Thomastik-Infeld VS. Rotosound // Flats on a Jazz Bass
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- In this video, we put the Rotosound Jazz Bass Monel Flat Wound Strings up against the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flat Wound Bass Strings. Who will win?? How do flats sound on a jazz bass?? Find out in this video. More info...
Get your Thomastik Inflend Jazz Flat Wound Strings here: amzn.to/3o50Dcm
Get your Rotosound Jazz Bass Mondel Flat Wound Strings here: amzn.to/3bwlCzN
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#thomastikinfeld #rotosound #jazzbass
Flats with a pick is like strawberries with whipped cream and chocolate. Just like heaven. Awesome playing and video as always!
So true! Thanks brother.
Flats with a pick is my favorite sound. Especially through a nice vintage tube amp like the Ampeg B-15.
Jazz + flats + pick = my favorite bassist, Herbie Flowers. Two great examples are 'Harley Davidson' by Brigitte Bardot and 'Ballade de Melody Nelson' by Serge Gainsbourg. Flowers was also responsible for arranging and playing the electric and upright basses on 'Walk On The Wild Side' by Lou Reed. Oh, and 'Rock On' by David Essex. And David Bowie's 'Space Oddity'. I could go on. Herbie Flowers, a session legend.
Loved the TI Jazz Flats!!! Loved the woody, organic sound of them. Made the single coils sound more transparent.
I really liked the deep low-mid growl of the TI flatwounds. I think I'm gonna put these on my Rickenbacker 4003S!
The very substantial discrete difference much of the audience is unlikely to know or recognize is in how stiff these string sets are. Furthermore, Roto 77s are available in much heavier gauges which makes stiffness differences even more severe. TI Jazz flats and Roto 77 Jazz flats are about polar opposites in this regard as can be--completely opposite reputations as far as string tension and stiffness.
Your action seems set kind of low, reminiscing an ernie ball music man bass. Wonder what these would sound like side by side with a higher action and pre bridge felt treatment like Carol Kaye, who is a big endorser of flatrwounds, especially the Thomastik Jazz strings. Great video, brother!! Thank you!!
Thanks so much!
I love the thick midrange sound you are getting from the TIs! Coming from roundwounds, I must try those! Thanks for the demo!
You’ll love them!
I prefer TI's in the mix, especially finger style. My 2008 RW jazz is strung w/ TI JF344 flats. Good video as always!
Thank you!
I gotta give it to the TIs. There's this snarl/growl in the midrange that just really works on a fretless jazz. And something in how they clank kinda makes your fretless bass sorta sound like a fretted bass, but still have the singing qualities. Of course, not as much "mwah" as a set of roundwounds, but much more mwah than any other flats I've tried.
Had Thomastik on my fretless some years ago. Surprising velvet-like refined sound. More high's. Lighter to play. But less 'thump'
I like the Thomastik better . it's amazing how clear sounding flats can be . I have one jazz bass with Fender flats on it sounds better then when it had rounds.
It's only my opinion here and my ranking
1. Thomastik
2. Fender
3. Ernie ball cobalt
4. La Bella
5. Chromes
6. Rotosound
On my Fretless J bass I've got La Bella white tapewounds really good sound.
Fenders really are amazing for the price, compared to TI's. I've had them on my Jazz for 10 months, and they've mellowed into a smooth, round, perfect sound imo
I put TI flats on my Jazz (with Lollar pickups and Sadowsky preamp though I play it passive 95% of the time) they sounded okay. I was surprised as I expected to love it. I have a P bass with a set and that bass loves those strings. I ended up trying TI rounds on the jazz and they absolutely suit that bass perfectly, I can't stand anything else on that bass now. Recently I acquired a Sandberg TT fretless that came with what I assume were GHS bright flats. I pulled them off and put TI flats on there and it's glorious. Go figure. I now just let the bass tell me what strings it wants.
That’s a great point. I have Dunlop flats on my jazz right now that are great for it. And the TI’s back on my p bass. They just fit it perfectly.
