Grateful Dead Music Forum

I'm still using my Precision in my Jerry/Dead band. I EQ out a lot of the lows and dial in some highs and currently using Chromes. I was going to give the Thomastik Jazz Flats a try and wanted to know if anyone has used them on a P-bass before and also if you have any online sources for getting them for less than the $77 that I see them on Amazon for (including shipping). Could someone also confirm if it is the JF344's I'm supposed to get?

Rob

Fwiw, I use their strings for guitar, and they are the ONLY strings I'll use from now on. Juststrings.com sells singles I believe. That might be a cheaper way to try them.

Aaron1229 wrote:Fwiw, I use their strings for guitar, and they are the ONLY strings I'll use from now on. Juststrings.com sells singles I believe. That might be a cheaper way to try them.

What is your opinion on their level of "floppiness"?

Sorry, not sure what you mean.

As far as their tension is concerned, I've read that they are a bit floppy, especially the E string. A friend of mine reported "With the light tension of the TI's, I found I was really digging in hard when I wanted to get the "thud"-like presence on the fundamental deep tones that I like in the Chromes. So, I was working harder to get there, instead of keeping my head on the music and in the moment"

Walknbluez wrote:As far as their tension is concerned, I've read that they are a bit floppy, especially the E string. A friend of mine reported "With the light tension of the TI's, I found I was really digging in hard when I wanted to get the "thud"-like presence on the fundamental deep tones that I like in the Chromes. So, I was working harder to get there, instead of keeping my head on the music and in the moment"

There is some period of adjustment. I've moved from Thomastiks to Pyramid Golds. Much more idiosyncratic strings, in that all the registers sound and feel a little different, but higher tension and much more of the classic Phil sound.

zambiland wrote:

Walknbluez wrote:As far as their tension is concerned, I've read that they are a bit floppy, especially the E string. A friend of mine reported "With the light tension of the TI's, I found I was really digging in hard when I wanted to get the "thud"-like presence on the fundamental deep tones that I like in the Chromes. So, I was working harder to get there, instead of keeping my head on the music and in the moment"

There is some period of adjustment. I've moved from Thomastiks to Pyramid Golds. Much more idiosyncratic strings, in that all the registers sound and feel a little different, but higher tension and much more of the classic Phil sound.

What strings would you use for a later day Phil, late 80's and on?

Walknbluez wrote:

zambiland wrote:

Walknbluez wrote:As far as their tension is concerned, I've read that they are a bit floppy, especially the E string. A friend of mine reported "With the light tension of the TI's, I found I was really digging in hard when I wanted to get the "thud"-like presence on the fundamental deep tones that I like in the Chromes. So, I was working harder to get there, instead of keeping my head on the music and in the moment"

There is some period of adjustment. I've moved from Thomastiks to Pyramid Golds. Much more idiosyncratic strings, in that all the registers sound and feel a little different, but higher tension and much more of the classic Phil sound.

What strings would you use for a later day Phil, late 80's and on?

I guess it depends. Probably Ken Smith Slick Rounds or Ritter flats, if I could find them. It's not something I've pursued all that much so I'm sure others here would have a much better sense of what to look for.

I have been using the TI JazzFlats for about a year now and I don't find them floppy at all. I tried the Chromes
and I always found them a lot of work, very stiff, and very tiring by the end of the night. The TI's while not cheap, they do
seem to last. I find that I can actually turn up a little and not have to dig in with them.
I don't believe you will find them very discounted, both Amazon and JustStrings are within a dollar or two of each other.

Try bassstringsonline.

Walknbluez wrote:

zambiland wrote:

Walknbluez wrote:As far as their tension is concerned, I've read that they are a bit floppy, especially the E string. A friend of mine reported "With the light tension of the TI's, I found I was really digging in hard when I wanted to get the "thud"-like presence on the fundamental deep tones that I like in the Chromes. So, I was working harder to get there, instead of keeping my head on the music and in the moment"

There is some period of adjustment. I've moved from Thomastiks to Pyramid Golds. Much more idiosyncratic strings, in that all the registers sound and feel a little different, but higher tension and much more of the classic Phil sound.

What strings would you use for a later day Phil, late 80's and on?

For 80's Phil, any good flats will do since he changed basses a few times each year. I like Chromes for that period. Slick Rounds are very much his 90's string IMHO, I believe he started using him during that period when he played a Ken Smith in 1990.

Back to the Thomastiks - they're great strings but only come in light gauge for 34" scale so that' s a deal-breaker for me. They're unusually flexible to begin with and in light gauge they feel like overcooked spaghetti to me.