew as part of the 1 year anniversary giveaway, I may put those on one of the ATK300's.

Well, I just got done - it's now 5:00am - cleaning the bass up, and it looks great. I strung the B-52 light gauge strings through the body, lowered the action, intonated and tuned it up, and it plays like a dream! Compared to the righty I sold to my friend, the neck on this bass is literally perfect. My friend decided to have a guitar tech re-do the neck, and the tech pulled the frets and resurfaced the fretboard, etc. In other words, the neck had to be completely gone over. It now plays great though, and cost my friend a fair amount of money. My neck feels as good, if not better than his, and I haven't even had to touch the truss rod yet. I feel very fortunate, and at this point, it's ready for gigging.

Jeroen, I'll take your word regarding the Stingray comparisons, as I've never had the chance to play them. Honolulu is a barren lefty-bass desert; there just isn't a selection here to play and try. If I want to get a feel for a bass, I have to play a righty and try to get the feel for the model that way. To me, playing righthanders upside down just doesn't give me the tone or feel I want.

Anyway, I'm going to bed for a few hours, then get up and play the ATK at a good volume, as I don't want to wake up the roomies...

Aloha, Ian

P.S. - Jeroen, did you receive your latest purchase yet?

Yep, it arrived last friday. The body shows a little more wear than the description in the auction promised (the seller claims this must have happened during transport). The box it came in was completely unharmed though, and the bass was packed in a sturdy gigbag and lots of bubblewrap. The screw of the lower strapbutton was bent (resulting in a deep imprint of the strapbutton on one side, despite the felt washer) and there's a large and deep dent next to it that annoys me a lot, as I'm always very careful with all my stuff. Other than that it's perfect though.

There is no way that happened inside the gig bag, inside the bubble wrap, inside the shipping box... That screw is really bent, so it's obvious the bass was dropped, or, judjing from the angle of the dent, got pulled out of the strap with such force that the strapbutton made that mark before the bass hit the floor. I suppose it's not worth it at this point to argue with the seller about a partial refund, but it's a bummer he won't own up to it.

It's hard to see in the photo just how bad the damage is on the corner, but it doesn't look good. Judging from past statements and pictures, you do keep your basses in excellent condition. This might be the bass you can take to parties, or fly with, and not worry about it getting beat up or damaged. Small consolation though, when you were expecting the bass to be in better condition.

Aloha, Ian

Hey Guys - here's an update on my ATK. I asked the seller if he knew about the history of the bass, and here was his initial reply:

"Hi Ian,

So you will like this. The bass has only one owner, me. How I got it is interesting. I am a massage therapist and for about four years I traveled with a heavy metal band doing bodywork for them as the lead singer Rob, had leg problems and the bass player Shawna had back issues. As you can imagine on a tour bus we got to be pretty good friends. One of the things we did to pass time in the dressing room was perform Ace of Spades and other Motorhead type songs. I would sing because it didn't matter if i ruined my voice for a couple days. Anyway, i mentioned that i had played bass in junior high and they ended up weaseling a lefty bass and an amp out of ibanez and ampeg for me. After i burned out on traveling and gave it up I took it home with me. Kept up for a while but when I went to graphic design school I didn't have enough time to practice both so it was relegated to the closet. I've been holding on to it because of the history but decided it was a shame for it not to be played and I am thrilled it went to someone that appreciates it.
Guitarist was J and the drummer was Johnny. now you have to figure out the band."

So I went on Google and searched intensely for about an hour and came up with what I thought was the band. Here was my reply to him:

"I had to read your email carefully, but I think I found the name of the band - White Zombie! The band members were...

Rob - Rob Zombie - vocals
Shawna - Sean Yseult - Bass
J - Jay Yuenger - Guitar
Johnny - John Tempesta - Drums

How'd I do? By the way, I played the bass Saturday at two gigs - the first was a low-key blues gig at a coffee shop in a small shopping center. The name of the shop is Muddy Waters! Semi acoustic, no drums, soft volume. I dialed in a nice fat tone. The bass sounded smooth.... My next gig was at a bar out by the Honolulu Airport, called the Sand Island R&B, where I played with my funk blues band, St Funk. I was able to open up and play at bar-band levels, and got lots of compliments about my tone. Plus, no-one knows what kind of bass it is at first glance, but they all thought it looked really cool!

I also played it at a blues gig tonight in Waikiki, and dialed in a big and warm tone for the blues songs we played. Man, I'm having fun with this bass! And now, there's a great story to go along with it! I'll have to send you a picture of me playing, and at some point, I'll send you an mp3, as I
record a lot of the shows I play with my small and portable Olympus LS-10 recorder. I think I just might name the bass Rob... or maybe "L.B"... that sounds cool and mysterious all at the same time...

I'm excited to be only the second owner, and to have a bass that has an interesting history to it. If this bass could talk! Thanks for taking the time to write back and tell me some of the history - I appreciate it!"

His next reply read:

"i knew i gave away too much info. I am glad you are loving it. Looking forward to the mp3."

So I'm thinking my ATK was passed around on the tour bus, or in rehearsals, and played by Rob or the bass player Sean. Cool history! Too bad they didn't sign it with a magic marker at some point, but then it would have been worth a lot more!

By the way, here is a link to a brief interview with Rob Zombie; he's an interesting guy! http://tinyurl.com/kkdwrs

Nothing like owning a piece of history, eh?

Great story!

I have to ask: How's the music scene in Hawaii (for musicians playing anything other than traditional Hawaiian music)?
I, along with millions of other humans on earth, have entertained the notion of moving to paradise someday.

Thanks guys, it is cool to own a bit of history. Can you imagine being a massage therapist, and getting hired to work on members of the band, and then spending four years on the road with them, sharing in the experiences of the road? If that bass could only speak....

PJ, your question is an interesting one, because most of the working bands here, and the ones that actually make a living at it, are either Hawaiian, Jawaiian, or show bands that play large rooms in Waikiki. Since 9-11, and because of the economic downturn, there are less visitors coming, therefor there are less premier gigs to play.

What is a real paradox here is the fact that between the population on Oahu ( with the military included about 900,000) and the 3 million-plus visitors that come each year, there is no real/active blues, jazz, or hard rock clubs dedicated to their respective scene. I know of only a handful of musicians that make a living playing music, and most of them are in Hawaiian bands, or play for the Royal Hawaiian Band. Even then, quite a few musicians supplement their income with lessons, and with calls to sub in with other bands.

As always, there is an active music scene for the twenty-somethings, and the Blues is making a comeback, but classic rock is a tough one, unless you include the current rock hits of the '90's to the current day.

The pay here is dismal too, unless you take a percentage of the bar, and play in a bar that draws a crowd, or you happen to have a large following, which is difficult to cultivate here. I've been in Hawaii too long (31 years), and have too many great friends, to leave and return to the mainland. But there are times I must admit, that I think about it so I would have more playing opportunities, and better paying gigs. I could go on, but that is a fair explanation of the scene here I think. Most of us here play for the love and camaraderie, not for the money...

Oh, and then there's the cost of housing, and the cost of living. Think of it this way - if your were to move here, and had a job waiting for you at your present salary, just living here would be like taking a 20% cut in salary to start!

Now, aren't you glad you asked?