Long time TI flats player here. I use them on most of my P-basses, a couple of J-basses, my fretlesses (except for my Warwick Thumb strung w/Labella Deep Talking Bass). It’s really interesting how the TI tone you’ve got here is totally in line with what I get out of my TI strung basses. I love the low tension of the TIs, the feel is unmatched. The TIs are definitely more expensive but you can usually find them on sale, and hey they last literally forever. I have the TIs on my Sandberg Lionel 30” (the JF324s fit with just a bit of metal wrapped around the E string peg for the 4-inline headstock). I play mostly finger, but love the TI tone picked and slapped, and they totally work for just about any style. I do have a few basses strung with rounds for diversity, but my main gigging and recording basses all have TIs. They sound and feel just as good on a J-bass as a P-bass. At least for me, generally flats work better on passive basses and rounds work better on active basses. Thanks for the comparison! I’ve tried other flats, but I always come back to the TIs.
Can’t say I disagree. I was recording with TI’s on my P Bass earlier today. The feel seems to be unmatched. I currently have Dunlop flats on my active Jazz, and am digging it. Worth a try if you get the chance.
I like the Rotosound flats as well on my Jazz, they actually get better the longer you play with them. I'm just not a fan of finger noises made on round wounds so flats are my choice for any bass.
I’m with ya!! Flats rock.
I was the same way until I realized that you can just put lotion on your hands regularly and (for me) eliminates string noise when sliding my hand. Also I realized that the string noise adds a nice character to the sound. Of course it's more raspy and less mellow than Flatwoods. Ordered a pair of thomastik for my stingray sub, interested to see how they sound with those pickups! It the video it seems like the Thomastik has less string tension so playing it too hard causes it to sound buzzy but I bet that can be controlled with lightening up the pick attack. They sound like ew strings and the rotod sound more like old rounds with more punch. I've been using rounds lately because the lower strings have more clarity in the mix and I can get high end for slap whereas the Flatwoods chrome I used had limited high end
Dude! This is hands down, without a doubt, the best video that describes the overall difference in both strings. I actually just ordered the Rotosound 77's for my Jazz Bass, because of your video. And yes, the Rotosounds sound not just a little better...WAY better!
Thank you SO MUCH!!! I love the sound of the Roto’s and the feel of the TI’s. Still adventuring flats and gonna make more videos about it.
Definitely Thomastiks with their amazing rich midrange grind ...but probably because I like the vintage vibe. I did try Rotos and to me they feel stiff as well as a kind of lame lifeless low output...
Yeah, I definitely found that the TI’s were higher output!
I play a Fender Deluxe PJ. My first bass was a Fender Jazz. And then I used Rotosound Swings. I'm an old player having played almost 50 yrs. When I was on the road, I ended up falling for GHS Boomers. But now with the band I'm playing in I use GHS Flats. By far my favorite flats.
I have 20 year old TI's on my ancient 60"s jazz bass and they still sound awesome compares to my recently changed Rotos on my Hofner B bass but love them both.
Brilliant! I wish I had found this video months ago. I've been putting off getting flats for a while because they're not cheap and I just couldn't decide. Roto's sound good, but TI's for me. I really appreciate you demoing with a pick and in a mix context. Cheers!
Awesome! Thank you.
Tried flats on my P recently, for the first time (LaBellas). Initially the plan was to keep the flats on the P and stick to rounds on my J. But I've been having so much fun with the flats, that my J has been sitting there looking jealous while I just play the P now. So I'm thinking I'll try some Rotos on my J too :D. I never expected that flats would work so well with pick, which is what I mainly play.
You definitely sold me on the flats. Thank you. Everyone focuses on the sound-where it seems you can't lose-nice playing. Thanks again. But I appreciate your take on the feel, too ( 7:04 )... I'm trying to get away from as much high-tension stiffness as possible for better playability, and that was pertinent information. Gonna go TI flats and hope for the best. Thank you so much!
Absolutely. You’ll love the TI’s.
Flats are good as long as the gauge and tension are not too great. I’m really liking the cobalt flats from Ernie ball. 45-100. I have them on my peavey millennium. So good. Bright and they have a good tension.
But they sound more like rounds, the Cobalts.
@@joedecker3900 got the Cobalts on my Ric 4003s/5 and it’s amazing how they produce that classic growl. I prefer them to rounds
More mids in the Thomastik-Infeld, like a different jazz bass. In the mix TI sounds good.
