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Rounds like Thomastik flats

Winton

Winton

Nov 21, 2017
984
1,828
Tokyo, Japan
yuichituba.wixsite.com
#1
TL;DR - I’m looking for roundwound strings that have a very similar feel to the TI flatwounds.

Back story: I’ve been using TI flats on my Pbass for a few years after I heard all the rave about them. I can’t get away from them. I just love the tone, the feel, and the tension. However, I also love the sound of rounds on the Pbass.

On my jazz bass, I’ve used NYXLs because I totally dig them for the same reason as TIs on my Pbass (although tension is totally different!). So one day, I finally decided to put some NYXLs on my Pbass…..and they didn’t work for me! Sound was okay but I couldn’t jive with the feel and tension. This happened both on my Squier CV60s and Lakland SK464 (w/ jazz neck). Is it because I’m totally married to the TIs with my Precision bass!? Do any of you have recommendations on roundwounds that have a very similar feel and tension to the Thomastik flat wound strings?
 
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#2
TI Jazz Rounds are lower tension than Jazz Flats, but seem to be popular with Jazz Flat fans. I mostly use TI Jazz Flats. I tried the Jazz Rounds and liked them, but tension was a touch low for me. Recently started using Dogal Hellborg Rounds and prefer the feel of those over the TI Jazz Rounds. I am still mostly using TI Jazz Flats, but Dogal Hellborg Rounds are my go to rounds on the few basses I keep with rounds.

Not my video, but I found it to be a reasonable overview of the strings.
 
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#4
I love TI flats, but their rounds have even less tension, which I didn’t like.

I always come back to DR Hi-beams/Fat-Beams. For rounds I like steel because when Nickels go off they don’t sound good (to me) but steels do.

I’ve got a DR x Fodera set on my my 5 string PJ at the moment and they’re bedding in nicely. No complaints.
 
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#5
I just installed some SIT NR45105L strings on one of my p bass and man they sound good, beefy, punchy with a tension that is just a bit more than the TI flats I have on another bass.

On that same p bass, I tried some Dunlop Marcus Miller stainless steel super bright rounds because they are almost as low tension as the TI but the sound was thin, trebly and metal resonant so they got off the bass pretty quickly.
 
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#6
Gervais Cote said:
I just installed some SIT NR45105L strings on one of my p bass and man they sound good, beefy, punchy with a tension that is just a bit more than the TI flats I have on another bass...
Click to expand...
Funny you should mention SIT Power Wound Nickels... A couple of weeks ago, I decided I wanted to put rounds on my P bass and chose the Power Wound Nickel 40-100. You're right about them being "beefy and punchy", and I find the 40-100 set very comfortable to play on without feeling too loose or floppy.
 
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#7
Winton said:
TL;DR - I’m looking for roundwound strings that have a very similar feel to the TI flatwounds.

Back story: I’ve been using TI flats on my Pbass for a few years after I heard all the rave about them. I can’t get away from them. I just love the tone, the feel, and the tension. However, I also love the sound of rounds on the Pbass.

On my jazz bass, I’ve used NYXLs because I totally dig them for the same reason as TIs on my Pbass (although tension is totally different!). So one day, I finally decided to put some NYXLs on my Pbass…..and they didn’t work for me! Sound was okay but I couldn’t jive with the feel and tension. This happened both on my Squier CV60s and Lakland SK464 (w/ jazz neck). Is it because I’m totally married to the TIs with my Precision bass!? Do any of you have recommendations on roundwounds that have a very similar feel and tension to the Thomastik flat wound strings?
Click to expand...
I'd suggest you do try the aforementioned Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Rounds, but with a twist:
try the super-long scale set (JR364). Other TBers have installed them on their respective regular-scale basses, and even the low E is flexible enough not to break at the post (of course, if your P bass has the string-through-body loading option, using it will minimise or eliminate any amount of full-gauge winding on the tuning post).
The trick is that the gauges of the superlong version are larger* and more balanced than those of its long-scale counterpart.

Even more relevantly to your needs, individual tensions of the JR364 (G:36# D:36# A:36.8# E:36.6#)** are, on the average, close to those of the Jazz Flat JF344 set (G:37# D:37.5# A:31.3# E:34.4#), and their respective totals are very close (145.4# vs. 140.2#), with a healthy 5 pounds more for the rounds, which will help make them feel close to the inevitably stiffer (funny to apply this word to TI) flats.



