Flatwound battle: Thomastiks vs Chromes

[Turbogoon]

Just had the final straw with another set of daddario chrome 12 gauges (flat wound) - they shipped it with a 13 gauge D - the rest of the set was normal 12 gauge.

This was after another set had the ribbon unwind on the e-string...

I emailed daddario, and after I gave them some details about the pack registration, they did offer to send along 3 replacement sets - to their credit...

I paid the extra pennies for some Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Swing Flatwounds.

Difference is night and day! The chromes are rigid with the hex core - and whatever else makes it rigid... the Thomastiks have a MUCH more balanced tension across the strings, and roll neatly when lightly bent. If I bent with chromes they felt really reluctant - and I mean not reluctant in the sense of higher tension, I mean I feel something mechanical in the chromes that does not want to be bent.

The TI's also sound warmer, which is not necessarily better, but is better in my case.

All round verdict: the TI's are better strings for a slightly warmer sound, but more importantly in terms of tension, and so far, build quality.

Definitely worth the 33% extra cost!!!

 

[soulman969]

TI makes some great strings. I prefer their acoustics to other brands but you do have to get used to their price points which can be anywhere from 30% to 100% more than other brands.

 

[Gareth John]

I had chromes on a bc rich condor years ago, they suited the guitar quite well. When I put flats on my '57 reissue strat I put pyramid flats with a round core. Round and hex do feel different. Certainly different sound. I liked how the flats evened out the volume of the staggered poles, great sound but I went back to rounds and use a compressor. I have never had qc problems with d'addarios personally but 3 free sets is a nice way to say sorry.

 

[chezdeluxe]

My preference is for Chromes over TIs.

TIs on my Guild X150 sounded thin. Chromes fat and warm.

 

[ac15]

Yup, been using TI's for a long time. I do like Chromes on my bass though.

 

[dan1952]

I use Chromes on both my P-bass and my Jerry Jones Longhorn - like 'em a lot!

 

[ryokan]

I used the TI's for years, then switched to Chromes when I started changing strings more often. The chromes are stiffer and brighter, and they're significantly cheaper than the TI's. Tonewise, I don't hear enough difference to justify the added cost of the TI's. I've never had any problems with quality control with either brand...

 

[KDawg64]

I've been using the Chrome Extra Lights for years .....never had a problem like that. Well good luck

 

[Itwang]

I've used both for quite some time. For me the TI's last longer and are my preference, however: they are expensive.......Dang!

So depending on how close to payday I am, I sometimes buy and use Chromes.........

 

[edocaster]

TI's all the way for me as well. Tried Chromes .012 set at first and it was ok. Went to .012 TI and was pleasantly surprised with the tone and feel but was unpleasantly surprised with the lower tension.

The TI made the Chromes sound like really cheap strings though, sounded and felt 'dusty' on my fingers. Maybe that can be interpreted as lack of the fundamental tone and/or early stages of corrossion. And very stiff too, and you're right, not in the tension sense.

I ended up with .013 TI and am a very happy camper!

 

[3waytie4last]

I didn't like the tone or feel of Chromes when I tried them. Been using TI Swing Series .012s ever since on all my guitars, it's been at least 10 years, probably a couple more.

I've got a bunch of guitars and rotate using them, so I've got some guitars with the same set of strings on them for maybe 3 years now. They sound the same as they did the day I put them on, they don't go dull and flat like other strings.

Wipe them down between playing and they don't corrode, plus the flats don't accumulate finger gunk like wound strings. For all the whining people do about the price of TIs, if they took into account how frequently they have to change other strings compared to TIs, they are probably spending much more money on cheap, poor-sounding strings over time.

 

[Shango66]

I used to run the chromes before I could buy other brands online.
A dealer dropped some George benson sig tomastics in the case when he sold me a guitar and they are fantastic strings.
The chromes were dull in comparison.
A cheaper but still very nice string is the Galli flat wounds.
I bought a few sets when I got some Galli gypsy jazz sets.