Having started playing bass in the mid 1970's, I never heard anyone mention that you needed flats on a p and rounds on a J. In fact, P players (stranglers, The Jam, etc.) seemed to always have roundwounds and J players used laBella flats. I recently tried Thomastik for the first time. I have no idea what the hype is all about. LaBella has more punch, more even output and the feel is even smoother. I have used Roto Monel Flats for decades. It's a great all-around string. Two strings to consider though (that I feel are even better than those mentioned above) are Pyramid Gold-my favorite in every regard, and Optima RB strings (originally developed for the Rickenbacker 4001). S.I.T. makes a terrific flat, but the tension is too high. Same with Fender. I generally cannot stand ground/half-wound/pressure-wound strings, but S.I.T. Silencers are the best sounding P-bass string I've ever tried and they are cheap! Thanks for the great review.
I have flats on two active modern basses, one with EMG P/J pickups and the other with Fishman Fluence pickups, they sound great on both.
I liked the Rotosounds the best in the finger and pick style, but I liked the Thomastik-Infeld better in the mix.
Great demo! The Thomastiks have a really nice "snarl". They let the bass speak so to say, but I it is easy to overdrive/choke them if you dig in a little harder because of the lower tension. Slapping on them is a delight though.
Rotos just sound big and bold. And you can slam them as hard as you want, they're tough! There is a big difference in feel between those two.
Fender flats are also very interesting clanky/bright flats, I use them to approximate that early Steve Harris sound. Well, I like them all!
1/2 way through the vid, and my next strings will be these Rotos for my Geddy Lee signature jazz. I had that set-up several years ago on a different Geddy bass. Was, to this day, the very best pick sound that I have ever heard from my own playing. Thank you for the reminder..
Great video! I really appreciate how you're passionate, practical and honest about everything on this channel. Instant subscribe!
As for the subject of the video, I must say that I had a similar experience to yours, but in the opposite direction: I really thought TIs would sound better, then listening to fingerstyle Rotos became my favourite, but at the end TIs in the mix are just incredible, they sound SO clean!
Incidentally in a couple of days I'll receive my first set of flats, still Rotosound Jazz but in the 40-100 gauge (I read online that the 45-105 set is very stiff). I cannot wait to try them on my Precision!
Rotos cut like a knife and retains the roundwound definition and twang but with the flat thump and clank, best for the jazz growl, the TI sound softer rounder, a more traditional flats for a pbass
Revisiting this video since I'm on a flatwound kick again. I have some previously-used Rotos on a Partscaster P-Bass and I'm tempted to try the T.I.'s on a Partscaster Jaguar Bass (with a 4-band preamp). Both sound great in this vid.
These videos are what take away my dear of trying certain products like strings and pickups😊
Yeah man. Strings and pickups, both so essential to the tone of a bass. I highly recommend checking out the TI’s. I love the feel of them.
TI is so gnarly, pure jazz bass growl! My favorite string!❤❤❤
Hey Rumblin Man, I have a set of LaBella 760FS Deep Talking Bass flatwound strings on my Fender Jazz and they sound great. I also have Fender 9050 series flatwounds on my Fender Precision bass, and really impressed with their tone.
I gotta try La Bella!
I used TI strings on my jazz bass and it sounds like a new bass. Slap sounds decent and bass picking sounds crisp.
In my experience, the TIs maintain their character for many years of continuous use, whereas the Rotos don't maintain their tone nearly so long. Both are great at different things.
I gotta say, I like the sound of Thomastik Flats better. However, both sound so good, my personal preference are roundwound bass strings.
Yeah. Me too. Even on my fretless. Bought a Sire Marcus Miller 5 string fretless, and apart from an annoying niggle re the placement of the side dots on the neck, i.e. where they would be on a fretted neck, and not where i would like them, actually at the "fret position", it is a nice instrument, if a bit neck-divey!
Played for a while with the supplied flatwounds, and realised I wanted to try roundwound instead. Now i can get a broader range of tones than with flatwounds. And yes, i know it will mark up the fretboard more, but personally i don;t care. The board is a "richlite" style, i think with a polished gloss finish. If i ever need to, I can refinish the board surface with, maybe CA, or epoxy, depending...
