TI Jazz Flats not that great?

Dr Earl Funkton

Dr Earl Funkton

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Jul 15, 2016
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#1
So a few months ago I went ahead and tried out the TI Jazz flats after having Daddorino chromes on my J-Bass for about 5 months. There seemed to be a general consensus that they were the best flat you could get. I didn't like them at first and gave them some time as I didn't like the chromes at first either, but after a few months I still dislike them. I find them to be too "slinky"; the tension seems too low for my liking. When I'm playing, the strings have a lot of travel with my picking hand before they risist and pull back causing me to have to compensate for how far the string travels.
The tone I get from them are fairly decent although they do seem a bit thin sounding at some points. I liked the chromes a lot but at times they felt too beefy and maybe too heavy of tension. Are there any flats out there that have a good middle ground of tension/guage?

Thanks!
 
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#3
lookiel said:
TI flats are pretty much the lowest tension flats out there.
Maybe try a lower gauge set of chromes.
Or try Labella Deep talkin' flats.
String tension feel is a very personal thing, I would say however that low tension strings like TI's force you to rethink your plucking/picking technique which may or may not be a good thing;)
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Yeah I get that some people play by brushing the strings with an eagle feather, and I don't necessarily play with brute strength, but going from the chromes to the TI's definitely showed me how much tension effects my play style. It didn't take long for me to get used to playing lightly to make it easier on my self, but there's a few songs in our set list where I just can't help rocking out and really rip on the strings :p
 
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#6
I really dig TIs but completely understand why some folks might not like them. I am cool with medium-light tension, and find them to be pretty close to the DR Sunbeam 45-100 rounds I played for years. The TIs aren't very "fundamental heavy", and their midrange is definitely strong & unique in the realm of Flats. As much as I love them, I have been curious about other strings and trying some new stuff on my P Bass.

Chromes (45-100) on the other hand are a little too high-tension for me. I'm trying a set of La Bella Low Tension Flats right now and they are pretty awesome-- tighter than TIs but not too tight, more fundamental than TIs but they still have a subtle mid character (not nearly as strong as TIs), super smooth to the touch.
 
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#7
Dr Earl Funkton said:
Yeah I get that some people play by brushing the strings with an eagle feather, and I don't necessarily play with brute strength, but going from the chromes to the TI's definitely showed me how much tension effects my play style. It didn't take long for me to get used to playing lightly to make it easier on my self, but there's a few songs in our set list where I just can't help rocking out and really rip on the strings :p
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I hear ya bass brother! I totally get carried away on some songs myself, and I hope my comment didn't come off as snarky!

Unfortunately many string manufacturers don't publish tension charts for their strings
so it's going to be a little trial and error to figure out the goldilock strings that fit your style and tone.

Sadowsky has two sets of flats, one of them is lower tension but not TI low, I forget which but I believe it's the Blue set.

In any case don't go for the Jamerson Labella's or the Steve Harris sets, those are heavy gauge bridge cables!
 
#8
e-flat said:
I really dig TIs but completely understand why some folks might not like them. I am cool with medium-light tension, and find them to be pretty close to the DR Sunbeam 45-100 rounds I played for years. The TIs aren't very "fundamental heavy", and their midrange is definitely strong & unique in the realm of Flats. As much as I love them, I have been curious about other strings and trying some new stuff on my P Bass.

Chromes (45-100) on the other hand are a little too high-tension for me. I'm trying a set of La Bella Low Tension Flats right now and they are pretty awesome-- tighter than TIs but not too tight, more fundamental than TIs but they still have a subtle mid character (not nearly as strong as TIs), super smooth to the touch.
Click to expand...
How do they compare in tension to the chromes?
 
#10
lookiel said:
I hear ya bass brother! I totally get carried away on some songs myself, and I hope my comment didn't come off as snarky!

Unfortunately many string manufacturers don't publish tension charts for their strings
so it's going to be a little trial and error to figure out the goldilock strings that fit your style and tone.

Sadowsky has two sets of flats, one of them is lower tension but not TI low, I forget which but I believe it's the Blue set.

In any case don't go for the Jamerson Labella's or the Steve Harris sets, those are heavy gauge bridge cables!
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No not at all! :)
Thanks for the info too, I usually can adjust to most string sets fairly easy but I've only been playing bass for about two and a half years so my experience with different string sets is fairly limited and I wanna try as many as I can to find the set that feels/sounds the best to me. The nice thing about bass is I can always come back to a set of strings that I've bought if I wanna give them another run since they aren't as expendable as guitar strings :thumbsup:
 
#11
Dr Earl Funkton said:
How do they compare in tension to the chromes?
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I'd say the LaBella LTF sit in between Chromes & TIs pretty evenly. I can bend them pretty easily, but they provide solid resistance to the plucking hand. Their tone is more reminiscent of a La Bella 760FL set I used to have, with maybe a touch more midrange. Honestly they SOUND a lot like DR Legends, but the tension is much lower. (@markjazzbassist have you tried the La Bella LTFs .... the fact that they share a lot in common sonically w/ DRs made me think of you...)
 
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#12
e-flat said:
I'd say the LaBella LTF sit in between Chromes & TIs pretty evenly. I can bend them pretty easily, but they provide solid resistance to the plucking hand. Their tone is more reminiscent of a La Bella 760FL set I used to have, with maybe a touch more midrange. Honestly they SOUND a lot like DR Legends, but the tension is much lower. (@markjazzbassist have you tried the La Bella LTFs .... the fact that they share a lot in common sonically w/ DRs made me think of you...)
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Oooo they sound like they're perfect for me. I will say that I did enjoy the fact if I gave my fretting hand a little gas I could bend and vibrato like a mf'er. Not as important but what color is the silk on the La Bellas? :D
 
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#13
e-flat said:
I'd say the LaBella LTF sit in between Chromes & TIs pretty evenly. I can bend them pretty easily, but they provide solid resistance to the plucking hand. Their tone is more reminiscent of a La Bella 760FL set I used to have, with maybe a touch more midrange.
Click to expand...

I'm in a hunt for a good deal on a decent used P bass just so I can have a bass with a set of La Bella Low Tension Flats, especially now that I can get a set with a 75-A.
 
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#16
Dr Earl Funkton said:
So a few months ago I went ahead and tried out the TI Jazz flats...
...after a few months I still dislike them. I find them to be too "slinky"; the tension seems too low for my liking. When I'm playing, the strings have a lot of travel with my picking hand before they resist and pull back causing me to have to compensate for how far the string travels.
Click to expand...

e-flat said:
I'd say the LaBella LTF sit in between Chromes & TIs pretty evenly. I can bend them pretty easily, but they provide solid resistance to the plucking hand. Their tone is more reminiscent of a La Bella 760FL set I used to have, with maybe a touch more midrange.
Click to expand...

These two comments on TIJF vs. LBLTF confirm why I've always had zero interest in even trying the TI's once in my life and why I'm so keenly interested in trying the LBLTF now. I've always been a big fan of the 760FL; if I can get the same basic flavor but in a slightly lighter package, that would be ideal.
 
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#20
lowplaces said:
No problem !

There is a tone difference between stainless and nickel for sure. I just prefer nickel for single coils.

Just depends on what you dig.
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Definitely agree. I have an audere Jazz pro pre in my jbass so if there's a bit of room for tone shaping. I mostly use it for slight adjustments and keep it in the passive setting ( was a cheap introduction to on-board pre amps)
 
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