Anyone ever downtune with TI Jazz Flats?

[sunbeast]

I'm fairly certain the concensus will be that its not a good idea, but has anyone ever tried to use TI Flats tuned down a half step to E flat standard before? I know they are low tension even in standard tuning. On the other hand, I know I've read of people using them successfully on short-scale basses before, which might give a similar tension as a long-scale bass tuned a half step down... I have a set that I want to try, but I am not currently in a band that uses E standard tuning. Perhaps it was not meant to be.....?

Any opinions or experiences greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Karl

[Bass Below]

I never experimented with them due to the fact that I heard from numerous sources that they were unusually low in tension for the gauges that they are. That's way too much bread for me to drop on a set of strings that are most likely not going to suit my needs.

When I first heard that they had a .136 flat, I thought I may have use for it, since no other company makes a flat of that high a gauge, but then I learned that their .136 is actually lighter in tension than some strings in the .120 neighborhood.

[ldervish]

Be bold - give it a try. At the least it'll be cheap entertainment. Well maybe not so cheap. But since you already have the set...

[lmfreeman9]

Keep in mind that short scale basses will always have more string tension because of the scale length.

[sunbeast]

Originally Posted by lmfreeman9

Keep in mind that short scale basses will always have more string tension because of the scale length.

No- the opposite is true! If you use the same gauge strings tuned to the same pitch on a shorter bass, there will be less tension. Think about it this way- put a capo at the 3rd fret on a long-scale bass in standard tuning then retune all the strings down to standard tuning and compare the tension...

Part of the short-scale bass "tone" is that people generally use larger gauge strings to compensate for the tension change, which in turn gives a certain "boominess" that you don't get on a long-scale bass.

Karl

[Darkstrike]

I often play in drop D with my TI's, but the bass in question is a 35" scale.
I've had absaloutly no problems though, I can't imagine Eb being a problem.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

No- the opposite is true! If you use the same gauge strings tuned to the same pitch on a shorter bass, there will be less tension. Think about it this way- put a capo at the 3rd fret on a long-scale bass in standard tuning then retune all the strings down to standard tuning and compare the tension...

Part of the short-scale bass "tone" is that people generally use larger gauge strings to compensate for the tension change, which in turn gives a certain "boominess" that you don't get on a long-scale bass.

Karl

+1, this is the reason 5 string basses are generally preferred to be 35" scale.

[bkbirge]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

I often play in drop D with my TI's, but the bass in question is a 35" scale.
I've had absaloutly no problems though, I can't imagine Eb being a problem.

+1, except I'm at a 34" scale.

[Jim Carr]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

...has anyone ever tried to use TI Flats tuned down a half step to E flat standard before?
Karl

Did it for 6 months or so on my '71 P-bass. It was fitted with it's original fretless neck at the time. We tuned to Eb, mostly to accommodate the vocalists. I was tempted to simply tune to standard and manually "transpose," but the band had charts that would have made it more trouble. The tension was low, but it was workable.

I eventually went to a '69 fretted neck, but not because the TI's didn't work. They were OK, though I was happier with round wounds on the fretted P-bass neck for the R&B/Motown/Soul we were doing.

Even with the rounds, the P had noticeably less tension when tuned to Eb. When I went to standard tuning, I needed a truss rod tweak to get a good setup.