But to my ears in this video, i prefer the Rotosounds, but i would suspect that either would work for me, as the active tone controls on the Sire give me quite a range of sounds. Next string change, I will try a set of the Rotos, to see if i like them.
Thanks for the vid!
Wow so different! Like a different bass all together. Best comparison video i've seen. I hope you do more flat comparisons as this was really enjoyable to watch! Thanks a lot.
The Thomastik have a great growl on the low E by the way!
Thanks for the good vibes!
I've never heard of TI until today, but now I'm going to have to use them. I exclusively use flats on my fretless J bass and rounds on my P bass. I had to sell all my gear a couple years ago due to moving suddenly, but I'm going to jump back in with TIs and a Fender JB-62.
You’ll love em.
I love the TI’s on a jazz bass. Never thought about the P bass tho. I’ll get a set and try it.😕🎶👍🏾
I do love the monels,
Not more than the Thomasstik
The monels are really tight so what I did was tune them D,G,C,F and OMG!
Super deep and the hit hard in the chest!
I used them in a Rick.
I just got myself a set of heavy gauge Roto flats for tuning DGCF and it sounds so deep. It's probably going to be a long while before I get to here them through a decent sized speaker though. I do usually use standard gauge Roto flats for E standard tuning.
More power to you man. Appreciate this video! God bless.
Thanks bro! God bless you too.
Flats can sound good on anything. I even enjoy them on a StingRay.
As for my personal preference of flats, I actually love Fender 9050 strings. It works out well because they're on the cheaper side for flats at $25. I haven't tried the Thomastik-Infeld, but I tried the D'Addario Chromes and I far preferred the Fenders. The Chromes were too bright for me. And even though they were the same gauge as the Fenders, for some reason they had way more tension and were way harder to play.
Great observations! I always enjoy hearing from you.
TIs are slinkier and more vocal than Chromes. TIs go bawp.
John Entwistle recorded My Generation original studio version on a Fender Jazz with La Bella flatwounds, good video, always been a Rotosound fan👍
Awesome! I just put La Bella’s on my fretless J.
@@RumblinMan Cool I bet it sounds great, have you tried the Fender Jazz Ultra? I'm going to try one myself as I saw one in Denmark Street (Tin Pan Alley) London last night, looks like it could be Fender's Ultimate Jazz, I also like 21 frets as lowest to highest note is 3 Octaves
@@Gell1967 sounds nice!
Great review! Love how a quality set of strings can make such a difference to what is in reality a cheap begginers bass (I'm a begginer and bought a glarry last year for £79 new!) Just about to swap out the stock for rotoflats and toneriders on my pbass., can't wait to hear how itll sound after watching this 😅
Liked and subscribed ❤
Have recently tried Galli, LaBella and most recently the Thomastik Infields and they're all great in different ways. Love the stiffer labellas for the vintage thump and the TIs are much easier to play, more flexible and are a bit more versatile. I've heard the TIs described as flats described as flats for bassists who prefer rounds in that they have a bit more growl to them. Wish I had more basses so I could switch between them easier!
So true about flats on a Jazz. I feel like the Jazz gets the short end of the stick with the round / flat discussion because a lot of people will accept rounds on a P but might raise an eyebrow with flats on a J. Anyway, both strings demoed sounded great in their own way. I was surprised how scooped and round-ish the Rotos sounded, in a good way. I've found that strings that sound good broken-in work well on a Jazz. That's when the brightness settles down and the fundamental really starts coming through and takes care of any "thinness" you can get with newer strings. I've had a set of HiBeams on my J for a few months and they're JUST starting to get that really nice low end. I plan on leaving them on as long as I can.
Great comparison, thanks! I love the sound of the Rotos with a pick, and I expect the higher tension probably helps with the pick feel too? However I'm still favouring the Thomastiks for me because I prefer finger style and their low tension and finger feel win out for me in that department.
Also agreed 100% with the love for flats on a Jazz, I'll always be keeping two Jazz basses as long as I can afford so that I can string one with flats. The magic for me is rolling just slightly onto the bridge pickup and playing finger style, with roundwounds I find the bridge can end up a little too thin and barky, flats like these round it off a bit and keep more bottom end and low mids.
