SPOTLIGHT // THOMASTIK-INFELD // FLATWOUND BASS STRINGS

Rich, Musical & damn near perfect.

Thomastik-Infeld are an Austrian company who hand manufacture strings for guitar, bass, double bass, violin, and cello. The strings up for review today, are their Flatwound bass strings, the JF334(Jazz Flat).

Choosing the right strings is more important than people realise, even a change in brand can cause a huge change in your overall tone. The rule of thumb is usually, Round wound strings = bright, zingy, modern tone while, Flat wound = old school, thumpy, bass heavy tone. However, that’s not always the case.

For myself, no matter what strings I’m using, be they flats or rounds, I want an articulate, even tone, so I look for strings that give me that, and so far I’ve come to use just about every brand on the market, and have never really settled on one brand or one gauge. That was until I tried Thomastik-Infeld. Since having these strings I’ve experienced more compliments from just about everyone who has spoken to me after hearing me play.

I currently use my TI’s on my veritable work horse Mexican Fender Precision bass, which is totally stock apart from the potentiometers(knobs) and I get every sound I ever need from this combination. I’ve used it to play heavy metal with the tone pot rolled all the way up to get all the bright clanky out of the strings, much like Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, and I’ve used it on a multitude of Stevie Wonder songs from his early Motown days right up to his heavy Funk period. These strings are easily summed up with 3 phrases. Rich, musical, and damn near perfect.

They do absolutely everything if you play them with an empathy towards the style you’re operating in at the time. The ONLY negative side to them is the price. They’re averaging about £50 a set, but when you compare that to any round wound, you’ll certainly be saving money as the life of the TI’s is phenomenal compared to any round wound brand I’ve used. I’ll never go back to any other strings.

Tone               *****

Feel                 *****

Life                 *****

Price               ****

 Overall            *****

BUY here, alternatively, do you use these strings? What do you think of them? Feel free to share your thoughts below in the comments section!

Keep on grooving 

James Fox // Coven Cove ©