*TI Flats MegaThread*

[JKos]

@Brkls ,
Something to check is the string-to-string volume balance. Whenever I change string types, I often need to adjust the pickups to get them matched properly. Since you have them on a P, you can adjust the balance perfectly.

- John

 

[bassdog]

Just pulled the trigger on a new set of TI JF344s Accordian Accessory version for $60.00 off Amazon. Used my accumulated gift card and reward points. Total oop, $6.00. Just love them and am tired of the ratty silks on the two old sets I have in my drawer. Goin' on the J. Off come the 9050Ls. Bob

 

[bassdog]

Just pulled the trigger on a new set of TI JF344s Accordian Accessory version for $60.00 off Amazon. Used my accumulated gift card and reward points. Total oop, $6.00. Just love them and am tired of the ratty silks on the two old sets I have in my drawer. Goin' on the J. Off come the 9050Ls. Bob

Replying to my own comment:
I havn't had new TIs in a long time, at least 10 years. I had put my old set on the J a couple of days ago and it reminded me of how much I like them on that bass. Just took the old ones off and put new ones on the J. I had to add 1/2 turn tension to the neck. That's how stretched the old set had become. They have been on an off my various basses for years. This set will stay put on the J. Got rounds on a PJ and P. TIs sing beautifully on a J.
Thanks for listening.

 

[GIBrat51]

So I haven't read the whole thread but i just installed a set on my CV p-bass equipped with a PV63 pickup
Did a proper set up ( as i do every time i change strings ) Granted it's only been an hour or so that i have them on but so far i get plenty of warmth low mids/mids from the D and G strings but not so much from the E and A strings and there's a lack of bottom end that i wasn't expecting.

I knew they were supposed to be more mid forward ( which is why i bought them ) but will the bottom get bigger as they brake in ?

In my experience with them? I have to agree with the people who say "NO". What you hear now, is pretty much what you'll get. The other strings will come down a little to meet the E, but that string won't change much. I like TIJFs a lot, but.. I don't consider them the Alpha and Omega of flats. I've played basses with flats - lots of different flats - for over 50 years, now. Out of the 24 that I currently own and play, 21 of them wear flats. Only one of them wears TIJFs... But, for that bass (an Alembic Epic), and what I play with it (Jazz, mostly), they're just about perfect. If I need more bottom end, once in a while? The Epic's active controls can give it to me. But, for other basses, and other music? IMO, they often don't work all that well. Too middy, too much top end, and not nearly enough bottom. Also; a lot of my basses only get played with a pick; I find the TI's too flexible for that. I can do it if I really have to, but there are other, mostly mids/highs flats, that work much better. Fender 9050Ls, Galli's JF 4505 Jazz Flats, and Optima's 4099RL Chromes, for example...
So, bottom line? Yes the TIJF's are really nice strings, and if you need your bass to be versatile, they are a good choice. I might pick the Fender 9050Ls myself, but... I can't fault anyone who prefers the TIs. But, there's some music with tonal requirements, where they are simply lacking. You could make them work - sorta - if you had to; but if you have another bass, and need/want to play out of the TIJF's box? Use something else. I'm in the happy situation of having lots of other basses, so I can (and do) use lots of other flats. But, as far as my Alembic is concerned? Those TI's ain't going nowhere...

 

[Brkls]

I just swapped the strings and the pick up to an other bass and for some reason it seems to work. As if the previous bass was emphasizing the mids already so it was too much.
Strung some GHS and a Ori62 on that bass are so far so good.. go figure

 

[bassdog]

Replying to my own comment:
I havn't had new TIs in a long time, at least 10 years. I had put my old set on the J a couple of days ago and it reminded me of how much I like them on that bass. Just took the old ones off and put new ones on the J. I had to add 1/2 turn tension to the neck. That's how stretched the old set had become. They have been on an off my various basses for years. This set will stay put on the J. Got rounds on a PJ and P. TIs sing beautifully on a J.
Thanks for listening.

Well, that was then and this is now. Sunbeams back on the J and TIs on my P. I think this will be better for me. After playing the J with the TIs for a week or so, I never felt I was hearing what I wanted. I do right away on the P. So PJ with D'Addario rounds, J with DR Sunbeams, TIs on the P. That gives me basically a P with rounds and with flats. All until I get bored.

 

[AaronBass4]

New user here . . . for years, curious (because of the praise here) but put off by the high cost, light gauge, and flexibility. Also, recently became convinced that I needed a black a maple Ray with the proper Ray nut width but could not justify the expense. So, I decided to challenge both aversions (light/floppy strings and skinny-necked Rays) at once with a Sterling Ray4 ($299 brand new) with its skinny jazz neck and a new set of floppy TI flats . . . and wow . . having one of those 'this is the tone I've been chasing forever' moments. . . . and, probably because my expectations were that they would be very floppy, I am NOT really finding them that loose. Comparable to 'normal' rounds in terms of (perceived) tension and flexibility, IMO.

