The tone you describe is new TI's.
They get warmer, fuller,and darker as they age.
After six months they lose all that brightness.
And become very balanced.
I have a set on my fretless P-bass. that are 2 1/2 years old.
The sound wonderful.
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TI Jazz Flats rule for me...
- Thread starter JohnDavisNYC
- Start date
The tone you describe is new TI's.
They get warmer, fuller,and darker as they age.
After six months they lose all that brightness.
And become very balanced.
I have a set on my fretless P-bass. that are 2 1/2 years old.
The sound wonderful.
I think the TIs also feel like they have such low tension because they have that silk wrap between the core and the windings. They sure do feel slinkier than other flats.
Awesome Mayer clip. Man, I love Palladino, his tone, groove, notes, the whole package.
Awesome Mayer clip. Man, I love Palladino, his tone, groove, notes, the whole package.
I too agree with how that was said!
But one thing I've noticed over the last year is that with the 4 basses I own, there is no single string choice that works with every bass.
My MIA Fender Jazz sounds best with SS RW's.... to my ear the best choice is the DR SS Lo-Riders. TI's... both JF's and SA's, do not sound good on this bass at all.
My G&L L2000 sounds horrible with the DR's, and while the TIJF's sound beautiful on it, they don't allow for the full range of sonic possibilities with that bass. To my ear the TISA's are perfect for this bass, as they tame all of the bad characteristics of this bass, and bring out it's best.
My G&L SB2..... I hate to admit it, but DA Chromes really take advantage of the in your face sound of this bass. The TIJF's sound good on it too, but even after some setup work, they don't play as nicely as something with a bit more tension.
My G&L SB1..... only TIJF's will do! There is no other string out there that is as expressive.... and with this bass being bassically a hotter P bass, it demands a string that allows that much expression. Labellas are just thump (at any gauge), and I want more than that..... Fender flats sound horribly hallow on it. The Chromes just sound like a really old set of worn out Rotosound swing bass strings on it. And I have no set up problems either with the JF's on this bass.
There is a lot of personal preference with strings.... obviously.... but I bet a lot of that preference has to do with the sound our axes generate, and how any one particular string helps to deliver that sound we hear in our heads. With several basses, those sounds may not be attained with any one brand of string.
Ljazz
I can agree with you on that. If I was called on to play using a roundwound sound, I'd do it (if I was getting paid for it) But these days I can pick and choose and the TIs are the sound and feel I prefer. On some basses they just sound absolutely wonderful and on basses that don't sound as good with them, I just get rid of the bass. 
It's great to be old and cranky at times. Younger people usually cut you some slack because of your advanced age and obvious resulting senility.
It's great to be old and cranky at times. Younger people usually cut you some slack because of your advanced age and obvious resulting senility.
I can agree with you on that. If I was called on to play using a roundwound sound, I'd do it (if I was getting paid for it) But these days I can pick and choose and the TIs are the sound and feel I prefer. On some basses they just sound absolutely wonderful and on basses that don't sound as good with them, I just get rid of the bass.
LOL!!!
You know, I'm about ready to do the same thing.... sell off two of them.... The SB1 stays.... as well as the Jazz.
And funny enough, even on tunes that I initially thought I could/should use a rw strung bass, I find myself justifying the use of the SB1 with the JF's.
There aren't a lot of tones with a P / TIJF combo.... but the tone it has ends up working on everything..... 'nuff said!
Ljazz
Dude, have you PLAYED these strings for any length of time? They are not roundwounds in any sense, they are not half-rounds, and they are not way brighter and ringier than regular flatwounds, they are just flatwounds with a specific tone, low tension and high flexibility. They start out pretty bright, but the tone changes pretty dramatically after the first month or so. I for one would be happier if they stayed bright.
Yeah TI flats don't sound anything like rounds. They have a nice, fat tone with great low-mids that sound perfect on a P-bass. When I first tried them I instantly knew why Pino Palladino uses them on his Precisions.
But hey Jimmy's an experienced pro who knows his gear and he's played them and doesn't like them. Not everyone does. The low tension isn't for everyone.
Slightly problem I have since using TIs - the second string (A) often comes out of the nut (i.e. jumps out of its place) probably to do with the lower tension and lower gauage - how does one solve this?
