From Fender Flats to TI Flats

I'll be making the same change on my Jazz eventually. No hurry. I'm loving the Fenders. But the hype around the TI flats has me intrigued. Looking forward to reading the replies.

 

Typical TI flatwound fan with a set on virtually every bass I own, hollow, semi hollow, and solid. Last night played a pre modded Cabronita w/ Fender flats [only flats I had on hand] and another bass w/ TI's.
The TI's will give you lower tension, more hi mids, and more high end. You might be put off by the difference in wrap feel on the TI's E & A vs D & G strings. But that goes away very quickly as the TI's settle in and you get acclimated. The low tension allows for more articulate playing and comfort all night long. Fender flats are great for the $$ but TI's will last forever, I've been known to use the same set for over a decade. No other string brings out the full potential of any bass than TI's, imho. Other flats might be favored because of feel or what they deliver sonically to an individual bass. TI's sound great on everything.
Hope this helps.

 

My Fender flats are used and have lost their short lived zing anyway. I've found TI's to have a hi mid bump with a very sweet and natural high end, never sharp and you need to dig a little bring them out once they've been used a few years. Brand new they are almost too bright but well worth the process.

 

Glad to hear you liked them on everything.
I could never get to that point with the TI flats on my Jazz basses, but absolutely love the Fender flats.
Overall though, I was not all that impressed with the TI flats. But we all hear something a little different I suppose.

Do you have sound clips of your many basses with TI's?
That might be very useful to squire65.

 

Sorry, no sound clips.

I love Fender flats too, and LaBella. The Fenders really surprised me last night and the only real negative [albeit small] was the tension. Just used to the TI's. Certain brand flats on specific basses for a specific tone can be pure heaven. For me, TI's are a great all round, multi genre, all night string. For others the milage may vary. But I'm all for variety.