Its hard to explain . . . as many have said, these are just different compared to any other string. I did re-wire the Ray4 to parallel, but otherwise, just a good set up an with tone controls centered the tone is heaven. Easy to play and very responsive to changes in the how and where plucked so very easy to be expressive. Easier to get ghost notes, grace notes, and fast passages to be clear and articulate. Even tone across strings . . . I especially appreciate that the G-string tone is full and clear.

Clearly still the honeymoon period with these and rushing to put these on all my bases would clearly be cost prohibitive . . . so, I'm going to give it some more time. I paid $60 for mine from the Amazon seller who calls them 'Accordion Accessories' and I know now, from a little research, that the price fluctuates a lot . . . so, I'll watch the price and will probably get at least one more set if I can catch it at $60 again and put a set on my USA EBMM SUB which sounds a little lacking compared to the new super-budget Ray I just got!

I have LaBella DTFs on my 2 P's that I'm pretty happy with. Obviously a huge difference in feel between the Ps with DTFs vs the Ray4 with TIs but I've not really noticed an issue going back and forth between them.

 

[uwrossl]

but put off by the high cost, light gauge, and flexibility

Went through the same internal dilemma as have many others here.

probably because my expectations were that they would be very floppy, I am NOT really finding them that loose

Welcome to the club! That was my experience after finally pulling the trigger on a set.

Its hard to explain . . . as many have said, these are just different compared to any other string.

TI's definitely have their own thing going on. Best thing is they don't really go "dead". They just keep getting better. Try a set on one of your P's. Pure magic. Keep the other strung with LaBellas as your thump machine.

 

[GIBrat51]

curious (because of the praise here) but put off by the high cost, light gauge, and flexibility.

Yeah, that "high cost" thing puts a lot of people off. However... I did a price comparison once, on another thread, between a $72 set of TIJFs - with a projected life of 10 years - and D' Addario EL170s @ about $17/set, with a projected life of 6 months. At the end of 10 years, the TI's would probably still be going strong (there's folks here with 20 y/o TI's that still sound good); OTOH, you'd have had to change strings, what; 20 times? And, spent a couple of thousand dollars on the D' Addarios... So, in the long run - which strings are cheaper? On a cost-per-day basis, TI's are almost impossible to beat. The only reason I don't have them on more of my basses - aside from their modern, mid-range-y tone - is that they don't lend themselves very well to playing with a pick. Which I do - a lot. Otherwise...?

 

[LetItGrowTone]

I like them best when new and crisp, and I don't think that period lasts as long as many people say.
They don't go dead the same way that La Bellas do, but do start sounding kinda soft, which isn't bad.

 

[JKos]

they don't lend themselves very well to playing with a pick

Why? I use a pick with TIs quite often. One of my favorite tones is palm muted, picked TIs on a P.

 

[GIBrat51]

Why? I use a pick with TIs quite often. One of my favorite tones is palm muted, picked TIs on a P.

I was trying for a short recap of an earlier post; sorry. I had said that I can play TI's with a pick - if I have to. Fortunately, I'm in the happy position of not having to - so I don't. Compared to all the other flats, on all my other basses, that I do like to play with a pick? That's when - to me - the TI's do their "noodle" thing. Maybe it's just the big difference in stiffness with other flats; maybe it's just me. Or, I suppose it could be that I just have too many basses with too many different strings...

 

[e-flat]

TI's definitely have their own thing going on. Best thing is they don't really go "dead". They just keep getting better. Try a set on one of your P's. Pure magic. Keep the other strung with LaBellas as your thump machine.

Agreed here… after a few years, my TIs on my main P Bass sound like bubbly, burpy wood. In a good way. And if that’s even a sound

 

[uwrossl]

Agreed here… after a few years, my TIs on my main P Bass sound like bubbly, burpy wood. In a good way. And if that’s even a sound

I think about changing them sometimes durning longer spaces between gigs. But then I play a gig and remember how perfectly they sit in the mix and sound with a full band. Regardless of gear I'm playing through...I get the most complements on tone when I'm playing my Thomastik strung bass.

 

[Mastermold]

Well, that was then and this is now. Sunbeams back on the J and TIs on my P. I think this will be better for me. After playing the J with the TIs for a week or so, I never felt I was hearing what I wanted. I do right away on the P. So PJ with D'Addario rounds, J with DR Sunbeams, TIs on the P. That gives me basically a P with rounds and with flats. All until I get bored.

I really prefer TI flats on Ps over Js. Maybe it’s how they respond to a P’s natural low-mid voice but they seem to compliment P tones better.

