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TI Jazz flats - opinions


markdavid
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So,on the neverending tone quest and have tried a few brands of flatwounds so far,ghs and labella are both very nice but curiosity has me wanting to try ti jazz flats, the price on the other hand... £50 a set!
So before i cave in and fork out the cash i was after some opinions on ti,is the tone from then worth the money? thanks

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I would agree they don't suit every bass. I had a set on my Overwater fretless and wasn't blown away by them. Put a set of Labella 760fl on and and that did the job. However, Inalways felt they sounded great on my Spectorcore when I had that. On balance I would go with the Labellas again. Just my taste though.

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I don't think there's any way to shortcut trying them for yourself, and with the particular bass you have. I have a set on my JV Precision and they really suit it, but in a very particular way, emphasising all the woodiness - tons of character in the mid-range. Not as much thump as LaBellas though, and so I'm going to have to get another P-bass to string with them for more straight up funk/house type stuff.

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Great strings, low tension though which is why I didn`t continue using them as I like to dig in a bit. But the sound is great, can do all sorts, I was using them for that twangy/driven hardcore punk sound and they worked fine, not what they`re usually used for I know, but shows how diverse their uses are.

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My fave strings.
Used them on my Ibby. I managed to snap the D string, so I replaced them with a set of D'Addario Chromes (a few folk on here recommended them to me), which are a rather good, cheaper alternative.
TIs are better though & worth every penny IMO.

Edited by xgsjx
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[quote name='markdavid' timestamp='1454809925' post='2973225']
So,on the neverending tone quest and have tried a few brands of flatwounds so far,ghs and labella are both very nice but curiosity has me wanting to try ti jazz flats, the price on the other hand... £50 a set!
So before i cave in and fork out the cash i was after some opinions on ti,is the tone from then worth the money? thanks
[/quote]
What bass are you putting them on?

I have a set on my MIM P bass which is stock. The strings are smooth, articulate and musical. I can get enough zing and clanky if I play harder with the tone right up, if I play softer put still have the tone up I get a great pop/soul/motown tone, roll the tone back and it goes even darker and you get more thud rather than full note definition.

For me these are the BEST strings on the market. I've had them on for over 18 months now and there was an initial brightness to them, but that's mellowed out, it's still there but less as a brightness and more of definition and articulation.

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Great strings. I get all my strings from Strings Direct. They get delivered next day which DV247 have difficulty in emulating. £54 a set may seem like a lot but I've had a set on a 62 Reissue Precision since 2006 which works out at £5.40 a year and they're still good!

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Don't like flats, tried the TI's and... meh. It's just not me, I use my amp and Tech-21 VT Bass pedal to get "that tone" and still feel the string under my fingertips and I know where I am on the fret board without looking, what happens if I put flats on? I slide stupidly all over the neck not knowing where I am, I miss frets and c*ck it all up, so no, I am not one of those people that likes to look at the left hand when I play I just look around and in front of me never on my hands. I get distracted otherwise.

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The low tension is a 'strange thing' I play with a heavy touch and have found TIs to be excellent on all of my basses except one. This covers 30", 32" and 34" scale lengths. They are flexible but I do not suffer fret buzz, my basses are typically 3mm at 12th fret.

Buy them s/h to try, about £20 to £25 when they appear. They seem to last forever, I have one set running at about 8 years now.

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[quote name='Misdee' timestamp='1454846371' post='2973408']
TIs are a good choice for roundwound players who are thinking about dabbling in the world of flats. They have a more articulate tone than most flats, and the lower tension feels more familiar than a lot of flatwound designs.
[/quote]

Yes, they don't necessarily have what I would call a typical 'flat' sound. If you've tried flats (but not TIs obviously) and didn't like them, you may like these... I'd say they're unique - as has been said, they are versatile in that you can use them for lots more than just traditional 'flat' genres such as jazz, blues or Stax/Motown etc.

Higher-tension, heavy gauge flats are a bit like suspension bridge cables, but that can be good. I like the feel and tension of La Bellas. And the sound, obviously. :)

Edited by discreet
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I have them on my Stingray Classic - they are absolutely great.

I absolutely hate flats with high tension as they make basses a chor to play for me - I'd prefer not to feel I'm in training for an arm wrestling match - these strings have tension similar to round wounds and fabulous tone - pure Bernard Edwards tone on the 2 band Ray - so they're superb in my mind.

I have EB Cobalt flats on my fretless Ray - slightly different tone but similar tension and an excellent alternative to TI. Can also be brighter when required without losing that flatwound thump.

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[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1454890946' post='2973997']
For solo playing, you can get an almost classical guitar like sound from them.
[/quote]

That is true and they don't thump like La Bellas.
And if you're careful and play close to the neck, you can get a fair upright bass sound, too.

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[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1454890946' post='2973997']
They're definitely not like 'normal' flats. There's no thump, they're mellow, that's how I would describe them.
[/quote]

I disagree - I guess it depends on the bass you're using and your playing style but I get as much thump as I need from TIs - they do have a lovely tone as well

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