I'm a long time roundwound player that has switched permanently to Flats. I've been digging my TI Jazz Flats a lot lately for their deep fundamental tone and brightness (for a flat). However, they did feel a tad bit on the floppy side, though their tone made me want to just deal with it. But I play a 5 string and I only had the 4 string set of TI's (using a roundwound low B). The TI's are around three years old and have been on and off numerous basses until they stayed on my current bass (Washburn XB125 5 string, with active electronics, soapbar pickups...34" scale).
I had been looking for some flatwounds that retain their characteristic tight low end, yet provide a bit of that 'clanky' brightness. After reading many reviews I went ahead and bought a 5 string set of Chromes ($41 at juststrings.com). They arrived yesterday morning and I've been playing on them all day and night (being self-employed is a wonderful thing.
). After stringing up my bass, I could tell they had higher tension as the neck started bowing up and so the strings were quite a bit higher off the fretboard than they were with the TI's. These are the Regular Light Gauge Chromes. (.045, .065, .080, .100, .132 low B) This size fits a 34" scale bass perfectly though it's a very tight fit through the bridge hole for the low B)
After a bit of truss rod tweaking and saddle adjustments to get the height right and strings intonated, the strings are right where I want them (1/8" at 12th fret). I don't play with super close action. I play hard and I like some room between the fretboard and strings. When strings are too close to pickups or the fretboard, notes sound less full and deep and tend to be more trebly and a bit choked (which is no problem for those who play politely). I am not a polite player. In fact it should be noted that I play mainly classic hard rock. Not the newer death or screamo metal...but hard rockin' songs. Think AC/DC, Def Leppard, Poison, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy, Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith, G'n'R, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi...you get my drift. I play mostly with a pick, though some tunes I play with fingers. We’re a loud band and everything about my playing is about supporting the band with a tight, driving rhythm section. I don’t solo, though I try to put some tasty lines in when it fits the song.
OK, enough about me and the music…onto the strings. The Chromes definitely have a tighter feel to them than the TI's, but they do not feel like they are steel rebar. They are easy enough to play with some vibrato and have some flexibility to them, but they are stiffer than the TI’s. I think most strings are stiffer than TI’s though. The surface feel of the Chromes is very smooth as the name implies. The TI's feel a bit sticky.
The Chromes are quite bright. Acoustically, when I first put them on I had to double check the package to be sure I actually put flats on. They have a very roundwound tone without the ‘zing’ of rounds. Definitely not the duller ‘thud’ of flats. To take my amp settings out of the equation, I played them through my Tascam CD Basstrainer and headphones. But later plugged into my amp and two 115’s, they sounded pretty much the same.
If I had to make some comparisons, I guess the TI’s have a stronger fundamental, with more lo-mids, and extreme highs. The TI’s sound like one used the happy face, scooped EQ. The Chromes have a good fundamental, though not as much as the TI’s and Chromes excel in the mids and upper mids, yet still have a strong enough bottom to them to produce a good fundamental. While the Chromes are bright in the highs, what highs they have just give them some ‘bite’ without being harsh. It’s like the Chromes have a flat EQ sound to them. They have this bright, attacking clank to them. The Chromes are not your daddy’s flats at all.
For those who want that extreme fundamental with a mellow traditional flatwound sound, Chromes are not your string. But if you are a roundwound player going to flats, Chromes would be a perfect string to use. If I had to describe Chromes in one sentence it would be…”Chromes have a piano-like brilliance, if a piano were strung with flats.” They sustain far more than other flats and are as bright as a roundwound, but not in that ‘zingy” way. Chromes sound metallic whereas the TI’s sound more organic. Chromes seem to have a very strong mid presence that I’m sure would cut through any mix, even if you were to scoop the mids in your EQ…it’s that strong.
They certainly have the ability to smack you in the face whether you play down low or go up high. A bass strung with Chromes would never be mistaken for a lower strung guitar like rounds do. But they also will never be mistaken for an upright bass either, as notes played anywhere on the neck are distinct with a fierce, attacking character. They seem to be the perfect string for those who want a more ‘modern flat’ sound. Perfect I guess for a Rock music bass player, because they don’t sound ‘old school’ in any way, but they also don’t sound like wimpy roundwound wanker strings. The Chromes are “in your face” bass strings. As a former roundwound player these strings are simply awesome even when playing alone. Whether they’ll work for me in a live situation I don’t know yet. I may go back to the TI’s.
Stay ‘tuned’. I’ll let you know in a couple weeks how they sound in a live setting with the whole band. And the live gig setting is the whole reason I switched to flats. Flats help me sit more with the drummer, in my own sonic space, instead of competing with the guitars. I think they will work in that regard as they simply have their own character. We shall see how they hold up to the only test that matters…playing out live.
EDIT: I forgot to mention how great the Low B string is. The absolute best low B I've ever played. Very tight, solid and bright. The low B with the Chromes is brighter and tighter than any round I've ever used. It's so good that if I switched back to rounds, I'd leave the Chrome low B on!!!
