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TI Jazz Flats rule for me...

#41
JimmyM said:
I gave up on mine after 3 months. I played that bass all the time and the strings sounded like they did when they were new, so I put my old LaBellas back on. Plus they feel like they're rolling under your fingers, which feels a little creepy to me.
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I don't know Jimmy. I just went over and played two of my basses with T.I. flats. The newest set, on my P are now about a month old. They don't sound like they did when new. The older set, about 18 months on my Artcore sound like they did last week and the week before and as far back as I care to go. Each bass sounds different of course; they're totally different sounding basses to begin with.

I also couldn't get them to roll under my fingers.

I do agree with you about one thing though. Thomastic flats aren't for you. LaBella's are.
 
#42
Well that's why they make a number of different strings, isn't it? I'm just giving the dissenting opinion...I'm not suggesting anyone follow it. Those who use TI's love them like no other string on earth. I'm just not one of them ;)
 
#43
JimmyM said:
I gave up on mine after 3 months. I played that bass all the time and the strings sounded like they did when they were new, so I put my old LaBellas back on. Plus they feel like they're rolling under your fingers, which feels a little creepy to me.
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:cool:
Nothing wrong with LaBellas. ( great string also)

The TI tension is.
You like it, or you don't. ( I've become accustom to them)
 
#47
Bassist4Life said:
I don't think he meant that they actually roll under his fingers. Their elastic nature just gives his fingers the sensation that they're rolling.

Right?
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I've been using them for so long now (over 10 years) that I don't think of them as particularly elastic. The first time I put them on a bass I did. Now they feel normal. Perhaps it's just semantics. They don't make me feel creepy, but maybe I have a higher tolerance for such things. :)
 
#48
Horny Toad said:
I tried very hard to get used to the tension, but couldn't do it. The sound? Fantastic.
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+1....I had the same problem with them and you're right, they do sound amazing, just a little too light gauge and floppy for my taste. I still recommend them for players who don't mind extremely low tension but I'm happier with La Bella 760FL's which are medium low tension and actually smoother as well.

George
 
#50
62bass said:
I've been using them for so long now (over 10 years) that I don't think of them as particularly elastic. The first time I put them on a bass I did. Now they feel normal. Perhaps it's just semantics. They don't make me feel creepy, but maybe I have a higher tolerance for such things. :)
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I just got a set of TIs and put them on my Stingray...and I have to say, they aren't as low tension as the light gauge rounds (Lakland SS) that I had on it previously. After reading about them here, I expected something really really low tension. I'm not disappointed but now I want to try a set of light gauge Chromes for comparison and I'm still interested in the Lakland branded flats again in light gauge. I'm hesitant about them though because IIRC they are hex core, which should have more tension than a round core...right?

Of course I need to let these TIs break in, but I shouldn't expect the the tension to decrease if I understand what's been said here on TB.

In reference to the quote, I certainly don't notice the "roll" described but I do play with a light touch, so I might not be susceptible.
 
#51
mambo4 said:
What I wouldn't give for a set of high tension TI Jazz FLats...
I love the sound, still getting used to thetension...I pluck fairly aggressively.
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I would love to see a thicker gauge come out so that I could tune DGCF, yet have the tension of the regular set in standard tuning.

I haven't played my SB2 lately, and it has a newer set of TIJF's on it. The "stiffness" compared to the older set on my SB1 is amazingly different.

Guys, if you love the sound of the TIJF's, but don't like the tension, then leave them on for a bit, and keep playing them. They stiffen up with constant playing. I keep saying this, but I wish I still had access to force and tensile testing equipment. I'd be willing to bet that while the tension required to reach a particular frequency is the same (old/broken in vs. new), the force required to move the string a given lateral distance is different.

The broken in set on my SB1 don't feel much different than the DAXL's I have on my Jazz bass.

ljazz
 
#52
If greater tension is desired, perhaps you could try the 32" set on your 34" or 35" scale bass. That would certainly increase the tension a little bit. My only concern is that the string might not be long enough. You could always contact:

Kevin Reynolds
Connolly Music Company: US Source for Thomastik-Infeld, K&M stands, Realist transducer pickups and Wolf products
Phone: 800.644.5268
[email protected]
Click to expand...

He can give you the exact length of each string in the 32" set and tell you if this is a good idea or not.

Joe
 
#54
The low tension meant that I had to root my right hand next to the bridge to do anything quicker than say and 8th note at tempo. Felt really limiting. There was variation available, but I always had to keep my right hand closer to the bridge than I like. Tried to get used to them for almost six months as they really are a great sounding string. In the end I ditched them. Just can't stand that tension. Lower than my hex core rounds. Freaky low.
 
#55
Kael said:
The low tension meant that I had to root my right hand next to the bridge to do anything quicker than say and 8th note at tempo. Felt really limiting. There was variation available, but I always had to keep my right hand closer to the bridge than I like. Tried to get used to them for almost six months as they really are a great sounding string. In the end I ditched them. Just can't stand that tension. Lower than my hex core rounds. Freaky low.
Click to expand...

Now things are really getting weird. I can play as fast as ever on the T.I.s compared to any other strings I've used and it didn't take playing closer to the bridge to do it. Or closer to the neck. Or any change in my right hand except maybe not to dig in way too hard, and I mean WAY too hard. And I don't play lightly either.
 
