TI Jazz Flats and punk with a pick..

[miles'tone]

Hey guys.
I've got creaky hand issues and want to go low tension to help ease things.
I like the idea of the TIs and the need never to change them, but how do they fare played pick style with drive and other effects?
Anyone got any experience or sound samples of them being used for Stranglers/Clash kind of music?
Thanks in advance.

 

[miles'tone]

Well I ordered some for my P bass anyway so I'll find out soon enough.

 

[mbell75]

TIs for punk? Not a great choice IMO. They are mellow and mid rangey, not what you want for punk. Id stick with rounds for punk but if you have to have flats, go with Chromes.

 

[twinjet]

I don't think you could find a lower tension string than TIs. Agree that flats may not do it for you tonally.

 

[oldskoolskatedad]

I have TI flats on my Squier Matt Freeman P and it barks and growls just fine, but that has just as much to do with my amp, Fender Super Bassman, and bass as it does with which strings I'm using. You can most certainly get an aggressive clanky tone out of the TI flats, it's just easier with rounds.

 

[S.F.Sorrow]

Well, there's modern "punk" bass sound and then there's The Clash's bass sound which is actually very thick and mellow and certainly not aggressive/clanky AT ALL! If anything I'd be worried that the TI Jazz Flats are TOO clanky and not fat enough in the lows/lower mids. But I suppose that's what the tone control is for...

 

[Kro]

With enough of the right distortion and EQ, I believe flats can be used for just about anything that doesn't require being both bright and clean. I bet you have a blast with them.

Post samples!

 

[McFarlin]

It's pretty easy to make them snarl through a single-coil neck pickup. I haven't tried them on a precision, but I don't see why it would be that much different. Playing with a pick, I think the low tension is part of what makes it work.

 

[Bodeanly]

TIs for punk? Not a great choice IMO. They are mellow and mid rangey, not what you want for punk. Id stick with rounds for punk but if you have to have flats, go with Chromes.

+1 for Chromes.

I play everything from Motown to punk to hair metal and pop. I can always cop the appropriate tone with Chromes.

 

[miles'tone]

+1 for Chromes.

I play everything from Motown to punk to hair metal and pop. I can always cop the appropriate tone with Chromes.

I've tried Chromes . They were good but the tone and feel didn't wow me at the time to be honest. I had them on for 6 months or so, so I gave them a decent go. I preferred the Fender flats that went on afterwards.
The deciding factor for me now is low tension as I mentioned in the OP. Thanks for the suggestion though, appreciated.

 

[GIBrat51]

La Bella Low Tension Flats are actually slightly lower tension than TI Jazz flats; by about 6 lbs. total, going by the tension numbers on the respective packages. I haven't put them on my old Rick 4001 (which has neck issues) yet, but Jason over on FretNation says they're supposed to sound like regular La Bella DTFs. Whether old school flatwound thump will work for you is another matter, though...

 

[e-flat]

TI jazz Flats on a P Bass w/ drive (RAT set for snarl) works a treat. I don’t like the treble clang of roundwounds with drive anyway, and prefer the diminished treble & strong mids of TIs for driven sounds. Jean Jacques Burnel all day long!

 

[Axstar]

Punk is an ethos not a tone. The dude out of Nomeansno uses Bartolini pickups for example. Make TI Flats work in a punk setting instead of rehashing the same old stuff.

 

[Shlabotnik]

The TIs on my Ric 4003 shine with a pick. Adjust your rig for it and I think you’ll have a lot of fun with them! I find them to be extremely versatile.

 

[miles'tone]

Thanks for all the comments guys!
I'm not just a punk guy, that vibe is important to me though so hopefully the TIs will work OK. Still haven't got them on as I'm still building my new P. Should be up and running next week - can't wait!

 

[shoulderpet]

TI flats are very versatile, I use them and with all eq flat I can get a fairly typical flatwound tone with a little more clarity and sustain than most flats, if cut the lows slightly and boost the high mids slightly I have a tone that can cut through anything

 

[MoeTown1986]

I have TI's on all of my basses and play in a cover band that plays all genres of music. We do a handful of pop punk songs and a P bass + TI's + Darkglass VMT and/or B3K will net you great results.

 

[leavetheconnoli]

La Bella Low Tension Flats are actually slightly lower tension than TI Jazz flats; by about 6 lbs. total, going by the tension numbers on the respective packages. I haven't put them on my old Rick 4001 (which has neck issues) yet, but Jason over on FretNation says they're supposed to sound like regular La Bella DTFs. Whether old school flatwound thump will work for you is another matter, though...

They are great! worlds apart from ti's.

 

[rollyolly]

In my punk band I use TI flats on a p bass, a pick, and a fender hybrid bassman amp. I'm a huge fan of flatwounds/pick tone in punk or any other rock for that matter. Heres a demo from my band - precision bass, TI jazz flats, and a pick recorded direct