Yet another flat wound string question. How exciting lol

[moles]

Hey let's not sleep on the Labella *Gold* DTFs... Supposedly tension is in between the DTF/LTF (or maybe more correctly, they feel more supple once you play them in) and you get a little leaner low mids/slightly more top end.

Slightly less output too, but I liked them while I had them.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Tried Chromes once and didn't like 'em out of the box.
Been using DR Legend Flats for a long time. 45 - 105. Nice balanced set... stiff, but not too stiff. Somewhere in the middle of LaBellas and a Chromes.
Really great strings.

GHS Preasure wounds are pretty cool if your on the fence about rounds / flats.

Played pressure wounds on my Jazz Plus today, after not touching the bass in months and being on flats on everything else. They sound great, are very flexible compared to flats, but they do chew my fretting fingers a lot like rounds. All that aside, they do have the great harmonics that you cannot easily get out of flats, even the chromes, and they last almost as long.

 

[hennessybass]

Played pressure wounds on my Jazz Plus today, after not touching the bass in months and being on flats on everything else. They sound great, are very flexible compared to flats, but they do chew my fretting fingers a lot like rounds. All that aside, they do have the great harmonics that you cannot easily get out of flats, even the chromes, and they last almost as long.

I’m a jazz guy.
pressure wounds on a jazz is a good combo.

 

[MrRiff]

Agreed- the only thing that's killed TIs for me is uninstalling and reinstalling them too many times (particularly on bridges without quick-release, or trying to move them between basses with different tuner patterns). I've never found them to "go bad" when left on an actual bass. If you leave a set of rounds on bass for a year, then a set of Tis is a decent deal at 5 years and a steal at 10+! You just have to commit to them.

The Tls are roundcore which is why reinstalling could cause issues although there's a wrap around the core which helps, most other roundcores definitely will go bad after one or two reinstalls.

 

[GIBrat51]

I mostly use TI jazz flats and also used Chromes for quite a while I had Ernie Ball for a short and liked them also. Two questions did anyone else here notice that Chromes have bit of a clanky or metallic tone on top of their otherwise great tone? Also what gauge do you guys like on your flats. After years of playing lighter gauge rounds ripping off the Fenders that come withe bass and putting lighter gauge Sunbeams I now play the fender medium 45-105 as they sound the fattest for me so naturally the TI's feel very different so long story short what do i replace my Tis with? I certainly won't miss paying almost a hundred bucks for strings anymore.

Well... personally? I'd have flats on both of them. However... you do you. My '78 P-Bass wears the light gauge GHS Precision Flats, under the foam mute in it's bridge cover. They are pretty much clones of the original Squier Light Flats that P-Basses left the factory with - until 1982. I don't own a Jazz Bass - never mind why; but, if I did? It would be wearing the same GHS P-Flats as my P-Bass - under the foam mute in it's bridge cover. Jazz basses shipped with the same Squier strings as P-Basses did - until 1978... And, I like the original, "Old School" sound from some of my basses - when I can get it...

First, I would agree that the Chromes do have a metallic edge ("clank") to their tone. I think it comes from the higher-than-average chromium content (hence the nickname "Chromes") in the stainless steel used for the outer cover.

As for my preferred gauges for flats, I like them fairly light but not too light, ie "comfy but not floppy"

My top 3 for flats:

Fender 9050L (45-60-80-100) = they start out fairly bright but do settle into a nice low mind grind. No clank like the Chromes.
Ernie Ball Group IV (40-60-70-95) Stainless Steel Flats = smoother in midrange than the Fender but still with very good clarity and definition.
GHS Precision Flats Light (45-60-75-95) = old school with woody warmth and focused punch.

I'd have to agree with @michael_t. I use - and like - all these flats, along with a bunch of others. Including TI Jazz Flats; although, I look at the TI's as more of a "specialty" string, than ones I'd use for music in general. They have... tonal qualities... that I simply do not need - or want - for most of the music I play. For what I do use them for? Awfully hard to beat - and the strings that might beat them? They cost even more than the TI's do...
As for the D'Addario Chromes (I specify, 'cause other companies have "Chrome" flats, too)? I never use D'Addario strings - of any kind - if I can help it. But, I did use an old set of Chromes, salvaged from a project bass, on my G&L ASAT Bass for a while. Even as broken in as they were, I still found them to be brighter than I like. But, I could dial most of that out, and they were nice enough that they stayed on the ASAT until they just... died. At which time, I replaced them with a set of Fender 9050L Flats - and we are living happily ever after... Currently, I have a '24 Birdsong Fusion lined fretless bass that came from the maker with a set of ECB82 Chromes on it. They ship all their basses with them, unless you specify something else... Maybe it's the ECB82's heavier gauge, or maybe it's the bass; but I don't find those strings "clanky" at all. To be honest? After 50+ years of playing all kinds of flats, on all kinds of basses, I really can't think of any other flats that would suit that bass better...
So...bottom line? If you don't want "Old School Thump" flats, and you don't want bright, clanky flats? Any one of the 3 that's been suggested, would be a good choice...