I bought a used bass, and I believe these are Rotosounds, but the other possible option is TIs.
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Another, please identify these flats (rotos or TIs)
- Thread starter domestique
- Start date
I believe the only flats that use red wrapping on both ends are TIs and Rotos... but could be wrong.
A couple of considerations...
What color(s) are the ball ends themselves?
Looks to me like the winding length (ball end to silk) on the E is shorter than the other three, which indicates they're most likely TI's. Roto 77 Flats would have all four at the same length, so the silks would line up more evenly.
TI's are probably the most flexible flats in the market, while the Roto 77's are one of the stiffest. You should be able to tell which one based on how stiff or flexible they feel.
By the way, would you happen to have a micrometer to measure the thickness of those strings? Their actual gauges might tell us which one.
Gold/Brass for the ball ends.
They are weird. They have decent tension when playing finger style, but they are easy to bend notes on the fretboard. My previous flats have been Chromes, old fenders, and Dingwall Paysons... and I haven't played a 4 string in a couple years, so I'm not sure if the easy note bending is a byproduct of a shorter scale length compared to Dingwall or They are TIs.
They have a nice mid growl and I originally thought they were TIs, but the E string shows bevels in the flat part of the wrapped strings (which I believe is a characteristic of Rotos).
They are weird. They have decent tension when playing finger style, but they are easy to bend notes on the fretboard. My previous flats have been Chromes, old fenders, and Dingwall Paysons... and I haven't played a 4 string in a couple years, so I'm not sure if the easy note bending is a byproduct of a shorter scale length compared to Dingwall or They are TIs.
They have a nice mid growl and I originally thought they were TIs, but the E string shows bevels in the flat part of the wrapped strings (which I believe is a characteristic of Rotos).
Sounds like they're TI's based on your description about them being "easy to bend". TI's E and A do have tiny gaps in the outer winding.
When you get a chance, measure their thickness to see what the gauges are. TI Jazz Flats only come in one set of gauges, 43-56-70-100, for "long scale".
Mine measured 0.043, 0.056, 0.070, and 0.10
I believe we have a winner. TIs.
Thanks again!
Are they really stiff and high-tension, or soft and slinky?
A for Rotos, B for TIs
A for Rotos, B for TIs
You're late for the party. The mystery has already been solved!
Right. They could not be more different. Literally, it's the extremely high tension of the Rotos very the extremely low tension of the TIs. The TIs also have a very unusual feel to them. Almost like they are made of some kind of weird silk-metal hybrid material and not electric bass strings at all. And, of course, they sound very different. The Rotos really are rock flats, punchy and focused on the mids, while the TIs are very mellow, refined sounding, and have more low end.
If they're the most glorious flats you've ever heard and feel better than anything you've laid your hands on, they're TIs. 
Do they feel more like bridge cables (Roto), or wet spaghetti (TI)?