I'm a longtime roto user - have them on all my guitars/bass - and was definitely rooting for roto thru the entire video... until I heard the TI's in the rock mix. They really cut thru nice. But for the price, I'll probably stick with roto's. Great demo 🤟
Great video. I’m employing Thomastic infield flats on my Epiphone Jack Casady bass
Good choice!
I love the Labella Flexible Flats they are the smoothest flats I've ever played.
I put TI flats on my RICKENBACKER 4003!
Great idea!!
Im a huge huge fan of the TI strings i have them i have them on all my P basses except 3 i have Labella low tension flats on my two 50's reissue basses and thomastik rounds on my 60th anniversary precision . i have T I flats on two of my jazz basses , and erinie ball super slinky flats on my fretless jazz , i also use the T I strings o my 4001 Ric basses , the T I are my favorites
Same!
Flatwounds are generally my preferred type of string; when I learned to play it's what I sought out because I idolized players like Paul McCartney and Bernard Edwards, and even though I have played mostly with rounds since then, that's mostly a product of the kind of music I play. LaBellas were the only way to go for me when I started, but I've tried a bunch of brands since then. LaBellas are really well-made and smooth, but can be extremely dark sounding especially in a rock mix. I tried D'addario chromes briefly, which seemed to be a little more balanced, but hands down my favorite overall flatwounds have been the Rotosounds. I've tried them so far on both my P and my StingRay, and they're able to do the classic flatwound "thing" but can be really punchy and aggressive if you need it. 3/4 of my basses have rounds at the moment, and I'm heavily considering getting some Roto flats for my new Jazz Bass thanks to your video.
Man, I got Rotos for my p bass expecting to get that classic flat sound on the cheap and what I got instead was the most versatile set of strings I’ve ever tried and my god do they sit well in the mix
Ti have some much more growl and definition to them, you also could slap them easily due to low tension
Great, well rounded presentation and thank you for taking the time and effort to produce this interesting and informative video. I like Flatwounds but as you say "Which Brand?" For myself the Rotosound were streets ahead, in my opinion they sat great in the mix and supported the other instruments the way a Bass should and added that fullness of sound. Thank you , keep up the good and informative Videos.
Thank you very much!!
These rotosounds are my daily driver on my main bass (a Sire Marcus Miller V7 5 string). They just sound and feel right to me. I recently got a fretless Spector bass and it shipped to me with LaBellas on it. They sound and play really nice as well, but are an entirely different animal to the Rotosound ones.
Love flats on a jazz. Check out the band Khruangbin for an awesome flats on a jazz example. She is killing it. Great vid. Ti sounded more interesting to me but a tad to aggressive. The Roto reminded me of the Chromes i have on my jazz.. which i find a bit bland but also good all rounders. I'm more into that vintage 60's p-bass tone tho so...
You beat me to that Laura Lee reference. I first put flats on my Jazz bass because of Khruangbin ❤️
@@Kubooxooki same here :)
I’ll have to check that out!! And yeah... I’m into the 60’s p bass tone too. Just haven’t FOUND it yet!
I’ll have to check that out!! And yeah... I’m into the 60’s p bass tone too. Just haven’t FOUND it yet!
She only uses the neck pickup, so You can get very close with a regular Precision type bass, too.
I LOVE flats, the tone and the feel. I have flats on all my basses (must be because of me playing upright bass) but to each their own. But for me, all my basses have flats. great video rumbling man! (I have flats on my Gibson grabber :O)
Duude!! What’s up?! Yeah man I love flats too. You have a Grabber?!? Nice!! What year?? I have DR flats on mine but plan to put the TI’s on it.
I like the Thomastik with the pick! And the Rotosound with fingerpicking but I had always but experiences with RotoSound they don’t last longer!
I picked the rotos for you. I'd guess they suit the style of music you are playing the majority of the time. I liked the Rotos when I tested them but they went dead in a weird way for me after about 6 months that I couldn't jive with. For me though the Thomastiks really are the holy grail that can do it all for me. Jazz/Blues/Soul/Vintage Rock n Roll....They have a midrange that cuts and sits in a mix like no other string...both live and recorded. If someone is a a bit hamfisted though probably not the best choice. I run the TI's on both my Sadowsky J and my Moollon P. There are no bad strings out there. The ones that work best are the ones that fit a persons playing style, the gear they are using, and the type of music or sound they are after.