2nd EDIT: It says on the package from D'Addario, WARM/MELLOW. Are they nuts? What were they smoking when they came up with that description? Warm? Ummm...not at all. Mellow? Yeah, maybe if you've had them on the same bass for the past 30 years, played with deep fried chicken grease on your fingers every time and never wiped them off and cut all your mids and highs and played at a low volume. WARM/MELLOW? That has got to be a joke because they are the total opposite of that.
I had been looking for some flatwounds that retain their characteristic tight low end, yet provide a bit of that 'clanky' brightness. After reading many reviews I went ahead and bought a 5 string set of Chromes ($41 at juststrings.com). They arrived yesterday morning and I've been playing on them all day and night (being self-employed is a wonderful thing.
). After stringing up my bass, I could tell they had higher tension as the neck started bowing up and so the strings were quite a bit higher off the fretboard than they were with the TI's. These are the Regular Light Gauge Chromes. (.045, .065, .080, .100, .132 low B) This size fits a 34" scale bass perfectly though it's a very tight fit through the bridge hole for the low B)After a bit of truss rod tweaking and saddle adjustments to get the height right and strings intonated, the strings are right where I want them (1/8" at 12th fret). I don't play with super close action. I play hard and I like some room between the fretboard and strings. When strings are too close to pickups or the fretboard, notes sound less full and deep and tend to be more trebly and a bit choked (which is no problem for those who play politely). I am not a polite player. In fact it should be noted that I play mainly classic hard rock. Not the newer death or screamo metal...but hard rockin' songs. Think AC/DC, Def Leppard, Poison, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy, Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith, G'n'R, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi...you get my drift. I play mostly with a pick, though some tunes I play with fingers. We’re a loud band and everything about my playing is about supporting the band with a tight, driving rhythm section. I don’t solo, though I try to put some tasty lines in when it fits the song.
OK, enough about me and the music…onto the strings. The Chromes definitely have a tighter feel to them than the TI's, but they do not feel like they are steel rebar. They are easy enough to play with some vibrato and have some flexibility to them, but they are stiffer than the TI’s. I think most strings are stiffer than TI’s though. The surface feel of the Chromes is very smooth as the name implies. The TI's feel a bit sticky.
The Chromes are quite bright. Acoustically, when I first put them on I had to double check the package to be sure I actually put flats on. They have a very roundwound tone without the ‘zing’ of rounds. Definitely not the duller ‘thud’ of flats. To take my amp settings out of the equation, I played them through my Tascam CD Basstrainer and headphones. But later plugged into my amp and two 115’s, they sounded pretty much the same.
If I had to make some comparisons, I guess the TI’s have a stronger fundamental, with more lo-mids, and extreme highs. The TI’s sound like one used the happy face, scooped EQ. The Chromes have a good fundamental, though not as much as the TI’s and Chromes excel in the mids and upper mids, yet still have a strong enough bottom to them to produce a good fundamental. While the Chromes are bright in the highs, what highs they have just give them some ‘bite’ without being harsh. It’s like the Chromes have a flat EQ sound to them. They have this bright, attacking clank to them. The Chromes are not your daddy’s flats at all.
For those who want that extreme fundamental with a mellow traditional flatwound sound, Chromes are not your string. But if you are a roundwound player going to flats, Chromes would be a perfect string to use. If I had to describe Chromes in one sentence it would be…”Chromes have a piano-like brilliance, if a piano were strung with flats.” They sustain far more than other flats and are as bright as a roundwound, but not in that ‘zingy” way. Chromes sound metallic whereas the TI’s sound more organic. Chromes seem to have a very strong mid presence that I’m sure would cut through any mix, even if you were to scoop the mids in your EQ…it’s that strong.
They certainly have the ability to smack you in the face whether you play down low or go up high. A bass strung with Chromes would never be mistaken for a lower strung guitar like rounds do. But they also will never be mistaken for an upright bass either, as notes played anywhere on the neck are distinct with a fierce, attacking character. They seem to be the perfect string for those who want a more ‘modern flat’ sound. Perfect I guess for a Rock music bass player, because they don’t sound ‘old school’ in any way, but they also don’t sound like wimpy roundwound wanker strings. The Chromes are “in your face” bass strings. As a former roundwound player these strings are simply awesome even when playing alone. Whether they’ll work for me in a live situation I don’t know yet. I may go back to the TI’s.
Stay ‘tuned’. I’ll let you know in a couple weeks how they sound in a live setting with the whole band. And the live gig setting is the whole reason I switched to flats. Flats help me sit more with the drummer, in my own sonic space, instead of competing with the guitars. I think they will work in that regard as they simply have their own character. We shall see how they hold up to the only test that matters…playing out live.
EDIT: I forgot to mention how great the Low B string is. The absolute best low B I've ever played. Very tight, solid and bright. The low B with the Chromes is brighter and tighter than any round I've ever used. It's so good that if I switched back to rounds, I'd leave the Chrome low B on!!!
2nd EDIT: It says on the package from D'Addario, WARM/MELLOW. Are they nuts? What were they smoking when they came up with that description? Warm? Ummm...not at all. Mellow? Yeah, maybe if you've had them on the same bass for the past 30 years, played with deep fried chicken grease on your fingers every time and never wiped them off and cut all your mids and highs and played at a low volume. WARM/MELLOW? That has got to be a joke because they are the total opposite of that.
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