Flatwound recommendation please

[matthew90046]

I am making the move to flatwounds on my Distillate.  From reading many prior comments on the subject in this forum I have narrowed the choice to these two.
 
1) D'Addario Chromes -  45-100  Medium Scale
 
2) Thomastik-Infeld Jazz 43-100 Medium Scale
 
TI strings seem to be the choice of many and I have not heard a bad review as of yet, but I was wondering if anyone here has used both and could describe the tonal differences.  I don't mind spending the extra cash for the TI's since these strings last a long time.
 
Thanks.
 
matt

[bsee]

I have used LaBella and Chromes.  The Chromes are almost like worn-in round-wounds without the fret noise.  The LaBellas sounded like wet spaghetti.
 
I only know TI by reputation, so I'll refrain from comment there.

[glocke]

I had a set of TI flats on my series I for at least three years..Maybe 12 hours a week of playing every week during that time.  Sounded great the whole time.

[hieronymous]

One thing to be aware of with TI flats is that they are VERY low tension. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - I'm not a huge fan of bridge-cable style high-tension strings myself - but I also don't really like strings that are too loose. At the very least, you may find that you need to do a truss rod adjustment if you try the TIs.
 
I like Chromes - and I like Bob's description of them. They are on the brighter side for flats, and I found them to be medium tension, maybe a good place to start.
 
If you want super-high tension strings, then try the LaBella James Jamerson set! I have a mid-70s Telecaster Bass with a super-fat neck, and I could tell the neck was bowing forward after I put them on! I like their regular short scale strings though, both rounds and flats.

[matthew90046]

Thanks for the heads up on tension...  I overlooked that when doing my research.  The strings I am using now are D'Addario XL Round Wound 50-105 and have a much higher tension than the TI's and a bit more than Chromes.  If i move to the TI's with low low tension...  I would assume that all I have to do is make some adjustments to the setup to compensate and then all is good.  Is that correct or do the TI's feel floppy no mater how you do a setup?

[David Houck]

If I recall correctly, Jeff (flax) has gone back and forth between TIs and Chromes several times.  If he doesn't see this thread and respond, you may want to run a search on his username and the string names.  He's made a number of comments that, taken as a whole, I think you may find quite useful.
 
As for floppy; I use TI Jazz Rounds on my fretted bass, and like the Jazz Flats, they are low tension.  I've used them for many years now, and my playing style as evolved to fit these strings.  I have no desire to play anything else.  So I think it depends on your playing style.  If low tension strings don't fit your playing style, then they will floppy.  If high tension strings don't fit your playing style, then they will feel stiff.

[dfung60]

I have a set of TI Jazz Flats on a 34 Modulus and have to say that I've never been that fond of them.  They are both low in tension and light in gauge, so they don't sound or feel very meaty to my ears.  
 
On the plus side, they are brighter and have better intonation than most flats.  The materials feel expensive and more precise.  They have a relatively rough surface - I remember reading somewhere that they make them by winding a very thin wire in parallel with the final metal wrap, then remove the wire afterwards.  The tiny gap left between turns of the tape allows a little more room for purer vibration.
 
I haven't played the Chromes, but have played the LaBellas, which are a pretty traditional sounding flatwound - massive, big time thump.  There's a LaBella nylon tapewound set that's really good with a sort of rough-polished exterior finish on the lower strings.  They are an interesting combination of being brigher than most flatwounds but more thumpy too (notes die off more quickly).  I have these on a Veillette 35 fretless 5 which is piezo pickup only, but I think they'd sound pretty good on a magnetic pickup bass too.  
 
Also on the nylon-wound front, I've tried the Rotosound TruBass and they really don't work for me.  These have a very hard nylon surface.  The first set of nylon strings I had was millions of years ago, a set of black Fender nylons which have a relatively soft surface.
 
Speaking of Fender, I think the old Fenders may actually be my favorite flatwounds.  They are massive, thumpy, high-tension and bassy but I love the sound of them, and they're probably as cheap as you can find flatwounds - probably worth trying.  They still smell the same way when they're new as they did 30 years ago.  
 
I've also had sets of half-round strings (wound as a roundwound, then ground to a flatter surface).  Never liked any of these (I think I've had D'Addario and Dean Markley over the years).
 
I play roundwounds normally (Rotosound Swing bass on 4-string basses, GHS Boomers or DR Lo-Riders on 5-string).
 
For most of these strings, you'll need the normal truss rod tweaks if everything is in good condition.  The TIs may require a little more work if you play with low action because of the big change in tension.
 
David Fung

[flaxattack]

i use the heavier chrome d'darrios. a little more meat on the string  
050=105s
these are much higher tension and will probably require a reset of the neck.
i think the chromes have a little more punch in them for rock purposes. ti;s have a warmer jazzier sound imho
 
while they are flatwound they do not feel as smooth as the ti's/ nothing imho does and for someone like me that moves and slides around the neck a lot this is a meaningful difference.
 
i continue to switch back on forth with the TI;s`
right now i have ti's on both wolf and scarlet-
i still have 6 packs of chromes.
its close as far as how long they last.  
 
my best opinion-its a matter of sound and feel/
 
start with the chromes because those are cheaper.
i recommend strings and beyond- free shipping over 30bucks- and ebay
even if you find you like them do try the ti;s at some point

[flaxattack]

the only other thing is that i found the ti flats a litle thin on the g string sound 043 and a slightly better sound on the b string for us 5ers.  
 
finger wear is less on the ti's due to the lower tension and silky feel. ps they actually use silk in the string.

[matthew90046]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm going to take Jeff's advise and start with the Chromes.
 
Cheers
 
matt