Playing a G&L L2000.... I've used TI's, roundwound, & tapewound strings. Recently I tried the Roto flats and was instantly impressed. Rotos 77s were drastically higher tension and required a complete setup adjustment. I was able to get a much, much lower setup with the Rotos making the feel much nicer to play IMO. The Rotos have a deepness not present in the TI's just like in your video. I much prefer the midrange of the Rotos over the TI's because the sound suits a wider variety of music. Also, my G&L has a very high output so the rotos are a better string for that particular bass since the output of the roto strings is less. IMO the roto's are a winner. Both rotos and TI's have outstanding build quality.
TI much more woody, low mids and Rotos stringy presence and more focused. Rock: rotos, TI: funk jazz, R&B, etc. I tried to hear what you were hearing as you said roto was rounder and I heard the opposite by a big difference. Neither is bad, I wonder how the Ernie Ball flat cobalts and La Bella's stack up. I use tapes on my p bass. Edit: so my sub wasn't working with the sub on I hear a bit of that focus with the TI's, but still hear the low mid growl.
Thanks Pastor! Happy Easter.
@@RumblinMan Happy Easter
I have TI on a Jazz and LaBella DTB on a P. They sound (and feel!) very different. But similarly delightful :)
Rotosound strings for me of course!
Thanks for this comparison video Rumblin Man!!!
You rock!
Your videos are great and this was a good comparison. I liked the Rotos, especially with a pick.
Thank you so much!!
Exactly what I was looking for deciding which one to use in my new Sire V3. I've used Roto 77 on my P bass but this time I was a little concerned because all those comments about flats should be on P basses. Also, recently I was attracted by Thomastik. Thanks, man!
Let me know how it sounds. I’ve thought about putting the Thomasticks on my V3.
Don’t know whether the Rumblin Man stated which type of Rotosound he tested .. I believe they were the SM77 model; I’ve played them and TI JF344 extensively.
My best definition of them is that the SM77 are a very nice and relatively inexpensive in-between solution between TI JF344 and LaBella DTF 760FL, both tonally and stiffness-wise.
Both strings have their pros!
I never tried Rotosound or Thoms, but I like LaBelle 760M deep talikn bass on both my Fender pbass, and Fender Jazz bass, such a mello 60's&70's sound especially after being on fof at least 6 months and longer.
I agree with you the Rotosound flats sounded better and projected better.
my opinion is always a bass need also be felt!
Soundwise in a mix the thomastiks win for me. But solo the rotos win. I think you can feel the rotos more due to the thickness of the strings.
I heard that the sadowsky blue label flats should sound like the TIs, but have more in the bottom.
I would be very happy if you are thinking of reviewing these strings.
Also would be cool if you make a Video which Flatwound u would advice for different basses, preci, JB, Stingray, L2000....
Best Regards from Austria!
Thank you so fucking much for doing the demo with a pick! JB + Pick = Perfection
Brilliant video. 👌🏿
Those Thomastik-Infeld sound delicious 😋
Having said that, I'm surprised by the Monel. 👌🏿What color are they? Black?
Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿❤️
Thank you! They are grey.
Great comparison. I think the Roto's sounded better fingerstyle. However to my ears the TI's sounded better with a pick and really cut through the mix. Funny you thought to put flats on a Jazz. I say this, because I'm not a flats guy, but a week ago I put a set of DR Legends and a set of GHS precision flats on two of my Jazz basses. And I enjoy the combination of the feel and sound on both of them. Especially for playing Reggae. Anyway great video! I've heard many folks say flats get better with age.
Thanks so much! Yes, they definitely improve with age. I currently have some Dunlop flats on my Sire jazz and love it. I don’t keep flats on every jazz, but definitely do on at least one.
Worthy try EB cobalt flats
thinks for the video, i play a fretless and I have been playing the roto trubass strings. i have been looking at picking up the monel flats for a little while. i love the sound of the trubass strings because it gives a sound that is similar to an upright but I have been missing some of the wood tones in the mix and i feel like i could hear that in your bass on this video
Awesome!!
i love the sound of flats on a jazz bass. makes my mouth water.
