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Cheaper version of TI flats?
- Thread starter gimmeagig
- Start date
40-95 (the Super Soft set, or whatever it is they may be calling them, now). I replace the .060 D string with a .055; that makes the set feel better balanced, IME.
I don’t know where you’re getting your information from, but Thomastic-Infeld prices have been consistent and paced with the rate of inflation since they came out. They haven’t jacked anything up. The people who seem to experience sticker shock at TI’s pricing are mostly people who are new to the brand. Orchestral string players view these prices as a bargain. Orchestral bass and cello players often pay more for a single string than a full set of TIs cost. So all pricing is relative. Welcome to the world of orchestral strings.
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Orchestral Strings? Don’t you mean Accordion Accessories? 
I think TI has every right to charge what they want, and you make a good point that they have not been abusing their customers. However, I don’t see an issue if people want to explore potential cheaper alternatives. Of course if no such alternatives are found, the choice is to buy from TI, or do without. Claiming TI should lower prices is a nonstarter.
I think TI has every right to charge what they want, and you make a good point that they have not been abusing their customers. However, I don’t see an issue if people want to explore potential cheaper alternatives. Of course if no such alternatives are found, the choice is to buy from TI, or do without. Claiming TI should lower prices is a nonstarter.
My experience too. I generally start with TI Rounds on most basses and if the bass isn't loving them I move on to something that I think will work better from there. My StingRay did not love the TI (power bass set) and my Birdsong P bass didn't love the flats as much as the La Bellas. I put TIs on my Upright, on both my electric guitars (one flat and one round) my acoustic guitar and on 5 out of 10 electric basses. I think it's fair to say I really like their strings. Their rounds last a really long time as well. I just pulled a set off my Jazz bass that had been on there for three years. I don't play that bass as much as the others but still, that is a pretty long life and they only recently started having a bit of a dead round sound which wasn't entirely unpleasant honestly.
I'd have to agree with this. Aside from the busyness of their construction under the outer wrap - compared to the dirt simple way most other flats are made - making TI's expensive to produce, they are also imported from Austria. Which means import duty and customs fees have to be paid. And, guess who winds up paying them, in the end? If you raised your hand? You win a gold star...
So, yeah, they cost more than most popular flats do. All but two of my 25 basses wear flats, and a lot of them wear other, imported flats - like Optimas and Dogals. And, guess what? They don't cost quite as much as TI's do, but... they damn sure ain't as cheap as American made flats. The Dogal Hellborg Flats I bought recently? They're even busier under the outer wrap than the TI's - including a woven wire core string. Their cost? Well, I could buy 2 sets of TIJF's, for what I paid for those things...
And, as I and others have said; amortized over their expected life - providing you keep them, and your hands, clean and reasonably well cared for? TIJF's are some of the least expensive strings you can buy. The bass I use for Jazz - my '96 Alembic Epic - has worn a set of TIJF's for... IIRC, about 13 years, now. They're just nicely broken in, and the tone is to die for...
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And, as I and others have said; amortized over their expected life - providing you keep them, and your hands, clean and reasonably well cared for? TIJF's are some of the least expensive strings you can buy. The bass I use for Jazz - my '96 Alembic Epic - has worn a set of TIJF's for... IIRC, about 13 years, now. They're just nicely broken in, and the tone is to die for...
Ha, that's amazing man. I can't wait until my TI flats are that old. The oldest set I have currently is 5 years on my JMJ Mustang. The Hellborg flats were the most expensive strings I've purchased for an electric bass. They replaced some 3-year-old TI flats I had on my P bass. I moved those over to a fretless bass I just purchased and they're singing as usual.
