Nothing, nothing makes them better, nothing makes them worse, than other strings. It just depends on what you like in a string, the feel, the touch, the sound. It's all subjective to what you like.
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Are TI Jazz Flats worth the $?
- Thread starter noeinstein
- Start date
Buy it at Thomann. It's the cheapest there. Get other stuff too to make the shipping worth it. Is it really that expensive now compared to others? You can get them for $60ish on Amazon.
IMHO - Yes. For me, the feel and sound are outstanding. I was pretty wary of spending that much on strings, but once strung up my Jazz (which was previously strung with Fender Flats) felt and sounded so good - and records even better.
I’ve tried almost all flats, it’s chromes for me over anything. I have Ti’s two times on my basses, took em off each time. Not as balanced as I’d like and just not better than chromes on any level except price.
My fretless bass that was built by TB member (there is a 30+ page build thread on it). He put on TI flats and 2 owners later, I got the bass and I did not dig the sound and feel. It was on the bass Jan 2014 to August 2021 and to be far was tunable and playable. His build thread also had a sound file direct to interface. The sound was duller contrary to what people say about longevity - or that it sounds the same many years later. It does not have the slam of a flat like GHS or DR Legend or the high mid and grind of a Cobalt. I love this fretless bass and will not ever let it go. But it needs stiffer strings to make it sing.
I did try moving the strings to 2 other basses and I took them off. Now their guitar jazz flats do last longer and easier to play when you use 13's
I did try moving the strings to 2 other basses and I took them off. Now their guitar jazz flats do last longer and easier to play when you use 13's
I’m not sure TIs last any longer than other flats. One key difference from many other flats, though, is materials. TI are wound with a nickel alloy. La Bella and D’addario flats (to mention two popular and less expensive options) are steel-wrapped. This makes a difference in price, feel, and sound.
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If you like the feel and sound they are worth it. I love mine, haven't changed em in over a decade.
I can't prove they don't change sound over time, but they never "go dead", I still l like what I hear
I find them very responsive articulate, but the real win is: I no longer have to worry about strings, and am free to focus on music.
I can't prove they don't change sound over time, but they never "go dead", I still l like what I hear
I find them very responsive articulate, but the real win is: I no longer have to worry about strings, and am free to focus on music.
There is a trick to getting the best price via Amazon.
Look for Thomastik Infeld Accordion Accessory. Disregard all the Yellow Packaging images - those are the expensive prices Choose one with the Red/Black bass -- those will be at least 30 bucks cheaper. Then usually they will even be cheaper if there is a bundle. Choose the bundle and then remove everything else except the strings in your cart. You can get one for 57 vs DR Legend at 42. Skip a fast food, Starbucks or food truck purchase this week. It is not that expensive anymore. And yes you will get the Yellow Packaging
Look for Thomastik Infeld Accordion Accessory. Disregard all the Yellow Packaging images - those are the expensive prices Choose one with the Red/Black bass -- those will be at least 30 bucks cheaper. Then usually they will even be cheaper if there is a bundle. Choose the bundle and then remove everything else except the strings in your cart. You can get one for 57 vs DR Legend at 42. Skip a fast food, Starbucks or food truck purchase this week. It is not that expensive anymore. And yes you will get the Yellow Packaging
for certain players the nuance that such a string offers will be lost and "not worth it."
particularly, if you are someone who only plucks with the right hand in one place, your not really going to experience the various textures or "colors" that it can provide.
i think they're an excellent quality string, but again if i'm running my bass into an "always on overdrive" and a compressor and plucking firmly over P pickup all night, any flats will do.
particularly, if you are someone who only plucks with the right hand in one place, your not really going to experience the various textures or "colors" that it can provide.
i think they're an excellent quality string, but again if i'm running my bass into an "always on overdrive" and a compressor and plucking firmly over P pickup all night, any flats will do.
Yes. If I ever had to replace a set for any other reason than wanting them to be shiny I’d buy again. In fact, I have 3 sets waiting for something to die.
How many sets of strings to you use in a year? 5 years? Play a set of TI Jazz Flats or Jazz Rounds. How they are in a week is how they are in a few years.
And every note on every string is predictable. Spend a few days getting used to the feel and you’ll get it.