Can’t say that I dislike either but honestly, I like jazz basses for the scooped sound & I love how flats tame the super zingy high end for anything other than metal & hard rock, honestly, the TI’s got the jazz too snarly for me, getting the sound too close to a ray/P with the midrange-y-ness
Of the two sets you demoed here, I also prefered the Rotosound on the J type bass. But on a P bass, I do prefer the TI because of the neutral quality they have that combined with the P-Bass inherent woody natural sound does work better in my mind.
I agree with you that I liked the Rotos. I’m more budget minded, so definitely the Rotos as far as that goes too. I don’t currently have a jazz bass but I may have to REALLY consider putting flats on my P bass next time I change strings on it. I’d usually go with D’Addario Chromes, but I may have to think about the Rotos!
I think you’ll dig the Rotos. Feel ya on budget mindedness by the way!
TIs have that Beach Boys vibe
Wow I just commented on an other video Jazz basses sound so great on a Jazz, I found that out over 30 years ago, it just sucks that all the strings that I use are so expensive. You have a good channel, I get caught up in them and I forget to spike the likes
I've got a weird relationship with Rotos, i love the initial feel when I first put them on, didn't care for the tone, then they broke in and I was starting to like the tone, but didn't care for the feel. They're a solid pick, I'd place them above other flats I've played. D'Daddario Chromes used to sound great and were affordable about 12 to 14 years ago, but at some point they changed something with them, the quality wasn't there anymore, and you could feel and hear it. If you like the Rotos tone and sound, but prefer the TI feel, a great middle ground is Pyramid Gold, worth every penny and if TIs aren't available but you can grab some Pyramids do so, you're not gonna regret it.
I’ll have to check those out sometime.
So, paused ad minute 15, I'm absolutely with you and I can hardly decide either... But I think it's the TIs for me, just because they are a bit more different from rounds and bring out the vintage aspects better. And for rock with a pick, they make the J growl like a P while still being recognizable as a J. The Rotos have more bottom end, but that's something that can be fixed with EQ.
I currently have Chromes on my Aria RSB Standard, so a P-style bass, which are very thumpy and thick, but could have a bit of character in the mids, at least on this bass. And I just bought an Epiphone Rumblekat that came with Rotosound flats, which I like on this bass. It's already very growly and woody by nature. But after listening to your demo, I think that they might work against the bass and maybe tame it too much. So I wonder what it would sound like with TIs or with LaBellas, or with whatever I can't think of right now... Now I'm gonna hit play again to hear your opinion.
In this video, Rotosound won for the sound I was going for. That said, since that time I have used more products. I gotta say I love the feel of TI’s, but they don’t sound quite as powerful as other strings I’ve used. I just put some La Bella’s on my fretless and like them a lot. But La Bella Low Talkin and TI are two completely different strings. It comes down to stiff or flexible.
@@RumblinMan The Rotosounds are definitely a very well-balanced set, in contrast to many others, they sound equally great in all registers. That's even the feedback I got when I played the Rumblekat at a jam session last Friday. And they work great for the Jazz Bass because they can provide the top end for its treble presence. The TI are also very well balanced but they definitely don't have that power in the fundamentals.
Considering it's already so hard to decide on a personal winner in your direct comparison on the same bass, it seems to be impossible to impossible to imagine what a different bass would sound like (and feel) with different strings on it. I guess I'll try LaBellas on my Aria since I liked them in different demos and I found the Chromes to be lacking a bit on it. But I'm also considering upgrading the bridge (stock saddle screws stick out a lot and the saddles seem very cheap) and/or the pickup (stock has ceramic bar magnets, I want to go AlNiCo) to get more definition and growl. Let's see what I'll do first.
No question the TI are in a class of their own much more complex and way more present mids. Roto sounds are great strings but next to the TI they sound anemic. I’m surprised you came to a different conclusion - but we all have different tastes and thankfully there is variety out there to satisfy us all!
Absolutely man. Thanks for having another view point yet keeping it positive - many don’t seem to know how to do that! Yeah, so in this video I liked the Roto’s better because they had the big tone I was seeking for that bass. But as I’m always trying to figure out what flats I’ve liked best, I’ve since kind of stopped liking the Rotosounds. I still love the TI’s. Also trying some La Bella’s right now and planning to try La Bella Low Tension. What are your favs?