 

[AaronBass4]

. . . so, I bought a slightly used set on a local market and put on my USA SUB Ray. Its strange, they are just a perfect fit on my cheapo Sterling Ray4, but not so much on my USA SUB. They just don't feel right there and I can't find the right tone settings. On the Ray4, its perfect with bass and treble on the center detents . . . maybe roll in some more treble if a little more bite is needed . . and the feel is great. I think I will try some Labellas on the USA SUB Ray next.

I'll probably move the TIs to a Yamaha 614 I have (PJ with active pre). I think part of the issue is that the floppy strings don't feel right (to me) on a fat neck. So, I'm not sure I would like TIs on a regular P (and I'm pretty happy with the Labellas on my Ps right now). The Yamaha is P-ish and has a skinny neck . . . so maybe that will be a good fit. I will check back in if this happens.

 

[_macca_]

Hi!. For me the TI flats are quite bright. I have a Rick 4001 C64 and before these strings I used Labella and for me are the better ones to get a mccartney sound. Furthermore, when I use the mutepad on TI strings, the sound dies from the 6-7 fret on the G and D strings. With Labella strings it didn't pass (maybe the tension?). Perhaps I have not adapted to the sound of TI…

Now i am thinking to put Labella 750N Tapewound, do you know how it run in this bass?

 

[4 Out of 5]

Some technical advice please! I've just strung my Gretsch junior jet with TI Jazz Flat JF324 short scales. I've just strung up the E string, but before I put any tension on it, I'm concerned about how the windings are spreading apart around the very thin post of the tuner. Is this likely to be a problem once the string is under tension?
If so is there anything that can be done about it?
Note, the base is strung left-handed.
Thanks if you're able to help me out with this one.

 

[DCCat]

TIJFs are my go-to strings on most of my basses, but they're not perfect. I have them on a Warmoth P, Squier J, Fender Modern Player Telecaster, Sire M7, and 3/4 of a Fender fretless J. The only bass I don't have TIs on is another fretless J that wears Pyramid tapes for a more upright tone.

The Squier J really is just about perfect, the Telecaster and Sire are very good, and the P is nice with the mids dialed back to overcome the inherent strong middiness of the pickup+strings. But still, on most basses I see significant string-to-string differences that can be problematic. The E and G are great for the most part. The E isn't fat and deep, but rather clear and defined while being deep enough, and the G is pure bliss, avoiding the thin, tinny brightness of most Gs.

It's the A and D that are the issues. The D often sounds a bit dead to me, especially when compared to the neighboring A and G (e.g., when playing an A on the 12th/7th/2nd frets of the A/D/G). It doesn't seem to have quite the same singing/ringing quality, like it belongs in another set. There may be some manufacturing variation here, because I've sent some back and gotten new ones that were a little better. And the A also sometimes sounds like it belongs in a different set because it has a pronounced honky growl (not sure how else to describe it) that isn't evident on the other strings. This became so overbearing as part of the mwah tone on my Fender fretless J that I had to replace it with a string from a different set. Most that I tried were a terrible match, but the Sadowsky Blue Label (2nd generation) A was nearly perfect.

Despite these issues, to me the overall effect of the TIs is better than other strings in most applications, in terms of their clarity, definition, fullness, and for want of a better term, musicality. I've tried many other strings on all my basses except the Sire and second fretless, and the TIs just sound better.

 

[GIBrat51]

Some technical advice please! I've just strung my Gretsch junior jet with TI Jazz Flat JF324 short scales. I've just strung up the E string, but before I put any tension on it, I'm concerned about how the windings are spreading apart around the very thin post of the tuner. Is this likely to be a problem once the string is under tension?
If so is there anything that can be done about it?
Note, the base is strung left-handed.
Thanks if you're able to help me out with this one.
View attachment 4519386

Well... it might be a problem; or it might not. Which is not what you wanted to hear, I know. But, other people - quite a few other people - have gotten away with it, so... why not you? Having some of the speaking part of an E string wound on to the tuner post is not uncommon; especially if you have a 4-in-line headstock. I have several, myself. Usually not quite that much, though... In your case, that's because those "short scale" TI Jazz Flats are actually too long. TI's - and "short scale" Pyramids - are intended for short scale basses with trapeze tailpieces and floating bridges - like Hofner basses. They need the extra length to get back to the tailpiece, and are actually about the same length as other string company's "Medium Scale" strings. If you had a Gretsch like my '94 Broadkaster; which is a short scale bass, but has a trapeze tailpiece and a floating bridge - like a Hofner? Those strings would be a perfect fit. It's wearing short scale TI Jazz Rounds right now, in fact. But, you've got them on your bass, so you might as well pull them up to pitch and see what happens. TI's are very flexible flats; I'd bet you'll be fine. And, as for the left handed thing? Doesn't matter; that would have happened on the other tuner, too. I'm also a lefty, by the way...