I'm going back to flats! School me on TI Flats vs. Chromes

[de la mocha]

I use to have chromes on my bass! That's all I ever used and loved them. I'm a funky fingerstyle player. But recently, I've been getting into slapping and put on some roundwounds but it's not for me.

So now I'm going back to flats. Because of talkbass, I'm curious about TI flats. How do they compare to chromes. I'm looking for a smooth, bright, low tention flatwound sound. Any suggestions between these two or any flatwound strings?

[Groover]

Subscribed 'cause I want to know too!

[OZMDD]

I use flats exclusively, and have been surprised and pleased w/ the very affordable and consistent Fender-brand flats. They have a smoother feel than the GHS and Chromes (IMO), and I even found them to be superior to TI's on my Tobias and 62 Jazz, but that's mighty subjective. I wouldn't say that I disliked the TI's, but I didnt' find them to be better to the tune of double the price. Many people swear by the TI's, and they seemed high-quality to me, but I was forced to use a set of Fenders in a pinch 4 years ago, and I was totally pleased. The tone-life is outstanding as well. The TI's might be a little lower-tension. I am less sensitive to tension, so its hard to say.

[JimK]

I'm no Flats kinda guy. That said-
I tried a friend's G&L bass with Chromes & dug them enough to put on one of my logs.
I tried T1's because a big majority here liked them. I hated them & took them off after about 2 weeks.

[rodl2005]

Chromes-Light guage- are the only flats I've been able to come to grips with. Tried some Roto's, some D.Markleys but both seemed dull & lifeless-in a bad way ;-)
Chromes seemed to have life & the guage I got-40-95 IIRC - are versatile enough for some slappin!

[GeneralElectric]

I've never liked Chromes, I found them to sound hollow, same with the Fender flats (though I still liked the Fenders better)

Lately I've been digging a set of GHS Precision Flatwounds on my P-bass. I got the extra-long scale to string through the body.

[ONYX]

I've tried many different brands of flats, but I always come back to the TI's. Don't know what it is, but right out of the box, they have this very "played in" feel to them.

Be aware, however, that the TI's have lower tension than other flats--some think that they feel too floppy--so it's probably safe to say that TI's are an aquired taste.

[doktorfeelgood]

Originally Posted by OZMDD

I use flats exclusively, and have been surprised and pleased w/ the very affordable and consistent Fender-brand flats. They have a smoother feel than the GHS and Chromes (IMO), and I even found them to be superior to TI's on my Tobias and 62 Jazz, but that's mighty subjective. I wouldn't say that I disliked the TI's, but I didnt' find them to be better to the tune of double the price. Many people swear by the TI's, and they seemed high-quality to me, but I was forced to use a set of Fenders in a pinch 4 years ago, and I was totally pleased. The tone-life is outstanding as well. The TI's might be a little lower-tension. I am less sensitive to tension, so its hard to say.

The Fender flats are nice. I used them exclusively for a couple of years then switched back to roundwounds. The Fender Flats have a good feel and great tone but the higher tension got to be an issue for me so I went back to D'Addario EXL roundwounds and I'm still there. I've been thinkig about taking the plunge with the TI Jazz Flats but can't seem to muster up the gumption to spend almost $50 bucks on a set of strings I might not like after 2 weeks. I wish that somebody put them on their basses at the factory so I could locate one to play with those strings on it then I would know fer sure. )-(

[de la mocha]

Hmmm, I'm almost tempted to poll between Chromes vs TI Flats (which I've never noticed in stores) vs Fender Flats. Perhaps I should just go with what I know and stick to chromes.

[-Sam-]

Originally Posted by de la mocha

I'm looking for a smooth, bright, low tention flatwound sound.

you just described TI's to a T, they are the string you want

[ljazz]

Originally Posted by JimK

I'm no Flats kinda guy. That said-
I tried a friend's G&L bass with Chromes & dug them enough to put on one of my logs.
I tried T1's because a big majority here liked them. I hated them & took them off after about 2 weeks.

too bad you didn't get to hear and feel what they are really like..... the coating is just starting to wear off after two weeks. After about a month they start feeling a bit stiffer, and they really sound smooth.

Guys, you can't judge a flat when you only leave them on for a few weeks...... a lot of brands don't even start to sound good for at least a month.

All of that said, I think the chromes have potential..... but the big problem for me is D'Addario's quality control and dimensional capability of their string gauges. I've said this before, but I'll say it again.... when I buy strings, and the package says the E string is .100, then I expect a .100 string... not .103, not .098.... but .100. And once broken in, the G string does not sound like it belongs with the rest of the set.

I always get suckered in by the low prices, only to get burnt because they don't know how to make strings capably.

Ljazz

[lonote]

Chromes and Fender 9050's are both relatively high tension strings. TI's are much lower tension. I prefer the high tension and use Chromes on my J-style basses and 9050's on my P-Basses.

[Mushroo]

You will probably never be satisfied until you buy a set and try them out
Otherwise it will eat away at you inside and keep you up at night, knowing that, somewhere out there, people are raving about TI Jazz Flats.
And if you try them for a couple of months and don't like them, you can always sell them here on TB and recoup part of the cost.

[dbcandle]

TI's have better intonation, but are too "floppy" (loose) and don't have enough "thump" for me.

I like LaBella Deep Talkin'.

[drasticDUB]

Chromes are quite high tension. Which I like a lot. So I dont care for the t.i. flats. Also, I dont think T.I. makes a flat that is any heaver than med/light gauge. bummer.
My two cents.

[de la mocha]

I'm gonna pull the trigger on some TI flats. I'm gonna test it out! I'll report back in about a week.

[Mushroo]

Originally Posted by de la mocha

I'm gonna pull the trigger on some TI flats. I'm gonna test it out! I'll report back in about a week.

Good choice, whether you love them or hate them, at least you will know for sure.

One tip I can give is try plucking/picking with your right hand a little closer to the bridge than you are used to. This will compensate somewhat for the lower tension, and it will also help the notes really "speak" in the mid range frequencies.

[GBGLJE]

You guys describe the flats as "high-tension". Are they higher tension than the same gauge roundwounds, or are they the same? I'm basically concerned if they will be exerting more pull on my bass neck or not.
I've never used flats and would rather not make any neck adjustments if I don't have to.
I'm tired of finger noise from round wounds.


*I just found what I was looking for in a different post.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by ljazz

too bad you didn't get to hear and feel what they are really like..... the coating is just starting to wear off after two weeks. After about a month they start feeling a bit stiffer, and they really sound smooth.

Dammit.

Guys, you can't judge a flat when you only leave them on for a few weeks...... a lot of brands don't even start to sound good for at least a month.

I guess that's my one new thing I learned today.

[ljazz]

LOL.... now rush back out and buy another set..... and this time leave them on for a month or two!