#56
Mr 62bass told me that TI Jazz Flats were the killer combination on a Precision with a Quarter Pound. Damned if he wasn't right.

I have changed all four of my basses over to TI JFs, and the improvement in tone and playability has been marked.

Here's the real testimonial: a close friend who is also close with a dollar played my '51 P RI strung with TIs and immediately ordered a set of $82 strings for his definitely not high end Squier Jazz.

I'm convinced. Other people don't like 'em, and other people don't like Precisions. I pray for their souls.:D
 
#57
62bass said:
Now things are really getting weird. I can play as fast as ever on the T.I.s compared to any other strings I've used and it didn't take playing closer to the bridge to do it. Or closer to the neck. Or any change in my right hand except maybe not to dig in way too hard, and I mean WAY too hard. And I don't play lightly either.
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Don't know what to say. I know that I had to really change up my technique in order to make these suckers work. I kept with it for a while because they do sound pretty good, but in the end I just couldn't justify completely changing my approach to playing for the one bass with TI's on. I'm back to rounds now in general. I really couldn't "machine gun" any quick notes unless I rooted my hand at the bridge pickup or closer to bridge. Not that I do that all the time or anything, but TI' really forced me to change my playing too much. A string should work with me, not make me work with it.

On another note, I could tell when I was slightly flat by feel alone. The TI's I had seemed to be a string living on the edge in regards to tuning tension. I would actually notice when I was flat even if I couldn't hear myself. Example, I tuned to a singer/songwriter's instrument instead of using a tuner (it was just a quick once over at her place while I learned her material). I knew right away that she was a little flat by the feel of the strings. Checked with the tuner, sure enough, she was a 1/4 step flat. Most other people don't seem to have this sort of problem with TI's. Maybe I'm just sensitive to it. All I know is that I tried for about half a year to make them work, and it just wasn't happening.


Once again, I know they are popular here and other's have different results with them. I just found them too floppy. That's all.
 
#58
You know, part of it may be the bass itself. I love the sound of the TIJF's on my SB1 and SB2, but I'm starting to think the slim neck combined with the small neck radius are not SB2 friendly. I really need to get it in for a new nut and setup.... 'cuz I just can't get it right. Lots of buzzes and stuff that I can't get away from.... and dimensionally speaking, everything is set up the same as on my SB1..... neck relief, bridge saddle height, slot depth..... everything. I changed out the strings for the older set on my SB1, and there was no change...... Using the TI's on the SB2 take and incredibley light touch. At least with how it's currently set up.

If you've read any of my other posts, you'll know I'm not a big Daddario fan.... but I took a set of chromes that were laying around and slapped them on the SB2..... no problems at all. I want to keep TI's on it, so it may be time to take it in for some work.

Ljazz
 
#59
I just had a discussion with a fellow Talk-Basser and I’m glad Joe mentioned that he contact me. Not only to lend some direction and have a good conversation but it reminded me that I miss this place and that I should visit more often. Pretty soon either I or someone here will be joining the discussions more frequently (Maybe it’s time ‘Thomgirl’ say hello).

Anyone who remembers me knows that I’m not a shill for the T-I’s, I just work here. I will try to give purposeful advice based on my experiences regardless of manufacturer as musical tools are just so subjective and no one string or one bass or one amp, etc., is universally appealing to players…thankfully so!

As for the short-scales fitting on a long-scale bass; on some, yes, they’ll work as long as it’s a top-loading bridge and not a string-through and as long as the distance from the anchor-point to the saddle isn’t over three inches or so. To be sure, here are the measurements in inches of the JF324 set from the ball-end to the start of silk-wrapping at the top:

G: 35.80”
D: 35.75”
A: 35.80”
E: 35.30”

Handmade strings are not perfectly identical but these measurements are close enough to use as a rule-of-thumb, so to speak. You can check your bass to make sure these will fit and to re-iterate another poster, the resultant tension will be a bit higher for your tuning and they also are closer to the desired gage so this looks like the set from where I’m sitting.

Please post your feedback when you get a chance and thanks for calling and I hope I was able to help.

Best regards,
Kevin Reynolds
Connolly Music Company: US Source for Thomastik-Infeld, K&M stands, Realist transducer pickups and Wolf products
Phone: 800.644.5268 (Ext. 5523)
 
#60
Just talked to Kevin at connolymusic.com about the length of the heaver gage 32" short scale TI strings. Here are the measurements of each string, between the silk. E-35.32" A-35.8" D-35.75" G-35.8"
He said for a Fender Jazz(what I'm playing), if you don't use the "through body" holes and just use the bridge to ancor the ball ends, these should work fine. With a P he advised you might have to shave a little of the silk back(9-10" of silk on the ends,which he said would not hurt the strings in any way) to get the silk off the nut. I told him we were talking about different issues people have w/the TI's and he is a member of talkbass from way back and said he would stop by the forum today and try to answer any questions anyone has. Just on a personal note: He took about an hour and a half out of his day to talk to me about the strings and answer any and all questions I had and gave me a ton of great info about choosing strings in general. Never once did he try to "sell" me on the TI's. Instead he focused on what would work best for me and my style...even if it wasnt TI strings. That's class. And it's appricated. Thanks Kevin!
 

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