Tom7
I'm so bright, my mom called me son! ;-)
On 17 July 2008 I changed my strings from Fbass round wounds to TI Flats, and [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] between the two types of strings.
This morning I recorded that bass again so that we could document how the bass sounds after the strings are 5 months old.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] so that it sounds closer to a fretless Fender Jazz bass.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] so that it sounds closer to an upright bass.
What do you think?
After 5 months, I dont' think I can tell a difference from when the strings were brand new.
I prefer lighter gauge strings myself. I recently took off a set of D'Addario Semi's and replaced them with the JF344s. I think they feel about the same as far as tension (they aren't that far off, but the Semi's are a little heavier). I love the sound of the TI's already and there really wasn't any adjustment for me at all in the tension. I think it was money well spent for me.
Tom7
I'm so bright, my mom called me son! ;-)
I currently own 11 basses and who knows how much other gear.
As you can imagine, my kids have been around basses and me talking basses all their lives, but I have never had a particle of evidence that they have ever listened to a WORD of what I've said about basses or gear... until this last Monday.
Monday was my birthday, and to my great shock, I opened up one of the gifts from my kids and lo and behold my 16 year old got me a set of of Thomastik Infeld Jazz Bass strings for a 6 string bass. Cool!
As you know, these things have a list value of $180 a set and a street value of $90 a set.
And as if that wasn't enough, a couple of packages later I discovered my 15 year old got me a set as well!
Then the next package I opened was another set from my wife!
Not counting the sets I have recently installed on basses, I have 3 spare packages of 6 string TIs, which reportedly can last 8 years!
I guess my raving about these strings made an impression!
But man, what am I going to do with all these strings? I guess I need to get more 6 stringers!
I must have REALLY made an impression on my family praising these bass strings, because I got a 4th spare set of TIs for Christmas!
Wow.
I must have REALLY made an impression on my family praising these bass strings, because I got a 4th spare set of TIs for Christmas!
Wow.
It can be a problem considering their long life. Unless I buy more basses, I'm not going to have to re-string for the next 5 or so years and I'm still up one set which I got a year ago at Christmas. I don't want to sell it either because-you never know. I might buy another bass.
I doubt anyone around my house knows the difference between the look or the sound of any of my basses, nice that someone outside the fold knows what TIs are!
Sorry for sounding ignorant, but I really need hep to find this TI strings, can someone please provide a link for me so I can order a set?
I play a 5 string Jazzbass, a Godin fretless and and a Jack Casady signature, and I would like to change from rounds to flats.
regards
I play a 5 string Jazzbass, a Godin fretless and and a Jack Casady signature, and I would like to change from rounds to flats.
regards
This is usually the best place to order TI flats:
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/thjaniflworo.html
And they sound fantastic on a Jack Casady!
After a lot of string swapping on multiple basses, I ended up with a well broken in set of TI flats on my MIM 50's P. This P wore Labella 760FLs are a long time. I decided to give the TIs a shot after I felt the Labellas were getting buried in a few mixes.
I played a service with a pair of acoustic guitars today. I played with them a few months back with the Labellas. The TIs in contrast are all the cliches that you would expect: more articulate, great punch, and just plain sit in the mix in a very supportive yet melodic way. The Labellas are deeper and have more thump, but the TIs sing. I had some white haired folks who are not exactly electric music listeners come up to me after the service and really compliment the sound. Something that did not happen with the Labellas. And for me playing TIs in the pocket just feels so natural. And at some point, the fills just start oozing out in a way that they do not with other strings for me.
I was trying to avoid TIs on the P because I already have them on a 1961 J. But its hard to resist such a great string.
I played a service with a pair of acoustic guitars today. I played with them a few months back with the Labellas. The TIs in contrast are all the cliches that you would expect: more articulate, great punch, and just plain sit in the mix in a very supportive yet melodic way. The Labellas are deeper and have more thump, but the TIs sing. I had some white haired folks who are not exactly electric music listeners come up to me after the service and really compliment the sound. Something that did not happen with the Labellas. And for me playing TIs in the pocket just feels so natural. And at some point, the fills just start oozing out in a way that they do not with other strings for me.
I was trying to avoid TIs on the P because I already have them on a 1961 J. But its hard to resist such a great string.