Same here with the Dogal Hellborg flats. The set I ordered just arrived yesterday. I’ve got them on a JB I modded with a 4-band Audere active preamp and I’m already amazed by them. Tonally similar in some ways to the Hellborg rounds I have on a 2017 Gibson EB, yet also different and very much their own thing. I’m pretty sold on Dogal’s Hellborg series. In the meantime the TIs I’ve got on another bass are staying. It’s nice to have some sonic variety when it comes to flatwounds
I had to substitute the Dogal NickelSteel RW160A Round Wound on the E when I made a mistake and cut the string on the Hellborg rounds. Stringsbymail was generous enough to send me another set I'll use when this set wears out. But truly the standard Dogal Roundwounds are an excellent string as well. I also have a short-scale set of their vintage flats but I have to figure out which bass to try them on since I'm currently really happy with the assortment of strings on my various basses.
You did the right thing by just getting the TIs rather than trying to find something "like" them. There's nothing like them IMO and I've tested a ton of flats and like a lot of them too. The TIs sit in a space of their own though and if that's what you like from what you've heard that's what you should get and start with.
The tension thing doesn't bother me one bit. I have no problem playing a bass with TIs and then picking one up with GHS or LaBella flats for a couple songs. I stayed away from them for a couple years worried about the low tension that is bothersome for some people. Glad I eventually tested myself because it's a nonissue for me and became my favorite overall set of flats.
The tension thing doesn't bother me one bit. I have no problem playing a bass with TIs and then picking one up with GHS or LaBella flats for a couple songs. I stayed away from them for a couple years worried about the low tension that is bothersome for some people. Glad I eventually tested myself because it's a nonissue for me and became my favorite overall set of flats.
I ordered a 66$ set from Amazon for my G&L L1000.
Prior to coming across the “accordion accessory” TIs, I tried finding a less expensive alternative.
I put Labella LTF on a few instruments, but never really fell in love with them.
I also tried Ernie Ball Cobalt flats, which I do like a lot. I have them on a Sire Jazz Bass. I think their unconventional, roundwound-ish tone works on an active J bass.
Neither of these are really adequate substitutes for TIs though.
Prior to coming across the “accordion accessory” TIs, I tried finding a less expensive alternative.
I put Labella LTF on a few instruments, but never really fell in love with them.
I also tried Ernie Ball Cobalt flats, which I do like a lot. I have them on a Sire Jazz Bass. I think their unconventional, roundwound-ish tone works on an active J bass.
Neither of these are really adequate substitutes for TIs though.
I have a few questions about the wrap at the ball ends of the TIs. On the bass that they will be going on I have less than an inch from the bridge to the saddle. How far does the wrapping go up the string from the ball end. Can the wrapping be removed? Or will the string fall apart if I remove it. Can I just take a lighter to do the job? or would that harm the string? I suppose I could buy some spacers at the Hardware store, but that would affect the tension(I think)
Silks can be removed, even entirely. I had to, back when I installed my short-scale T-I single short-scale .106 low E on my tight, string-through-body-only bridge instrument. I use a combination of X-acto knife and cigarette lighter: shave, burn, rinse and repeat. No heat damage to the string that I could detect. Spacers would not affect tension, which is solely determined by the tuning and mass of the vibrating section of the string - between bridge and nut - as opposed to length of sections past either of those relevant points.
I tried them a couple times and hated them. They ended up cut into 6" strips in the trash. That was before I realized that people like used strings.
Excellent video that showed me that, yes, each of the different strings have a bit of their own thing going on, but they all sounded great with the backing tracks. Any one of those strings could work well in just about any musical scenario, IMO. Something that came across my mind would be the same setup but vary where on the strings they are plucked. I'd bet most of those strings could sound close to the same if they were plucked elsewhere along the lenght of the string above or below the pickup.
I also feel that the solo playing section didn't do much for me; playing to those backing tracks are really what a presentation like this should be.
FWIW, TI's are my favorite flats, but I've had a set of Chromes on my P for probably 8 years, I used a set of DR flats on the same P and a J for over a decade, I have Rotosounds on my Jack Cassady, and who-knows-what kind (or how old) of flats on Greco hollowbody that I've had for close to 10 years now. Not to mention the 5yr old D'Addario half-rounds on my LB-100 (w/MFD), which had previously been on my SB-1 (also w/MFD). All of them work well and sound great in their own way. I like the lower tension of the TIs, but I get along just fine with all of them.
