D'Addario Chrome flats vs. TI Jazz Flats

[Mudfuzz]

Originally Posted by Nick man

Ive tried but I havent been able to find a washer that fits.

What type of bass is it? For a Fender style it is 3/8" diameter with a 3/16" hole.

[Nick man]

Its an Ibanez from the 70s

[The Thinker]

Anyone know how long approx. it takes to "break in" a set of chromes?

[Mudfuzz]

Originally Posted by Nick man

Its an Ibanez from the 70s

Is the nut at the nut? All the pictures I looked at are too black to really tell. Both of my older Ibanezs [early 80s] have a allen nut at the bottom of the neck, but it is basically a fender style trussrod. Have you "really carefully" measured the washer [if there is one] that is behind the trussrod nut on your bass by either taking it off or using something like a compass or caliper?

If you can't find a washer that fits anywhere, what I would do is get one [or more] with the right hole size [so that it fits the rod nicely] that is a little bigger, get a bolt & nut that fit the washer's hole, put the washer on the bolt and tighten the nut behind the washer[s] so that it cannot spin, then chuck the bolt into a dill. Take a file or 60-80 grit sandpaper [for metal] and fix it to a surface [table , workbench, sawhorse, the ground ect] and grind [checking size often] down the washer to your desired diameter.

Originally Posted by The Thinker

Anyone know how long approx. it takes to "break in" a set of chromes?

This depends on how much you play, how much you sweat and how corrosive you sweat is. "For me" a week of "heavy" use, otherwise it is around a month.

[The Thinker]

Originally Posted by Aaron Noguer

This depends on how much you play, how much you sweat and how corrosive you sweat is. "For me" a week of "heavy" use, otherwise it is around a month.

Thanks, Aaron .

This is the first time I've volutarily had flats on one of my basses, and it's good to know I should wait a while to see if I should put rounds back on.

[Nick man]

Originally Posted by Aaron Noguer

Is the nut at the nut? All the pictures I looked at are too black to really tell. Both of my older Ibanezs [early 80s] have a allen nut at the bottom of the neck, but it is basically a fender style trussrod. Have you "really carefully" measured the washer [if there is one] that is behind the trussrod nut on your bass by either taking it off or using something like a compass or caliper?

If you can't find a washer that fits anywhere, what I would do is get one [or more] with the right hole size [so that it fits the rod nicely] that is a little bigger, get a bolt & nut that fit the washer's hole, put the washer on the bolt and tighten the nut behind the washer[s] so that it cannot spin, then chuck the bolt into a dill. Take a file or 60-80 grit sandpaper [for metal] and fix it to a surface [table , workbench, sawhorse, the ground ect] and grind [checking size often] down the washer to your desired diameter.



This depends on how much you play, how much you sweat and how corrosive you sweat is. "For me" a week of "heavy" use, otherwise it is around a month.

Thanks for the tips!

FYI:
~The nut is at the heastock end of the neck.
~I have brought the whole neck with me and even took the nut off when trying to find appropriate washers at Home Depot and other hardware stores.
~Ive tried some grinding but Ill try more.

Peace
Nick

[Nick man]

Maybe, but who knows what they used in 1975.

[gapupten]

A couple of posts have asked about how to determine which size string to buy for a 35" scale bass.
Check out this D'Addario site.

http://69.18.150.32/JDCDAD/DADFaqAnswer.aspx?ID=762

[mrbaloo]

Thanks for link to the guidelines at D'Addario site!

/MrBaloo

[the low one]

Has anyone recorded a line with both TI and Chrome flats so we could hear the difference? I'm using TI's at present but would like to hear the difference.

[stretch80]

I use Chromes on my fretless ABG and love them. They sound great and have been on there for a year. I'm getting ready to put a set on my '76 P.

I tried a set on my Stingray 5, and felt that it lost too much growl and punch. I know a lot of people like TIs on MMs, so I do want to try them, but from this thread, I'm not sure if they'll do what I want. Maybe I'll need some half rounds, or who knows what. I've got D'Addario XLs on there now, which are good, but I'd like less ring, but without losing the growl.