@@RumblinMan I’ve been really liking tapewounds on my fretless and TI Jazz flats are on most of my basses but I recently tried their jazz rounds and right now they are my fav. For rounds previously I really liked boomer round core and DR pure blues.
@@lorpal1 that’s awesome! I gotta try the TI rounds! Pure Blues are great too.
It sounds like Thomastik has a touch more growl. Depending on the song one might be a bit more appropriate .
TIs go bawp. Rotos don't. In my experience the TIs require higher action to play cleanly, but they are so slinky that I don't mind. When elevated or played with less force, they don't clank.
I think the TI's sound better on every demo. I'd pay the extra $$ everyday.
I can't make my mind up with the TI's. I really want to like them but they don't really sound like flats to me. They lack they low end thump. The floppy tension and odd string gauge takes a bit of getting used to.
I'd go with Rotosound. I've got D'addario Tapewounds on my P-Bass. I like Thomastik on violin though.
Definitely agree that flats sound great on a jazz. If I'm going to put rounds on anything I prefer a P bass for that. The fatter sounding pickup mellows the rounds a bit.
I’m with you!
Me gusta el sonido de las cuerdas Rotosound
Defo the Rotosounds for me,i use fingers more than a pick so prefer the wider but solid, smoother tone of the Rotosounds...i would save a few quid & stick to the Rotosounds,
Flats are nice sounding on a Jazz, a wider range than a Precision with flats and more modern suited...Ernie Balls are to expensive though I use their roundwound nickel plated Power Slinkies (50-110)...good demo,i use a set of the same Rotosound Flats on my modded Fender JM Jazz..if their good enough for Steve Harris their more than good enough by me....🎸
Great video man!
Thanks bro!
Great comparison !!
Thanks Eric!
Nice work and really cool comparison. As a TI advocate, I have to say, I agree with your demo assessment . I do like the way the Rotos sound on the jazz with maple fretboard… It just works!! Great balanced tone with rich (not tinny highs) and well defined lows . Way to go ! I am going to try these on one of my P/J basses that has maple fretboard with Lindy Fralin PUPS . What type of rotos are they ?? Monel flats?
Monel flats! Yessir.
I like my jazz bass with la bella 760fl on it, nail any sound to p bass, mustang, and of course 62 jazz bass growl
Hey Rumble Man! Really like all your content you put out on all things bass guitar! I’ve been playing a long time, and it’s as if you are reading my mind!! I’m always thinking about how to better my sound, and the ideas of some of your suggestions really hit it on the nail! Appreciate what you do! And I’m not too far from Seminole! Do you know any good luthiers? I am looking for someone who knows how to work on bass guitars, I just haven’t ever been that handy without screwing things up in my basses lol! If you know anyone, please let me know. Keep doing what your doing brother!
Yo Ronnie!! Thank you for the meaningful kind words. I do have a couple suggestions for you. Send me a DM on Instagram or email me at rumblr324@gmail.com.
I personally use the Rotos - they have a much higher tension than roundwounds for sure, but I haven't tried other flats. Maybe the next bass I get, I'll slap on some TIs or LaBellas :P
would also like to add on - for me, TIs make a jazz bass (in this vid anyway) sound closer to a P-bass, while the Rotos accentuate the slightly scooped mid sound of a jazz :)
Jaco Pastorius played flatswounds on his Jazz bass of doom and he had a killer tone.. i guess if you are playing Punk or hard rock you should stick to rounds to fit the style. Nonetheless flats and jbass have already proven themself to be such a great combination.
They are a great combo. Jaco used rounds.
@@RumblinMan you're right ! I tought he used flats to avoid damage on his fretboard because he was fretless but he used rotosound. My bad
... so interesting...
-> I'd say that the Rotosounds sound more 'jazz bass' , because of the deeper lows, and also some high harmonics ! With less mids
-> the TIs sound more 'precision-bass' !!! With a more grouped sound !
:D
That's such an interesting thing to find, about strings !!
Flatwounds and jazz go together like peanut butter and jelly.