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TI flats

Silas Stingy

Silas Stingy

Feb 19, 2009
356
335
U.K
#1
I just installed my first set of Thomastik flats. This was all done in the usual way, avoid twisting and stretching etc. I've found the G is completely dead and the A has a horrible rattle somewhere around the nut, this is not fret buzz as I've adjusted truss and setup to suit the lower tension. I've been running D'addario chromes for many years without a single problem. Did I get a bad set? Any advice?
 
#4
if you touch (not press hard) the string after the nut, and play it, does the rattle disappear? if the answer is "yes", probably it's just the nut slot too big for the string. you can use some glue to recreate it and then sand it to a right measure. the A is a .070, is small. if you come from a .080 or .085 is normal.
 
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#5
Indeed, what Pier said above. In addition I'd mention what Pier said in another thread about TIs, it is a low tension string, even within the TI JF344 set, so I'd test with slightly higher action than the other strings in the set too. The G string will mellow while the other strings break in, so in a month or two they will sound great, IME.
 
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#6
Pier_ said:
if you touch (not press hard) the string after the nut, and play it, does the rattle disappear? if the answer is "yes", probably it's just the nut slot too big for the string. you can use some glue to recreate it and then sand it to a right measure. the A is a .070, is small. if you come from a .080 or .085 is normal.
Click to expand...
Brilliant! Thanks, that has sorted out the A string. Just the G to sort out now. It just doesn't oscillate like the other strings, the difference in tone is massive almost like it has a sponge mute under it.
 
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#7
Silas Stingy said:
Just the G to sort out now.
Click to expand...

try to detune it and take it off the tuning post, then move it a bit, slipping it through the bridge (there's no need to take it off the bass, just move it): the string could have been twisted while mounting, and loosening it and removing it from the post should make it come back to a straight position. then retune it.

if it worked, cheers. if not, I don't know!
 
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#8
Dammit, Pier, we do think alike :) I do that trick whenever I feel one of the strings behave in a different way than the others.

If it doesn't work, I say just play the hell out of the string set for a month. Sometimes I have taken a set off after a month, put it away for a week, and when I put it back on, it sounds more balanced. Weird, I know.

FWIW, I have had several sets of flats with the G (or another string) sounding weird, and in 90% of the cases it has helped to just stick with the set and play. I've had it happen with DR Legends, Sadowsky, LaBella, TI, GHS, et cetera.. they always balance out eventually.
 
#9
Klonk said:
Weird, I know.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's wierd. the strings are always subject to a big tension, and often they seem to can't handle it well, but staying for a bit without the tension makes them come back to life.
I've experienced it with many brands and sets, due to the fact that I often try different strings and keep the used ones, if I'll ever need them.

the best example was a set of Ernie Ball 45-100. I didn't liked them at first, because in a couple of weeks they sounded like plastic. I removed them for a while, and decided to retry them after a couple of months. the sounded fantastic for months, to the point that I buyed them again, and settled with a set of 40-95 for a period of six entire months! unbelievable!
another example: in june 2014 I bought a set of DR Hi Beams just for a gig (mounted the night before), and the day after they sounded dead. I dismounted them for a while, and retried them after a months... I changed them January 2015, just to switch back to flats...
 
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#10
Hmm....I'm a newcomer to TI Flats also. In my case, the strings seem pretty well matched tonally....except my A string is even more awesome than the others. It makes a 'mwah' sound quite like a fretless! Also, the bridge saddle for the A string had to be set closer to the neck for the harmonics to be right. Not the usual stairstep of each saddle being in a relative line, with E slightly longer and G being slightly shorter. (does that make any sense at all?)

I would love it if you all told me ALL the strings will sound like that after break-in! Has anyone had any of this happen to them with TI Flats?
 
#11
Good to hear you've had the same experience, Pier, I feel less crazy now. Maybe a little, at least!

Tallboybass, I've had that "effect" happen with new sets of TIs, LaBella 760FS and Sadowsky Black Label Flats, but it's never lasted longer than a month or so. You could be luckier than me, though!
 
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