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I finally get the hype with TI strings
- Thread starter brian579
- Start date
I believe the hype. I hate flats. But, I love my TI flats, but only on my Vintera Precision.
They are known for their flats but if flats aren't your thing I really do recommend trying the JR344/334 Rounds. I put them on my Elite Jazz bass with Lollars and they sound just phenomenal on that bass, enough so I put them on 3 other basses however they sound best on that bass imo.
As much as I prefer Rick basses (and guitars) my favorite bass in your collection is the Les Paul Signature!
I have a 67 Gretsch 6071 & a 68 6073. Same bass except one has 2 pickups. The 6073 sounds great with T1's but the 6071 did not - in fact sounded lousy - ended up with Ernie Ball Rounds on it and it now sounds great.
And then there are the round wounds they make. Tried on three bases - didn't like - but the 4th was the charm. Never sounded better. The rounds are very light gauge and the wrap is a finer gauge as well.
At the risk of being redundant. May ask you guys, what makes them so great? besides longevity? Feel?, Tone?
Im down to try but, the price seems out of my range, are there any strings close to what they are? Please explain, I have a lot of time to kill!
I hear ya! I disliked most flats because they didn’t seem versatile enough for modern rock and pop music. TI’s somehow do that old school vintage Thump thing and that new school growl thing. They’re magical.
There really is nothing like TI flats. They are their own beast. It's all of those things that people like about them. Longevity, tone, feel, and versatility. They really have a sound all their own. I found the LTF's to be a little higher tension then the TI's and really liked the feel of them. The tone from LTF's though is completely different IME than TI's. Darker and more akin to Labella DTF's. Great string but wasn't what I was looking for.
You might like the Dunlop Flats. Really great midrange content and tension very similar to the LTF's. Tonally I'd say the Dunlops fall in between the TI's and LTF's. Very versatile with good sustain and some of the round wound characteristics TI's have. The Dunlops definitely don't last as long and when they die it's not necessarily a pleasant death like some people tend to like about flats. I personally don't like super dead flats. I get right around 8 months out of the Dunlops and then it's time to change em out. But I love em so much on my P that I'm not bothered by it. I've had the same set of TI's for almost 2 years now on my Jazz and they still sound phenomenal and perfectly broken in. Not dead at all.
The difference to me between the Dunlops and the TI's is that the dunlops have a slight edge or growl to their mids where I find the TI's to just be beautiful, smooth and round throughout the frequencies with a midrange unlike any other string I've used...round or flat. TI's sit in a mix in completely their own way and are as great in a live setting as they are for recording.
You may not want to put them on all of your basses but I think everyone should at least try them for themselves and have at least one bass strung up with TI's. Their Jazz rounds are next on my list to try but they are more expensive than the flats!
9050s here as well....on several basses but need to swap a set to my MIM J bass next....9050s on Peavey Foundation and Fury (P type)....still am tempted for the low tension of TI flats sometime.
Recent convert to flats all together. I've played basses before with flats on them and never liked them. However, I read all the positives of the JF's and decided to take the chance. They feel and sound great for me. Playing with a pick or fingerstyle, they sound EXACTLY like the tone I have had in my head. I do wish they sounded better slapping, but I don't slap that much so can live with it. The Slinky Flats I have provide a better slap tone, but not quite what I'm looking for with finger or pick playing.
Wonder if Jazz Rounds are the answer.
Wonder if Jazz Rounds are the answer.
The rounds are cool but like the flats, they're different. I played a set for a few months last year. I couldn't bond. Or I'd think I did, for awhile, but I'd change my mind... Back and forth I went.
Okay....., I guess I just don't get the sudden love for Flats, I had an Ibanez bass that was annoyingly trebly(it had no Omff), I tried everything except changing the PUPs. I thought changing to flats would solve my problem, but nope same old treble had no booty (bottom end thickness).with flats I found nothing special, no magic or upside to my tone it just lost the zinginess of the round wounds i loved!
I first tried GHS precision wound flats & increased to Heavy gauge, then I bought D'darrio Chromes, because of all the love here, not a big difference, I guess I was expecting too much, other then the obvious, tactile feeling of the flat wound strings, I believed much of what was written here! but much to my dissappointment, there was no magic. I solved my tonal problem with that Ibanez eventually, by lowering the PUP, & Eqing the problem frenquencies,and later replaced that bass. I'm up for trying new things, but TI's are very pricy 3 x what i'm used to paying, so I'm a little reluctant to experiment w/o a good reason to.
I guess what i'm getting at is. I need some convincing to change over. I changed strings before (Brands, Composition, style of manufacture, & gauge size). Maybe it's my style of playing ( im very heavy handed), the genre of music (Hard Rock,) or maybe I just really like Round wound strings! I'm just trying to understand what all the Hub Bub is about, I want to feel the magic of Flatwound strings! I s it the love of Thuddiness of dead strings? if so, why isn't there more bassists using foam mutes? I don't get it, hoping I will, but so far No.
How Are DR legends? I really like their strings (high beams& Pure Blues).
I can't comment on any of the strings you mentioned, as I have only used the Slinky Flats and Jazz Flats.
I would say what you experienced was the reality that pickups have a very large influence on tone.
I was already happy with the tone I was getting from my basses, but wanted a little less highs. Both sets of strings have taken the treble end down subtly for me. There's a great demo video by BassTheWorld on YouTube that goes through various Ernie Ball strings. It does a great job of showing the SUBTLE changes strings will make on the same bass.
As to price, it has been mentioned here already that JF's will be on a bass for years and still sound great. If I do achieve the same set on the bass for a year or two, I am saving money and can justify the initial expense.
Question,
I play predominantly fretless, and greatly prefer roundwounds on them. My two keeper fretted wear flats.
How have y’all fretless players liked the JF344’s on fretless?
I do have a fretted with Pyramid Golds, and I really like them. I’m starting to get a collection of used flats as I liquidate my fretted collection. (Dunlop and EB cobalt)
my JF344’s are sitting unused because of my indecisiveness.
I play predominantly fretless, and greatly prefer roundwounds on them. My two keeper fretted wear flats.
How have y’all fretless players liked the JF344’s on fretless?
I do have a fretted with Pyramid Golds, and I really like them. I’m starting to get a collection of used flats as I liquidate my fretted collection. (Dunlop and EB cobalt)
my JF344’s are sitting unused because of my indecisiveness.
As I posted above, earlier (or was that in a different thread?) I wish I had put TI JFs on my fretless Elfin 5 way sooner than I did; they really make that bass sing.
Those 3 things were enough for me. Keep an eye on Amazon. Should be able to catch them for around $50 to the door. Great value.
I think this was intended as a joke. I got it but it was subtle.
