I ordered and received my first set of TI Jazz strings and I'm pretty excited TBH. The black Ibanez is my go to and gets used the most, it has chrome flats. The fretless, I've been having a ton of fun with lately and I have no idea how long those flats have been there. More than two years. The BBN4 (3) I just got and put Fender 57 Flats on last week. They aren't even broken in yet.
I'm tempted to put them on the SR being I use that the most, but the RBX being a fretless and having the oldest strings, I'll probably go there. If I'm as happy as I think I'll be with them I'll end up getting another set for the SR. The SR has a thin neck and I'm a little concerned about the playability with less tension of the T.I.s. Anyone use the T.I.s on a thin neck ? I've noticed even an occasional normal tension string will slip off the edge while I'm playing. Hasn't happened much once I knew it was possible....
Thanks,
Joe
Just so happens that I'm currently using all those flats on basses in my herd - including the TIJFs. So...
- I'd be inclined to put the TI's on the fretless. Not because the strings it's wearing are "old" - a couple years of use is usually nothing for well cared for flats. Some of my basses wear flats that are a
lot older than that. I have no idea how old the salvaged set of D'Addario Chromes on my G&L Tom Hamilton ASAT Bass are, for example. They've been on
that bass at least two years, now... I'd put the TI's on the RBX, simply because an awful lot of fretless players around here seem to think they're the cat's ass on theirs. I can't say, personally - never owned a fretless bass, and have no desire to. My TI Jazz
Flats are on my Alembic Epic; the only bass that's always finger picked, and that I use for my feeble attempts at playing (mostly) Jazz. They did take some getting used to, because of their lack of the normal flat's stiffness (from actual tension as well as construction). But it didn't take long; and on the Alembic? Yeah, on that bass, they are the cat's ass. But, I don't consider them the be-all & end-all of flats. For most of what I like to play, on most of my other basses? TIJF's would be just about the last flats I'd use. They don't have nearly enough bottom end to suit me - or the music; and they have way too much high-mids and highs. But, if that's the tone you want - along with the flexibility? There's no substitute for them. Well, except for, maybe, a set of Fender 9050Ls. I've had those on 4 of my basses over the years, and still have them on two. Never had them on the Alembic, but... to my ears? On the basses that they
are on - especially the one with humbuckers - they sound very much like the TIJFs. The only real difference, IMO, is the stiffness; which I like for playing with a pick. I'd be inclined to leave your Fender Flats where they are... And, in keeping with michael_t's comment about TI Jazz
Rounds? Yes, they're wonderful strings, too. They're the only rounds I have on any of my 24 playable basses - which should tell you something...
I have them on my '94 Gretsch Broadkaster. They're the only strings I've found - in the last 15+ years - that make it sound like a bass guitar. Other rounds turned it into (at best) a baritone guitar; all the flats I tried, just turned it into a pile of mud. But, simply as roundwound strings? Smooth, supple, and the tone is to die for. Definitely strings to keep in the back of your mind...
Thanks !!!!
