TI Jazz Flats not that great?

#21
Dr Earl Funkton said:
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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I'm enjoying my Ernie Ball cobalt flats, definitely a middle ground tension. And I'll be darned if they don't seem like they increase output a little bit. I love TI flats on guitar, I've honestly never tried them on bass, but the ubiquitous Spirocores on Upright? I don't like them at all. Super stiff, can't bow them for poopie. There's just no accounting for taste.
 
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#23
Keen to try the LTF's too.

Not a fan of Deep Talking Flats or Pyramids.

Love-Hate with Chromes. Sound great but feel stiff & grippy.

I've got Sadowsky black label flats (stainless) 40-100 on a P. Perfect for heavy attack. For fingerstyle they're a bit too stiff but detuned a semitone they feel fantastic.



Gotta say.... best P bass tone I've heard is with TI's. I asked a mate to play my passive P w/ TI's at church. They sounded so clear and articulate.

Didn't shake the house but when turned up loud in the mix they sat perfectly between the kick drum and the electric guitar. They sound their best with plenty of speakers behind you or thru a quality PA.

Thinking of tuning UP a 5-string set of TI's up (BEAD strings up to EADG) on a 30" bass. Equivalent of 3 semitones. Loved the feel and tension A LOT.
 
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#24
a few years ago, I had TI's because I was told by people here that they were the most bestest. Hated 'em. Like playing spaghetti. At the time, I liked digging in to big, beefy, higher tension strings like Chromes and medium gauge hex-core sets and the like. Fast forward a few years and my style has changed. Now I have a much lighter touch overall and prefer light gauge strings, though I always have at least one bass with flats. As a flats devotee and a player of exclusively 5 strings, I loved the top 4 strings but was unhappy with the B strings on LaBellas and Sadowsky flats so I bought TI's again. Loved them this time. I have a 6-7 year old set of Chromes on my fretless and the TI's on one of my 2 mains.

In all this, I found there is no best flat, but there are lots of great flats out there.
 
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#25
Not sure how personal preference toward more tension would make TI flats "not that great". If you don't like the feel, then you don't like the feel, but that has nothing to do with how "great" they are or aren't.

They are flats and they do a certain thing really well, as do Chromes and LaBellas and DRs and pretty much anything else. They are all great in their own right. Whether or not they work for you is a matter of personal preference.
 
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#26
Groove Doctor said:
Keen to try the LTF's too.

Not a fan of Deep Talking Flats or Pyramids.

Love-Hate with Chromes. Sound great but feel stiff & grippy.

I've got Sadowsky black label flats (stainless) 40-100 on a P. Perfect for heavy attack. For fingerstyle they're a bit too stiff but detuned a semitone they feel fantastic.



Gotta say.... best P bass tone I've heard is with TI's. I asked a mate to play my passive P w/ TI's at church. They sounded so clear and articulate.

Didn't shake the house but when turned up loud in the mix they sat perfectly between the kick drum and the electric guitar. They sound their best with plenty of speakers behind you or thru a quality PA.

Thinking of tuning UP a 5-string set of TI's up (BEAD strings up to EADG) on a 30" bass. Equivalent of 3 semitones. Loved the feel and tension A LOT.
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Interesting! I was wondering About using a B to D set would produce some decent results.
 
#30
I just join in to the game of low tension Flatwound string, the first set I own is labella LTF4A and put in my Squier CV50p currently. Love the sound , satisfied overall tension with right amount of comfort stiffness.
And my second set of low tension flat is in shipping , JF344. I hope I will like it.
 
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#31
They're different that's for sure. I've got them only fretless and am enjoying them. I had a set of Chromes on it before. Really dug the thick sound but the weren't very expressive. I also bought a set of D'addario Tapewounds and absolutely loved them. Completely surprised. Less tension than the Chromes but not as bouncy as the TI's. Might be worth a try.
 
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#32
lowplaces said:
Just curious, I looked at your profile to see what type of bass you have and see it's a Jazz Bass.

Do you still have the TI Flats on it ?
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Yeah that's what's on it currently. I've been playing my P bass and mustang bass more frequently as of recent though. My P has dadd regular gauge rounds and my mustang has GHS boomer short scale. I recently acquired the mustang bass and it had La Bella dtf when I got it, but the short scale plus flats was way too boomy and muddy for my taste. The GHS were all that The local shop had for short scale.
On a side note, my conception has always been that GHS were sort of a crummy low tier brand so I've always avoided them, I think it's because I bought a set of their guitar boomers from wal-mart years and years ago as I was in a pinch for strings. I assumed a brand sold cheaply at a large chain store like that wouldn't be that great of quality. Are GHS decent? (I'm still figuring out if I like the boomers on my mustang)
 
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#36
Dr Earl Funkton said:
On a side note, my conception has always been that GHS were sort of a crummy low tier brand so I've always avoided them, I think it's because I bought a set of their guitar boomers from wal-mart years and years ago as I was in a pinch for strings. I assumed a brand sold cheaply at a large chain store like that wouldn't be that great of quality. Are GHS decent? (I'm still figuring out if I like the boomers on my mustang)
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Oh, man! This is the perfect example of buying a perception over reality. Seriously?!? You don't know of GHS make good quality stings? Maybe not for you but they've been around A LONG TIME for a reason. One of which is they make strings for many other brands [notice I didn't say manufacturers]. I took a tour of their plant in '78 and I can personally attest to this claim. I know what I saw peoples!

So, yes, their strings are great - if they're what you're looking for. My personal faves are their Pressurewounds [40-95]. As for guitar strings: Check out the Rene Martinez designed strings. [Never heard of Rene? Check him out while you're at it . . . ] ;)
 
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#39
What I really liked about TI was the low tension it put on my Ric. With medium-high action it balances out so I don't have to do the feather touch thing.

The only flat to blow me away after trying several was the Pyramids. Nothing to overlook, and no trying to convince myself to "eat my vegetables" so it would sound awesome maybe someday in the distant future, just excellent out of the pack from E to G on my semi-hollow.

The TI's weren't bad, by any means. They sound nice and if the touch is a problem for you the action should be adjustable, just set the thing up for what you need.
 
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