How to clean TI Jazz Flats?!

they are flatwounds, no need to clean them. I use the same set since 2011, never cleaned, still sounding great.

and for "sounding great" I mean that they sound rich and full in the spectrum, with the classic "flatwound" tone that a flatwound user seeks.

they don't lose intonation nor tuning, tension is stable over the years, and they still vibrate in a good way with lot of sustain (unusual for flats)

the bass with those strings is the bass I can always count on knowin exactly wich sound is going to come out.

 

The TI Jazz Flats have an integrated cleaning feature. They clean themselves while playing the poopie out of them.

Therefore the somewhat higher price.

 

strange fact: I have the same set since 2011, used a lot because it's on my main bass, and a set I switched from one bass to another to try them on basses i owned; well, usually after some weeks the frets start leaving their "sign" under the strings, and that's one of the things that makes the strings die over months (other than dirt), compromising the windings.

under my Thomastik there is no trace of fret's signs.

my Chromes set after months started to be signed, and the LaBella Jamerson the same. I had a set of used Fender flats clearly signed by more than one bass (different bridges, so different string position over the fretboard)...

both sets of Thomastik show no signs of the frets. I've notices this thing only in the last months, because I switched the set of my main bass on another one, and the strings looked like new.

 

I use 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean them up before I even put them on. Then once on the bass I use Music Nomad String Fuel once a week at first, and now just once a month on my flats. It helps the strings to season in nicely and keeps them that way. Playing with clean dry hands and a quick wipe down of your strings after goes a long way.

If you want to kill a set of strings, any hand lotion will do.

 

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I just wipe my Tis down after each use and also give them a quick wipe over with GHS Fast Fret.
In fact I do that with all the different sets of strings I have on various basses.

 

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To clarify: After rehearsals/gigs yes.
At home no. I just wipe them with a rag here.

 

It doesn't hurt to keep a cloth in your case or gig bag to wipe them down after playing, whether flats or any other string type. Another good thing to do is wipe between the strings and fretboards where stuff tends to accumulate.

 

You don't. That's how you clean TI's.

 

Clean them with sweat!

 

I have had mine on since 2010 and they still kick butt. I wipe them down once in a while if they start to feel different under my fingers, but I have never noticed a degradation in tone. I used a touch of naphtha on a cloth once or twice after a gig if I thought they might have gotten particularly grimy, like after an outdoor gig in the summer.

 

Alcohol wipes

 

What was it Jamerson said? "The junk keeps the funk." Better not clean them at all...

 

Have you tried BassBrites? While most people use them on rounds, many players like how they keep flats sounding newer as well.

 

Big old bag of 500 gun barrel swabs at Cabelas for $15. Pint of 99% isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) at the local drugstore for $5. Set for life, if you must.
BTW, make sure it's the 99% as the lower percentage contains way too much water.