How many sets of strings to you use in a year? 5 years? Play a set of TI Jazz Flats or Jazz Rounds. How they are in a week is how they are in a few years.
And every note on every string is predictable. Spend a few days getting used to the feel and you’ll get it.
Count me as one who does not like them. I got them on an SBMM Ray34 HH I purchased used and hated them, so I removed them almost immediately. Tried them again several months later on a Dean Vendetta and after about 15 minutes I removed them again.
Here we are a couple years later and I just tried them again on a gig on a Schecter Omen Extreme and again I hate them. I don't get anywhere near the growl and zing that I get from rounds and they also leave black residue on my fingers. So yeah I will be removing them again during the week. This time I might just ask someone if they would like to trade some EB Super Slinky 2834's for them. I'm done wasting time on them.
I am not a fan - but Labella DTFs are the top of the mountain for me, to be fair. Very different. There are a lot of folks here that love them very much. I think if you are really into strings they are something you should try at least once, if you can reasonably.
[ QUOTE="noeinstein, post: 27535863, member: 46418"]Just out of curiosity, what makes these so much better than the best of the other flats? Material? Construction? FM?[/QUOTE]
The pros and cons of TI Jazz Flats are one of the most discussed subjects in the Strings Forum. I could be really snarky, and tell you "Use the Search function" - but I won't. But, it is there - if you want to make your eyeballs bleed, reading everything that's been posted on the subject. Anyway...
1. What makes them "Better"? That's pretty subjective, really. What they actually are, are fairly light gauge flats; with a very thin, round core wire, with a "silk" inner wrap; another wire inner wrap; and a thin, nickel outer wrap. All of which makes them very flexible (for flats); and - again for flats - very low tension. It also makes them expensive to make. But, if you take reasonable care of them? They can last for many, many years, before they need to be replaced. Some folks here, are playing TIJF's that are 20 years old...
2. Price. Yes, they are expensive; but, there are other flats that are just as pricey; and some that are a lot more expensive. I just bought a set of Dogal "Hellborg" flats a week or so ago; I could have bought TWO sets of TI's for what those things cost. However... There are 2 ways to look at "cost". One way is "UPFRONT Cost" - how much did you buy them for? The other way is "AMORTIZED Cost" - how much do they cost, spread over their expected life? Simply put, the TI's cost per day of playing, spread over several years, is much, much less than the cost for any round wound string you care to name, spread over a couple of months. Compared to other Flats? The TI's are still the winner, but... not by nearly as much, as compared to rounds...
3. Compared to other flats. Since I learned to play bass in 1968 - on a friend's '68 Rick 4001, with it's Factory Maxima Flats - I've played many different basses - with many different flats on them. I hardly ever play a bass that doesn't wear flats; currently, only 2 of my 23 basses don't have flats on them. Thing is, flats do NOT all sound the same. So, you choose your flats, depending on the sound you want. TI Jazz Flats are "mid-range, modern" sounding flats. They have a decent low end; decent low-mids; and decent highs. Most of their tone is their mid-range. There are several other flats in this group, too. Fender's 9050's are in this group; the 45-100 9050Ls, for example, sound very similar to TI's. There are flats that are even brighter - to the point of sounding much like some rounds. And, there are flats that are all about the low-end "Thump". So, choose your flats according to the tone you want... The flats on my basses? They pretty much span the whole spectrum of available tones...
So; bottom line? whether or not TIJF's are "worth it" is really up to you. If you want the fundamental, low end tone? No, the TI's are not for you. Do you want to sound like you're playing rounds? TI's... well, not so much. Do you mostly play with a pick; or, slap a lot; or, just hate really flexible feeling strings? TI's, again, aren't for you. Do you feel that you just have to have new strings all the time? Well, I hope you have deep pockets; maybe you should play cheap rounds, instead...
Don't get me wrong; TI Jazz Flats are really good strings. I have them on my '95 Alembic Epic; and, for what I play on that bass? I really can't think of a better string. Those Dogal "Helborgs", maybe - but I have my doubts... In any case; IME, TI's are not the Alpha/Omega of flat wound strings; no flat wound is. There are some kinds of music I play, that the TI's are just simply wrong for. So, some of my basses wear flats that are better suited for that music. I play some kinds of music that I could use TI's for, but I play with a pick about 95% of the time - and the technique difference for the TI's, vs. playing the stiffer strings I usually play, just isn't worth it. The Alembic is the only bass that I play finger style all the time; and for the kind of music I play with it? The TI's tone; subtle harmonics; and their flexibility, make them the perfect string - so far...