* [and significantly so - 43/55/75/101 vs. 43/51/68/89 - unlike the superlong Jazz Flat set (JF364), which has minimally larger G, D and A strings and an actually *thinner* E compared to the regular JF344 (44/57/72/96 vs. 43/56/70/100)]
** [values taken from the product page but corrected for 34" scale by multiplying them times (34/36)^2, or ratio of scale lengths, squared]
 
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#10
So, you like the TONE of the NYXLs on your P-bass, but not the tension/feel? While at the same time you like the tension/feel of the NYXLs on your J-bass?

To me this strongly suggests a setup issue. The NYXLs should FEEL more or less exactly the same on a P and J-bass if both basses are set up identically. Maybe your P-bass has slightly high saddles and/or nut slots? The TIJFs can feel great under such conditions, while the NYXLs would feel stiffer and much harder to play. If you didn't adjust the truss rod when installing the higher tension NYXLs you will also get more neck relief, which will make matters even worse.

Did you set up the bass properly when changing from TIJFs to NYXLs? You didn't say which gauges you use with the NYXLs but assuming they are relatively "normal" tension they would 100% definitely require a full setup when coming from TIJFs. That should include neck relief, saddle heights and intonation. Possibly also the nut slots. A poor setup will make a HUGE difference to the "feel" and give the impression of higher tension.

If you DID give the bass a full setup and want to try something else:

First of all, lets be honest here. You will NEVER find "roundwounds that have a very similar feel and tension to the Thomastik flat wound strings". That's not gonna happen. If anyone tell you otherwise they're either lying or they haven't got a clue. Closer than the NYXLs? Sure, within reason. But even remotely similar to the TIJFs? Not really.

You can get slightly closer though:

The TI Jazz Rounds may seem like the obvious choice but they're kinda extreme... They're ULTRA low tension. In my opinion these are niche strings for players who either play with a very soft touch or will accept a sky high action to avoid severe fret buzz (or simply just accept fret buzz as part of the tone). The short scale TIJR set actually feels "tighter" than the long scale set, which is very unusual. I actually like the short scale set. The long scale set is far too floppy for my playing style though. Believe it or not but the TI Jazz FLATS feel stiff compared to the TI Jazz Rounds. The TONE of the TI Jazz Rounds is absolutely spectacular though! But I still can't play them on a long scale bass without making huge compromises to either my playing style or the setup.

Still, it seems like you should be looking for strings with a relatively supple feel, just (probably) not quite as supple as the TIJRs. This probably means some kind of round core strings. Which type/brand would depend on whether you want a bright tone or a mellow/warm tone, but DR is always a good place to start for round core strings with a supple feel. They won't feel even remotely like TI flats, but certainly a tiny step closer than the NYXLs.

Or maybe Dunlop Super Brights could be worth a try? They're the only hex core roundwounds I've ever played with a "feel" that made me think they were round core. They also have the most misleading name ever. Super Growly Mids would be a better description. The initial brightness wears out pretty fast. The broken-in tone is all about the slightly nasal sounding, growly mids. Personally I didn't like them very much. They were too "nasal" sounding in the mids for my taste (on a P-bass) and also a bit too loose/supple for my playing style. But one man's "nasal" is another man's GROWL. Lots of people love them.

However, it's hard to give good advice when all we've got is that you like the NYXLs "for the same reason" as the TIJFs. Honestly, it would be hard to find two types of strings that are more different than these! If we started at the other end, by recommending strings with a similar feel to the NYXL my list of recommendation would be COMPLETELY different.
 
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#13
I have switched over to TI Jazz Rounds on a couple basses. I still prefer the Flats, especially for fretless play, but the Rounds offer some more top end, and clarity. I've also tried the D'Addario NYXL sets... close, but the windings are coarser, and the tension is just enough more that the setup needed tweaking.
 
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#17
EdwardofHuncote said:
I have switched over to TI Jazz Rounds on a couple basses. I still prefer the Flats, especially for fretless play, but the Rounds offer some more top end, and clarity. I've also tried the D'Addario NYXL sets... close, but the windings are coarser, and the tension is just enough more that the setup needed tweaking.
Click to expand...
Exactly! That’s how I feel about the NYXLs on my Pbass!
 
#20
Try Curt Mangan Nickel extra lights:

www.curtmangan.com

40-95 Nickel Wound Extra Light 4-String Bass Set

Curt Mangan makes high end USA made guitar strings with the best quality nickelwound, pure nickel, stainless steel, phosphor bronze, and 80/20 bronze wire…
www.curtmangan.com www.curtmangan.com

I do TI’s when I want flats and the above Mangan’s for rounds. I haven’t been interested in other roundwounds since I started using them.
 
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