The good thing about string experimentation is it's (relatively) inexpensive, except for TIs!

[pretaanluxis]

Originally Posted by Aaron Noguer

I've had them one my 74 P for ten years now, and the set that is on my 505 for six [I broke the E after five years on the first set]; still sound great.

Wow I'm surprised, I found that after a few months my Chromes quickly became dead-sounding and wouldn't keep their tune

[Mudfuzz]

Originally Posted by pretaanluxis

Wow I'm surprised, I found that after a few months my Chromes quickly became dead-sounding and wouldn't keep their tune

I still do think a lot of this has to do with how acidy one's sweat is.
But I finally did change the strings on my 505 last year because they did start to sound "off". I'm also liking the "newer" string sound on this bass for some reason so might change the strings on this bass more often the fenders and other P bass type bass though will probably be as they are in till the strings brake or die

[westland]

I just purchased some Chromes to replace the TIs on my fretless, and am going through my own assessment.

I'm impressed with D'addario's products (including Planet Wave). I have varying assessments of each, but in general I'm not disappointed. If I'm searching for something and have no idea who makes a good product, I'll go with D'addario. This is why I picked up the Chromes to begin with ... they were the only flatwounds that Tom Lee carried, and I said that was good enough for me.

[jenderfazz]

Having finally tried TI Jazz flats, I must admit I preferred the way they felt. However they aren't thump machines, and Chromes would be my choice for a thicker sound/feel.

[phat5]

I'm not real keen on the tension of the Chromes, however they sound nice and have a decent cut thru the mix. I play a Fender passive 5'r (RBV) thru an Avalon U5 to the house mix (no amps on stage), while backing up a 20 member gospel choir. The rhythm section features two keyboardists, drums, 4 pc horn section and two guitars...........it gets loud in our 500+ capacity hall. I have read several reviews on Chromes and the TI flats..........and I'm wondering if the TI JF-345's will cut thru the mix better than the Chromes?

[Squidfinger]

Originally Posted by Squidfinger

I too just recently switched from TI flats to Chromes. I agree with the problems about unevenness. The main problem I had with the TI's was that I got 4 bad E's in a row!!!!! I also found the B overpowering.

When I changed to Chromes the first thing I noticed was the evenness. I could play inversions and it actually sounded alright. The B was alot more balanced too.

I took an old TI strung bass out of the closet a few days ago and compared it against my main Chromes strung bass. The former sounded as dull as a dead fish.


I'm sticking with the Chromes .

This is an old post. I like to solo and do alot of bends. I developed trigger finger due to the moderately high tension of the 4 Chromes. Plus the G string just seem to never die down. Went back to TI jazz flats.

The TI's have superior tone and feel to the Chromes. I'll never ever use another flatwound. Rounds are a different story though.

[bgavin]

Originally Posted by jenderfazz

Having finally tried TI Jazz flats, I must admit I preferred the way they felt. However they aren't thump machines...

This is my observation also. I have a 5+ year aged set of TI Flats that I moved from the P to the fretless J... the aged strings are very ka-chinky and woody sounding.

I did a recent recording of them when new vs today, big difference in sound, on same bass.

I've been playing rounds the last few months, and must admit I miss playing flats.

[DavePlaysBass]

I have a few questions:

1) How is the B string?

2) How do they slap compared to TIs? TIs don't slap IMO.

3) How does their sound change over time. Do you need to change them regularly like many do with Roto flats or do they age nicely like the TIs, Fenders, and Labellas.

Thanks,

Dave

[Mudfuzz]

Originally Posted by DavePlaysBass

I have a few questions:

1) How is the B string?

2) How do they slap compared to TIs? TIs don't slap IMO.

3) How does their sound change over time. Do you need to change them regularly like many do with Roto flats or do they age nicely like the TIs, Fenders, and Labellas.

Thanks,

Dave

1) big and punchy

2) about the same

3) they age nicely