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Thomastic Flats for Mustang bass?

Hello,

I’ve been using the LaBella Mustang flats for years, but looking for a change - has anyone tried the Thomastic short scale jazz flats on a Fender Mustang with thru-body stringing? Mine is a 75, so that’s the only stringing option…
 
TI "short scale" is 35.5" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk), which actually qualifies as "medium scale". They should work fine on the thru-body Mustang. It's just a question of whether you'll like their tonal quality or the looser feel. Very different from the La Bella you've been using.
 
Used them on my 66 for most of the time I owned it. The wrap doesn't cover the whole string through area like on some other flats designed for string through (labella for example), but with the flexible round core it wasn't an issue.
 
TI "short scale" is 35.5" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk), which actually qualifies as "medium scale". They should work fine on the thru-body Mustang. It's just a question of whether you'll like their tonal quality or the looser feel. Very different from the La Bella you've been using.
Yeah, I did use the Thomastics many years ago and not sure why I changed them, but for some reason the Labella E is always sounding more dead than the other strings, even when I tried replacing it with a newer one. Pretty sure these medium scale TIs were the ones I had, just making sure…
 
My old '97 CIJ with TI JFs.

Fender Mustang Bass-1600_1028.jpg
 
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I've used the JF344 set, so' 34", and they strung exactly like the picture in the previous post.

I've never tried the 32" because I didn't had time :P I strung a Japanese Mustang I had years ago with a spare TI set I had (here in Italy they are/were cheap :P 39€ back in 2010/2012), and it was good.

the 106 E string can be interesting, but I tend to prefer lighter gauges on short scales, and the 100 string had all the tension I need.
 
I've used the JF344 set, so' 34", and they strung exactly like the picture in the previous post.

I've never tried the 32" because I didn't had time :P I strung a Japanese Mustang I had years ago with a spare TI set I had (here in Italy they are/were cheap :P 39€ back in 2010/2012), and it was good.

the 106 E string can be interesting, but I tend to prefer lighter gauges on short scales, and the 100 string had all the tension I need.
Thats good to know Pier. I was thinking to get a set of short scale TI flats for my JMJ, but I have a couple sets of TI flats long scale sitting unused. Maybe I’ll put a set on my JMJ. Not just for my curiosity though…I am actually looking for a solution to getting my JMJ to cut through a loud mix. I’m thinking the more mids of TI may help. The Labella MUS set sounds wonderful in the right setting. But not so much in a very loud band, IMO.
 
Well...
Yeah, the TIJF 324 Jazz Flats should fit on a Mustang bass. My question is... why would you waste the money? If you really need the orchestral overtones that TIJF's are famous for? Then, fine; spend the money. I did, for the one bass I use for Jazz ( a '95 Alembic Epic) - because those orchestral overtones are sorta necessary. For any other kind of music I play? Hell, no... There are any number of short/medium scale flats that work just fine for Rock; Vintage Rock; Surf; Rockabilly; R&B; etc.... And, those are the ones I use.
But. I'm not going to tell you what to do. It's your bass - and your money. Please yourself... ;)
 
Well...
Yeah, the TIJF 324 Jazz Flats should fit on a Mustang bass. My question is... why would you waste the money? If you really need the orchestral overtones that TIJF's are famous for? Then, fine; spend the money. I did, for the one bass I use for Jazz ( a '95 Alembic Epic) - because those orchestral overtones are sorta necessary. For any other kind of music I play? Hell, no... There are any number of short/medium scale flats that work just fine for Rock; Vintage Rock; Surf; Rockabilly; R&B; etc.... And, those are the ones I use.
But. I'm not going to tell you what to do. It's your bass - and your money. Please yourself... ;)
The way I see it I keep flats on for many years, so I just wanna get ones that I’ll be happy with. I’ve always liked the LaBella Mustang flats, but my particular bass has a weird quirk that makes it tough to get the response I want out of the E string (something I haven’t noticed with any other strings). It’s too bad because I really do like the Labellas. I’ve tried Chromes but I feel like they’re not built for the real long haul. So over the course of at least 5 years I think the extra money is worth it.
 
I’ve tried Chromes but I feel like they’re not built for the real long haul. So over the course of at least 5 years I think the extra money is worth it.
I have a set of Chromes I bought in '03. They has been on a few different basses (currently, they are on my Guild B-301) and are still going strong.
 
The way I see it I keep flats on for many years, so I just wanna get ones that I’ll be happy with. I’ve always liked the LaBella Mustang flats, but my particular bass has a weird quirk that makes it tough to get the response I want out of the E string (something I haven’t noticed with any other strings). It’s too bad because I really do like the Labellas. I’ve tried Chromes but I feel like they’re not built for the real long haul. So over the course of at least 5 years I think the extra money is worth it.
I've played lots of basses - with lots of different flats - over the last 5 decades. And, TBH? I cannot think of a single set of all them that - with minimal care - would not last considerably more than 5 years. Like Jeff Scott's Chromes? I have a 16 year old set of Fender 9050L's that are currently on their fourth bass (a '98 Dano DC59 Pro), and are still going strong. Actually, about half of the different flats on 27 of my current basses are somewhere between 5 and 15 years old... I had a set of nasty, scroungy, salvaged Chromes that were Gawd only knows how old when I took them off of a nasty, scroungy project bass. I put them on a new-to-me G&L ASAT Bass, and then I played the snot out of them for about 3 years before they actually, really died. I'd say that qualified as "long haul"... :cool:
 
I have used TI flats on a JMJ mustang with absolutely no issues. However, I've found it is one of the few basses I actually prefer rounds on. Even TI's stay pretty dark on a short scale. Fine for recording, but I usually have to do a pretty significant bump above 1k for live use.
 
I am actually looking for a solution to getting my JMJ to cut through a loud mix.
I actually found that the best match to cut through in loud mixes are the GHS P-flat (short scale, 45-95). I've used them on my JMJ (now sold) and I use them on long scale basses, and they have a lot of mids, in particular low mids, while being easy on bass and highs.
they are not "snappy", they are powerful and punchy without losing the deep end and mellowness.
 
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