Flats tend to me very high tension compared to a standard roundwound set. TI's on the other hand are very low tension flats which makes their tension about the same as a standard light gauge set of roundwounds.
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School me on flat wound strings please!
- Thread starter Jimmy Stump
- Start date
Flats tend to me very high tension compared to a standard roundwound set. TI's on the other hand are very low tension flats which makes their tension about the same as a standard light gauge set of roundwounds.
I have used TI Jazz Flats plenty and Sunbeams are my current roundwound of choice. I don't know what gauge of Sunbeam you are using but they are on a whole lower tension than a set of TI Jazz Flats. They are the lowest tension rounds I have found beyond the TI Jazz Rounds.
I think bassclef meant that the TI's are lower in tension to rounds. That's been my experience. I use TI jazz flats on my Stingray and LaBella 760's on my Rumblekat. Both are def lower in tension than rounds - and Chromes for that matter...
My two cents.
I love flatwounds, I have tried many - TI, Sadowsky 45, Chromes 45, Chromes 50, Fender old style 45, new Fender CL flats, GHS, LaBella FL (43) and FM (49).
Of these I excluded TIs, while lovely sounding, they are way too low tension. I am used to Sunbeams 45 for roundwounds, and TIs seemed to me even lower tension.
Chromes - they have nice clarity to them, but between warm bass and clacky highs, they lack full warm mids, they seem hollow.
For warm thump with clarity I like LaBella FL, but if you dig in, you might find the tension low.
The La Bella FM are my favorite now (on my CV50), they are even warmer than FL, but are firmier and thump harder, while staying defined with full sound across the spectrum.
Sadowsky 45 are really great too, I can recommed them for warmth with clarity as well.
I love flatwounds, I have tried many - TI, Sadowsky 45, Chromes 45, Chromes 50, Fender old style 45, new Fender CL flats, GHS, LaBella FL (43) and FM (49).
Of these I excluded TIs, while lovely sounding, they are way too low tension. I am used to Sunbeams 45 for roundwounds, and TIs seemed to me even lower tension.
Chromes - they have nice clarity to them, but between warm bass and clacky highs, they lack full warm mids, they seem hollow.
For warm thump with clarity I like LaBella FL, but if you dig in, you might find the tension low.
The La Bella FM are my favorite now (on my CV50), they are even warmer than FL, but are firmier and thump harder, while staying defined with full sound across the spectrum.
Sadowsky 45 are really great too, I can recommed them for warmth with clarity as well.
When the discussion of tension arises here on TB, with regard to "feel" - it is really a function of tension combined with modulus of elasticity
I just pulled the trigger on my favorite flats: Sadowsky. I first had them on an MIA Jazz and was in love with the tone, balance, feeling...everything. Now I had to sell the Jazz in order to get my Adamovic Saturn 5. So a new set of Sads flats are on its way. Can´t wait 
I'm a Chromes user on all my P basses. I also have a set of well worn almost 6 year old TI's that are great.
They gave me fits for awhile and are not suited for every bass that is for sure. The whole TI tension I just dont get. To me they feel like rounds and play great so the rubber band thing others say on here I don't agree with.
I used to have them fart out when playing hard on the higher frets due to low action but on my new P bass there is not an issue..go figure.
DR does not publish their tensions but I know that a set of Jazz Flats is similar in tension to a light set of D'Addario rounds and Sunbeams seem to be the same or lower tension than that. I have a set of 45-100 Sunbeams on one bass and a set of Jazz Flats on another right now and the Sunbeams seem to be lower in tension.
I dont get what is bad with TI flat's tension, but hey. I just want my basses to be easy to play 
I have tried TI, Chromes, Sadowsky, Pyramid Gold, Rotosound Steve Harris signature, LaBellas, and (new) Fender flats, and my favorites would be:
1. TI
2. Sadowsky
3. Pyramid
I like my flats easy to play, smooth to the touch, and with a warm sound with clear mid presence. I dont care for Chromes because of their sound, and I find it hard(er) to play LaBellas etc with their really high tension.
I have tried TI, Chromes, Sadowsky, Pyramid Gold, Rotosound Steve Harris signature, LaBellas, and (new) Fender flats, and my favorites would be:
1. TI
2. Sadowsky
3. Pyramid
I like my flats easy to play, smooth to the touch, and with a warm sound with clear mid presence. I dont care for Chromes because of their sound, and I find it hard(er) to play LaBellas etc with their really high tension.
Low tension of course would be a relative thing to measure. For perspective, I use DR Hi Beams on my Lull jazz, and the tension feels fine.
How would TI flats compare to Hi Beams as far as tension goes? Higher? Lower?
How would TI flats compare to Hi Beams as far as tension goes? Higher? Lower?
I was using standard gauge (.105 to .045) Sunbeams and the standard TI gauge (.100 to .040) and I found the TIs to be lighter tension than the round wound Sunbeams. TIs feel like overcooked angel hair pasta to me. Not blaming the string, this is just what my hands told me.
I'm also not saying they're bad strings, they wonderful strings and many, many, bassists love them, but they're not for me (and neither are Chromes). I have TI Spirocores on my upright and they're fantastic.
For my purposes I needed to find an alternative and found it in the Sadowsky and DR Legend flats. Now, one thing to consider is that I play a Jazz, and the TIs and Chromes may simply be more suited to the tonal characteristics of Precision basses.
Others can give you more details about the many different options for flats that are available, but I can tell you a bit about the Thomastik-Infeld flats, as I have them on all my basses, two 4 strings and a brand new 5 string. I think you would find these TI strings to be very vintage sounding, and from what I've read, can almost literally last forever. I love these strings for several reasons. First off, they are pure nickel wound strings, which I believe gives you the warmest sound. Secondly, different strings require different amounts of tension in order to get to the correct pitch. TIs tend to be lower tension than most. Some people like that, others do not. I happen to love that fact about them. Lastly, they are probably the most expensive strings out there. I think the price is about $105 for a set of their 34" scale length for a 5 string set. But well worth the price, IMHO!!
I've had a set of TI's on an Ibby for over two years now, and they just keep sounding better and better....I paid 65 bucks for the set of four...so, at the moment, they're costing me 32.50 a year....like and GOOD tool, they cost a lot upfront, but you get the value over time...
Like I say, I've had 'em on for over two years, and they're STILL getting better....how long will they last? I should think at LEAST another two years....Remember, James Jamerson NEVER changed his strings...
As far as the low tension goes, what's the worry? that they won't take as much effort to fret, thereby reducing fatigue? they don't have any more fret buzz than higher tensioned strings....and it's not like they're all wobbly and floppy....they're just not QUITE as tight...
I just pulled the trigger on my favorite flats: Sadowsky. I first had them on an MIA Jazz and was in love with the tone, balance, feeling...everything. Now I had to sell the Jazz in order to get my Adamovic Saturn 5. So a new set of Sads flats are on its way. Can´t wait
After what seems like 100 hours of searching this forum, I bought the Sadowskys. I can get decent high end from them and they feel great. I've done two shows with them so I wouldn't say they're broken in. I tried Chromes, too, but didn't have the patience to break them in. They were too sticky and too stiff. Let us know how you like them.
I'm tempted to try the Sadowsky's myself to compare them to Chromes. Chromes take some work to get good. Do the Sadowskys?