The pros and cons of TI Jazz Flats are one of the most discussed subjects in the Strings Forum. I could be really snarky, and tell you "Use the Search function" - but I won't. But, it is there - if you want to make your eyeballs bleed, reading everything that's been posted on the subject. Anyway...
1. What makes them "Better"? That's pretty subjective, really. What they actually are, are fairly light gauge flats; with a very thin, round core wire, with a "silk" inner wrap; another wire inner wrap; and a thin, nickel outer wrap. All of which makes them very flexible (for flats); and - again for flats - very low tension. It also makes them expensive to make. But, if you take reasonable care of them? They can last for many, many years, before they need to be replaced. Some folks here, are playing TIJF's that are 20 years old...
2. Price. Yes, they are expensive; but, there are other flats that are just as pricey; and some that are a lot more expensive. I just bought a set of Dogal "Hellborg" flats a week or so ago; I could have bought TWO sets of TI's for what those things cost. However... There are 2 ways to look at "cost". One way is "UPFRONT Cost" - how much did you buy them for? The other way is "AMORTIZED Cost" - how much do they cost, spread over their expected life? Simply put, the TI's cost per day of playing, spread over several years, is much, much less than the cost for any round wound string you care to name, spread over a couple of months. Compared to other Flats? The TI's are still the winner, but... not by nearly as much, as compared to rounds...
3. Compared to other flats. Since I learned to play bass in 1968 - on a friend's '68 Rick 4001, with it's Factory Maxima Flats - I've played many different basses - with many different flats on them. I hardly ever play a bass that doesn't wear flats; currently, only 2 of my 23 basses don't have flats on them. Thing is, flats do NOT all sound the same. So, you choose your flats, depending on the sound you want. TI Jazz Flats are "mid-range, modern" sounding flats. They have a decent low end; decent low-mids; and decent highs. Most of their tone is their mid-range. There are several other flats in this group, too. Fender's 9050's are in this group; the 45-100 9050Ls, for example, sound very similar to TI's. There are flats that are even brighter - to the point of sounding much like some rounds. And, there are flats that are all about the low-end "Thump". So, choose your flats according to the tone you want... The flats on my basses? They pretty much span the whole spectrum of available tones...
So; bottom line? whether or not TIJF's are "worth it" is really up to you. If you want the fundamental, low end tone? No, the TI's are not for you. Do you want to sound like you're playing rounds? TI's... well, not so much. Do you mostly play with a pick; or, slap a lot; or, just hate really flexible feeling strings? TI's, again, aren't for you. Do you feel that you just have to have new strings all the time? Well, I hope you have deep pockets; maybe you should play cheap rounds, instead...
Don't get me wrong; TI Jazz Flats are really good strings. I have them on my '95 Alembic Epic; and, for what I play on that bass? I really can't think of a better string. Those Dogal "Helborgs", maybe - but I have my doubts... In any case; IME, TI's are not the Alpha/Omega of flat wound strings; no flat wound is. There are some kinds of music I play, that the TI's are just simply wrong for. So, some of my basses wear flats that are better suited for that music. I play some kinds of music that I could use TI's for, but I play with a pick about 95% of the time - and the technique difference for the TI's, vs. playing the stiffer strings I usually play, just isn't worth it. The Alembic is the only bass that I play finger style all the time; and for the kind of music I play with it? The TI's tone; subtle harmonics; and their flexibility, make them the perfect string - so far...
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Thanks. I get that whether you like them or not is subjective, but this is the kind of info I was looking for.
I have tried LaBella LTFs, Dunlop flats and a couple of others on my Fender J, my Sadowsky J and my Fender P. TIs win every time. The ones on my P are at least 15 years old and still sound great.
I have them on my Fretless StingRay5, and my incoming Short Scale StingRay. I’ve used them when I had a PBass.
My Sandberg wears TI Rounds.
I bought every set used for about $30 a set. I have a spare set as well.
TI Flats , Rounds, and Ernie Ball Slinky Flats and Super Slinky Rounds are the only strings I use.