Now I'm not really a flats fan-boy. I still have about 10 other basses with various states of new and old rounds, including a 6 string, 2 fretless 5s, 3 fretted 5s, a fretless 4, an SB-1, a couple of Js... They're all good!
Now I'm not really a flats fan-boy. I still have about 10 other basses with various states of new and old rounds, including a 6 string, 2 fretless 5s, 3 fretted 5s, a fretless 4, an SB-1, a couple of Js... They're all good!
I finally bit the bullet and tossed TI JFs on my P. Very nice. Nicer than the GHS Precisions on my Yamaha BB? I dunno. Will be interesting to come to a conclusion. In any case, It's close enough that I will say the GHS flats are a completely fine substitute for the JFs. And at 2/3 the cost. So that's my answer for "Cheaper version of TI flats." 
Hey guys,
Here's my new funk machine bass. I took a chance on a Sawtooth. I paid 180 bucks for it. I think I got lucky.Good fret work, no fret sprout, rolled fingerboard edges, the wood looks like it's rosewood and it's a very thick slab. It was pretty dried out and kind of rough. I sanded it and applied a few coats of boiled linseed oil, now it's great.
I changed the bridge put into Tonemaster pickups with better pots. Reshaped the neck and the headstock, did a complete copper shielding. I had an old Wilkinson bridge that looks really good on the bass and.I had to put some electrical tape over the pole pieces. Only the D and B string pole pieces were buzzing when I touched them, the other part of the pickup was fine. I drilled out the holes for the bobbins just a tiny bit to make room for the electrical tape. I've done that to my moon bass that had the same problem even though they were not strand pickups and it's held up for years.
Anyway I decided on the TI flats I'm sending the La Bella's back to Amazon.
The TI's sound great and I love the way they feel. I'm not used to playing flatwounds but I like the TIs. Maybe now I'll finally be able to get motivated to get through the whole James Jamerson book so thanks for all the pointers I got from you guys just ended up being a very active thread I didn't expect that.
Here's my new funk machine bass. I took a chance on a Sawtooth. I paid 180 bucks for it. I think I got lucky.Good fret work, no fret sprout, rolled fingerboard edges, the wood looks like it's rosewood and it's a very thick slab. It was pretty dried out and kind of rough. I sanded it and applied a few coats of boiled linseed oil, now it's great.
I changed the bridge put into Tonemaster pickups with better pots. Reshaped the neck and the headstock, did a complete copper shielding. I had an old Wilkinson bridge that looks really good on the bass and.I had to put some electrical tape over the pole pieces. Only the D and B string pole pieces were buzzing when I touched them, the other part of the pickup was fine. I drilled out the holes for the bobbins just a tiny bit to make room for the electrical tape. I've done that to my moon bass that had the same problem even though they were not strand pickups and it's held up for years.
Anyway I decided on the TI flats I'm sending the La Bella's back to Amazon.
The TI's sound great and I love the way they feel. I'm not used to playing flatwounds but I like the TIs. Maybe now I'll finally be able to get motivated to get through the whole James Jamerson book so thanks for all the pointers I got from you guys just ended up being a very active thread I didn't expect that.
What! Jamerson playbook and no Jamersons. Just kiddin'. Strings are a personal thing. Haven't tried the TI's myself. And don't plan on it in E standard. But, and this has been mentioned, some say they don't like the loose goose feeling of TI's. The JF344 set has about 40 lbs less overall tension than a vanilla set of 45-105 rounds on a long scale bass. What I plan on doing is taking the 5iver set JF345, put aside the 043 of the set and use the 136 100 070 056 for C# standard.
Galli, another Euro manufacturer, make a flat worth trying imho . Called jazz flats as well. JF Jazz Flat
Stringsbymail has the 45-105 for around $30usd. Invalid Link Removed
Not a cheaper version of TI's of course. TI construction is unique I believe, in the world of flats
