Are there any flats that sound like TI...

#63
Acoop said:
La Bella Low Tension, I find, a very close second to TI and a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...
La Bella LTF cost me £33.58,for TI's I'm £37.51

@jj4001

After TIs you'll find Chromes stiff, EB cobalts are best used for penning in cattle :laugh: Afraid as folks have said none of the other options sound like TI's. Adjusting your technique to play TIs can be a big ask, I'd suggest trying the La Bella LTF but they won't replace the tone of TIs.
 
#68
How about strings that are the tension/feel of the TI's but not necessarily the sound? I wish TI made flats with nylon tape. I heard the GHS tapes, which allegedly are wrapped flats, and they change the tone of the solidbody to more of a semi hollow, which is IMO impossible with eq alone, or even flats alone. But they don't make short scale. I also wish someone would wrap your existing strings, I'd pay a lot for that.
 
#71
4 pages in and only one person has mentioned Sadowsky flats? Specifically the new Blue Label flats.

I have TI Jazz Flats on all of my basses but one (both fretted and fretless). My traditional Precision bass (American with David Allen pickups) didn't work well with the TIs. For some reason, the lower tension bothered me on that bass, but not on any of the others. I absolutely love TIJFs. They are more "musical" to me than anything else I've tried, and respond to the different ways I play them.

After some experimenting and some advice here on TB, I settled on Sadowsky Black Label flats for that Precision bass. A bit more tension than the TIs, maybe a bit more bottom end, but they still have that piano-like musical quality to them. The bad- Black Label flats are discontinued, but there's a "new" Sadowsky flatwound released about a year ago, specifically the new Blue Label. I haven't tried them yet, but if I recall, others have written about some similarities to TIJFs, but with a bit higher tension.

Here's a thread on the new Blue Labels -- Opinions on the NEW Blue Label Sadowsky flats .

@ljazz might be able to give you his opinion on the comparison (now that he's had the new Blue version for a while) as he has extensively played both and provided a lot of feedback in that thread.

Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: ljazz and jj4001
#73
Jon Moody said:
Not quite. TIs are created like double bass strings, so there's a silk filament that runs the length of the string, which greatly affects the sound. The tension doesn't have an affect on the sound; it's a byproduct of their construction technique.




Double Bass strings come in a variety of gauges in light, medium and heavy (sometimes called orchestral gauge), and still sound the same. TI could make a "heavy" gauge set of their flats and achieve the same tone with more tension.
Click to expand...

My experience and I think a lot of folks on the DB side have the same experience is that the gauge does affect the sound and the lower tension actually sounds darker on most basses. But I agree with you that it probably won't matter on electric bass, because there is no table and a vibrating top that would behave differently under different tensions.

And to the OP. EB Cobalts are stiff and have almost a round wound sound to them. Very different from TI. Try raising your action on the TI. It might help. Longer scale helps too but I guess the 4001 won't come in a longer scale
 
  • Like
Reactions: jj4001
#74
porterbass said:
4 pages in and only one person has mentioned Sadowsky flats? Specifically the new Blue Label flats.

I have TI Jazz Flats on all of my basses but one (both fretted and fretless). My traditional Precision bass (American with David Allen pickups) didn't work well with the TIs. For some reason, the lower tension bothered me on that bass, but not on any of the others. I absolutely love TIJFs. They are more "musical" to me than anything else I've tried, and respond to the different ways I play them.

After some experimenting and some advice here on TB, I settled on Sadowsky Black Label flats for that Precision bass. A bit more tension than the TIs, maybe a bit more bottom end, but they still have that piano-like musical quality to them. The bad- Black Label flats are discontinued, but there's a "new" Sadowsky flatwound released about a year ago, specifically the new Blue Label. I haven't tried them yet, but if I recall, others have written about some similarities to TIJFs, but with a bit higher tension.

Here's a thread on the new Blue Labels -- Opinions on the NEW Blue Label Sadowsky flats .

@ljazz might be able to give you his opinion on the comparison (now that he's had the new Blue version for a while) as he has extensively played both and provided a lot of feedback in that thread.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you for chiming in. Appreciated!
 
  • Like
Reactions: porterbass
#75
Have you tried La Bella DTF extra light? I think model 760XS, .039 is the G. Lower tension and lighter gauge than the 760FS you had. Same La Bella tone, but maybe more mids/harmonics. Great strings. Good luck, DM
 
#76
Coolhandjjl said:
As a long time TI user, you will adapt to their tension unless you just can’t get over being a ham fisted gorilla :D
Click to expand...
SplendidSillyEnglishsetter-size_restricted.gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: Doug4321, Coolhandjjl, porterbass and 2 others
#80
No way do the la-Bella LTF's sound like TI's. They have a similar tension to me, a bit higher but the sound....completely different. The la-bella's B and E have an old school thump while the A,D and G strings have a much clearer bell like quality. I'm actually hoping they mellow out to match the B and E's thud.
The TI's start with a metallic ringing sound that mellow's out to a nice woody bouncy sound.
They both feel fantastic. The La-Bella's have a more old school flats thump sound that the TI's just don't have but the TI's have much more nuance to them, you can hear everything when you play them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Yahboy, rwkeating and Pbassmanca
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back