How long does it take TI Flats to break in?

[el_Bajo_Verde]

Well they are flats after all, so they're already as "broken in" as they're gonna get. That's what I love about em!

 

[singlemalt]

I find the first month of TI flats painfully bright. After the break in period the goods start to really happen.

They need lots of sweaty, greasy hand practice to get right. Bar food with fries. BBQ. Pizza. That sort of thing.

 

[DavC]

they change a little bit , then seem to stay right there ...

i'd go for a slightly used set for the backup bass ...

just keep them clean ... wiped off

 

[michael_t]

Well they are flats after all, so they're already as "broken in" as they're gonna get. That's what I love about em!

I tend to disagree with the notion that flats come already "broken in"; they do have a definite break-in period, some longer than others.

 

[Bassworship1]

I already put a purchase in today for a 5 string set to go on my backup bass. I did a side by side comparison with my main bass using the TI Flats and my regular go to string Cobalt Flats. There was a big difference in the tone using the same amps and settings with each set. The TI's just sound amazing on any bass I've tried them on. I still like cobalt flats but there is a noticeable difference.

 

[michael_t]

They need lots of sweaty, greasy hand practice to get right. Bar food with fries. BBQ. Pizza. That sort of thing.

I don't follow this advice. The best way to break in a set of flats - or any strings for that matter - is to keep them clean and dry and just play normally!

 

[bassbully]

I don't follow this advice. The best way to break in a set of flats - or any strings for that matter - is to keep them clean and dry and just play normally!

Yea but the other way is more fun..and filling

 

[13lues]

I bought my bass used with TI's already on it. I don't know exactly how old they are, but it's a 2013 bass, so they can't be insanely old. That being said, I haven't noticed any change in them in the year and a half I've had it.

 

[Engle]

Well Chromes are a love/hate flat IMO. They start very bright and then tone down to warm bassy land where I live. The Tension is a killer to some. It took me a while to get used to them. I found the tension allows me to set them up extremely low, so I can play with little pressure, and kind of bounce my fingers off them.

I hate changing strings and the set on my Frankin Fender is 8 or 9 years old. They sound and feel like a pad of slippery butter, on a Arizona highway, in the summertime , at high noon.

I have chromes on my franken jazz. They mellowed to a beautiful sonic place. I brought it to practice last night and the guitar player kept playing Led Zeppelin tunes.

 

[MVE]

I have TIs on my LB100 and my Hayman fretless.

I trimmed the Hayman strings before I put them on.

When I got the set for the LB100, I noticed there were specific instructions on the package NOT to cut them before they were installed, properly bent and tuned up to pitch. Something about the silk wrap slipping under the outer layer.

I followed those instructions very carefully; let the extra string stick out while I tuned, and didn't trim it for a few hours after they were installed and settled in.

And, I must say, they do in fact sound quite different.

They Hayman sounds like flats should, thumpy and mellow. But, the GL has this touch of the very top end that gives the notes a fantastic 3D sound.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[Bassworship1]

I've cut mine every time when installing on probably 4-5 basses and they always sounded good.

 

[MVE]

I've cut mine every time when installing on probably 4-5 basses and they always sounded good.

...but now I got'cha thinkin'. Lol
I can't remember exactly what it says on the package.
Anyone have a pack handy?

 

[SAlcott]

For me, T-I Flats breaking-in period is the time in which they settle down and stay in tune. For me, about 15 minutes. I then play them and forget about them.

 

[bassbully]

I have TIs on my LB100 and my Hayman fretless.

I trimmed the Hayman strings before I put them on.

When I got the set for the LB100, I noticed there were specific instructions on the package NOT to cut them before they were installed, properly bent and tuned up to pitch. Something about the silk wrap slipping under the outer layer.

I followed those instructions very carefully; let the extra string stick out while I tuned, and didn't trim it for a few hours after they were installed and settled in.

And, I must say, they do in fact sound quite different.

They Hayman sounds like flats should, thumpy and mellow. But, the GL has this touch of the very top end that gives the notes a fantastic 3D sound.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Like I said TIs sounded diffrent and often times not good to my ears on several basses I owned then. It took the right bass to get them to sound great to for me.

 

[LowFish]

I find the first month of TI flats painfully bright. After the break in period the goods start to really happen.

They need lots of sweaty, greasy hand practice to get right. Bar food with fries. BBQ. Pizza. That sort of thing.

Sweat & fried chicken grease and bbq ribs worked to mellow out the TI flats on my G&L L2K, 3 years now and they sound great.

 

[Gizmot]

I still think that T-I Jazz Flats are the finest strings money can buy. Their sound is perfectly balanced and they plày like buttah. Plus they last for years with minimal degredation. There is no finer string available than T-I Jazz Flats

 

[guroove]

I have had TIs on my main bass since January of this year. I play a gig about 1 to 2 times a week, and some weeks practice for several days, and other weeks don't practice at all. I feel they have finally broken in.

 

[Passinwind]

I have a set of TI Flats on my main bass for a little over a month and love them. They are the best sounding and feeling string I've ever played. Question I have for those that have used them is how long does it take them to break in?

Around 5 years on my particular fretless and with my very light touch, IME over 2 sets and 12 years. I greatly prefer the Ernie Ball Cobalts I have on that bass now though, although they've only been on for a year and are probably nowhere near broken in. They are cheap enough to just replace every couple of years, so I intend to change them whenever they start to go noticeably dead.

 

[JJR58]

Your talkin my kinda language when it comes to tension and touch bro.

Here's the pic i was suppossed to load yesterday BB.
This is how i like to roll, except, i haven't rolled that rig outta my apartment for quite some time now.

 

[RedMoses]

I use La Bella tapes, it takes about 2 weeks of (3x) a week gigs/sessions for them to settle in tone wise, by the 3rd week they have fully stretched and the strings always stay in tune. It takes a min of about 6 months for them to loose some of the magic (would swap if recording) and ive used a set for up to a year until they no longer feel as smooth (tape gets worn), the sound gets more dead over time but thats not a bad things with flats.