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Thomastik Infeld Letdown

kirkplunkett

kirkplunkett

Supporting Member
Aug 2, 2018
185
326
47
Atlanta, GA (USA)
#1
I absolutely LOVE Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats on my 4 string basses. But I was pretty let down by the low B in their five string set. I’ve also got a 5’er setup C-E and felt the high C lost its edge rather quickly. Anybody else have a similar experience with Thomastik Infeld JF34s in 5 string basses?
 
#4
kirkplunkett said:
Do you have a bass that you’ve setup like this? I’d be interested in hearing how you think the Cobalt B differs from the TI? I had Cobalts on a Dolphin a few years back. They seemed decent enough, but it’s been a while.
Click to expand...

9050L with 130B Cobalt flat on my friend's Ibby SR305E.

I recommend 130B Cobalt mix Ti flat due to both have rough string surface texture compare to Group flat 2810's smoother surface 130B.
 
#5
I've only used the TIJF 5-string set with regular tuning and it's actually one of very few 5-string sets I enjoy playing. With most other 5-string sets I don't like the radically different timbre of the B-string. The transition from E to B is much smoother with the TIs than with most other 5-string sets.

With alternative tunings... not a lot of gauges to choose from with TI so if they don't work for you it's probably time to look elsewhere.
 
#6
Probably not your issue, but ... is it possible you just have a bad string? I've been using the TIJF 6-string set on my ABGs for years, and the low B has been great for me. I did get a bad low B once, though. Fortunately, the US distributor, whose name and address I can no longer recall, replaced it free of charge, and since then it's been smooth sailing.
 

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