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Defective TI Flats!!!!! Grrrrr!

bassdude51

bassdude51

"You never even called me by my name."
Supporting Member
Nov 1, 2008
9,817
24,344
Central Ohio
#1
I'm not promoting TI Flats so please don't get me wrong. They are my favorite string and I love their sound though they are a bit on the overly floppy side with their low tension.

I understand that they might not be your favorite or you might just not like them at all. Everybody has different likes and dislikes. That's a good thing.

But I've had some problems with TI Flats. How about you?

I found a good sale on them about 6 years ago so I bought about 6 packs of them and put them in storage.

Then, 4 years later, I opened up a pack and instead of being 34 inch long scale (JF344) they were the short scale (JF324) even though the package said otherwise. I had 4 bad packs of TI Flats. Mis-labeled.

I called the distributor and they had me send the 4 packs back and they sent me the correct ones. No problem other then the return shipping and hassle.

Now, I opened up 2 new packs of TI Flats that I bought about 2 years ago and both E strings are very stiff and hardly uncoil from the envelope although the other strings are just fine.

Fortunately, I didn't cut or wind any on the tuners. But obviously, the 2 E strings are not right as TI Flats are very loose and floppy and fexible and the E strings are stiff.

Quality control for TI Strings..............not so good?

Any comments or similar experiences with defective TI strings?
 
#2
I have been given 2 used sets that were on fretlesses. I like to compare with my chromes so I change them one at a time. Both times- the G string starts unraveling itself at the tuner. Tuning it up to pitch just unwinds them more. This is with about 2 wraps already. They were unusable.
 
#3
My experience, which is about 15 years on 5 sets, is that all were packaged correctly, and all performed flawlessly. Regarding being given used strings...how can you criticize strings when you have no idea what abuse they were put through, how many times they were installed and uninstalled, etc. They were used and probably pulled off without a whole lot of regard for keeping them in good shape!
 
#4
bassdude51 said:
Now, I opened up 2 new packs of TI Flats that I bought about 2 years ago and both E strings are very stiff and hardly uncoil from the envelope although the other strings are just fine.

Fortunately, I didn't cut or wind any on the tuners. But obviously, the 2 E strings are not right as TI Flats are very loose and floppy and fexible and the E strings are stiff.

Quality control for TI Strings..............not so good?

Any comments or similar experiences with defective TI strings?
Click to expand...



They were sitting for two years!

On the bass for two or six years is a different story..
 
#7
I don't like having strings on my shelf for more than a couple of months... I have been in shops that have string packaging that is literally cracking and falling apart... Who knows how long some places strings are sitting there...

They can be on a bass for years, but they shouldn't be in packaging for years...
 
#8
I love their strings. I did have a bad B string a couple of years ago. I emailed them thinking they would just send a new one. Unfortunately they didn't handle the CS well. They wanted me to send the defective one back to them (in Europe). It was a bit of a put off. Haven't used them since.
 
#9
I've used them for over 6 years now, ( still have the same set on my first Hofner), and the tone is completely awesome! These are without question the best strings I've ever used! Just like anything, you can get a bad item. And since you bought these at the same time, could have been some employees getting over a weekend or something! I'm just glad they got straightened out by the time I bought my next set for another bass.
 
#10
Luckydog said:
My experience, which is about 15 years on 5 sets, is that all were packaged correctly, and all performed flawlessly. Regarding being given used strings...how can you criticize strings when you have no idea what abuse they were put through, how many times they were installed and uninstalled, etc. They were used and probably pulled off without a whole lot of regard for keeping them in good shape!
Click to expand...

This^
 
#11
I have one set on my jazz now... about 10 months sound and feel great.
I got 2 extra sets in packaging. Checked them both for all areas of concern and it seems like they are good to go.
At least on my sets... the packaging is not sealed so be careful when purchasing at fire sales and such. What I'm saying this problem cant be widespread for all those time periods, they would be out of business.
 
#12
SLaPiNFuNK said:
I don't like having strings on my shelf for more than a couple of months... I have been in shops that have string packaging that is literally cracking and falling apart... Who knows how long some places strings are sitting there...

They can be on a bass for years, but they shouldn't be in packaging for years...
Click to expand...

I have been in both major chain and mom pop hard stores and routinely see string sets several label generations old (up to ten years). Apparently the longer they corrode, the more you should pay.
 
#14
Yeah I get bad strings here and there. But there's only one factory the TI sound comes from, and as a former clarinet picker, I'm used to buying a box of 10 Vandorens and 3 or 4 have promise, then when they're adjusted properly and broken in, maybe 1 or 2 are gig worthy, so it's like NBD to me. Hell yeah there are reeds that are all the same, Bari for one because they're plastic. And there are probably strings that are perfectly uniform too, but if it's not about the sound, what's it about?
 

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